Logsplitter

[rswyan]

This is a log splitter I'm in the process of building. Would have been nice to have it for this season but I got started a little late and haven't been able to work on it as much as I would like due to work and having too many other projects going. Hopefully I'll get it done in time to still use it this season. The attached image shows the I-beam which I am using. It's a 8' 4" piece of W8 24 that I got as a drop from a fab shop where a friend used to work. The cylinder is an 4" x 24" Eaton Fieldmate that I picked up from Surplus Center (would have like a bigger cylinder but it was cost prohibitive), the hoses came from TSC. On the end of the beam you can where I welded in some 8" x 6" x 1/4" plate to reinforce the part of the beam that's under the wedge, which makes it 3/4" thick, the same thickness as the wedge.

 

[rswyan]

Attached is a close up of the end where I welded in the plate for reinforcement.

 

[powerstroke2000]

I don't think your I beam is heavy enough the one we built with a beam a little heavier than that bent over time of hard splitting wood

 

[rswyan]

Really ? Interesting ........

Well, it could be that it isn't. Actually, the I-beam seems pretty large to me in comparision to other splitters I've seen - about 8 inches tall by 6 inches wide - although it isn't all that heavy, only 24 lbs a foot and about 1/4 inch thick on the center spine.

Just curious - over how long a period of time did it take it to bend ?

How much did it bend ? (enough to become unusable ?) And what were you splitting .... dry oak ?

 

[Deerlope]

I have made several and used a 6x6 wide flange beam. If you are useing a 2 stage pump producing 2500 PSI you should be safe from any bending, with the wedge on the end. I put my wedge on the ram and the stop block on the end. That way when splitting 3' dia blocks I am not pushing them off the end each time I split a piece off.

 

[dullpain]

rswyan - Nice work , you will love it! I built one like yours years ago using the same beam and I did not have any bending problems. Split a lot of wood and some really big stuff. Sometimes the beam would torque or twist slightly on the big stuff but would return. Sold mine to a friend and always regretted that , felt like I had sold one of my kids. Tried to buy it back from him last year, said he wouldn't sell it for $400 profit!!

 

[bczoom]

rswyan,

Looking good so far.

In the pic, the steel frame that it's sitting on appears to be the crating material for a tractor. Is that just a bench to work on or was it going to be part of the splitter? If the latter, it may be too light duty for mounting the splitter beam.

 

[rswyan]

Fred,

Glad to hear a 6 x 6 beam has worked for you - that's encouraging. I am using a Barnes 2-stage pump (13 gpm @ 650 psi & 3gpm @2500) and I think my SCV's relief is set at 2250 psi anyways.

The reason I didn't go with the wedge on the ram is because I also plan on building a 4-way wedge that I can slip over the top of the fixed 2-way wedge welded on the I-beam. I'm going to 'cap' the ends of the I-beam with two pieces 8" x 6" x 1/4" plate, which should beef up the ends a little. I'm also going to make a 'table grate' like the Timberwolf splitters that I can mount on the end of the beam, just past the wedge, to catch big chunks that I want to split futher (and to save me from having to bend over to pick up the splits off the ground)

 

[rswyan]

DP,

Thanks. Yes, I'm looking forward to using it. Very encouraging to hear that you had no troubles with the same size beam. I will probably add a few gussets on each side, perpendicular to the I-beam, that come out from the web and go out to the edges of the flanges. My welder friend stopped by today and said that if I was really concerned with the beam bending I could 'fishplate' the entire length of the web from where the cylinder attaches out to the wedge with some 1/4" plate. I think I'll try it and see if I notice any flexing before I do.

Amazing how attached we can become to our creations, isn't it ? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I guess the fact that your friend would not sell it back, even at a $400 profit, is a testament to the quality of your worksmanship.

Beings how we are supposed to head into the deep freeze tonight and we were running low on firewood, I went out this morning and cut down and bucked 18 trees to restock the woodpile. Got about 4 or 5 bucket loads in the FEL. The trees ranged in size from about 3" to 10" inches in diameter, all were about 25' or so tall. I'm not sure what kind of trees they were - I think they might be white ash. We have alot of them growing around here in with the maples and slippery elms. The wood seems to not have alot of sap, is very dense and burns well even when green.

Would be nice to get the splitter functioning for some of the larger pieces.

 

[rswyan]

Brian,

Thanks. The steel frame is actually another project. It's the dump bed frame for the 2 ton E-Z Trail running gear that the P.T. wood, frame, and I-Beam are all sitting on in the picture. Attached is a little better picture. The hydraulic cylinder was originally going to be for the dump wagon and I was going to try and get a larger cylinder for the splitter. I ended up scrapping that idea for a couple of reasons, mostly the significant difference in price (the Eaton 4" x 24" was only $88 plus shipping - about $25 - from Surplus Center - a larger cylinder would have been 2 to 3 times as much and the freight would have killed me) A couple other considerations were that a smaller cylinder would operate faster with with a given pump output, and that a 15 ton splitter should be just fine for my needs.

