Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

lostinrates

I drove south today, first tome since ney year.


Feel very blessed we are not flooded. The places just a few villages down Alfie told me were flooded still are. higher land than us, but with a rise and fall between .

tomterm8

What a lovely weather day... best we've had for months.

I've now acquired a hand axe... also known as a hatchet. Am thinking about either getting a felling axe or a splitting maul. A splitting maul is supposed to be better for splitting wood, but not as multifunctional. Not really sure what I'll decide.

Has anyone got an opinion on what's best?

The hand axe is a basic model, but it actually seems to be well made with the correct cutting bevel on the blade. It looks like it will do the job I've got for it well enough, but it is a heavier axe than I thought... 1 1/2 pounds.

I seem to be going through a tool-buying phase

lostinrates

Tom, DH uses a splitting axe. Its by the wood and ready for swinging. Wood dry almost each swing splits so no wasted swings.

I use a wedge and mallet (the pathetic shame). In the time I have done about half a dozen logs DH has done a couple of barrows worth. The point is I FEEL like I'm helping.

lucielle

Have you tried the grenades ( not the blowy up ones)
L

lostinrates

lucielle wrote: »

Have you tried the grenades ( not the blowy up ones)
L

No, are they really good?

tomterm8

LiR, that's interesting. Thanks for the suggestions. How heavy is FiR's splitting axe?

lucielle, I hadn't heard of them, but they do look interesting now I've seen them at work on youtube. I don't think the wood I have to split is particularly difficult but I might be wrong about that... it's field seasoned apple.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

So confetti is one to go for? Good to know.

Well I liked it, and when it tried to run to seed, I just cut it back and away it went again.

lucielle wrote: »

Have you tried the grenades ( not the blowy up ones)
L

I haven't, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has.

At present I just use a long handled splitting axe, but my problem is that there's no hard enough surface here to use it on. I've broken concrete this afternoon trying to smash tulip wood, which is the hardest wood I've encountered, bar none. I have a pile of it, ready to burn, if I could just reduce it to a size that would go in the wood burner!

I have a couple of hand axes too, including a heavy one that looks pretty ancient, but I prefer a bill hook for hedging.

Edit: My splitting axe is this one....Haven't killed it yet!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Expert-09944-Splitting-Fibreglass/dp/B002SCOLTY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394132777&sr=8-2&keywords=splitting+axes

phoebe1989seb

lostinrates wrote: »

I use a wedge and mallet (the pathetic shame). In the time I have done about half a dozen logs DH has done a couple of barrows worth. The point is I FEEL like I'm helping.

Same here LIR - although mine is currently stuck in a rather too large chunk of tree trunk that I should have left for DH Must confess we've not had much time to devote to log/wood chopping here, so have resorted to buying coal for the multi-fuel stove.....feel a bit of a cheat as we still have loads of wood that would be perfectly serviceable if only there were more hours in the day

Weather-wise it started out fairly bright here, but by the time the dogs got their (late) afternoon walk in the local woods it had turned misty and grim. Don't know what it was like here in *wet Wiltshire* yesterday, but in East Anglia it was gorgeous - sunny and unseasonably warm. Whilst our crocus here have finished, but the cherry blossom is yet to put in an appearance, there it was in full flower

lostinrates

Just to give an idea of climate difference over short distance, my crocus have NOT finished.

We do have blossoms on the potted stone fruits we are baby sitting for someone though......oh, and I notices yesterday the first local bud had popped open into a LEAF!!!!!!!!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

re the wood splitting, hubby used to use his long handled axe thing, but in the end we jibbed out and bought one of those electric log splitters from machine mart when they sent use a % money off coupon... hubby was sorry we hadn't bought one sooner...they really are that good.. saves loads of time, and the aches and pains lol..