All,
Now that Marcel has split the scene, I might as well add a few thoughts on wood splitting. First of all, I have heated my house with wood, using an 1820s Scottish cast iron, six-plate stove that I lined with firebricks, etc. Second, I also have a fireplace, mainly for aesthetic reasons. It is decidedly non-tech in design. Third, my brick oven hearth is four feet deep and three wide. Each has different requirements for wood cutting and splitting. The stove has a fairly long and narrow box, so I tend to cut my pieces at about sixteen-seventeen inches. Split hard wood is best for this, once the draft is going nicely. The firebox on my fireplace is not that deep, nor wide, so I cut a bit shorter for it, about fourteen inches. For it, I use both split and limb wood. A maul is probably sufficient for this, unless you encounter a lot of knotty stuff (see below for tools).
The oven is a different story. I like to use a lot of limb wood for it, mostly maple, but also poplar, box elder, birch, beech, locust and white cedar, up to about four to five inches in diameter. I, too, know an arborist, and he occasionally dumps an uncut load in my yard. Because of the size of the hearth, I cut the pieces fairly long, about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet, so the fire burns from the front of the hearth, all the way to the back. That way I get an even burn, and I don't have to mess with the fire very much. With wood this long, though, if the pieces are more than about 6 inches in diameter, they must be split. At this length, you can't do it with a maul, especially with knotty maple limbs or white cedar.
For all three operations, here's a list of the tools I use: a Husqvarna 61 chainsaw with an 18" bar, a splitting maul, an old Stanley carpenter's hatchet (for kindling), an 8 lb. sledgehammer, and two splitting wedges. The wedges are German, made from tempered aluminum, which sounds odd, but this material is used so any peened over chips on the wedge heads fall downwards, rather than jump upwards as steel chips do, hitting you squarely in the eye. I have two wedges, because if one gets jammed, I can free it with the other, working down a split line, leapfrogging. For fun, have a look at
www.leevalley.com for high-end wedges, mauls, axes and hatchets(blackmith made, Swedish, very cool). There are many, many other sources.
The size of the chainsaw has to do with the fact that I also fell trees in winter, and I don't think oven users here need such a beast. A small chain saw (12" bar) would probably be just fine. I don't think much of electric chainsaws, no torque, no power. With any chainsaw, it's very wise to be respectful and careful; they can hurt you in the blink of an eye. Part of this is to learn how to sharpen and adjust the chain, then be vigilant about both. Loose and dull chains contribute to more chainsaw accidents than anything else. Learn about, and use, high quality mix oil and bar oil: Stihl, Husqvarna, Castrol. Follow the maintenance instructions in the saw manual.
Wood, especially green hardwood, splits best in cold weather, about 25 F is fine, because the sap has frozen. Even knarly woods benefit from lower temps.
Right now, I have accumlated a large pile of maple and white cedar up to 10 inches in diameter. When this pile gets just a bit bigger, I will be renting a hydraulic splitter from my local rent-all joint. They're not far away, and they will drop the thing off and pick it up. I can rent it by the half day, too, so I'll get two friends over, buy a box of beer, make some sandwiches and get the job done quickly. There's only so much my back can handle.
Burning seasoned wood is essential. For wood in the round, this can take up to a year if it was cut green, with leaves on. Best to cut in late fall, early winter, when the sap is down in the roots, and your cure time will be cut to six months. Split wood cures much faster than round, about three months, depending on type. Split white cedar, for example, is ready to burn in about eight weeks. Always be on the look-out for standing-dead wood; it's ready to go as soon as you cut it up.
Now it's time for me to split. If it would only stop raining here, I should go cut wood.
Jim