Logsplitter 2.0

[CDN Farm Boy]

Today I grabbed another 1 to 1 1/2 gallons of fluid that came out of the tractor when the axle seal popped out, that I had down here in the garage at the house ... that took it up very near the top of the reservoir (probably within an inch) Will top it off a little further if need be.

Isn't there supposed to be air space in the top of the reservoir?

 

[rswyan]

RSWYAN may I make a suggestion?

Absolutely.

On a couple of splitters, I have put grab hooks on the pusher so that a light chain can be used to pull off a stuck pc of wood. Just a thought. Later.

That's an excellent idea ... and a timely suggestion: I was splitting a tree crotch last night and managed to stick it on the wedge :thumbsup:

BTW ... I keep forgetting to take a picture of the refrig/freezer I have up at the shop to reply to your post about cooling grinders.

It's a small unit ... I'm afraid the only "grinder" I could fit in the freezer would be a 1/4" die grinder ...

 

[rswyan]

Isn't there supposed to be air space in the top of the reservoir?

I would sure think so ... for thermal expansion of the fluid if nothing else.

When I say "top it off" I simply mean that I'll add enough additional fluid to bring it up to the full mark on the dip stick in the filler/vent cap ...

I added a little more last night (maybe a quart) which still leaves an air gap in the top of the reservoir.

And I also noticed that there weren't any air bubbles in the fluid after running it a few times ... so I guess I had either trapped air ... or it was so low initially that it was sucking air.

 

[rswyan]

Bracket for the cylinder attachment point on the log lift (made from 1" c.r. solid square), and the attachment point itself (made from a piece of 3/4" h.r. plate):

 

[rswyan]

Log lift cylinder and hose routing:

 

[rswyan]

The remaining panels welded on the lift, and lift attached to the splitter:

 

[rswyan]

And operational:

It may need a restriction orifice fitting placed in line to slow it down a little

 

[rswyan]

Still had an oil leak on the valve cover even after the RTV ... so I did what I should have done in the first place: got out some old rubber/cork gasket material and made a new gasket:

Fixed another hydraulic leak that showed up between the two control valves, and handled the Lovejoy coupling on the pump side ... which wanted to slide back on the shaft towards pump.

Also tweaked the unloader to drop the pump into low volume/high pressure mode at a lower pressure ... so no more stalling. Probably need to play with that a little more.

Engine seems to be running good at WOT ... but I still need to handle whatever is keeping it from running at lower speeds.

Probably will pick up a restriction fitting at TSC tomorrow, to slow the log lift down some ...

 

[rswyan]

Then, after I handled the few items above, I did this:

Couple additional shots of the splitter ... will no doubt look better once I get some paint on it:

 

[oldtimer 66]

Looks good nice job.

 

[mikefromnh]

:drink: very nice.

 

[rswyan]

Thanks guys.

It's sure nice not to have to beat my elbow to death any longer splitting by hand

The wife - who has been helping to split wood (by hand) - drove up yesterday just as I was coming back outside to split some more, after having started a fire in the furnace.

She said "Alright ! ... Let's see what that thing can do ..."

So I split some while she sat and watched from inside her van. She was impressed (always nice when that happens) ... probably mostly by the speed and ease ... after having spent some quality time herself with a 10 lb. sledge and wedge.

 

[rswyan]

Here's a couple of items that, in hindsight, I would do a little differently:

1. Log lift hinge.

I used 5/8" hot roll solid round for the pins ... seems a little undersized to me now. Probably would have been better to use 3/4" or 1" pins and used some bosses on the brackets (which are 3/8" thick) or on the log lift frame tubes. The hinge and pins aren't really greasable at this point ... and I suspect they will probably wear pretty quick.

Another thing is the actual location of the log lift itself when it's raised - it's high and close enough to the beam that the push block will hit it if the push block cylinder is extended while the log lift is up. In fact, I've already managed to do that ... fortunately I was at least paying enough attention to stop it ... otherwise I would ripped the brackets completely off the beam. I could handle this pretty easily by trimming about an inch or so off the top of the log lift frame.

2. Fold-up table grate. By choosing to locate the bolts, which the table grate pivots on, at the very end of the table (nearest the splitter beam), the table grate cannot be folded up all the way when the log lift is in it's raised position. This could have been avoided by relocating the bolts which provide the pivot, a few inches further out towards the end of the beam.

