Let's build the biggest non commercial splitter ever!

[texasranger556]

According to the description, that splitter feeds some sort of firewood processor. With that said I agree with you that for most people it makes more sense to cut then split. However, it is likely that anyone with an 80 ton log splitter doesn't fall under the "most people" label.

 

[MossRoad]

The wedge on that splitter is bigger than the conning tower on a submarine!

 

[NH Mike]

I'm building something that will split my yearly wood in a weekend or two. The beam was free, the motor was free, the axle and wheels $100, the steel to build frame and dual hydraulic lifts is free, the cylinder $700. And I can tow it with my 1 ton Cummins. I'm making it stronger than average so I can rent it out and not have to worry about people breaking something. So please give me ideas like pump size, valve recommendations, anything that you guys can think of that will help. And I think most would build this if they had all the free stuff to do it.

I'll get some rough plans together so that you have an idea of how the cylinder is going to be mounted and things like that, again any help would be appreciated.

 

[LD1]

Let me ask what your budget is?

Pushing it to 100 GPM if you keep it to 2000-2500 psi is reasonable.

But a 100 GPM pump, you are talking several thousand dollars. Same for a valve sized for the flow. A few grand there. Then a bunch of 2" and 2-1/2" hydraulic hose. Easily another grand. Not to mention $1000+ in oil. So even though you got a killer deal on what you have, the hydraulics alone is gonna push $10k IMO.

And realistically, who is gonna want to rent it? Someone with equipment to be able to load logs, certainly has a splitter already. And the average Joe splitting bucked up firewood at 18"-20" long, that splitter offers no real advantage over a $1500 box store model.

Don't get me wrong, it's gonna be a cool project and a monster of a splitter. Just think it all through before you decide for certain that this is what you are going to do. Price the pump, hoses, valves, etc. Then decide. If you have a $10-$15k budget, great. We can advise. But I am hesitant to offer any suggestions til I know you understand that this ain't gonna be cheap.

 

[MinnesotaDaveChalmers]

I'm building something that will split my yearly wood in a weekend or two. The beam was free, the motor was free, the axle and wheels $100, the steel to build frame and dual hydraulic lifts is free, the cylinder $700. And I can tow it with my 1 ton Cummins. I'm making it stronger than average so I can rent it out and not have to worry about people breaking something. So please give me ideas like pump size, valve recommendations, anything that you guys can think of that will help. And I think most would build this if they had all the free stuff to do it.

I'll get some rough plans together so that you have an idea of how the cylinder is going to be mounted and things like that, again any help would be appreciated.

Yep, or some variation of it.
Log length ram to feed the log to the beam mounted hydraulic chainsaw.
Cut the chunk, push forward, cut another, push forward, etc.

All the while split pieces are falling off the end - or at least that's what I would do.

 

[texasranger556]

I'm building something that will split my yearly wood in a weekend or two. The beam was free, the motor was free, the axle and wheels $100, the steel to build frame and dual hydraulic lifts is free, the cylinder $700. And I can tow it with my 1 ton Cummins. I'm making it stronger than average so I can rent it out and not have to worry about people breaking something. So please give me ideas like pump size, valve recommendations, anything that you guys can think of that will help. And I think most would build this if they had all the free stuff to do it.

I'll get some rough plans together so that you have an idea of how the cylinder is going to be mounted and things like that, again any help would be appreciated.

Do you plan to actually split logs or mostly smaller stuff with an occasional log or even a stump? If you only need a 20-30" cycle you could get by with smaller pump/reservoir/valve etc, and just deal with a longer cycle time for long stuff. A quick search on surplus center shows a 40 GPM pump for $400 if you can come up with the adapters to drive it.

I suppose with your current design you could load the log, then saw it before splitting, and push it all through at once. Could be an efficient workflow if you installed a remote to do the cycle from your skid steer while grabbing the next log.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

So my ideas to make it a bit more user friendly so you can "rent it out".

As someone who would rent this thing here's my thoughts to add to this, I would be content dragging logs to a large splitter like this, cutting the log in 6ft sections and rolling the log next to this splitter and like a portable sawmill it self loads the log, splits it.