 

[Deerlope]

That 4-way split is a good idea. I have a proto type pattern made up using pieces of wood that will slip over the wedge on the hyd cyl. Just have not taken the time to put it all together in steel. It is a lot cheaper cutting up a few scrapes of lumber than it is steel for the pattern. It looks like yours will not be moved easily by hand, but you do have a good design. Could we see a pic of the finished product?

 

[rswyan]

Fred,

After seeing a 4-way in operation I was pretty sure it was something I wanted to have, always have been a fan of working smarter, not just harder. I think doing one for a ram-mounted wedge is maybe a bit trickier from a design standpoint - since I'm a beginner at this sort of thing I just went with the wedge on the end of the beam. Making up a cardboard or wood template is definitely the smart way to go.

Attached is an pic of my fixed wedge in place ready to be welded (maybe today) and another wedge which I cut in half and beveled on the bandsaw - it will be used for the slip-on 4-way. I picked these up from Northern Tool, they are 12" inches high, 6" long and 3/4" thick. Probably could be made cheaper from just a piece of 3/4" stock but I didn't have a real good way to put a bevel on them at the time I picked them up.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It looks like yours will not be moved easily by hand, but you do have a good design. )</font>
Thanks - you're totally right - it will not be easily moved by hand (probably will weigh on the order 600+ lbs.) I plan on putting a 3PH mount on it and moving it around with the tractor. But I may also try to put three wheels on it as well if I can get the components at a reasonable cost and can come up with a good design to incorporate them. I like the idea of the 3PH because I can raise the unit up to a comfortable working height, but it would be nice to have it as a freestanding unit as well for those times I want to use the tractor for something else. It will be powered by a 6.5 hp Briggs motor that doubles as a power source for my TracVac.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Could we see a pic of the finished product? )</font>
Absolutely - I'll continue to post pics as I go along and will post some when I get it fully completed. I probably won't get around to painting it until the weather gets nice though since I don't have a good space to do that in.

 

[rmath]

rswyan, I have to ask, what brand is the cylinder you're using. I worked for Hydro-Line for 15 yrs and it looks like a HL tie rod cylinder. It may say Eaton now. They bought HL and closed the plant to Mfg elsewhere. Just curious on the Cyl. I have a couple 4 X 24's in my barn. "extras" from the plant closure. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Deerlope]

I power mine with an 8HP Briggs. Its more engine than I need but I want to go to a 16GPM pump and with that I need 8 HP. Now I have 13.6 GPM pump. I just put on a new engine cause the other one was used and it finally gave up. I like the welded "T" cyl better cause the beam can be about 8" shorter. I move mine around a lot by hand or with the ATV.

 

[rswyan]

Ron,

Just went and looked at the tag on it and it says it's an Eaton Fieldmate, Rockford, Illnois ..... and sadly, I see in much finer and smaller print 'Cylinders Manfactured in China'

Since it was an Eaton I had assumed that it was probably made in the US somewhere .... I should have guessed I suppose.

 

[rswyan]

When I was looking at pumps I almost went with a 16 gpm instead of thirteen, since my motor was 6.5 hp (the recommended motor for the 13 was a 5 hp and for the 16 an 8 hp) Surplus Center also had a 15.2 gpm Viking pump that I considered as well. Called Surplus Center and the guy recommended that I stick with 13 - said the ratings for the pumps were based on electric motors and a gas motor of the same hp wasn't as efficient. I probably could have gone with the 15.2 at least and gotten away with it.

After I got the pump, I had to remove the vacuum impeller from the grass/leaf pickup off of the motor so I could install the pump. I worked on that on and off for about three weeks. Tried PB Blaster, heating with a propane torch, and ended up breaking two (6" and 8") 3 jaw Harbor Freight gear pullers trying to get it off. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Finally cut it off with a Sawzall.

While I was sitting there in front of the woodstove in the shed contemplating my folly, I looked over at the old Monkey Wards rototiller (with the prefectly good 8hp B&S engine) that we never use any more and thought 'I really should have went with the 16 gpm pump.' /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[beenthere]

Sure glad to hear that I am not the only one with those kinds of 'happenings' or 'awakenings'. Don't know if more planning would be better, or in the long run, if nothing at all would get done because of 'always' planning. But sure have Been There /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[MMM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( 15 ton splitter should be just fine )</font>

Do you think it will push a 4way? I think there's a 4way slip on at Northern Tool.

 

[rswyan]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Do you think it will push a 4way? I think there's a 4way slip on at Northern Tool. )</font>

I think for most of what I'll be splitting (maple and ash) it probably will - 15 tons of force is quite a bit. Might be some that don't go real fast if I get into some gnarly oak or something ..... time will tell.

I looked at the Northern 4-way when I ordered my wedges. They didn't say whether it would fit the wedges - only that it fit certain splitters they sold. Besides that I figured I would forego the $90 they wanted for it and just spend the $26 on the wedge and make my own.

 

[rswyan]

Beenthere,

Take it from me you're definitely not the only one /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It seems like it always happens on every project to some extent - sometimes small, sometimes large.

Planning is always good, but like ya say - if the runway is too long, the plane might not ever get off the ground. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif