Watch: Old School & Dangerous Wood Splitting Machines

This video shows a fellow splitting kindling wood with an old-fashioned splitter, run by a long belt as so many pieces of farm equipment used to be.

Keep your hands in the right place and you will probably keep them. But reach wrong once and you may never reach again.

Actually, this might be one of the less dangerous splitters I’ve seen.

This next video shows a splitter that’s a good bit more dangerous. It’s basically a large wheel that turns pretty fast with the head of a splitting maul welded to it.

The title calls it a “widow maker,” and the description says “helmets should be worn.”

Yeah, I’m thinking it might take more than helmets to protect a guy when that maul head comes loose. A hunk of wood turns into a sharp-edged projectile.

You won’t catch me using this one.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.