For future reference, a lot of times if you simply ask, people who have to cut trees down will gladly let someone else haul it off for them. Sometimes they'll even let you know if they're removing other trees from the property or even give you help cutting it further and loading it. There's basically everything to potentially gain and very little to lose.
I was kind of pumping up the "private property" angle for dramatic effect. That stretch of road has basically no houses. When there's a homeowner, I ask.
@RexKrueger I live 2 hours away from my property, and at 8:51 pm this evening I got a photo from a hidden camera. It shows a blue Ram pickup with chainsaw in the back 200 yards into the property. GAME warden and sheriff are in route. Had they asked, I have 2 recently felled red oaks they would have been welcome to. I appreciate the "private property angle" as humor, but it's is BAD.
Yes, this has been my experience. After hurricanes people will have fallen trees on their property and they have to *pay* to get rid of them. The less they have to get rid of the less they have to pay to get rid of it so a lot of people are happy to have someone come and haul it away, and a lot of them are also super happy that it's going to a 'traditional' wood worker that's going to turn it into something rather than some beautiful tree ending up in some wood chipper.
@@clemoniii I agree; unless you know what the property owner intended for the tree it is bad just to take it. They could be intending to come back themselves with a trailer and winch, they may want the tree left to block vehicle access or they want the tree to rot in place to improve the forest.
I am glad to hear that you have found this book to be very informative and helpful for your woodworking project th-cam.com/users/postUgkxbnOKZBE4evMO5V2vroHeCjq6d_MV6wJO It sounds like you are well prepared and confident to build furniture for your house. I commend you and your friend for your enthusiasm and willingness to learn new things from this book. I hope you enjoy your woodworking journey and create some beautiful pieces.
Pro tip, put on a high vis vest or something the local Forrest service might wear, a weirdo talking to logs on the side oof a road might draw attention but someone just doing their job blends in
A mate and I collect fallen trees for firewood from the side of the road and we have all the safety gear mostly because it's a good idea, but it also makes you look like a legitimate contractor.
@@ivancho5854 a polyester jacket with a name [Possibly yours. How would they know?] on the chest and a clipboard will render you invisible to 85% of the population. I unloaded 6 large plastic bins full of “Computer Parts” at the Indianapolis Convention center 30 minutes before Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the 1st Lady were to take the stage not 75’ from where I left these bins. I wasn’t even ID’d, nobody glanced inside the boxes, and since the person I was meeting was running late, I was told to just slide them under a folding table with a long tablecloth on it - you be wouldn’t even know they were there. I parked in the loading zone and was gone in 15 minutes. I have no hostile intent, but it was eye opening how weak security was everywhere except the front doors. The longest bit was trying to dodge all the blacked out Suburbans as I was leaving - it seriously took longer to navigate the parking lot to leave than everything else combined. This was, obviously, pre-9/11, but /security theater aside, not a lot has changed since then. Cheers!
@@joewhite4564 what’s an atium? Quick Google search says, “Atium is the metallic form of the god Ruin, and is considered one of the two God metals, the other being Lerasium.” Is that what you’re going for or did I rabbit hole after a simple typo? Cheers!
My next-door neighbor lost his yuge Russian Olive tree in a near-tornado. He mostly chopped it all up to be hauled away, and during the dead of night I grabbed a 5', ~10" dia section which has now been drying in my back porch since the Bush administration. No plans to split it via wedges, but you've inspired me to bandsaw it up into useable planks. I know there's probably nails innit sumwers, but hopefully my metal detector wand will let me avoid them. Thanks Rex!
One tip I picked up doing landscape photography, wear a bright flourescent vest and hard hat when doing any stuff on a public road or outdoors in general and you don't want people paying too much attention to you. People will see the vest & hardhat and automatically assume you are part of a work crew who is there to do a dirty, sweaty but essential job and leave you to it. When I was carrying my large format camera and tripod all along highways and park trails, everyone thought I was a surveyor working for the local municipality.
I've got a cool little trick to not get weird looks, wear a safety vest and hard hat! It really works with anything beside the road, they'll simply think you're from the town municipality.
How do you keep the oak from splitting like crazy? I've messed with a handful of green woods and oak seems to self distruct compared to pine, cedar, hickory, etc...
@@DavidMartin-jr8nd You have to air dry it slowly, paint the raw log endgrain with a thick layer of glue, and leave them to dry for a few weeks before you start working with it. If woodturning; turn it 80% of the way, then paint the end grain with glue, and leave it for a year or so to dry before you complete it.
1:30 "This is just for firewood." No! That's perfect for bowls! You have enough there for six massive bowls and several handles, candlesticks, and rolling pins. Wood turners unite!!
Every time we pass recently cut timber like this I look longingly out the car window. My wife says at least it’s better than me staring at some other woman, but she still feels a little cheated on. 😮🤣
On the topic of hitting the back of hatchets: Rex is correct. Hitting the back, or the pole of the hatchet, with a wooden mallet is totally fine. You can even get away with gently tapping on the back of it with a metal hammer. I, and I'm sure others can relate here, have seen TONS of hatchets at antique stores over the years that were clearly used as essentially wedges with handles. THAT is where you begin to get eye deformation and cracking. Also, ALWAYS a good idea to wear earpro doing this. Just throw in some simple earplugs. You may feel silly, but being able to hear is NOT!
Having spent much of my young life splitting wood for firewood, this was great entertainment. I laughed, I cried, it was everything I have come to expect from a Rex Krueger video and more. 😂 In some seriousness, you really did inspire me to get started woodworking. I am still collecting tools and cleaning out a side of my garage, but little by little I will get there. Thanks Rex!
I once splitted a 2,60 m long red beech log with three steel and four wooden wedges. Damn, that was fun. I started in the forrest to hew and scrub plane the two beams i needed. Otherwise i wouldnt able to carry the wood out of the forrest. This two suckers bended in the following year like tentacles but i got two 6x12 cm beams out of them. The St. Andrews Cross is now the Highlight in my playroom.
I think it's pretty valuable to show the learning process on this stuff. So while it's not exactly the same as your usual content, I think both styles are useful.
Good stuff. I have done a bit of this on my own property and a couple lessons I learned. Having more wedges is like having more clamps. If you see a bunch of bugs inside stay away from the log. On that same topic, there are some states that don't allow bringing wood in from another state. This is to help prevent bringing in things that are not desirable like insects. Just something to keep in mind if you find wood you want to bring home, in another state. Now to make some gluts and a beetle. Thank Rex.
