stave splitting issues

[Lombard]

If you started your wedge at the wider crack that I didn't point an arrow to, then all that has happened is the wood is trying to split to the path of least resistance which is the lateral grain. Keep in mind that the geographic center of the wood is not necessarily going to be the center of growth. A picture being worth a thousand words should explain it better than I can with a bunch of words.

[Lombard]

Critical of my own spelling.

[Bow Nut]

yea that is where I started and I started there again the second go at it and the sucker split all the way accross in a straight line then when I started walking my wedges it just ween off around the core again following a ring. like in the picture

[Buckeye Guy]

Here is the way I do
start a thin wedge at crack in growth center ,then a wedge from  the side of log that will knock the first wedge out as it goes in, then keep driving wedges in from that side to move down along the log , start each new wedge at the point farthest from the last one that you can still see through the log no further a way or you will be starting a new split !
Read this twice then ask Questions
"keep it simple keep it fun"
Guy