pace maker and wood splitting.....yes.

Since no one else will venture in...

by AgentX86 - 2019-10-02 22:13:58

The best answer is to ask your EP.  I'm not a lumberjack (and I'm OK) but isn't most of the extreme swing from your right arm (I assume the opposite arm as your PM).  The left arm isn't as extended as a golf swing, I wouldn't think.  With that (though I could be wrong), I doubt that it would be a problem after the first few months but I'd clear it with my EP anyway.  He gets me out of a lot of work.  ;-)

My two penn'orth

by crustyg - 2019-10-03 10:13:00

I can't claim to be quite as tough as AngySparrow, but I used to do a lot of log splitting (with a woodman's axe and not a maul, which shows how green I was!).

It's clear to me that almost all of the effectiveness of the swing to split comes from the lower back - the acceleration there is what generates the effort to split logs in one blow.  Much of the upper body is relatively relaxed.  But we're talking about splitting real logs and not making kindling, correct?

Having been a 120pound weakling at 20, after all this log-splitting, I found I could walk up to the 'Ring the Bell with a mallet' at a fair and hit that bell three times out of three blows.

So I don't think having a PM should inhibit your enthusiasm for manual log-splitting.  Your lower back might not like it for the first few sessions, however...

go for it

by Tracey_E - 2019-10-03 10:22:37

If you are cleared for activity, it's fine. It's no different than a lot of other activities that use the same muscles - weight lifting, swimming, kayaking are all ok. If it feels odd, modify your swing but we will get sore long before the pacer will sustain damage.

logs

by ROBO Pop - 2019-10-04 02:05:13

As with anything we should cautiously approach new endeavors until such time as we are comfortable with our abilities now that we are robotically enhanced. If I may suggest, perhaps you should cut and split a cord to try out your ability first hand. Don't push, just take it at a leisurely pace, but let me know when I can pick up my fireplace wood. Oh and I prefer hardwood like mesquite.

wood splitting

by gben - 2019-10-04 05:29:49

Thanks to all those who contributed a comment.

A whole cord! Wow!

by crustyg - 2019-10-04 05:41:45

I like your style Robo Pop.  A chum and I used to buy a cord of wood from the New Forest and cut and split it ourselves and share.

It was a lot of wood!

splitting wood

by gben - 2019-10-04 08:42:44

...and ROBO COP...I like your humor...seriously!  :=)

Abe Lincol;n would be proud!

by donr - 2019-10-04 22:24:30

Like all things that strike other things, there is a right & wrong way to do it.  Building  framing carpernters can swing  30+ ounce hammers w/ nearly an 18" handle all day & never get tired.  They can also sink a 16d nail in one blow.  They don't get "Tennis Elbow," either.   How do they do it?  They do not apply any force to the hammer when it makes contact w/ the bail.  They build up pretty good kinetic energy through head speed of the hammer and just guide it when it makes contact.   Reduces the shock to the body to nearly zero when contact is made.    Do the same thing w/ the maul.  Build up head speed while swinging; just guide the maul wnen it makes contact.

Donr

wood splitting

by gben - 2019-10-05 11:12:42

excellent suggestion donr; I got to be a senior and never thought of that. will definetly do as you suggest.

take care

gben

More on safely splittng wood

by donr - 2019-10-06 01:21:40

I got my first clue at age 14, when my father built a house  in Miami, FLA.  This was back in an age when Miami averaged several hurricanes per year & building codes were very strict.    He interpreted the code for laying 30 lb felt on the roof to requirre a "Tin Cap" every length of a hammer head in all direc tions.  This required several thousand of them on the roof & he needed cheap labor to put them on.  A tin cap was a thin steel disk about 1.5 inches in diameter & it required a 1 inch galvanized roofing nail to hold it down. 

So, onto the roof I went, hammer, a whole passel of nails & several boxes of tin caps.   In August.  IT wwas hot enough to fry an egg on the black, tar impregnated felt.  I went up early - like 6 AM - worked till about 9 or ten, took a breaak & went baqck up after 4 in the PM.   I cannot recall the number pf days it took, but I got a wicked case of tennis elbow that took months to fully resolve.  TGhe roof lasted many years - decades, to be exact & weathered many hurrricanes successfully.

Over 45 yrs later, I built a house.  By then, I was at least 90 years smarter & figured out WHY my elbow had hurt so much way back in thre day.  I went ot & bought the heaviest  hammer I could comfortably swing (26 oz)  w/ a fiberglass handle to lessen the shpck to the soft tissue & learned to  swing it correctly by observing a real framer at work.   I got to the point I could sink that 16 d nail in three blows.  I missed the nailhead a few thousand times while learning.   I also cut a lot of granite blocks about 2" thick w/ a 3 lb short handle sledge & a steel chisel.   I never got  to the point where I could make a copy of La Pieta, nut I could cut reasonably smooth  inside curves w/o breaking my blanks.  You should see my pile of scrap from going up the learning curve.

Also got pretty darned good with a pick while digging footing trenches  A lot of it after getting my PM. It became a pretty good family joke that when Dad had a roofing job to do, he usually started out by digging a ditch.  Through rock, of course.  

A final note - the problem w/ al this type work is NOT the jaring from the blow, but potential rubbing on the leads by the collar bone on the top rib.     The leads go over the top rib & under the collar bone, so there is a potential for wear on them.  Not unlike using a rowing machine.  If you work deliberately & smoothly, you can lessen the problem.

Have fun, Paul Bunyon!

Donr

cant imagine

by dwelch - 2019-10-14 00:24:44

I cant see why this would be a problem.  Does it pinch the device in the pocket when you do this?  its not like you do this 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, 50+ weeks a year.  Even then...

What happened when you tried it?

PM and wood splitting

by gben - 2019-10-15 07:41:46

Haven't tried it dwelch, that's why I ask for advice. Some say ask you doctor, some say careful, the leads may rub and split.

My doctor says no to golf, can you imagine wood splitting. he (the Doctor) is just playing it safe, isn't that what you and I would do in his shoes? Cost him nothing to say no golf and he's not responsible for anything...so