Hi rex what native US, Washington state specifically, wood would be appropriate for making those wooden gluts? And the caveman sledge, forgot what you called it. Have a bunch of felled trees in similar condition on my grandfathers property it would be great to do something with. Mainly largish 3 feet plus diameter douglas fir and some cedars as well as several big old ponderosa pine. Thanks for all your vids btw I started woodworking because after watching you it didnt seem out of reach $wise. Got a decent collection of tools now in just 3 months trading art my art prints. Including 4 hundred year old planes I've got up and singing.
You can use anything nearly; the harder and more resistant to splitting the better. Doug fir, elm, oak, etc. I have made them from whatever I had on hand, usually a bit of branch or other smaller piece. Chamfer the striking surface to keep the edges from splitting out. Not everything splits well as a species; elm for example. I don't know how Doug fir would be; it can be knotty but probably ok in small sections. (This is where careful bucking can pay off.)
A few pieces of advice about "harvesting" wood from the side of the road: -be as up front about it as possible, nobody's gonna question you if you're loading stuff in with zero subtlety in broad daylight, they'll just think that whatever you're doing is legal, unless it's actually the owner of that particular log. also don't bother with splitting it there, that's suspicious, just get another guy to help you load the logs in whole if at all possible. -be careful if there is several logs in one location, some wood harvesting companies will put GPS trackers in their wood to track down thieves. -NEVER "harvest" what some might want to use as firewood. i know a bunch of people who will drill holes and stuff rifle round into pieces of firewood to screw over thieves, so be careful. -please get a file and chamfer your steel wedges, if the steel starts rolling over, get a file and remove that because that shit is dangerous.
Thank you so much for your videos! Seeing an expert fumble and figure things out gives me hope as a woodworking rookie. Also, seeing you go out there in the wild and hack that trunk open was quite an adventure! Keep up the good work!
nice video. I use a slightly different technique when splitting logs here in the UK. Mostly I do this with ash when I'm splitting out ash to make archery bows and helps make things a little more predictable. What I do is use my axe to mark a line across the pith, but also down the length of the log as well. then starting at the corner rather than the face of the log. I will knock the axe in and start opening it up. Then pop a glut in behind it. Move along a bit and knock the axe in again. Then leapfrog another glut in, this will ease off the first one. Rinse and repeat. This works really well on ash and I'm working with lengths at least 7 foot
If you haven't seen it, Peter Follansbee has a series of YT videos that cover converting a green, red oak log into a very elaborately carved Elizabethan(?) style cabinet. He covers converting the log to boards, drying, and working the wood into beautiful furniture with some very simple tools.
@@RexKrueger give Nate a fist bump from the internet, then! Also, love your content, and I've got a big ol' log in my shop right now that I picked off the side of the road.
most of my bowl turning is done initially with green wood. A decent chainsaw is something you should seriously consider. it can do a lot of things for you, notably, finish an incomplete cut. (as a bowl turner, i also use it to split a log in half prior to turning) If you're going to do more splitting, more wedges of course, and a BUCKET full of gluts. Really can't have too many. if you find you've driven all your wedges into the log, you probably need more. Most bowl turners who turn from green swear by AnchorSeal. It's specifically meant to seal the endgrain of green logs. It can be a little pricey, but a little goes a VERY long way. The cheaper alternative is get a 2-quart jar, toss in a full block of canning wax, and pour in a 1 quart container of mineral spirits. (never tried it with denatured alcohol, but i've heard that works as well) the wax will start to desolve, and you may have to shake or stir it to hurry it along. once it's disolved, you can paint with it and it can be used to coat the end grain. I've also heard people get decent results with latex paint. Give it a good coat on the end grain, come back a day later and give it a second one. it's something that is often left over and would otherwise go to waste.
Hey Rex, the process you demonstrated is called Riving. The ancient Vikings used this process to cut the strakes for their long ships as ripping saws hadn't been invented yet. I did this to some Ash trees I had to cut down. I split 8 ft logs into quarters. It was really neat to hear that loud crack and see the log fall in two.
No, the process i demonstrated was called splitting. Riving is the further processing of wood into smaller components using leverage from a tool like a froe as well as a riving break. If you're just cleaving a log into halves and quarters with wedges, then you're splitting.
When I want green wood, I use my 25 ton wood splitter. Last winter I bought a truck load of Walnut from a charity that had been cut into firewood rounds. I spilt it into boards on my wood splitter. I probably have 75 brd feet of boards about 24 inches long and anywhere from 4 inches to 10 inches wide. I've sealed and stickered the boards and letting it dry. You did a good tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
Been working with wood for a long time and have never heard of green wood working. I had to google it to see what it was. I normally fell a tree, mill the main trunk it into various thick slabs and either air or kiln dry it. I like character in the grain so knots, crotch and burl wood is a welcoming sight. Plain,rift and quarter sawn also change the appearance. Green wood isnt normally useable for me but with thst said it depends on the species sd some are vry stable while some are not. just came across this channel and learned a little.
Hey Rex, when you harvest green wood a little longer be sure to listen to the wood. It will tell you where to split it. This is something you can not learn in a book, but by doing it. All wood talk to you differently, but the same. Enjoy the experience of learning this craft. I sure did.❤
I love your guerrilla tactics for obtaining green wood. I respect your dedication. Where im from in GA, if someone cuts it and leaves it by road, its fair game, and they’ll probably be grateful you took it so they dont have to deal with it.
In the 1980's I met an old man that wove baskets out of white oak. He would split the green wood into thin strips and keep them in a bucket of water while weaving the basket.
It's fun seeing you getting into something at the same time as me, when so far I've very much been following your lead. I've been unemployed for a bit and doing a lot of collection like this, though just from people listing felled trees on Facebook. Things I noticed: - reaching into the partial split is something to do with extreme caution, I think particularly with gluts (just a guess). If whatever's holding the split open slips, you're a part of the tree now. - it helps to set your wedges at the 1/3 and 2/3 diameter marks, either side of the pith - have a lot of wedges/gluts and start leapfrogging them down the side of the split as soon as you can - Right now I forgoe a maul/beedle entirely and use a pair of froe clubs (side-grain) in two sizes - if you're getting greenwood, crab apple is a relatively common ornamental tree with insanely hard wood that would be great for gluts.
Buying a truck was the best decision I made for getting free wood. I just got about half a truckload of cherry, walnut, and white oak. Two cherry boards were 15.5 inches wide and 6.5 feet long. Beautiful wood.
