How to chop wood correctly? This question often arises among owners of houses with fireplace or stove heating. At first glance, the task seems very simple, but there are some nuances. This article will provide detailed instructions on how to safely and quickly cope with such work.
How to chop?
There are two options for chopping wood: using modern electrical and mechanical machines or the traditional manual method. Let's take a closer look at each of the options.
Mechanical splitting
Mass mechanization has reached a sphere such as chopping wood. Now on the market there are many units that will help to split logs quickly and with minimal costs. Modern mechanical tools are characterized by high safety and performance.
Mechanical splitter
The specialization of these machines is the splitting of small chocks (up to 50 centimeters). Manufacturers recommend the use of similar models to owners of wood fireplaces. The mechanical unit copes with cracking even small logs. The resulting small chocks are used to kindle a fireplace.
The mechanism itself must be installed on a flat surface. To put it into operation, you need to raise the handle and put the log between the cleaver and the emphasis.
Below is a swinging frame. It is pressed until the workpiece is cracked. Similar machines are presented on the market in vertical and horizontal models.
Electric and gasoline splitters
They are able to work offline. How to chop wood in this case? Yes, just add new logs. Moreover, electric machines will cope with cutting better than gasoline ones. For household needs, a small unit with a power of 2-3 kW is enough. Of course, it will cost more than a gas splitter, as it has greater energy savings and high performance.
It is also worth paying attention to the piercing part of the unit. If you need a quick harvest of logs, it is better to purchase a model that can split the chock into four parts at once. Its cutting part is made in the shape of a cross.
Hydraulic splitter
There are three types:
If you do not know how to chop wood correctly with a hydraulic device, be sure to read the instructions. But one thing is absolutely certain - the efficiency of the unit will depend on the type of model. The household version of this device rotates using a hydraulic pump. Operating a hydraulic splitter is much safer than other options. After all, it works from the network and has several degrees of protection at once.
The wood splitter functions due to the gas or liquid that is in the press. Compressed fluid exerts strong resistance to the moving surface and puts the entire tool into operation. Under high pressure, the machine moves toward the workpiece and splits it into several parts (their number depends on the type of blade). Thus, logs can be cut endlessly. All human efforts are reduced to putting firewood and cleaning the working surface.
Manual chopping. Log preparation
Ideal firewood for the fireplace and stove has a length of not more than 40-50 centimeters. In addition, short logs will be much easier to chop. Before you start chopping, you need to cut long chocks. The edges should remain even, since then you will have to put firewood on the cut.
Workplace
Splitting logs on the ground is an extra expenditure of energy. A hard surface such as asphalt or concrete is excluded, as it increases the risk of injury. You need to choose a convenient deck for chopping firewood: wide and approximately 15 centimeters in height. Too low or high deck will create a risk of rebounds.
Equipment
Any real man knows how to chop wood and can do it without any protection. And a real man with brains is well aware that bloody corns will not particularly fit into his lifestyle. Therefore, he will take care of the necessary equipment in advance. Gloves will save you from blisters and splinters, glasses will protect your eyes, and sturdy shoes (ideally construction shoes with a steel toe) will protect your fingers and foot from potential exposure to the ax.
Balance
Put the log in the middle of the deck. Moreover, it should be as stable as possible. Indeed, if a heavy cleaver hit passes casually and knocks a badly standing log from the deck, then its flight speed will be impressive.
Competent workflow
It’s not enough to know simply in theory about how to chop wood with an ax correctly. It is important to apply this knowledge during the cutting process. Do not peel a cleaver in different places. It is necessary to find the largest crack on the log and try to drive the blade at the same angle. There is no need to chop in the area of large knots - there is the hardest wood.
Equipment
Anyone who knows how to chop wood correctly with a cleaver puts the technique in first place. After all, work efficiency depends on this. And the less useless and energetic movements, the higher it is. Do not make classic backswings. With your left hand, grab the end of the handle, and with your right hand closer to the blade. Bending your knees slightly, raise the ax above your head, straightening your arms. Slide your right palm down, add a bit of muscular strength, gravity will do most of the work for you.
What to consider?
Try not to miss. Otherwise, the heavy ax will continue to move by inertia and unscrew the wrist. Before starting logging you need to take the right position - stand a little away from the log. In this case, if the ax flies past the block, it will not hit the lower extremities. Well, ask others to keep a distance. "Spectators" should not risk in vain, since during operation the blade itself can break, slip the handle or fly off from the impact of the chock.
How to stack chopped firewood?
Do not place logs directly on the ground. They will absorb moisture from it. Therefore, first, small, long, even trellises made of metal pipes or wooden trunks are laid on the soil. The first row of chopped logs is laid so that the ends of the firewood do not lie on the ground, namely on the trellises. Well, it’s important to raise them at least a few centimeters from the soil surface.
Finally
It remains to talk about one more important point. And it concerns the rules of use and spelling of some words on the topic of this article.
Many people believe that identical at first glance phrases have the same meaning. For example, how to "chop wood" or "chop wood". In fact, both options are acceptable, but they have different meanings. In the first case, it means work with a heavy blunt cleaver, and in the second - a light and sharp ax.
And rightly so: piercing or piercing firewood. Here, from the point of view of spelling rules, the second option is true. It is a participle formed from the verb of the first conjugation "prick".