Single-bit axe modified to be a 'Maul'

[CharlesWaugh]

My neighbor had some big trees come down this year and is bringing me the wood cut to length, but in rounds.
So, lots o' splittin'!

I use a fiberglass handled maul for the big stuff, then switch over to a modified single-bit axe for the less-monster stuff.

It's a lot faster and easier with the axe thingy than the big maul, and the round I use as a splitting block doesn't get chewed to bits as fast. And, I don't use the single-bitted axe much, I've got a double-bit that I keep one side razor sharp for actual felling-stuff, and the other side ugly for cutting roots when trenching.

Mauls have a somewhat 'blunt' wedge angle, to spread and split quickly, without getting stuck.
An axe, on the other hand, has a sharper wedge angle to act like a chisel. If I tried to split with the unmodified axe, it would just stick in the endgrain and do very little, other than irritate me.

So, to make the axe angle more blunt, I simply welded on a hunk of 1/4" mild (keeping the tool edge cool with a wet rag) and then ground things down.
I put a small chunk of 1/2x1/2x1/2 under the raised side to keep it from collapsing.

Such an elegant approach!
: - )




I also added some plywood slats around the splittin' round to keep stuff in place while I flail away:

>>> AFTER SPLITTING SOME >>>
It makes for a lot less retrieval work while splitting.

Out here in Boring, we have to keep occupied somehow!
BTW: Our sister city is Dull, Scotland

[Jon]

I also added some plywood slats around the splittin' round to keep stuff in place while I flail away

This is a clever trick. It reminds me of how I switched this past year to a new kindling chopping method, by scaling up the trick of fitting logs inside a tire and chopping them for kindling. I arrange logs upright in a 5-foot diameter circle, then I tighten a ratcheting tow strap around the edge of the circle. Then I chop the logs into kindling, flip over the circle, and chop the other side. You can also do this on a hard surface, which makes it even easier to strike the logs. Because the logs are so tightly bound, there is not enough space for the axe head to break through and strike the asphalt or concrete.

[kiwibloke]

Thanks Charles, but I thought your sister city was Bland in NSW Australia?
You have a small company in Boring that make an outstanding mill Tramming device!

[DIYer]

Thanks CharlesWaugh! We've added your Modified Axe to our Logging category,
as well as to your builder page: CharlesWaugh's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Modified Axe by CharlesWaugh

tags: log splitter

[Frank S]

I grew up calling them an ax without the dead "E" on the end, although it seems that modern dictionaries make no distinction between the 2 spellings touting both as correct when used as either a noun or a verb. Don't know why I even brought it up but the first time I read on this thread about an AXE my first thought was how the heck is a cologne turned into a maul

[bruce.desertrat]

I grew up calling them an ax without the dead "E" on the end, although it seems that modern dictionaries make no distinction between the 2 spellings touting both as correct when used as either a noun or a verb. Don't know why I even brought it up but the first time I read on this thread about an AXE my first thought was how the heck is a cologne turned into a maul

It assaults your sense of smell like one? ��