Great video, great channel. Splitting wood is hot and sweaty work. When tired and soaked with sweat splitting in the winter I’m still grateful it’s not in the southern humid summer heat. But free may be worth the work. A crabby neighbor wouldn’t let me harvest a fallen huge branch and split tree. The tree company was happy to let me haul some off. They even used their loader to drop it on the street where I could just roll it onto an equipment dolly to push/pull home. His red face, head about to explode, peeping through the window was priceless. Everyone has their best end sealing formula. A gallon of expired glue on the close out shelf for one dollar into the bucket of two gallons leftover exterior latex I’ll never use was nearly free and has been working for me. Best line ever went something like - I really am trainable.
I love FOG wood. The processing and storing for later use is the not-so-fun part. Another great place to find project wood is your local yard waste facility. We have a place that’s open one weekend a month during the warmer months. I’ve collected cherry, birch, walnut, even some red and yellow elm. Sometimes burl wood too.
Oh an make longer gluts, helps to be able to hold them whilst you hammer them in plus they’re easier to get out an make the angle less steep, thats why they bounced out a few times. These skills no one is born knowing we all had to re discover them. But you did a fantastic job Rex, you’ll have some brilliant free wood to use! Harvesting green wood is ugly, sweaty and messy hard work.
I'm not sure where you are, but here in Michigan, fallen wood on the roadside is free for the taking. I used the roadside 'trash' wood for years to cover over half of my home heating costs. Most of the junk wood I used for heating, but I've also found white oak, cherry, sassafras (under rated in my opinion) along with various other 'fancy' woods. that saved me a lot of cash compared to buying the same wood.
Thanks for keeping your commentary as you split this. I know I say the same types of things as I figure out projects. I am glad to know I am not the only one to talks to themselves like that.
I've made gluts many times in the past, the best hardwood for these are locust, either black, white, or yellow locust will do. The locust is so hard once it's dried out you can't hardly drive a nail into it without bending it over.
I've never done any green woodwork, but it seems very interesting and a wonderful change from the more traditional projects that I make with kiln dried wood. I suppose I have been spoiled by surfaced hardwoods and power tools!
Well done, Rex! Though I needed to take a couple of ibuprofen for my back after simply watching you hammer in those wedges... As usual, you really convey an appreciation for those forgotten skills people developed when they didn't have the luxury of power tools.
Nice video, it's hard work splitting logs but very satisfying and you have to love the cracks and pops that tell you exactly how well the splitting is going!
Dear Rex , I have been a subscriber for some time . I enjoyed this video . This reminds me of splitting fire wood with my Dad . Cuts 18 to 20 inches long. Most were 24 to 32 inches in diameter . We split it with axes . Clear red oak splits quiet easy . Ah ..... the good old days !
Firewood? Turn some small bowl/platters, pen blanks by the hundreds? Something artislike? Knobs and handles for small tools? Let the wood speak to you, Rex.
I've been thinking of doing this too for a long time, and gave it a shot. The hardware store wedge was not just dull at the end, but actually blunt. The bevel at the tip had an angle of ~45 degrees on each side, and the was edge 1.5 mm thick at the THINNEST part. I re-profiled the bevel but not enough, as I absolutely could not set it into the fresh honey locust log. Had to get it chainsawed partway then I was easily able to set the wedge in the fat kerf, lol. I was able to set an axe into the wood (without chainsaw), just to see if I could, but I didn't want to pound on it. Anyway, so that bit at 3:25 about how you had to use the other wedge seems like a big deal to me. I've previously split really small logs using junky 1-inch chisels, which set really easily. I think I must work on that wedge much more if it'll bite that first inch into the wood... don't know if that's the best way but I saw a person who smiths "starting wedges" that are sharp with a relatively narrow bevel, so I think grinding my wedge more will work.
Been there and done that. Nice that you're showing your learning process: most of viewers are learning too, and knowing that mistakes sometimes happen, things get a little dodgy, you reexamine and then move forward with new perspective. My green woodworking has been focused on specific projects and length is the big problem: when you go out an cut things down, you're looking first ot how long a piece you're going to need. At the lumber yard, 8 and 12 foot lengths are not a big deal, but in the forrest, splitting and transporting, that's a very big deal. My Rubo Workbench from tree project is nearing completion, and moving the 6+ foot lengths of tree about we undoubtedly the hardest part.
With all the storms in Houston this year I've been able to snag a few oak logs, and yesterday I got a chunk of hackberry from a friend's tree that fell in the Houston derecho. I wish I could have taken the bigger logs, but I just don't have the means or muscle.
17:23 "I'm no expert at figuring it out." Your title card begs to differ. Also expected to hear it after the intro of this one. Good video and deserves to be branded with the rest, even if you don't feel it meets preparation of your usual output.
Your attempt at being stealth is hilarious! I knew a guy who spotted burls in crown land (government) . He wore a fluorescent vest and green shirt, parked his pick up in plain site and proceeded to harvest. RCMP drove by and stopped to ask what he was doing. He gave them a story about being with “ forestry” collecting samples for disease prevention. He obviously sounded convincing because the guy wished him a nice day. 😂😂😂 Bold, but effective
Thanks for the tips. The yellow glue trick should help me out tremendously. I've been harvesting and drying some odd bits of wood for projects with the splitting being my main issue. As for sketchy grain and turning projects I made a rather complicated device that lets me mount an angle grinder with a aggressive wood compatible carbide blade onto my wood lathe. I run the lathe as slow as she can go and it eats the outer surface into a round blank in seconds regardless of where the branches were. Can make about 20 blank round logs in an hour which I stockpile for projects which combined with the glue tip should give me even better results.
I have an old back injury. On a good day I would easily pick that up and put it in the trunk. You correctly wedged the log where it wanted to split. Had you taken your "log" home, you could have easily split it up with a maul, striking those same existing splits. My grandfather made lots of tool handles. He used long straight sections of white ash, that he split as you did with wedges. These 1/4 sections were put away to dry, for shaping later. You look so pro in your shop Rex lol. Be careful, there are folk who consider their firewood to be valuable too. If I caught someone helping themselves to my pile of maple and beech, bucked but not yet split firewood, well, it would not go well. If someone came and respectfully asked for a piece or few, I would give them some. If you lived near me I could have loaned you a vintage chainsaw or two. I also have access to as much green wood as I could cut and move. I am considering getting a simple chainsaw mill; more for construction materials, but with a proper chain I could rough cut out some hardwood for other projects.
I have several big dangerous locus trees behind my shop, that I need to remove. One almost crushed my shop in a storm a couple years ago; power lines caught the tree :-) They are very hard wood apparently. Makes good hot firewood I have been told. I had considered using parts of them for construction and firewood, but now I am wondering if this wood is any good for wood working projects???
