I had a comment over on another blog about my wood chopping setup ( http://www.waldeneffect.org which is also a great blog) so I thought I would share since I think it is good. Chopping wood does not take as long as bending over to retrieve pieces you cut, replacing it on the block (or putting it into the wheelbarrow eventually) then bending over to get the next piece to start again…to minimize the bending here is what I do:
– 6lb maul (splitting axe, dull to split not dig in..as designed)
– a chopping block that is a couple inches higher than the wheelbarrow. I prefer mid thigh height…when swinging at a piece of wood i find when it is lower the arc of the head of the 6lb maul is coming towards you and if anything happens or you miss it goes (or is driven) towards your feet. Higher means the arc should be hitting more @ a 90 degree angle.
– the chopping block up next to a smaller woodpile(left in my case). In our case we have a pallet cross-stacked with wood.
– the wheelbarrow up next to the chopping block on the other side of the woodpile ( right in my case)
…so, I grab dry wood to be cut and stack it on top of the stack to the left (right in picture) of the block.. the wood goes on the block…
And when I split it, the piece on the right falls into the wheelbarrow and the piece on the left has nowhere to go due to the wood stack and so it usually stays on the block.
With this chunk the piece fell off the block once…which is much better than bending to pick it up everytime without this setup. Then when done simply reach over and grab another piece of the stack beside the chopping block and continue..without having to bend over. Where the wood falls is usually due to feet positioning during your swing.
…and a sorrowful goodbye to our trellis ivy. It made a miraculous recovery last summer and grew like a banshee..but loki had her eye on it and finally got at it when we were not looking…booourns!
Eager Gridless Beaver 