The 18in cuts can be made with a chainsaw after its split, only prob there would be the efficiency of cutting the wood to length after its split.

Splitting 6ft logs 6-8 ways then cutting would be faster then cutting and splitting I feel, at the very least less effort. Also would lessen the time this splitter would be on site, split a bunch of trees return the splitter and cut to length later.

As the split wood piles up a way to hook it to a tractor and drag it a little and keep splitting, (a small axle, plate type sled ext). That way you could drop it off and all you would need is a small tractor to use it.

 

[crazyal]

The problem with cutting a 6' length of log is that you can't move it by hand. On my much smaller splitter I can split a round in half, toss one half to the side while I finish splitting the other half. I can easily line the round up with the wedge to split them to the size I want. Something with a stroke that large is most likely going to have the valve/ lever so far from a 24" round that you couldn't reach both. Then there's the weight of the log. I think you'll end up having to add cylinders on each side of the beam to move the log/ round to help split it where you want.

As for renting it out, I'm not sure if there's going to be much demand for something that most people couldn't move. Sure you can tow it with your truck and drop it off but once you leave how are they going to move it? Also have you thought about fuel usage? 5 gallons of gas will run my little 5.5hp Honda all weekend long. People aren't going to be happy if the burn through 20 gallons a day. Just things to think about. It does sound like a cool project.

 

[LD1]

Do you plan to actually split logs or mostly smaller stuff with an occasional log or even a stump? If you only need a 20-30" cycle you could get by with smaller pump/reservoir/valve etc, and just deal with a longer cycle time for long stuff. A quick search on surplus center shows a 40 GPM pump for $400 if you can come up with the adapters to drive it.

I suppose with your current design you could load the log, then saw it before splitting, and push it all through at once. Could be an efficient workflow if you installed a remote to do the cycle from your skid steer while grabbing the next log.

Dropping the GPM to 40 and short cycling the splitter only 24" (to match what is currently avaliable in a normal splitter) would give over a 20 second cycle for the thing to go 24" out and 24" back. Thats WAY too slow IMO.

And its not a good idea to cut a log first and push several rounds through. Good way to have big rounds flying at you.

Splitting 6ft logs 6-8 ways then cutting would be faster then cutting and splitting I feel. Or would lessen the time this splitter would be on site, split a bunch of trees return the splitter and cut to length later.

Less splitter time...sure. But longer saw time. And trying to cut split and splintered wood is a PITA. A 8' log will give about 5 rounds bucked to length. Thats 4 cuts. And 5 cycles of a splitter with a 6-way wedge. Using that splitter, ok, one cycle, but now you have to make 24 cuts.

And just the whole logistics of hauling logs, loading the splitter, etc vs bucking rounds at 16-18" and dealing with more manageable pieces. If it was mine, I'd try to incorporate a saw into the splitter itself. And build the wedge design more like a firewood processor. Cycle the ram 18", saw the splits, cycle another 18, saw the splits, etc.

OP: Research some processors. I think you are wasting your time trying to make nothing more than a scaled up version of a simple splitter.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Successful Sawmilling Series - Stacking the Deck - Home-built log loading deck for portable sawmills - YouTube

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Just make one of these lol

3000 SERIES Firewood Processor - Bell's Machining - YouTube

 

[NH Mike]

The cylinder will take 15 gal. to extend 7.5', ~ 2 gal per foot, a 60 gpm pump will cycle 1 gal. per second so 15 seconds to cycle a 7.5' log out and under 8 seconds to return due to the 5.5" rod dia and dump valve. So the cycle time for a 24" log would be 4 seconds out and 2 seconds back. That's quicker than new wood can be loaded. Cycle time will not be an issue. I'm going to install blocks along the beam to short stroke the piston, most likely at 24" and every 12" there after. This way if someone has an outdoor wood boiler that takes 3' or 4' long logs I will have the adjustability. On the loading area I'm going to build hydraulic lifts on both sides to add flexibility. One side can remain in the upward position to keep logs in place as they are loaded.

