Whats your favourite wedges for splitting billets?

[Treeation]

Ive got quite a bit of billeting to do this winter. Mainly nice woodland grown ash and sycamore. What wedges do you use? Im thinking about getting a trio of metal wedges and spray painting yellow so I don't loose em in the leaves!
Thanks in advance
Patrick
Www.treeation.co.uk

[SimonFisher]

What's a billet?

[oldclaypaws]

Presumably Patrick's technique for splitting rounds into smaller firewood-sized sections (or billets) is using a sledge and wedges rather than an axe. Its probably a less violent and more methodical way of splitting. Either that or he's providing soldiers with accommodation or manufacturing metal ingots. Personally, I'm a mad axeman, its a great workout. Dunno what it is about wacking logs with an axe but I find it very gratifying (& exhausting). Particularly like the smell of the split logs and looking at all the internal colours and grains of each log. Not doing much of it today though, they'd float off !

[SimonFisher]

In the absence of any further post yet from Patrick answering my question, and having found one reference elsewhere to billeting where it's described as "a first step in green woodworking where logs are split into quarter ready for further shaping with a drawknife", I'm going to hazard a guess that he's splitting long pieces either for woodworking or so they can be seasoned as long lengths rather than as cut-to-length ready-to-burn logs.

I've done the latter myself and I use a pair of Gransfors Bruks Splitting Wedges which have a twist in them and are I guess in that respect different to felling wedges. I'll also use my maul (also Gransfors Bruks) as a third wedge if need be. To make getting started easier, I'll often make a notch in the end of the wood with a chainsaw into which it's very easy to get the split running with a wedge.

[splodger]

we use many different wedges - depending on particular job / end product / timber size etc - i don't think you can have too many wedges.
having said that - my dad has collected old tools all of his life (huge collection) most of our hand tools are 50 plus yrs old - and we probably have 30 or more metal wedges to choose from. we make and use wooden wedges too, for big stuff that needs splitting - once initial split run is in line.
we split most of our cut timber (chestnut) - for a variety of different uses, so having a great choice of splitting tools is very important to us.

why not get yourself to a tool sale - like the one toby has posted about - http://www.swog.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&p=10263#p10263
i expect you'd find a good selection there

[Treeation]

Thanks for replies.

Yes im splitting 1m lengths for firewood. Normally prefer to get my wood back to yard and processed straight into logs but due to extraction constraints I have around 15tonnes to billet and stack in the woods until summer ground conditions ooccur.
I use a stihl splitting maul to billet the easier sections and turn thr maul round and use back of head to wedge open the trickier lengths.

The tool sale sounds great but is a bit too far for me as im based in Gloucestershire. Like the isea of building up a big collection of wedges. Whats the best wood for making wedges?

I will check out the gransfor range and get myself a twisted wedge and give that ago.

[SimonFisher]

What diameter are these pieces you've got?

[Rich]

That's quite an amount of wood to be splitting by hand! Wouldn't you be better off hiring or buying a mechanical splitter? Last year I split a load of beech cordwood by hand and the new (and expensive) alluminium twisted wedges didn't last the season. So if you're going to do it I would suggest steel wedges, or spend half an hour or so cutting a load of hornbeam wedges or whatever the hardest wood is you have to hand , then as you destroy them, throw them on the log pile!

[Treeation]

Good tip with the wooden wedges!

Diameter ranges 6 to 12 inches.

Bought myself a couple of steel wedges today and had a good sesh splitting up the woods.
Unfortunately, there is no vehicle access into woods. The ground reached saturation point this week! I cant get a tractor up there so just figured that if I split and stack im keeping in line with my targets of selling as seasoned firewood next winter. I also had a steep bank to skid up timber with a tirfor. The tirfor is so slow I just starting processing the timber into billets then launched up the bank. Stacked nice and neat at rideside ready for some frosty days or summer conditions to extract.
Once billets are back at yard I made up a cradle out of pallets that lets me cross cut a cubic metre in a matter of minutes. Hence again why I thought billets were worth a punt.

[The Barrowers]

Hello Paint everything Yellow I have lost lots and also found later Easy!

Also if its stolen less likely to be sold without trace
Makes a expensive purchase less sellable