I was thinking of the same thing a couple of months ago as I was walking with my daughter through the woods down the street from my house. Looking at all the down trees, oak trees, and maple trees .thanks for the video on this rex I'm going to do this ps That oak you cut on the side of the road was on my property.😂
Hola! 🖐Hope you are doing well. This is by far one of my top two or three videos of yours. This was so cool! 😎Not because you were "looking over your shoulder" the entire time but because every day I drive to work and back home, I am scanning the road looking for anything that can be salvaged. It's thrilling when you do find something, at least it is for me. Can't wait to see what you turn these pieces into. Take care and have a good one, Adios!👊
Rex, thanks for the nice video, it was very entertaining. Be careful, that’s how Matt Cremona started. Before you know it you’ll be building a saw mill and trailer!
I found what looks like a nice local mill close to me. Cant wait to go see what they have, I promised my wife a sturdy working/craft table. I was going to laminate plywood, but thats so ugly. I like red oak myself, good luck with your project.
At least in my opinion, this is one of the best video's you have done for a while. I have done what you are doing many times. You should have come by the house and taken me with you (LOL) I could have helped. One suggestion I would make is you need a couple of long gluts. About the same angle on the business end, but about twice as long. They can be helpful. Green woodwork is highly under estimated. I have been following you for several years and like what you do. Keep it up. Thanks.
i only did it a couple times (mostly wet apple) but i definitely made more progress hitting the wedge with fewer but much faster blows than light tapping. fast impact just shoots the wedge in, gentle blows are mostly lost in recoil and spring back
Im not a big guy being 5'9, 170lbs at but a 3 foot piece would be just slightly awkward to move for me, i use too carry 6ft to 10ft pieces of wood out of the woods on my shoulders that were 18 to 24 inches thick, now those were heavy and tiring to carry the 2 to 3 miles! But unfortunately that was 6 plus years ago and now i miss going to the family cottage
If you want to do some morally/legally grey stuff in broad daylight or somewhere you shouldn't be in future, consider investing in a hi-vis, a hard hat, and a couple of cones. Also an old transistor radio would be good. It keeps you safer when working near the road like this, and people are SUPER blind to public works like that. You could literally be digging a hole in a public road and people would let you do it unquestioningly.
I don't think you had to worry about the private property bit as there's usually an easement on either side of the road. I honestly liked this one Rex, it brought back memories of breaking down firewood ( some of which I wish I had today because we had all kinds ). The wedges and the sledge used to sit in my Radio Flyer so when I needed to get firewood I could just roll out and roll back with a load of wood. I had a chance recently to get some massive logs and I had spoken to the property owner and she was more than happy to let me come get them after work, so on my way home I was excited and when I got there, they were all gone and she said someone stole them from her yard along with a section of her fence.
Seems like you need to add a one-person crosscut timber saw to your tool kit, in addition to more wedges. Sounds easy but of course you need the kit for sharpening and setting them, probably log dogs (good blacksmithing project to practice upset square corners), log "jack" (dunno if that's the right name; I deal with smaller diameters so a couple roadside-discarded xmas tree stands and "Y" branches work well.) Not to mention log tongs, pickaroon, etc. By the way, I assume you've seen @chopwithchris 's videos? He does this with even bigger logs.
Def an older video but first seen for me. I've done this plenty of times and you can make some really nice benches and stools out of dead wood lying around. Good video.
Rex, word of advice for using wood splitting wedges. If you sharpen them, make leather covers for them and wax the inside with canners wax to help stave off rust. I had one I had hand sharpened to carving axe sharp and ended up needing an emergency visit because i didnt have a cover for it.
"Never do this thing." 5 minutes later, "Okay, I said I wouldn't do the thing. But I'm gonna do the thing." ROTFL. I've picked up a bunch of fallen birch by the side of minor highways for spoon carving, it's nice and bright and easy to see. I carried a saw in the trunk all last summer. But this oak is a nice find, great demonstration on splitting it!
For future reference, a lot of times if you simply ask, people who have to cut trees down will gladly let someone else haul it off for them. Sometimes they'll even let you know if they're removing other trees from the property or even give you help cutting it further and loading it. There's basically everything to potentially gain and very little to lose.
I was kind of pumping up the "private property" angle for dramatic effect. That stretch of road has basically no houses. When there's a homeowner, I ask.
@RexKrueger I live 2 hours away from my property, and at 8:51 pm this evening I got a photo from a hidden camera. It shows a blue Ram pickup with chainsaw in the back 200 yards into the property. GAME warden and sheriff are in route. Had they asked, I have 2 recently felled red oaks they would have been welcome to. I appreciate the "private property angle" as humor, but it's is BAD.
Yes, this has been my experience. After hurricanes people will have fallen trees on their property and they have to *pay* to get rid of them. The less they have to get rid of the less they have to pay to get rid of it so a lot of people are happy to have someone come and haul it away, and a lot of them are also super happy that it's going to a 'traditional' wood worker that's going to turn it into something rather than some beautiful tree ending up in some wood chipper.
I totally agree with clemonii. I hope the joke gets a sequel, which the forest owner in question can also laugh about.
@@clemoniii I agree; unless you know what the property owner intended for the tree it is bad just to take it. They could be intending to come back themselves with a trailer and winch, they may want the tree left to block vehicle access or they want the tree to rot in place to improve the forest.
I am glad to hear that you have found this book to be very informative and helpful for your woodworking project th-cam.com/users/postUgkxbnOKZBE4evMO5V2vroHeCjq6d_MV6wJO It sounds like you are well prepared and confident to build furniture for your house. I commend you and your friend for your enthusiasm and willingness to learn new things from this book. I hope you enjoy your woodworking journey and create some beautiful pieces.
Pro tip, put on a high vis vest or something the local Forrest service might wear, a weirdo talking to logs on the side oof a road might draw attention but someone just doing their job blends in
100% - just don a high-vis vest and even better a hard hat with some stickers on it. No one gonna ask you for a thing.
A mate and I collect fallen trees for firewood from the side of the road and we have all the safety gear mostly because it's a good idea, but it also makes you look like a legitimate contractor.
that's such a good fucking idea .
What if actual Forest service guys show up, then? :D
Lowkey keep one in my car for this reason 😂
I've done similar harvesting, and let me tell you, A high vis vest and a hardhat go a looooong way to heading off any questions people might have.
If you can get a white truck with yellow lights on top, you will be untouchable
@@mikes-mz5xbDon't forget the clipboard! 🤣
@@ivancho5854 a polyester jacket with a name [Possibly yours. How would they know?] on the chest and a clipboard will render you invisible to 85% of the population.
