Tractors and wood! Show your pics

Mike68 · Oct 23, 2020

Oldpath05 said:
I'm trying to figure out where the little tractor is, and I think that woodshed is copyrighted by VT people..........

I call it my little tractor only because the JD750 does not have a lot of lift capacity at the loader. Only about 800 lbs or less.

I got it used with 350 hours on it when we bought our house 12 years ago. I would not trade it in for a newer one. It runs like a champ. Just wish it had power steering.

Mike68 · Oct 23, 2020

Oldpath05 said:
I have a strange question, whats wrong with just hitting the lever after the wood is split........... When I split wood I have to be right there anyways to re-split or throw wood on trailer, auto cycle sounds like a accident waiting to happen. I prefer just auto return......

I like the auto forward feature. Once the wood starts splitting I can grab the next piece for the splitter or grab some splits to stack on the pile.

It is like working with two people. When my wife helped me, before the auto cycle was installed, she would work the lever and I would move the wood.

You do need to be very aware that the wedge continues to move forward when you let go of the handle. I have developed good habits over the years of always handling the wood from the middle. Never the ends. Not sure I would be comfortable loaning the splitter to a friend.

Timberwolf the auto cycle as a upgrade a few years back. They can be finicky since the auto forward detention is pressure activated. In the winter you need to let the hydraulic fluid to warm up. Otherwise the pressure from cold fluid would trip the detent and the ram would retract.

Two levers are involved. Both lock forward with a detent. Once the ram reaches the PSI set point on the forward stroke the lever releases and the second lever allows the ram to return until it is fully returned, then that detent releases.

Gordon Gould · Oct 23, 2020

John_Mc said:
That's a good question. I tried to set up my splitter to do a short cycle when splitting 12" logs for a friends small wood stove. I thought if it was pressure related, I could put in a block to keep the cylinder from retracting all the way before the autostop kicked it off (I don't have a true auto-cycle. Mine just automatically stops at the end of the retraction stroke.) It should work, but I never could get it to (not that I spent much time on it). I would think the trip release has to be pressure activated: the valve has no idea where in the range of motion the cylinder is.

Back in 2013 when I first got my splitter I had the same idea. I put a block on the beam so the wedge hit it on the return to leave me an 18" opening rather than 26". It worked for a short while but then the bolt connecting the ram to the wedge tore out of the wedge because it couldn't take the backwards force. I had to get the wedge repaired a welding shop. Going forward the end of the ram pushed directly on the wedge so the bolt connection had no force on it.

I was just learning to weld and had a gas welder back then and was looking for little projects. I made an adjustable lever system that would throw the retract lever to stop before the ram was fully retracted. It's a little crude but works fine. Kind of a fun thing to build. You actually save a lot of time not having to wait for the ram to travel that extra distance.

You have to have quick eyes but t you can see the lever getting flicked to stop when the wedge it the stop bar.

SplitterReturnStop - YouTube

Revturbo9967 · Oct 23, 2020

Oldpath05 said:
I have a strange question, whats wrong with just hitting the lever after the wood is split........... When I split wood I have to be right there anyways to re-split or throw wood on trailer, auto cycle sounds like a accident waiting to happen. I prefer just auto return......

this is what i do. im not interested in speed if it involves taking a hand off

Loaderman22 · Oct 23, 2020

Mike68 said:
I call it my little tractor only because the JD750 does not have a lot of lift capacity at the loader. Only about 800 lbs or less.

I got it used with 350 hours on it when we bought our house 12 years ago. I would not trade it in for a newer one. It runs like a champ. Just wish it had power steering.

Well it is a little JD...

mine just before I bought it, its got 7k hours on it, spent its entire life on a bee farm. She's a tad noisy, but good power.

hunt4570 · Oct 23, 2020

Loaderman22 said:
Well, you load it up with all the tools you're gonna need for the day, rakes, shovels, saws, chains, fluids. Then you throw it on the ole 3pt hitch and run it down into the woods. As you're on your way, you snap the rake in half on the first low branch, then lose the chain because you forgot to close & pin the tailgate shut. Then the creaking and moaning of the steel frame gives you a migraine, then you get to where you're gonna work and realize you forgot your axe, so you drive all the way back to the barn to get it. Now you're fed up with it so you take it back off the tractor but when you go to push it across the concrete on those little spindly legs, it stops dead on a tiny clump of mud, then it tips over because it's so top heavy with all the tools you didn't feel like unloading again. So that's what you do with it.

:laughing::laughing: That was excellent!! thanks for the laugh!

Nothing there I cant do with my $140 TSC 3pt carryall frame and some scrap lumber

Mike68 · Oct 23, 2020

Mike68 said:
I like the auto forward feature. Once the wood starts splitting I can grab the next piece for the splitter or grab some splits to stack on the pile.

It is like working with two people. When my wife helped me, before the auto cycle was installed, she would work the lever and I would move the wood.

You do need to be very aware that the wedge continues to move forward when you let go of the handle. I have developed good habits over the years of always handling the wood from the middle. Never the ends. Not sure I would be comfortable loaning the splitter to a friend.

Timberwolf the auto cycle as a upgrade a few years back. They can be finicky since the auto forward detention is pressure activated. In the winter you need to let the hydraulic fluid to warm up. Otherwise the pressure from cold fluid would trip the detent and the ram would retract.

Two levers are involved. Both lock forward with a detent. Once the ram reaches the PSI set point on the forward stroke the lever releases and the second lever allows the ram to return until it is fully returned, then that detent releases.

Here is a video of the auto cycle valve in operation. Notice that both levers are moved into the forward detent position. Once the stroke completes the near lever releases. This changes the flow to go through the second circuit which retracts the cylinder. If I tried this with the 4-way wedge the splitting force for this piece may be too great for the auto cycle to hold the forward detent. Until the piece starts to split.

Auto cycle Valve upgrade for TW-P1 - YouTube

Oldpath05 · Oct 23, 2020

Mike68 said:
I call it my little tractor only because the JD750 does not have a lot of lift capacity at the loader. Only about 800 lbs or less.

I got it used with 350 hours on it when we bought our house 12 years ago. I would not trade it in for a newer one. It runs like a champ. Just wish it had power steering.

TractorData.com John Deere 75 tractor information
20 hp is on the small side, I guess what threw me off is I didn't see a mower deck under it. But gee no power steering what a bummer, I thought that would be standard equipment on 80s and newer.....

Oldpath05 · Oct 23, 2020

Mike68 said:
Here is a video of the auto cycle valve in operation. Notice that both levers are moved into the forward detent position. Once the stroke completes the near lever releases. This changes the flow to go through the second circuit which retracts the cylinder. If I tried this with the 4-way wedge the splitting force for this piece may be too great for the auto cycle to hold the forward detent. Until the piece starts to split.

Auto cycle Valve upgrade for TW-P1 - YouTube

I suppose auto cycle is no more dangerous then any other piece of equipment, as with all tools just have to pay attention and hands on the sides. But the need for auto cycle on smal splitter is very low on my list of needed features unless one has a wood splitter with box wedge with auto return, then I would definitely want it but yet they dont put it on their splitters.

Heres a nice splitter with box wedge and the operator keeps his hands on the levers, I'd want auto cycle so I could roll the next block into position, actually log lifts are the worse thing to have on a splitter, log crane is 10 times better........ Alpha 6 Box Wedge Splitter - YouTube