Log Splitter Question...

[jkblade]

Rounding up pieces to build a 3 point log splitter to use on my Kubota and looking through the builds here I've noticed that some use a splitter wedge on the ram and some are stationary, any advantage or disadvantage of one over the other? Thanks!

 

[dougtrr2]

On my (non three point) log splitter the wedge is on the ram. Occasionally a piece will get stuck on the wedge. Retracting in will pop it back off. There are two brackets to assist that process. They are located about 8" in from of the cylinder.

Doug in SW IA

 

[RandyT]

Normally the wedge is on the end of the beam on horizontal only splitters, and on the ram for the ones that you stand up to split large pieces.

 

[LD1]

Everyone is going to have their own opinions on this, and there are a few pros and cons to both.....but in reality there is no "one is better than the other". It all depends on your splitting method, and what you do with the split wood immediately after it is split.

A wedge on the beam.....And a pusher on the ram.....you are pushing the WHOLE piece of wood forward and through the wedge. And once down to final size, you are pushing the pieces forward and off the end of the splitter.

Some like that. Can split a long time til you have a big pile, then simply pull forward.

Others dont like that because they like to toss the split pieces directly into a hopper/trailer/loader bucket, etc.

A wedge on the ram...the pieces stays right in front of you and doesnt advance. If you like to split and just let it pile up, it dont take long til you are all backed up. But if you like to toss the pieces into trailer/hopper/etc......then the pieces stay right in front of you.

A combo splitter that goes vertical as well, there is NO alternative but to put the wedge on the ram. With the wedge on the beam and trying to split vertical, you are trying to split the piece and push it into the ground (which will just lift the splitter up.

From a design standpoint for strength or for how it splits.....no difference.

Just minor differences in ergonomics for the operator

 

[FarmWrench]

And then there is the Splitfire wedge between two stops and it cuts in both directions.

 

[laurencen]

built one for the skid steer and the ram is the pusher, I prefer this, the wedge I made it split 6 segments, for me when the log is split it falls to the side usually into a crate, if a log sticks the next one will push it thro

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I have both types of splitters, no question in my mind, the wedge on the "beam" is faster...

It also allows you to put on a STRONG 4-way wedge, that makes "splitting" even faster!

I don't even use my "wedge on the ram" splitter any longer, it just sits...

SR

 

[4570Man]

I prefer the wedge on the beam as long as you have a log lift. Without the log lifter a horizontal only splitter would not fit my needs well. A vertical/horizontal splitter also sucks IMO.

 

[4570Man]

Disclaimer. I have no affiliation with the company, and I've never actually used one. This is the best design I've seen. Wood Splitter Static Buggy Overview/Review on Powersplit International Wood Splitter Static Buggy - YouTube

 

[FredH]

LD1 pretty much sums it up the best . If a vertical splitter , ram has the wedge , as he noted . Not a fan of the buggy splitter in the video . Being that I split hardwood , not softwood , The last thing I want is a piece to " Pop " apart and take it in the man hood area . I run mine in the vertical position and sit on a small stool directly in front . I can keep my hand if running by myself or hands on wood with someone else running the control , between my body and the wood , thus if it does " Pop " , it goes down or to the side . Even then , I have gotton some decent bruises on my shins and watching that video made me cringe at the thought of that happening higher up . :shocked:
We split / burn mostly madrone . A high heat wood here in the northwest , similar to oak but 1/2 , ( if even that much ) ash left over . The 2 bad aspects of the wood , Extremely Heavy when green and the before mentioned " Pop " of it flying apart occasionally . Even with both hands on wood , I have had pieces fly 10' to 12' out to the sides when it has popped apart . Not talking busting knots either , just sometimes it has this notion to scare the crap out of you .

Fred H.

 

[4570Man]

If you're standing in front of it and not off to the side I'm not seeing it to be a big problem with throwing pieces at you. I used to have a horizontal/vertical splitter until it got stolen. Sitting on a stool with the splitter in the vertical position was the best way to use it. I currently have a horizontal only splitter with the wedge on the beam with a 4 way. It's way more comfortable and a lot faster. But unless you plan on selling wood on the side pretty much any design is going to work. I burnt about 7 cord a year and split that much more for my grandpa. Over the span of several weekends that's an easily doable workload on my old horizontal/vertical splitter.

 

[FredH]

If you're standing in front of it and not off to the side I'm not seeing it to be a big problem with throwing pieces at you. I used to have a horizontal/vertical splitter until it got stolen. Sitting on a stool with the splitter in the vertical position was the best way to use it. I currently have a horizontal only splitter with the wedge on the beam with a 4 way. It's way more comfortable and a lot faster. But unless you plan on selling wood on the side pretty much any design is going to work. I burnt about 7 cord a year and split that much more for my grandpa. Over the span of several weekends that's an easily doable workload on my old horizontal/vertical splitter.

Funny You mention Your first splitter being stolen , as My first was more or less stolen also . Older brother who lives in Washington " Borrowed " it . Rather than return it , said he would " Buy " it . Set a price which He agreed to . Funny thing was though that I only got half the amount and that was over 20 years ago . Think I used that splitter for over 6 months lifting big rounds up onto a table I built next to it before I realized I could pull a pin and split vertical , ( and that was because I just happen to drive by were I bought it from and they had 2 out front , one in horizontal position and other in vertical :confused3: ) .

Unless one has the material laying around already , for the small price's they are selling for , I don't see making one being practical . Butthat can be said for a lot of implements . I have a local steel dealer who sells new , new old stock and used , thus many times I can go through their yard and rather than pay new steel prices , can pick up what is needed out of NOS racks or even recycled racks for $$$$ less .