 

[texasranger556]

The cylinder will take 15 gal. to extend 7.5', ~ 2 gal per foot, a 60 gpm pump will cycle 1 gal. per second so 15 seconds to cycle a 7.5' log out and under 8 seconds to return due to the 5.5" rod dia and dump valve. So the cycle time for a 24" log would be 4 seconds out and 2 seconds back. That's quicker than new wood can be loaded. Cycle time will not be an issue. I'm going to install blocks along the beam to short stroke the piston, most likely at 24" and every 12" there after. This way if someone has an outdoor wood boiler that takes 3' or 4' long logs I will have the adjustability. On the loading area I'm going to build hydraulic lifts on both sides to add flexibility. One side can remain in the upward position to keep logs in place as they are loaded.

Double check your calcs. A 10" cylinder 90" long holds about 30 gallons fully extended. I use this calculator for cycle times, they have others for pressures and such. 24" at 60 GPM would be about 15 seconds.

Hydraulic Cylinder  Speed Calculator

 

[rustydollar]

Another monster wood splitter being made at the farm, the yearly propane bill was $13,000.00 to heat the large shop which has in floor heat.

A wood fired boiler is now the primary source of heat with propane as a back up and to fire up the steam cleaner.

The splitter below will be used to split 8 ft logs into manageable pieces to feed the boiler once a day.

 

[LD1]

Yep, double check your calculations.

To fully extend and fully retract will take 52 seconds with a 60gpm pump and 90" stroke. 14 seconds for a 24" stroke out and back.

Bout the slowest $999 splitter on the market is 16 seconds. Dads is 16. 4.5" bore, 11gpm. Its painfully slow. Which is why when I built mine, I went with a 4" cylinder and 22gpm. Real world time is 8 seconds out and back. (hose and fitting restriction most likely). 8 seconds out and back for a 24" splitter is about perfect. Which would require a 100 GPM pump on that cylinder. And that would give you a 31 second cycle for the full stroke.

You never did say what your budget is gonna be? Are you prepared to spend $10k to make this happen?

 

[NH Mike]

You are correct my numbers were off, that's why I'm posting this as I go. The budget will not be anywhere near 10k. as you will see going forward.

 

[rustydollar]

You are correct my numbers were off, that's why I'm posting this as I go. The budget will not be anywhere near 10k. as you will see going forward.

We're a dying breed.

 

[Oldpath05]

I like the Idea of building a Tim the ToolMan wood spliter but have no useful input on how to do it. I'm just here for the picture show, should be a really really BIG SHEW...........

 

[MossRoad]

Here goes....

A 10" bore cylinder is 8' long.
A 10" bore cylinder is 96" long.
Volume of a cylinder is pii times the radius squared times the height.
Pii = 3.14
The cylinder diameter is 10"
The cylinder radius is 5"
The cylinder's radius squared is 25
The height is 96
The rod's diameter is 5.5"
The rod's radius is 2.75"
The rod's radius squared is 7.5625
The rod's height is 96
3.14 X 25 X 96 = 7536 cubic inches in the push side.
3.14 X 7.5625 X 96 = 2279.64 cubic inches displaced by the rod.
7536 - 2279.64 = 5256.36 cubic inches in the retract side.
There's 231 cubic inches in a gallon.
7536/231 = about 32.6 gallons on the push stroke to full extension of 8'.
5256.36/231 = 22.75 gallons on the return stroke to full retraction of 8'.
A 32.6 GPM pump will take:
60 second for 96" of extension
30 second for 48" of extension
15 seconds for 24" of extension
A pump twice that size (your 60 GPM estimate) will take about half those times.
30 seconds for 96"
15 seconds for 48"
7.5 seconds for 24"
Your return stroke times will be about 2/3 of the push stroke times, as the volume out is about 30 and the volume in is about 20, so about 2/3 of the volume needed to retract.
So, about 20 seconds for 96"
10 seconds for 48"
5 seconds for 24"

So, at 60GPM a full 8' stroke and back will take about 50 seconds.
48" stroke out and back will be about 25 seconds.
24" stroke out and back will be about 12.5 seconds.

I think that's correct, so someone check my math.... please! YIKES!!! a quiz! :laughing:

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

You are correct my numbers were off, that's why I'm posting this as I go. The budget will not be anywhere near 10k. as you will see going forward.

Rock on man! This looks like it would be a blast to build. :thumbsup: