In article fb5b0f45-9bde-4376-8298-
,
says...
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

I still do ours by hand, I use a grenade rather than a splitting axe as
it is done in the barn which has a lowish ceiling, great thing about
doing it by hand is you often don't need to light the fire as it warms
you up nicely!!
Holly is great for burning, Willow is rubbish
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea