Simple Machine for Splitting Firewood (Video)

This quick video demonstrates a clever human-powered device that makes splitting firewood easier by setting an ax into a frame to guide it.

Adding a counter weight and a spring allows the log splitter to reset the weighted ax so that gravity does most of the work on each downstroke. Some types of wood would split as easily as shown in the video, while others, like oak, would be harder to split. That said, this seems like a very ingenious and useful design.

Anyone ever seen anything similar to this for splitting firewood?

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