This is rough guide of How To Split Logs lengthwise using wedges to create lumber for building projects. How to split a log lengthwise using wedges, Take your axe in your left hand and a club in your right hand and, by hammering the head of your axe with the club, drive the blade into the small end of the log far enough to make a crack deep enough to hold the thin edge of your wedges. Make this crack all the way across the end of the log. Put two wedges in the end of the log and drive them until the wood begins to split and crack along the sides of the log; then follow up this crack with other wedges until the log is split in half.

Even with the lubrication provided by the moisture inside the log, getting the wedge all the way down can prove difficult. The first wedge is the hardest. Splitting the wood in sub-zero weather will give you a small advantage in some cases, depending on how interlocked the fibers are.

As you can see, even with two wedges in place, a log may refuse to split. At this point, you need to turn the log over. Create a stress line across the log using your maul that reinforces the current split. If you’re really lucky, you may be able to get the log to finish splitting this way.

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