Wood heater ... stumped!

[rsser]

Cast iron internals inc. 2 sacrificial bits. Have replaced them several times but this time the front baffle, rusted and sagging, wasn't gonna come out. It's about 10 cm wide and just has lips at the end. Normally raise one side, push it to the corner and the other side clears and that's that.

Cleared the 'shelves', pushed back the other sacrificial bit, wiggled til I was woggled. No go.

K, sooo, get out the hammer.

Nup. There's a big vertical rib. Too strong.

So it had to be cut. 10cm angle grinder looked best but how in heavens name?

Lie on my back doing it overhead with two hands or kneel in front using one hand?

This was looking ridiculous.

I tried the one handed method. All the PPE. Daughter nearby with vac. to suck up the dust kicked up and to ring 000 if nec. :rolleyes:

Light touch, no rush. Got some way through before running out of depth on the wheel.

OK, get out the hammer again. One thump and she broke.

Halle-bloody-lujah!

Now have a place again to burn my mistakes :D

[artme]

Oh to have bee n the proverbial fly on the wall!!!:D:p

[rsser]

heheh.

GJ's fingerprints are burning as we speak.

That was a long-time-ago dead-end project. The learning was good and the warmth is a bonus.

[bench1holio]

if only there was a pic of you in a vulnerable position with all the ppe sporting that grinder in one hand! :D

[rsser]

Took a pic of the old baffle. Amazing colours.

2nd fire is now roaring, started with wine oak barrel kindling. Lovely smell!

[FenceFurniture]

You prolly sounded much like GJ did in Saturday arvo when he couldn't download pics to his puta. Even I hadn't heard some of those words!

[rsser]

Cam and pic d/l has sometimes provoked rude words from me too. With watchemcallit, RCA jacks?, puter has to be rebooted to get devices talking.

In this case my only rude words were saved for splitting wood with daughter out of hearing.

Cyclone splitter with collar; never been abused til the handle split.

And dammit, much as I can see the point of a collar, replacing the handle is going to be a pox.

So maybe it's a throw-away item.

Anyway, I got some lovely heat out of worm-ridden acacia and oddly, out of old NIP off-cuts. That stuff has been out in all weather for several years with little rot. Amazing timber.

[artme]

No doubt about the acacias Ern; They burn with great heat. Apparently the heat from the windrowed Acacias
that were cleared and burnt on the Darling Downs approached that of the sun!!!

[Handyjack]

Always found I could get at least one piece of wood from a block splitter - the handle.

I have burnt a few over the years. Don't you hate it :(( when someone else uses the splitter and it comes back with a damaged handle.:((:oo::((. Bad enough when it brakes when you are using it.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Always found I could get at least one piece of wood from a block splitter - the handle.

I have burnt a few over the years. Don't you hate it :(( when someone else uses the splitter and it comes back with a damaged handle.:((:oo::((. Bad enough when it brakes when you are using it.

Ain't that the truth? I have an infallible method for detecting cracks in splitter/axe handles. Unfortunately, it involves intense pain in the web of my thumb. :(:((

[Mutawintji]

I split firewood weekly ... I bought a Fisker Block Splitter.

Handle guaranteed for life, blade for 25 years. Best axe I have ever used, super-light, short haft so you can easily increase blade impact speed. Splits excellently, non-tiring.

You can almost carve the billet while splitting .... some new kinda technology in the blade .. almost appears as a plastic/metal fusion.

The handle is nylon/epoxy.

Bunnings sell them, about twice the price of a normal block splitter. Finnish made.

hope this helps ... greg

[rsser]

Thanks for the tip Greg.

That brand rings a faint bell. I'll go down and have a squiz.

Don't mind paying double if it lasts.

[rsser]

Shmick.

Bunnies only stocks the X27.

Have ordered an X25 from Amazon. $72 shipped in 2 weeks.

So it'll be wedgies wedges til then but oh my:

Helicoidal Splitting Wedge SAFE-T / Felling and Wood Splitting Tools / Products | Fiskars Australia (http://eng-au.fiskars.com/content/view/full/777)

I normally only use a wedge on crotch pieces and sometimes it takes two to free the first :rolleyes:

[Mutawintji]

Thats not really a wedge ...... I think its a worm-hole from outta space ... haaa

I have the X25 blocksplitter and the X15Axe ... (both bunnings)

But don't be put off by these smaller sizes, as I said the increase in acceleration makes up for the lesser mass ...

The X15 is amazing and its has saved me (when I have been out bush bashing a little over the top)

cool bananas ... Greg

[rsser]

Well you're right Greg.

The X25 is distinctly smaller and lighter than the old Cyclone job but is working well.

Might toss it in the camper trailer for the next outback trip.

[springwater]

started with wine oak barrel kindling. Lovely smell!
:oo: Surely not, but yeah, it'd be a nice smell especially when wiggling your sock covered toes. Still don't know why you couldn't get the baffle off/out, no matter, although your proceedure did sound familier except for the vertical rib and the angle grinder approach :?

Good to know your set for winter :2tsup:

[rsser]

The oak barrel was a nature strip find (there are lots of older Italian migrants around where I live who make their own wine). I then cut it into two to make planters for tomatoes. They didn't excel at that. Maybe it was the sulphur still in the wood; dunno.

This project was on the 'tuit' list for 3 years, and as I fly north for the winter wasn't a priority.

But I'm glad it's sorted given the change in the weather. It's hard to beat staring at the coals at night; beats TV by a country mile.

The heater must be 25 years old now and it's amazing that replacement bits can still be sourced. It's a full cast iron firebox, not steel and firebricks. The replacement baffle takes all the punishment that a hot fire can dish out which is why it's a sacrificial piece.

Going through the long pile of accumulated wood has been illuminating. Much of it was stuff picked up for turning that didn't pass muster. Several short logs had boring figure and awkward dimensions; didn't know the species but it acquired some spekky spalting sitting uncovered in the back lane. Which as an aside is interesting as some claim that spalting is a reaction of a live tree to a fungal attack.

Got lots of acacia (and yes Arthur, it burns damn hot) and lots of cypress. Some stuff an arborist described as stringybark willow which is good but often difficult for turning due to the bark inclusions. A couple of NIP turning failures and a heap of dunno wood.

[rsser]

Now have a bit more experience with the Fiskars X25.Always good to take some more time after the first flush of ownership.First up: for such a lightweight splitter it goes well. Have just despatched some 60cm lengths of fairly straight grained but dense euc and while it took some work at a guess with the old Cyclone I would've given up and got the wedges out.2nd: the coating on the blade has of course worn off. Maybe that's our timbers.3rd: acc to o/s forum posts, for those who like to sharpen it takes a couple of times to get down to hard steel.If I was buying again the X27 would be my choice, just for the extra oomph.