Fred H.

 

[Texasmark]

Rounding up pieces to build a 3 point log splitter to use on my Kubota and looking through the builds here I've noticed that some use a splitter wedge on the ram and some are stationary, any advantage or disadvantage of one over the other? Thanks!

Since you are "Rounding up pieces to build a 3 point log splitter" I'll address that part of your post. I too once did that and my splitting device was a piece of thick steel as I saw on commercial units. I had low power due to a small diameter piston and had slow movement due to using a Ford 2000 4 cyl as the hydraulics source.

After numerous attempts what I found to work best was a modified wedge where you take what is sold commercially and about an inch behind the blade tip, weld deflectors to it. I'll see if I can find my pictures. If I do, recall that I started with the center wedge made of a single slab of steel.

These pictures are of the solution. In them I have upgraded the piston to 4x24 and changed out the water pipe fittings for regular hydraulic units. The rest of the cutter I had from earlier running with the tractor. The power unit is a 15 hp Scotts lawn tractor I had sitting around. Pump, splitter control, tank, filter, and Lovejoy fittings and all came from N. Tool. Pump is 16 gpm 2 stage, 8 hp requirement (engine is 15 hp), very reasonably priced. My cycle time is in single digit seconds, unloaded out and back. I built it near the ground so that I don't have to lift any heavy logs. I have a tractor with a FEL and bucket into which I toss the splits which go to my wood pile located in a shed...just dump them in....minimum manual labor as I can get for the money and time spent in the task.

As to which moved I'd say it may have been designer's choice to fit their intended package. It does seem that moving the wedge would be more effective due to the shape of the faces of the log to be split and friction of the driving mechanism. May be that moving the wedge worked better on irregular cuts of logs.

 

[crazyal]

I like the wedge on the ram. I'm often splitting large pieces and even a 4 way splitter isn't going to make them small enough so having the ram push them off the end of the splitter forcing me to pick up the pieces that need to be split again is just more work. For the really large stuff I can stand my splitter up. I usually have a large log on end or some other form of table close by to put the split pieces that are too large and need to be split again. With the splitter parked as close as I can to the pile of rounds I'll split a tanks worth and just toss the splits a few feet away. Often my pile will reach 6 feet or so in height (something you can't do with it being pushed off the end without a conveyor belt to lift it up) so the area the pile of splits is occupying doesn't get too massive.

If you haven't bought the pump yet I would look at buying a two stage pump as speed could be an issue. With a 2 stage pump you could pretty much set your tractor close to idle and still have the power needed without going deathly slow.

 

[MossRoad]

We've got a horizontal splitter with the wedge on the beam and the pusher on the ram.

I'll repeat other's comments about splitting large wood with it...

You split a 36" piece of wood and it pushes the whole thing through the wedge and drops in half(on lucky days).

Then you have two large halves that you have to pick up and slide back to the front of the wedge and repeat. You're basically moving that piece of wood many times back to in front of the wedge.

If the wedge were on the ram, the halves would fall before the end of the beam. You'd still have to pick them up and put them back on the beam, but you wouldn't have to move that extra 2' each time.

If you had a table to catch the splits on a horizontal unit, that would be the real work saver in my opinion. You could just slide the pieces around and never have to lift the splits.

 

[ultrarunner]

I can sure see production benefits of wedge on beam...

That said... for what I do not having to elevate or lift large rounds makes it possible for me to split in vertical position... and so much easier on the back.

 

[CobyRupert]

I have a horizontal/vertical splitter with wedge on ram.
I like the horizontal/vertical feature as it makes possible to split large chunks that would otherwise be impossible.

With wedge on ram, you'll need to weld "stops" on the beam that stand up on each side of the wedge at it's retracted location. These are so when the wood gets stuck on the wedge and you retract the wedge, the stuck wood hits these and is knocked off the wedge instead of hitting the cylinder.

The problem with these is safety. Everybody is usually careful and watches their fingers on the split stroke when thing are popping and splitting, etc..; but when the wood gets stuck on the wedge during the retraction stroke, it's natural to grab the wood and try to pull it off not realizing that your fingers are now in between the (cylinder) end of the log and these stops. And if you keep them there they'll be crushed.

Many people just aren't looking for danger on THAT END of the log when you're not even splitting it anymore and retracting.

 

[4570Man]

I managed just fine without the stops. For the rare basis that I got a piece stuck I would hold a piece of firewood between the stuck piece and the cylinder. Then I'd retract the cylinder. Before I discovered that I usually drove them off with a sledge hammer.

 

[CobyRupert]

I managed just fine without the stops. For the rare basis that I got a piece stuck I would hold a piece of firewood between the stuck piece and the cylinder. Then I'd retract the cylinder. Before I discovered that I usually drove them off with a sledge hammer.

You're right, it's probably safer without them than with. Mine came with them.
One can also just put another small piece of wood on beam so that the wedge can now drive ALL the way through the stuck log.

 

[plumbstraight]

I built a splitter in the 70's that initially ran off the tractor pto. I put an engine on it so I could use the tractor to move logs and push the wood away. You can find it on youtube. Plumbstriaight woodsplitter. Watch that spelling as I did a typo and put an extra i in plumbstriaight.

This setup works well for that heavy wood as you can see and with having the T knife taking two pieces off the bottom of the block as you work through it makes it easy. I later put a better engine on it and there are no hesitations.