How to Split Logs for Firewood | This Old House

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares tools and techniques for quickly, safely splitting firewood. (See below for steps.) SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse Outside, Roger showed Kevin some tools and methods for splitting small logs into firewood. The tools included mauls, wedges, splitting axes, and electric and gas-powered splitters. Steps for How to Split Logs for Firewood: 1. Don t use an ax to split firewood. The narrow head will become stuck in the wood. 2. Short logs can be split into firewood using a steel wedge and sledgehammer, but it s a slow process that requires two people. 3. A maul combines a sledgehammer with a wedge in one tool. It s heavy, but does a good job of splitting logs. 4. A splitting axe is similar to a maul, but it has a narrower, lighter head that easily slices through logs. 5. Always stand the log on a short chopping block, never on the ground. 6. Keep the area around the chopping block clear and free of debris. 7. An electric log splitter provides an easy, quiet way to split logs, but it s rather slow and has limited capacity. 8. Gas-powered log splitters can be rented for splitting virtually any size log. A variety of mauls and splitters are available at home and garden centers. The "splitting axe" that Roger showed was manufactured by Fiskars Brands, Inc. [https://www.fiskars.com/en-us] The 5-ton electric log splitter was supplied by DR Power Equipment [https://www.drpower.com/]. The gas-powered splitter was rented from Power Tool & Equipment Rental Co. About Ask This Old House TV: Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we re ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook. Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House INSIDER to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: https://bit.ly/2GPiYbH Plus, download our FREE app for full-episode streaming to your connected TV, phone or tablet: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/streaming-app Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG http://bit.ly/AskTOHIG For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseWebsite How to Split Logs for Firewood | This Old House https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/