Yep, Lazy Boys begat lazy boys.
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I had a treadmill. I thought i was going to be able to do computer work at the same time. That didnāt work. But it also hurt my knee joints and the belt had issues. I took it apart and kept the motor 
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Yep. Yep.
The bestest tools are powered by sweat. Guided by experience.
Maul the very best Iāve ever used. Never sticks. Used right; mostly splits on one blow. Made by a forge in Germany. Not cheap.
The; I painted white, evolved, steel twist wedge was $50. USD made by a forge in France.
The blue wedge a clone knock off copy made in Taiwan. Both drop-in; do, stick-in. And do the job with the least blows. One-two-three, and done.
The Milwaukee Hackzall made in USA.
My newest; a two handed Sliky brand made in Japan fold-up 14" arbor saw is to the right just cropped out of this picture.
But . . . getting old a fellow has to then get realistic to stay safe and be able to play into another year. And another. And another . . . past dreams of what once was before 55-65 still wearing a younger mans clothes.
Steve unruh
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Friday evening, a woodheated bath and freshly cut toe-nails. Life is good.
Oh, and wifeās baking home made pizza 
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You guys are making me feel old, and I didnāt need any help 
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Steve, your maul is similar to mine in that the wedge surface is a wide triangle. That is what keeps them from sticking. I have been using the mauls for about 40 years and swear by them.
I use the small 11 pound one probably 95% of the time. I bring out the 16 pounder for tough cases. I have wedges somewhere, but I havenāt needed them inā¦ 40 years. The steel handles do add some non-functional weight, but it also makes the maul practically indestructible. I did break a handle once from metal fatigue, but after a quick weld, itās as good as new.
I use the mauls to split about 5 cords a year, so they have done about 200 cords so far, and could go another 200 easily. Canāt say the same for the owner though. 
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Iām not mouthing off to you Marty. Even when I was younger I wasnāt going to make more than a few licks with a 16 pound maul. I pretty much maxed out at a 10 LB sledge. Of course I think velocity makes up for poundage at times. 
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I too use steel handles for some tools but learnt the hard way it shuld be worked with great caution. Got a nasty tendenitis in my wrist once. Hurts like hell and for a long time
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I hear you Tom. I guess Iāve just gotten used to the weight.
Sotz in Ohio manufactured the mauls and called them Monster Mauls.
I started off with the 16 pound maul back in the '80s. When I moved to a new house years later, the owner had left behind the 11 pound one. Sotz called that one the Lady Monster Maul. After using the 16 pound one for years, the 11 pound felt light weight and could handle most everything. (To your point Tom of velocity vs weight). But the heavy one could bust the real hard stuff the light one couldnāt handle. And if you think 16 pounds is heavy, Sotz also made a 24 pound model. They must have some real men (and women) in Ohio!
Edit: I realize I might have offended some by implying you arenāt a real man if you canāt swing an anvil over your head. Sorry, not my intention. Only marveling at the audacity of offering a 24 pound maul. But, as my wife says, if you are in a hole, stop digging.
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Yeah I bought one of those 16 pound Solz MONSTERS before I got the 34 ton hydraulic wood splitters.
I could never get the hang of using it. My height and arms length and it would stroke short and was too dangerous to my toes.
So I had a local welder guy slip on and weld a tube extension handle on to it.
Better. But too slow to lift; drop and use. Swing cycling was out of the question.
And as Kristijan said . . . I ended up with muscles and joints tears taking a lot of months to heal up from.
Woosie me, I guess.
Plus. Gave me good reason to hear a small engine ticking away most of our winter dreary days. Re-splitting down big quarter round chunks one wheel barrel use at a time.
Ha! Ha! Years later WayneK pictured up that heād added the very same AG store hydraulic wood splitter to his wood working up. Cycling time is king.
Steve Unruh
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25 years ago the surveyor office rearranged all the woodlots around our village. They had been passed down and devided between siblings since 1750 - some only 20 feet wide. A pita to find all old stone markers.
During the surveyourās work we werenāt allowed to cut down a single tree. In order to manage heating I cut and split 5 years worth of firewood in advance one single spring. At the time I split everything by hand. I remember having a nerve issue in my neck for years after that.
Since then I required a screw splitter and a few years back father-in-law passed away and a hudraulic splitter fell in our lap. Nowdays I only use axe, mall or vedge whenever a log is too heavy to lift onto the splitter.
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Kamil, looking at these knoty logs l think the saw times had not fully ended yet 
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Those knoty bastards in front are actually roots. They will end up as decorations, my wife suppose 
The rest Is easy job for 5 lb axe. I already split some part of the heap and there is no trouble. I have really small stove, so logs are cut short up to 10". No big deal for fast swing of good iron.
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Is anyone going to observe the eclipse tomorrow? My wifeās uncle has a summer home weāll be visiting to experience totality. Is anyone else looking forward to this phenomena?
Musician Larry Norman once joked, āI told myself āI want to see the eclipseā¦even if itās the last thing I ever seeā¦and it will be.āā
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I donāt think it will be very spectacular where I live, also Iāll be working. I might bring my welding helmet so I can look at it. Supposedly will last almost 2 hours in my zone.
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I follow the teachings of the Navajo in this matter.
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I really wanted to visit friends back home in the Northeast and see the eclipse, but I couldnāt swing it. Back in 2019, there was a total eclipse in Chile and our house was in the path of totality. Of course it was cloudy and I missed seeing most of it. 
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Another use for wood products I didnāt know about.
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How time flies !!!
Driving to the first Argos woodgas event 12 years ago .
Getting ready for the first Argos woodgas event .
Note the big truck load of motor fuel. Thanks to the Lemlers .
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