Hickory log stubbornly hides handles

[AAAndrew]

A friend had to take down a hickory (not a shagbark, but some other species) last February. I was over to visit right after and they let me take a log. It's about 14 inches in diameter and 24" tall (long). As soon as I got it home I stripped off the bark (there were already some bugs making tracks) and it's been sitting out under the eave of my garage on the cement ever since. It got it into my head yesterday to see if I could split it because I'm hoping to make some joiners mallets this summer with my son and thought I could get some great handles out of this.

I got out my old blacksmith-made froe, which some former owner so thoughtfully fitted with a handle into which he burned "Fro" in case I forgot what it was. (Now that I think of it, I think I got it from one of you all in a workshop crawl like 7+ years ago) And I got out my Persuader. This is a quarter of a white oak log. The tree was growing very slowly in the understory of the pine trees out back and when a massive pine went over in a storm, it took the oak tree with it. I saved a couple of logs and split them into quarters and this is from one of the quarters. It's heavy as anything and tougher than an old boot.

I used an ax to score a thin line across the log to help the froe stay in line, and I started whacking the living bejeebus out of the froe. Whack! Whack! Whack! For 15 minutes I hit that metal as hard as I could. The blow was compressing the fibers in the oak log so forcefully they heated up.

After a while, those of you who have tried to split hickory will know where this is going, I tried to see if I could get a split going by focusing just on the corner.

After 30 minutes of whacking away, you can see how far I got in the pictures below.

So, am I forever destined to using non-hickory handles? Should I wait until it dries more? Am I too late? Any suggestions short of dynamite? I don't have a band saw, and frankly it's too big for most. I wanted a riven handle for added strength. Sigh. Foiled by mother nature again.

Here are my massive and intimidating (and well-labeled) tools.

The end grain of the club. Notice how closely together the growth rings are. This is very dense wood.

And yet, all of that effort yielded this.

Even with just focusing on the corner alone, one would think you could make more progress than this pitiful result.

 

[danmart77]

Andrew
You blew it on timing. If you don't split out the pieces(billets) of hickory immediately, its just more work than its worth. The stuff is very hard.

Years ago, I split and shaped pieces to get ready to steam and bend. The parts were for a windsor chair. They did bend very well and they looked good. I let them dry a bit then tried to drill holes for the spindles. (chair in photo is a red oak bow)

​

No way. I had half dozen hickory bows and several dull bits. No holes.

If you want hickory handles do the majority of the work when its green. Truthfully, I use the froe a bunch. In the past I have used split out green wood for the handles. Unfortunately, the green handles tend to dry for a year or two and they shrink in the eye-hole of the froe. I tried making a hickory handle from some dry stock and it seems to work ok.

I have some dry hickory blanks in 1 1/2" square billets. Maybe an alternative?

Dan

 

[Mike Davis]

For that first bust you need a couple wedges and a heavy sledge.

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Chainsaw?

 

[Jeff]

It's about 14 inches in diameter and 24" tall (long).

You chose a hard one to play with and beat the living "he.." out of your tools. Dry hickory is tough stuff and doesn't need the additional strength from riving to make a good handle.

Be nice to your chainsaw, lay the log on its side and rip it lengthwise into several sections as you wish for tool handles. That cut is easier on your saw and riving the handles from those pieces will be easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdImUIyDYio

 

[sawman101]

I agree with Mike. To try and split a 4' long piece of dry hickory, you need much more than a froe. At the least, 2 wedges and a good 10# maul might get the job done better, but the end result may still be much too hard to work with. Might make a good piece of firewood though.

 

[AAAndrew]

I didn't think the log would be that dry in just a couple of months. And online (you can believe everything you read online, right?) people talked about hickory splitting better once dry. Frankly, I think it's now just another wooden anvil for holding up other pieces of wood for riving. Maybe I can turn it into a bench seat or something because I suspect it ain't coming apart now. I'll try it again in a year and see if the wisdom of the internet is anything to rely on. Or I'll get the wedges. I have one wedge. Oh, wait. Is that an excuse to go buy more tools? Hmmm. Gosh honey, I have to use this log from our friends...

 

[Jeff]

Hickory is kind of like sweet gum to split---splintery and locked together like fingers on two hands. It's easier with green wood but after it's dried is a sentence to ####!

 

[LocoWoodWork]

Know anyone with a real wood splitter (Not Harbour Freight), that may work. Short of that... wedges and sledge!

 

[danmart77]

So, am I forever destined to using non-hickory handles? Should I wait until it dries more? Am I too late? Any suggestions short of dynamite?

1. Handles of red or white oak are just as good as hickory for short cylinder handles on a froe. Your choice.

2. Letting it dry is not going to make splitting easier. Yes you are late for working the wedges and froe into the hickory. Even if you break the log down to smaller halves or quarters you're going to struggle with splitting.

3. Someone mentioned the fireplace. Hickory is my favorite wood for the woodstove. It is the best heat wood I have used.

Enjoy your froe and don't fight the wood with it. Its not worth it in the long run. Get some green wood with straight grain and have some fun. You'll feel better and you will develop some skills ... not a bunch of frustration.

I am currently searching for some oak logs for steam bending parts for chairs. If I find some do you want to make your parts with oak? If so send a PM with a phone or email contact.

good luck
Dan