Live oaks have a wide, spreading growth habit.
Live oaks are known for having a broad, spreading growth habit. These trees do not grow well in colder regions. A live oak may be cut down if it outgrows the space where it was planted, or if it becomes infested by disease, fungus or insects such as termites. Once live oaks are cut down, the tree's immense size means that the wood must be split to make the tree easier to move. If you plan to reuse the wood in a fireplace or stove, split logs will burn more easily because they have more burnable exposed surfaces. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Cut the tree's limbs and trunk into sections between 1 foot to 3 feet long with an axe or chainsaw to make them easier to carry. According to the University of Missouri Extension, 16 inches is one of the most popular sizes for firewood. Large logs or branches can be lifted onto a sawbuck, which is a cradle made of crisscrossing supports that is designed for cutting logs in half and then shortening them with a saw. To cut a branch on a sawbuck, first saw one-third of the way through the top of the log. Next, saw through the log from the bottom upward to meet the first cut. This will prevent you from binding your blade.
2. Place each log on its end on top of a splitting block. A splitting block is generally a massive piece of dense, treated wood that is buried in the ground so that it sticks above the soil line by 1 inch. The splitting block provides a stable platform for your wood as you split it.
3. Plan the best way to split each log in advance. Determine how large you want to split your live oak logs. If you plan to season and burn your live oak in a stove, you should make each piece smaller than the door of your stove. For an open fireplace, a log should be small enough that one person can handle it easily. Make sure the logs will fit into your fireplace grate. Smaller logs may be divided equally into four sections. Larger logs must have the sides split away so that the core of the log forms a triangle before splitting it in half. In general, do not split logs that are smaller than 3 inches in diameter. Split logs in half that are between 3 and 6 inches. Split logs in four equal pieces if they are between 6 and 12 inches. Split the sides away from a larger log, and then split the inner triangular core in half if the log is larger than 12 inches.
4. Drive the splitting maul down into the end of the log. The weight of the maul, combined with the force of your motion, is often enough to drive the maul completely through the log and split it.
5. Place a wedge into the space made by a splitting maul if the maul is not enough to split the wood. Pound on the back of the wedge with a sledgehammer until the wedge drives the wood apart. This technique works best on large-diameter logs when the maul is not enough to split the log.
Tags: splitting block, between inches, between inches Split, enough split, growth habit, inches Split, Live oaks