My OperaSome balsa wood is easier to split than other wood
Thursday, November 29, 2012 8:10:06 AM
My "default" splitting mode is ordinary fireplace size, that is, a piece of firewood about 4 to 7 inches in diameter and, of course, 18 inches to 2 feet long. That is a normal size of a piece of firewood that is convenient to be burned in most fireplaces and in an iron Franklin stove. I have found, however lijfxliy, that some people who heat their house using a cast-iron stove, prefer larger chunks, since the smaller chunks burn too quickly. Obviously it takes less time to split for those people.
Some wood is easier to split than other wood. Counterintuitively, soft balsa wood, such as pine or weeping willow, is harder to split, since the blade just sinks into it. Harder wood, such as oak, splits more easily. Also, the colder the weather, the easier the wood splits. It's more brittle. There is some wood that is tough and fibrous and seems to just cling together, so each log takes a long time to split. Of course you would think that, since I am just doing it for the exercise, I wouldn't care whether it takes 15 min. to split one or 1 min. However, part of the fun is the immediate satisfaction and reward of seeing the log split into pieces.
http://www.balsafactory.com/navigation.html
Some wood is easier to split than other wood. Counterintuitively, soft balsa wood, such as pine or weeping willow, is harder to split, since the blade just sinks into it. Harder wood, such as oak, splits more easily. Also, the colder the weather, the easier the wood splits. It's more brittle. There is some wood that is tough and fibrous and seems to just cling together, so each log takes a long time to split. Of course you would think that, since I am just doing it for the exercise, I wouldn't care whether it takes 15 min. to split one or 1 min. However, part of the fun is the immediate satisfaction and reward of seeing the log split into pieces.
http://www.balsafactory.com/navigation.html
