GuisBuild's Full Review: Northern Industrial Manual Log Splitter
A log splitter is not the everyday tool that, say, a lathe may be. A lathe is fairly obvious in its necessity - who hasn't longed for one from time-to-time?!? But a log splitter is often associated with flannel-wearing lumberjack types. However, I find myself needing a log splitter thanks to an external, wood-burning furnace we use to save us on our heating bills.
This splitter from Northern Industrial measures about 32" long as purchased and can extend to a maximum length of 44 1/2". In a nutshell it appears to be a long fiberglass stick with a metal wedge on one end. The opposite end has a handle with a soft, rather rubberized material for gripping.
The wedge is intended to get in between a nice crevice in a log to break it apart - presumably in an easier way that a traditional axe and, presumably, with greater ease than simply swinging that same axe. It makes it nicely in certain openings and the wedge is well made similar to a traditional wedge though, compared to wedges I've used, it is smaller.
Observations after trying this one for a bit include:
- why couldn't I take a stick, place a sharp edge on one side and make money selling it?
- the thinness of the stick coupled with the rather small size of the wedge (about 3" at the sharp edge) just doesn't handle all logs
- a tool that is supposed to be saving me some time and making a task easier is just adding an extra step to a process but not really saving me anything
- in spite of its less than helpful nature, it is tough and created for the job it has to do in that regard
This splitter may have some benefit for those trying to save their backs a bit. For some logs it can save an over the head swing or two and perhaps the style will make it easier to store (and find!) in some garages.
I have moved on to a bigger (not manual) splitter because of the volume of wood we go through and the size of logs I deal with. This one is tough but it's just unnecessary and, therefore, it's getting a lower than average rating.
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