Chopping wood can be a back-breaking challenge for anyone, even for those who are in excellent shape. However, a lot of the fatigue and stress actually comes from constantly bending over and picking up pieces of chopped wood or having to re-position logs as they move about the stand. Here is a simple trick that can help you to reduce strain while making the process more-efficient as well.
Using a Tire
Find a tire that is big enough to hold at least a few logs at a time, and place it on the ground. Stand the logs up inside the hole and start chopping away. The logs will most-likely break up after a couple of good whacks, and the pieces won’t scatter all over the place. When finished, just collect the wood and fill the tire with more logs. You can easily cut down the time that it takes to chop wood by at least two-thirds, and chances are that you’ll feel a lot better when you’re done.
Why This Works
The common way to chop wood is to find a suitable stand, such as a tree stump or flat rock, to place the logs. This often leaves us with less-than-desirable stability, and the logs often wobble, fall down or fly-off after being struck. Not only that, but it usually takes more strikes before the logs break into smaller pieces as well.
However, sometimes having a stand can be helpful, and you can decide what the better option is based on the situation at hand. Stands elevate the log which makes it easier to chop wood with axes that have short handles. You also don’t need to bend over as much with each chop, and the extra work involved with using a stand may be a better option for those who have bad backs.
Box it In
Another option is to use a stand, but build walls around it that can corral the pieces after being chopped. This won’t prevent the logs from moving about on the stand, but it can help to keep the firewood from flying all over the place and forcing you to collect them when you’re done. The walls don’t need to be all that sturdy either because they are just there to contain the pieces. You can improvise when building them with material that happens to be on hand at the time.
Consider using an ax with a long handle so that you don’t have to bend so low while chopping as well. Longer handles also provide more leverage which translates into greater force being exerted on the logs. This means you can get the job done with less effort and strain when compared to short-handled alternatives.
Try this out for yourself, and see how using an old tire can be helpful when it comes to taking some of the strain out of chopping wood. Finally, try to plan ahead whenever possible so you can chop smaller amounts of wood at a time instead of a whole load. A little bit of exertion over time is usually better on the body than trying to knock out a big project like this at the last minute.