I unloaded 6 large plastic bins full of “Computer Parts” at the Indianapolis Convention center 30 minutes before Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the 1st Lady were to take the stage not 75’ from where I left these bins. I wasn’t even ID’d, nobody glanced inside the boxes, and since the person I was meeting was running late, I was told to just slide them under a folding table with a long tablecloth on it - you be wouldn’t even know they were there.
I parked in the loading zone and was gone in 15 minutes. I have no hostile intent, but it was eye opening how weak security was everywhere except the front doors. The longest bit was trying to dodge all the blacked out Suburbans as I was leaving - it seriously took longer to navigate the parking lot to leave than everything else combined.
This was, obviously, pre-9/11, but /security theater aside, not a lot has changed since then.
Cheers!
Better to find a hi viz work shirt,it has the same effect and is far cooler to work in.
Beat me to it!
I was just mocked for standing in the middle of the living room watching a guy chop wood for 20 minutes. 😂 What do they know?
Well, I was *splitting* wood, so they don't know what they're talking about.
My wife makes fun of me all the time but yet she watches cleaning and organization videos…. What a hypocrite 😅😂😂😂
Well hey there Joe! fancy seeing you here!
@@andrewkrahn2629 aw man! They let anyone in here! Where is my atium? 😉
@@joewhite4564 what’s an atium? Quick Google search says, “Atium is the metallic form of the god Ruin, and is considered one of the two God metals, the other being Lerasium.” Is that what you’re going for or did I rabbit hole after a simple typo?
Cheers!
My next-door neighbor lost his yuge Russian Olive tree in a near-tornado. He mostly chopped it all up to be hauled away, and during the dead of night I grabbed a 5', ~10" dia section which has now been drying in my back porch since the Bush administration. No plans to split it via wedges, but you've inspired me to bandsaw it up into useable planks. I know there's probably nails innit sumwers, but hopefully my metal detector wand will let me avoid them.
Thanks Rex!
One tip I picked up doing landscape photography, wear a bright flourescent vest and hard hat when doing any stuff on a public road or outdoors in general and you don't want people paying too much attention to you.
People will see the vest & hardhat and automatically assume you are part of a work crew who is there to do a dirty, sweaty but essential job and leave you to it.
When I was carrying my large format camera and tripod all along highways and park trails, everyone thought I was a surveyor working for the local municipality.
I've got a cool little trick to not get weird looks, wear a safety vest and hard hat! It really works with anything beside the road, they'll simply think you're from the town municipality.
Works not so good when you use a axe and a handsaw to fell trees.
But all Nighbors know me already.
Hey, Rex. That piece, if cut into bowl blanks, is a dream for a wood turner. It doesn't *have* to be firewood.
That was my exact thought. Get it on the lathe, and make the most of the grain around where those branches were attached.
How do you keep the oak from splitting like crazy? I've messed with a handful of green woods and oak seems to self distruct compared to pine, cedar, hickory, etc...
My thoughts exactly, that last piece he split off and left, With the twisting grain, I expected him to bring home to let dry!
Even rough-sawing it, seasoning it, and using it to make boxes would have been a good use for it.
@@DavidMartin-jr8nd
You have to air dry it slowly, paint the raw log endgrain with a thick layer of glue, and leave them to dry for a few weeks before you start working with it. If woodturning; turn it 80% of the way, then paint the end grain with glue, and leave it for a year or so to dry before you complete it.
1:30 "This is just for firewood." No! That's perfect for bowls! You have enough there for six massive bowls and several handles, candlesticks, and rolling pins. Wood turners unite!!
Yup. I’m with you there.
I wouldn't like oak rolling pin, since the tannins leach out. Found out the bad way 😅
@borisv.6503 Yeah, oak is no good for kitchenware because of the open grain. Sucks in water and harbors bacteria.
Every time we pass recently cut timber like this I look longingly out the car window. My wife says at least it’s better than me staring at some other woman, but she still feels a little cheated on. 😮🤣
😂
On the topic of hitting the back of hatchets: Rex is correct. Hitting the back, or the pole of the hatchet, with a wooden mallet is totally fine. You can even get away with gently tapping on the back of it with a metal hammer. I, and I'm sure others can relate here, have seen TONS of hatchets at antique stores over the years that were clearly used as essentially wedges with handles. THAT is where you begin to get eye deformation and cracking.
Also, ALWAYS a good idea to wear earpro doing this. Just throw in some simple earplugs. You may feel silly, but being able to hear is NOT!
Having spent much of my young life splitting wood for firewood, this was great entertainment. I laughed, I cried, it was everything I have come to expect from a Rex Krueger video and more. 😂
In some seriousness, you really did inspire me to get started woodworking. I am still collecting tools and cleaning out a side of my garage, but little by little I will get there. Thanks Rex!
I once splitted a 2,60 m long red beech log with three steel and four wooden wedges. Damn, that was fun. I started in the forrest to hew and scrub plane the two beams i needed. Otherwise i wouldnt able to carry the wood out of the forrest. This two suckers bended in the following year like tentacles but i got two 6x12 cm beams out of them.
The St. Andrews Cross is now the Highlight in my playroom.
I think it's pretty valuable to show the learning process on this stuff. So while it's not exactly the same as your usual content, I think both styles are useful.
Good stuff. I have done a bit of this on my own property and a couple lessons I learned. Having more wedges is like having more clamps. If you see a bunch of bugs inside stay away from the log. On that same topic, there are some states that don't allow bringing wood in from another state. This is to help prevent bringing in things that are not desirable like insects. Just something to keep in mind if you find wood you want to bring home, in another state. Now to make some gluts and a beetle. Thank Rex.
All good tips. This was mere miles from home, so no problems with transport.
Hi rex what native US, Washington state specifically, wood would be appropriate for making those wooden gluts? And the caveman sledge, forgot what you called it. Have a bunch of felled trees in similar condition on my grandfathers property it would be great to do something with. Mainly largish 3 feet plus diameter douglas fir and some cedars as well as several big old ponderosa pine.
Thanks for all your vids btw I started woodworking because after watching you it didnt seem out of reach $wise. Got a decent collection of tools now in just 3 months trading art my art prints. Including 4 hundred year old planes I've got up and singing.
You can use anything nearly; the harder and more resistant to splitting the better. Doug fir, elm, oak, etc. I have made them from whatever I had on hand, usually a bit of branch or other smaller piece. Chamfer the striking surface to keep the edges from splitting out.
Not everything splits well as a species; elm for example. I don't know how Doug fir would be; it can be knotty but probably ok in small sections. (This is where careful bucking can pay off.)
@@wilcooley thanks for the tips. Il give douglas for a try, got some suitable branches.
Isn't this technically stealing?
