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Splitting and Seasoning Firewood
Freshly cut wood can be up to half water by weight, and a fire burning it spends its heat boiling that water off, with smoke and tar in the chimney. Firewood is ready below 20 % moisture. Splitting opens the wood so it dries, and a stack in sun and wind does the rest: softwoods take about 6 to 12 months, hardwoods such as oak and beech 12 to 24.
Test a freshly split face with a moisture meter, never the weathered outside.
Beginner
1 day of work, 6–24 months drying
Instructions
1
1
Saw to length
Saw to length
Measure your firebox and saw the logs into rounds about 5 cm shorter than it. Keep one wide, flat round as a chopping block.
Materials for this step:
Hardwood Logs500 kgTools needed:
Crosscut Saw
Tape Measure2
2
Split on the block
Split on the block
Stand a round on the block, bark side out of any crack. Feet apart, swing the splitting axe down into the crack or across the centre. Split rounds into pieces about 8–15 cm across.
Tools needed:
Splitting Axe
Safety Glasses
Steel-Toe Safety Boots
Leather Work Gloves3
3
Wedge the stubborn ones
Wedge the stubborn ones
For knotty rounds, tap a steel wedge into a crack and drive it with the sledgehammer; add a second wedge along the crack if the first sticks.
Tools needed:
Steel Wedge Set
SledgehammerSafety Glasses4
4
Stack off the ground
Stack off the ground
Lay pallets in a sunny, windy spot. Stack the splits in single rows with gaps between them, ends criss-crossed at each end of the row to hold it up.
Tools needed:
Wooden Pallet5
5
Cover the top only
Cover the top only
Lay a tarp over the top of the stack and weigh it down; leave the sides open so the wind can carry the moisture away.
Tools needed:
Tarp6
6
Test before you burn
Test before you burn
After 6 months for softwood or 12 for hardwood, split a piece from the middle of the stack and push the meter's pins into the fresh face. Below 20 % it is ready; if not, test again in a month.
Tools needed:
Moisture MeterSplitting Axe7
7
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Firewood troubleshooting.
Flow
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Materials
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Tools Required
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