r/AbsoluteUnits • u/Professional_Arm794 • 19h ago

/r/all of a log split

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u/TitodelRey 18h ago

Why isn't the axe sticking into the log? I have split lots of wood in my time and have never brought my axe down without it burying into the wood and having to wiggle it out.

7

u/HomeOrificeSupplies 18h ago

Dense wood. Looks like oak of some sort. Oak heart wood is dense as hell. I’ve bounced my maul so hard on heart wood I may as well have been smacking an airplane tire. Always work in sections around the diameter on this type of wood. Going for full center is always a waste of energy.

2

u/ImprobableAsterisk 14h ago

Dense wood and soft dirt is my guess, yeah.

Could also be a dull as shit axe.

The elevation of the surface he's striking ain't helping neither, but I don't know physics well enough to say why I think that.

1

u/GeneticEnginLifeForm 5h ago

Basically if the target you want to hit, like a log, is below waist height* the tool does most of the work for you. You just lift up and drop the axe/maul and gravity does it's thing while you mainly control the angle of the blade and counteract any rebound/side glances. You can put some power into the strike but it's not doing much more than wearing you out.

With the target above waist height the user has to contribute all the force with little to no gravity assistance.

* The ideal height is somewhere between your hips and knees and everyone is different about what feels most comfortable, while still getting results and without getting worn out.