On 27 Jan, 17:26, "Graham Harrison"
wrote:
Having had some trees pruned I now have a pile of logs. Cut to length but
will need splitting before I can burn them in the grate. I have Holly and
Willow wood.

Question is do I split them now or wait until they've cured and then split
them? I'm expecting to have to leave them about 2 years to cure unsplit,
would it speed the process if I split them now?

On a related note, I've looked at local and national hire shop web sites but
can't immediately locate a log splitter. I don't expect to have any more
tree logs coming my way for a good few years so hiring seems to make more
sense then spending something like £200 for a splitter (I know you can do it
by hand and I also know that there are splitters for as little as £150).
I'm in "South Somerset" (between
Yeovil/Frome/Wells/Street/Glastonbury/Radstock and, at a push, Bristol,
Bath, Dorchester, Weymouth.).

As others have said, just find somewhere to get rid of the willow - it
is just about the worst wood for a fire there is. Holly I don't know
about but I can't imagine you've got that much as holly trees are that
much smaller than willows, etc.

I'm going now to play the age game in that I used axe and splitters
until I retired and at that point I bought a hydraulic machine. So if
you are well off retiral age, then go and be a man and do it by
hand !! Having said that the productivity, and lack of exhaustion
(!), using a machine does seriously make it the desirable option.

Rob