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Oregon PowerSharp and Slide Hammer Log Splitter

Bob Jackson
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by Bob Jackson

In this project I saw up an oak tree with the Oregon PowerSharp chainsaw system and split logs for firewood with a slide hammer log splitter. Also see the Oregon PowerSharp Review for more information.

Saw a Dead Oak Tree and Split Firewood

This oak tree died last summer giving me another opportunity to put the Oregon PowerSharp system to work and try out a slide-hammer log splitter to make firewood. The oak tree was very tall and located between my house and the neighbors. Too dangerous to take down myself because there was no room to fell it by cutting the trunk and letting it topple over. I requested quotes from several professional tree service companies to drop it in sections so I could do the clean up with my Stihl chain saw equipped with the Oregon Powersharp chain sharpening system. The bids to saw and haul the tree away were in the $700 range. The bids just to drop it in sections so I could saw it up into firewood were in the $200 to $300 range.

Dead Oak Tree between the Houses
Dead Oak Tree between the Houses

The tree service company arrived with two men and a bucket truck and dropped the oak tree in ~5 foot sections for $200. They did a real nice job with no damage to the houses, other trees or backyard fence.

Dead Oak Tree Dropped in Sections by a Tree Service Company
Dead Oak Tree Dropped in Sections by a Tree Service Company

Oregon PowerSharp and Slide Hammer Log Splitter

The Oregon Powersharp 16 inch bar and blade on my Stihl MS-210C chainsaw quickly sawed through the green wood of the recently dead oak. Most of my effort went into cutting up the tangle of branches into manageable pieces.

Chainsawing Oak Logs - Stihl Chainsaw and Oregon PowerSharp
Chainsawing Oak Logs – Stihl Chainsaw and Oregon PowerSharp

Making progress…

Chainsawing an Oak log with the Oregon PowerSharp
Chainsawing an Oak log with the Oregon PowerSharp

Happiness is an always sharp chainsaw blade:

Stihl Chainsaw and Oregon PowerSharp
Stihl Chainsaw and Oregon PowerSharp

With the day getting late and rain in the forecast, I chose to clean up the branches and bag up the leaves. I sawed up the three remaining logs the following weekend.

Oak Tree Cleanup with the Oregon PowerSharp
Oak Tree Cleanup with the Oregon PowerSharp

Slide Hammer Log Splitter

I needed a way to split the logs into manageable pieces for firewood. I knew from past experience that swinging an axe hammer on a splitting wedge was a slow and hard way to split logs. My home is heated by natural gas and I rarely have a need to split firewood as I normally purchase cured firewood for the fireplace. What I needed was an inexpensive, effective and safe way to split the logs. I decided to try a slide hammer manual log splitter:

The slide hammer log splitter worked amazing well! It’s easy on your back because you stand up straight, working the slide hammer with your arms and shoulders.

The hammer actually works faster than shown in this video because the log is bouncing on the soft ground. I normally place the log on short section of stump as shown in the above photo for a firm base. You don’t want to split a log resting directly on rock or a cement patio because you’ll dull the wedge when it punches through the log.

Tip: The hammer works more smoothly with a light coating of grease on the inner shaft.

Thanks for reading,

Bob Jackson

Anaconda Slide Hammer Log SplitterHarbor Freight Tools Manual Log SplitterOregon PowerSharpStihl chainsaw
Bob Jackson
Bob Jackson
Technology product manager by day and a prolific handyman in the evenings and over the weekends. Bob was the founder of the original Handyman How To website and that tradition continues on this site with excellent new handyman content into the future.
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