A few pieces of advice about "harvesting" wood from the side of the road:
-be as up front about it as possible, nobody's gonna question you if you're loading stuff in with zero subtlety in broad daylight, they'll just think that whatever you're doing is legal, unless it's actually the owner of that particular log. also don't bother with splitting it there, that's suspicious, just get another guy to help you load the logs in whole if at all possible.
-be careful if there is several logs in one location, some wood harvesting companies will put GPS trackers in their wood to track down thieves.
-NEVER "harvest" what some might want to use as firewood. i know a bunch of people who will drill holes and stuff rifle round into pieces of firewood to screw over thieves, so be careful.
-please get a file and chamfer your steel wedges, if the steel starts rolling over, get a file and remove that because that shit is dangerous.
Thank you so much for your videos! Seeing an expert fumble and figure things out gives me hope as a woodworking rookie. Also, seeing you go out there in the wild and hack that trunk open was quite an adventure!
Keep up the good work!
Philosopher. Teacher. Joiner. Poacher. 😎
Love you, Rex 😂Take that stuff!
nice video. I use a slightly different technique when splitting logs here in the UK. Mostly I do this with ash when I'm splitting out ash to make archery bows and helps make things a little more predictable. What I do is use my axe to mark a line across the pith, but also down the length of the log as well. then starting at the corner rather than the face of the log. I will knock the axe in and start opening it up. Then pop a glut in behind it. Move along a bit and knock the axe in again. Then leapfrog another glut in, this will ease off the first one. Rinse and repeat. This works really well on ash and I'm working with lengths at least 7 foot
Well most of the ash in states is basically dead
If you haven't seen it, Peter Follansbee has a series of YT videos that cover converting a green, red oak log into a very elaborately carved Elizabethan(?) style cabinet. He covers converting the log to boards, drying, and working the wood into beautiful furniture with some very simple tools.
Peter is a hero of mine. I interviewed him for my Patrons last year.
8:42 that was a BEAUTIFULLY smooth transition. Whoever edits these, very nice touch!
That's Nate. He's a real pro and I'm lucky he's on the team.
@@RexKrueger give Nate a fist bump from the internet, then! Also, love your content, and I've got a big ol' log in my shop right now that I picked off the side of the road.
most of my bowl turning is done initially with green wood. A decent chainsaw is something you should seriously consider. it can do a lot of things for you, notably, finish an incomplete cut. (as a bowl turner, i also use it to split a log in half prior to turning)
If you're going to do more splitting, more wedges of course, and a BUCKET full of gluts. Really can't have too many. if you find you've driven all your wedges into the log, you probably need more.
Most bowl turners who turn from green swear by AnchorSeal. It's specifically meant to seal the endgrain of green logs. It can be a little pricey, but a little goes a VERY long way. The cheaper alternative is get a 2-quart jar, toss in a full block of canning wax, and pour in a 1 quart container of mineral spirits. (never tried it with denatured alcohol, but i've heard that works as well) the wax will start to desolve, and you may have to shake or stir it to hurry it along. once it's disolved, you can paint with it and it can be used to coat the end grain.
I've also heard people get decent results with latex paint. Give it a good coat on the end grain, come back a day later and give it a second one. it's something that is often left over and would otherwise go to waste.
Hey Rex, the process you demonstrated is called Riving. The ancient Vikings used this process to cut the strakes for their long ships as ripping saws hadn't been invented yet. I did this to some Ash trees I had to cut down. I split 8 ft logs into quarters. It was really neat to hear that loud crack and see the log fall in two.
No, the process i demonstrated was called splitting. Riving is the further processing of wood into smaller components using leverage from a tool like a froe as well as a riving break. If you're just cleaving a log into halves and quarters with wedges, then you're splitting.
When I want green wood, I use my 25 ton wood splitter. Last winter I bought a truck load of Walnut from a charity that had been cut into firewood rounds. I spilt it into boards on my wood splitter. I probably have 75 brd feet of boards about 24 inches long and anywhere from 4 inches to 10 inches wide. I've sealed and stickered the boards and letting it dry. You did a good tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
Love the green wood harvest!
Been working with wood for a long time and have never heard of green wood working. I had to google it to see what it was. I normally fell a tree, mill the main trunk it into various thick slabs and either air or kiln dry it. I like character in the grain so knots, crotch and burl wood is a welcoming sight. Plain,rift and quarter sawn also change the appearance. Green wood isnt normally useable for me but with thst said it depends on the species sd some are vry stable while some are not. just came across this channel and learned a little.
Hey Rex, when you harvest green wood a little longer be sure to listen to the wood. It will tell you where to split it. This is something you can not learn in a book, but by doing it. All wood talk to you differently, but the same. Enjoy the experience of learning this craft. I sure did.❤
I used to know a Mr. Clevenger when I lived in Gustine, CA.
The sounds of the wood splitting is so calming.
I love your guerrilla tactics for obtaining green wood. I respect your dedication.
Where im from in GA, if someone cuts it and leaves it by road, its fair game, and they’ll probably be grateful you took it so they dont have to deal with it.
In the 1980's I met an old man that wove baskets out of white oak. He would split the green wood into thin strips and keep them in a bucket of water while weaving the basket.
It's fun seeing you getting into something at the same time as me, when so far I've very much been following your lead. I've been unemployed for a bit and doing a lot of collection like this, though just from people listing felled trees on Facebook.
Things I noticed:
- reaching into the partial split is something to do with extreme caution, I think particularly with gluts (just a guess). If whatever's holding the split open slips, you're a part of the tree now.
- it helps to set your wedges at the 1/3 and 2/3 diameter marks, either side of the pith
- have a lot of wedges/gluts and start leapfrogging them down the side of the split as soon as you can
- Right now I forgoe a maul/beedle entirely and use a pair of froe clubs (side-grain) in two sizes
- if you're getting greenwood, crab apple is a relatively common ornamental tree with insanely hard wood that would be great for gluts.
Scrumping for timber! Or is it roadkill trees?
Buying a truck was the best decision I made for getting free wood. I just got about half a truckload of cherry, walnut, and white oak. Two cherry boards were 15.5 inches wide and 6.5 feet long. Beautiful wood.
Best gym in the world!!! I know you are tall guy but watch your back try work straight. Great video!!
really really helpful video!
Great video, great channel. Splitting wood is hot and sweaty work. When tired and soaked with sweat splitting in the winter I’m still grateful it’s not in the southern humid summer heat. But free may be worth the work.
A crabby neighbor wouldn’t let me harvest a fallen huge branch and split tree. The tree company was happy to let me haul some off. They even used their loader to drop it on the street where I could just roll it onto an equipment dolly to push/pull home. His red face, head about to explode, peeping through the window was priceless.
Everyone has their best end sealing formula. A gallon of expired glue on the close out shelf for one dollar into the bucket of two gallons leftover exterior latex I’ll never use was nearly free and has been working for me.
Best line ever went something like - I really am trainable.
When I was younger I worked with a colleague who was prone to talk about the glut- piece, thank you for showing me what he was referring to.
Came for the woodworking. Stayed for the guerrilla wood harvesting.
I love FOG wood. The processing and storing for later use is the not-so-fun part. Another great place to find project wood is your local yard waste facility. We have a place that’s open one weekend a month during the warmer months. I’ve collected cherry, birch, walnut, even some red and yellow elm. Sometimes burl wood too.
I've definitely had to do that "Nothing to see here" dance as I walk past my neighbors with a hand cart to go pick up a log
I transported a > 15' maple branch from several blocks over via little red wagon. I'm in Portland, nobody looks at me like I'm an oddity.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, thank you. The more I watch you and some of the other hand tool folk the better my electricity bill looks!
Oh an make longer gluts, helps to be able to hold them whilst you hammer them in plus they’re easier to get out an make the angle less steep, thats why they bounced out a few times. These skills no one is born knowing we all had to re discover them. But you did a fantastic job Rex, you’ll have some brilliant free wood to use! Harvesting green wood is ugly, sweaty and messy hard work.
I'm not sure where you are, but here in Michigan, fallen wood on the roadside is free for the taking. I used the roadside 'trash' wood for years to cover over half of my home heating costs. Most of the junk wood I used for heating, but I've also found white oak, cherry, sassafras (under rated in my opinion) along with various other 'fancy' woods. that saved me a lot of cash compared to buying the same wood.
Thanks for keeping your commentary as you split this. I know I say the same types of things as I figure out projects. I am glad to know I am not the only one to talks to themselves like that.
That's one reason I don't record sound as I work. I talk to myself pretty much constantly, and when it gets recorded, it's embarrassing.
Long time watcher - seeing you "figure it out" live was really entertaining. Thanks.
I've made gluts many times in the past, the best hardwood for these are locust, either black, white, or yellow locust will do. The locust is so hard once it's dried out you can't hardly drive a nail into it without bending it over.
After thought, the crackling sounds just like a camp fires 🔥. Reminds me of my early Boy Scout days. ❤
I've never done any green woodwork, but it seems very interesting and a wonderful change from the more traditional projects that I make with kiln dried wood. I suppose I have been spoiled by surfaced hardwoods and power tools!
Well done, Rex! Though I needed to take a couple of ibuprofen for my back after simply watching you hammer in those wedges... As usual, you really convey an appreciation for those forgotten skills people developed when they didn't have the luxury of power tools.
I use a long whacking stick with my hatchet to split wood just like this. Never had a problem with the wood deforming the metal.
I have watched rex for 4,years 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Rex, love this. Both educational and made me laugh out loud every time a car drove past! Great work.
Nice video, it's hard work splitting logs but very satisfying and you have to love the cracks and pops that tell you exactly how well the splitting is going!
Great commentary Rex! Thank you!
Dear Rex ,
I have been a subscriber for some time . I enjoyed this video . This reminds me of splitting fire wood with my Dad . Cuts 18 to 20 inches long. Most were 24 to 32 inches in diameter . We split it with axes . Clear red oak splits quiet easy . Ah ..... the good old days !
Firewood? Turn some small bowl/platters, pen blanks by the hundreds? Something artislike? Knobs and handles for small tools?
Let the wood speak to you, Rex.
I've been thinking of doing this too for a long time, and gave it a shot. The hardware store wedge was not just dull at the end, but actually blunt. The bevel at the tip had an angle of ~45 degrees on each side, and the was edge 1.5 mm thick at the THINNEST part. I re-profiled the bevel but not enough, as I absolutely could not set it into the fresh honey locust log. Had to get it chainsawed partway then I was easily able to set the wedge in the fat kerf, lol. I was able to set an axe into the wood (without chainsaw), just to see if I could, but I didn't want to pound on it.
Anyway, so that bit at 3:25 about how you had to use the other wedge seems like a big deal to me. I've previously split really small logs using junky 1-inch chisels, which set really easily. I think I must work on that wedge much more if it'll bite that first inch into the wood... don't know if that's the best way but I saw a person who smiths "starting wedges" that are sharp with a relatively narrow bevel, so I think grinding my wedge more will work.
Been there and done that. Nice that you're showing your learning process: most of viewers are learning too, and knowing that mistakes sometimes happen, things get a little dodgy, you reexamine and then move forward with new perspective. My green woodworking has been focused on specific projects and length is the big problem: when you go out an cut things down, you're looking first ot how long a piece you're going to need. At the lumber yard, 8 and 12 foot lengths are not a big deal, but in the forrest, splitting and transporting, that's a very big deal. My Rubo Workbench from tree project is nearing completion, and moving the 6+ foot lengths of tree about we undoubtedly the hardest part.
With all the storms in Houston this year I've been able to snag a few oak logs, and yesterday I got a chunk of hackberry from a friend's tree that fell in the Houston derecho. I wish I could have taken the bigger logs, but I just don't have the means or muscle.
17:23 "I'm no expert at figuring it out."
Your title card begs to differ. Also expected to hear it after the intro of this one. Good video and deserves to be branded with the rest, even if you don't feel it meets preparation of your usual output.
Your attempt at being stealth is hilarious! I knew a guy who spotted burls in crown land (government) . He wore a fluorescent vest and green shirt, parked his pick up in plain site and proceeded to harvest. RCMP drove by and stopped to ask what he was doing. He gave them a story about being with “ forestry” collecting samples for disease prevention. He obviously sounded convincing because the guy wished him a nice day. 😂😂😂 Bold, but effective
A long steel crowbar would be a good addition to your splitting kit.
This video makes the cost of lumber seem more reasonable!
Thanks for the tips. The yellow glue trick should help me out tremendously. I've been harvesting and drying some odd bits of wood for projects with the splitting being my main issue. As for sketchy grain and turning projects I made a rather complicated device that lets me mount an angle grinder with a aggressive wood compatible carbide blade onto my wood lathe. I run the lathe as slow as she can go and it eats the outer surface into a round blank in seconds regardless of where the branches were. Can make about 20 blank round logs in an hour which I stockpile for projects which combined with the glue tip should give me even better results.
Enjoyed watching you teach by learning yourself.
I have an old back injury. On a good day I would easily pick that up and put it in the trunk. You correctly wedged the log where it wanted to split. Had you taken your "log" home, you could have easily split it up with a maul, striking those same existing splits.
My grandfather made lots of tool handles. He used long straight sections of white ash, that he split as you did with wedges. These 1/4 sections were put away to dry, for shaping later.
You look so pro in your shop Rex lol. Be careful, there are folk who consider their firewood to be valuable too. If I caught someone helping themselves to my pile of maple and beech, bucked but not yet split firewood, well, it would not go well. If someone came and respectfully asked for a piece or few, I would give them some. If you lived near me I could have loaned you a vintage chainsaw or two. I also have access to as much green wood as I could cut and move. I am considering getting a simple chainsaw mill; more for construction materials, but with a proper chain I could rough cut out some hardwood for other projects.
I have several big dangerous locus trees behind my shop, that I need to remove. One almost crushed my shop in a storm a couple years ago; power lines caught the tree :-)
They are very hard wood apparently. Makes good hot firewood I have been told. I had considered using parts of them for construction and firewood, but now I am wondering if this wood is any good for wood working projects???
I was thinking of the same thing a couple of months ago as I was walking with my daughter through the woods down the street from my house. Looking at all the down trees, oak trees, and maple trees .thanks for the video on this rex I'm going to do this ps That oak you cut on the side of the road was on my property.😂
Hola! 🖐Hope you are doing well. This is by far one of my top two or three videos of yours. This was so cool! 😎Not because you were "looking over your shoulder" the entire time but because every day I drive to work and back home, I am scanning the road looking for anything that can be salvaged. It's thrilling when you do find something, at least it is for me. Can't wait to see what you turn these pieces into. Take care and have a good one, Adios!👊
Excellent presentation and research.
What a blast! Quickly becoming my favorite channel, Rex!
Very fun and informative video Rex. I love the structured content but the "figuring it out" stuff is just as enjoyable too.
Last Summer I harvested some logs behind my parents holidayhouse. It was harder work than expected but very rewarding.
Rex, thanks for the nice video, it was very entertaining. Be careful, that’s how Matt Cremona started. Before you know it you’ll be building a saw mill and trailer!
splitting logs is a great workout and incredibly satisfying
I found what looks like a nice local mill close to me. Cant wait to go see what they have, I promised my wife a sturdy working/craft table. I was going to laminate plywood, but thats so ugly. I like red oak myself, good luck with your project.
This was a great educational experience. I learned alot!
That first piece had a nice ladle in it, you just got to learn to make best use of rack piece. Curves are great for spoon carvers.
At least in my opinion, this is one of the best video's you have done for a while. I have done what you are doing many times. You should have come by the house and taken me with you (LOL) I could have helped. One suggestion I would make is you need a couple of long gluts. About the same angle on the business end, but about twice as long. They can be helpful. Green woodwork is highly under estimated. I have been following you for several years and like what you do. Keep it up. Thanks.
i only did it a couple times (mostly wet apple) but i definitely made more progress hitting the wedge with fewer but much faster blows than light tapping.
fast impact just shoots the wedge in, gentle blows are mostly lost in recoil and spring back
Just wear a hi Viz vest, have a flashing orange light on your truck, nobody will query you.
Guys, he lives for the thrill.
Rex, this was great, I could watch a hundred videos of you doing this outdoor work & salvaging!
Sorry to say, I don't think I'd survive that! But thanks for the compliment.
Love the variety of content! Generally, if I follow someone, and they think something is interesting enough to make a video about, I agree.
Another thing is there's usually several feet/yards that are still public on the sides of roads.
Also that may have been done by public works and not a land owner
love all your videos but really enjoyed this one. Seeing people learn and pivot is always fun to see
This was fun! You could take us along 'wood scavenging' more often! :)
I enjoyed watching this more than I would have thought
So glad I am not the only one driving around neighborhoods picking up cut down limbs and trees….
Now all you need is a hitch and trailer, and a 14" bandsaw.
Im not a big guy being 5'9, 170lbs at but a 3 foot piece would be just slightly awkward to move for me, i use too carry 6ft to 10ft pieces of wood out of the woods on my shoulders that were 18 to 24 inches thick, now those were heavy and tiring to carry the 2 to 3 miles! But unfortunately that was 6 plus years ago and now i miss going to the family cottage
If you want to do some morally/legally grey stuff in broad daylight or somewhere you shouldn't be in future, consider investing in a hi-vis, a hard hat, and a couple of cones. Also an old transistor radio would be good.
It keeps you safer when working near the road like this, and people are SUPER blind to public works like that. You could literally be digging a hole in a public road and people would let you do it unquestioningly.
Rex Krueger teaches you both an exercise class and a woodworking class. Don't forget the protein shake!
I think you might find the "firewood" makes excellent turning blanks, if you are feeling the need to do some bowl or box turning.
Was thinking the same thing. Those slanted grains make for interesting bowls.
I don't think you had to worry about the private property bit as there's usually an easement on either side of the road. I honestly liked this one Rex, it brought back memories of breaking down firewood ( some of which I wish I had today because we had all kinds ). The wedges and the sledge used to sit in my Radio Flyer so when I needed to get firewood I could just roll out and roll back with a load of wood. I had a chance recently to get some massive logs and I had spoken to the property owner and she was more than happy to let me come get them after work, so on my way home I was excited and when I got there, they were all gone and she said someone stole them from her yard along with a section of her fence.
Seems like you need to add a one-person crosscut timber saw to your tool kit, in addition to more wedges. Sounds easy but of course you need the kit for sharpening and setting them, probably log dogs (good blacksmithing project to practice upset square corners), log "jack" (dunno if that's the right name; I deal with smaller diameters so a couple roadside-discarded xmas tree stands and "Y" branches work well.)
Not to mention log tongs, pickaroon, etc.
By the way, I assume you've seen @chopwithchris 's videos? He does this with even bigger logs.
Abe 'Rail Splitter' Lincoln would be proud of youRex.
Def an older video but first seen for me. I've done this plenty of times and you can make some really nice benches and stools out of dead wood lying around. Good video.
Rex, word of advice for using wood splitting wedges. If you sharpen them, make leather covers for them and wax the inside with canners wax to help stave off rust. I had one I had hand sharpened to carving axe sharp and ended up needing an emergency visit because i didnt have a cover for it.
"Never do this thing." 5 minutes later, "Okay, I said I wouldn't do the thing. But I'm gonna do the thing." ROTFL. I've picked up a bunch of fallen birch by the side of minor highways for spoon carving, it's nice and bright and easy to see. I carried a saw in the trunk all last summer. But this oak is a nice find, great demonstration on splitting it!