3. Riser for the filler/vent cap on the reservoir. (This one is for CDN Farm Boy ) I used a small (1" tall) riser from Surplus Center that was pre-drilled for the filler vent cap and welded that directly to the reservoir. Yesterday when I set up to split, the splitter wasn't level, with the side of the of the reservoir with the filler/vent cap on the low side. During the first cycle of the push block cylinder, it promptly puked out that quart or so of fluid that I used to top off the reservoir.

Apparently I didn't leave quite enough airspace ...

Probably should have used some 3" pipe (which I actually have) to extend the riser up several inches.

4. Location of the suction strainer. I mounted this on the side of the reservoir ... and, as such, it sits up off the bottom of the reservoir by about an inch or so. Locating it on the bottom of the reservoir would have given me more usable drawdown capacity for the hydraulic fluid. Practically, I don't think is going to be a problem, but it could have been ... particularly if I had used a larger diameter or longer cylinder.

There are probably some other items but the above are a few that I came up with off the top of my head.

 

[mikefromnh]

I think you will end up wanting to re do the log lift hinges. Either before or after someone accidentally tears them off

On my last splitter I used pillow blocks.... This time I used pipe over round stock. There is to much play in them to make it worthwhile to even grease them. In practice the lift gets relatively little use so I think they shouldn't wear too fast. Hopefully I have a lathe to make replacements by the time they wear out

 

[ajmaxham]

Here's a couple of items that, in hindsight, I would do a little differently:

1. Log lift hinge.

I used 5/8" hot roll solid round for the pins ... seems a little undersized to me now. Probably would have been better to use 3/4" or 1" pins and used some bosses on the brackets (which are 3/8" thick) or on the log lift frame tubes. The hinge and pins aren't really greasable at this point ... and I suspect they will probably wear pretty quick.

Another thing is the actual location of the log lift itself when it's raised - it's high and close enough to the beam that the push block will hit it if the push block cylinder is extended while the log lift is up. In fact, I've already managed to do that ... fortunately I was at least paying enough attention to stop it ... otherwise I would ripped the brackets completely off the beam. I could handle this pretty easily by trimming about an inch or so off the top of the log lift frame.

I used pipe inside of pipe. With the pipe at the end of the log lift table there are no pinch points. I did drill and tap the log lift pipe and installed a grease fitting.

 

[mikefromnh]

Here's the split fire design that I borrowed. I don't think they have fittings... The hinge looks to have a lot of play.

 

[rswyan]

Geesh, I need to find a deal or 3 like that. Lucky you. :thumbsup:

Dunno if I mentioned this or not before, but look around for one-man or smallish outfits that do tree work and don't want to hassle with selling the wood and are just looking to dump/get rid of it.

My young helper's stepfather bought over his 6 x 12 trailer today loaded with wood that his stepson cut down in the last day or so ... appears to be apple. Trailer capacity is 3500 lbs ... the tires were flattened out and bulging ...

Got about 1/2 of it split today ...

 

[rswyan]

I think you will end up wanting to re do the log lift hinges. Either before or after someone accidentally tears them off

LOL ... yeah ...

I've managed to hit the lift twice more since I last posted about it ... too many Homer Simpson moments ... :laughing:

Good news is my welds appear to be holding ...

But I think modification for clearance is on the "to do" list for tomorrow.

On my last splitter I used pillow blocks....

Now that's an idea ...

This time I used pipe over round stock. There is to much play in them to make it worthwhile to even grease them.

Right.

In practice the lift gets relatively little use so I think they shouldn't wear too fast.

Makes sense.

I can see where here it might not get used all that much - if I'm gathering wood here off the property. The rounds - which tend to be smaller - go into the loader bucket ... which is it's own "log lift" ...

But I've been using it quite a bit today with what I had on hand ... load it with 6 - 8 rounds and then use it as an infeed table.

Of course, that does have it's (potential) downsides ...

Hopefully I have a lathe to make replacements by the time they wear out

There ya go ... :thumbsup:

 

[rswyan]

I used pipe inside of pipe. With the pipe at the end of the log lift table there are no pinch points.

I did drill and tap the log lift pipe and installed a grease fitting.

Nice ... looks good ... :thumbsup:

 

[rswyan]

Here's the split fire design that I borrowed. I don't think they have fittings... The hinge looks to have a lot of play.

Like it - nice and simple ... plus it allows for having a cradle/support on both sides and not just one (something I can already see the benefit of)