Scariest log splitter ive seen

[TomSeller]

, and a man should be free to do as he pleases, but in my opinion stupid is still stupid.

Right. And when you are stupid you don't know you are stupid.

 

[Sodo]

I have absolutely no trouble with that splitter.

Your "safe and sensible" lacks self responsibility. Who will take care of you until you grow up?
Keep your wits about you, don't go out on the ocean .

Agreed CalG.

Every swinging maul is more dangerous than this splitter, you won't hit your leg. This splitter is a stand-up unit, what about all the people getting back-injuries from bending over to work on the ground?

CalG funny you mention the ocean, some of these midwestern boys wouldn't go near that either and probably wisely so. A lot of people drown there!! But closer to home, every tractor that moves is more dangerous than this stationary, and totally predictable splitter.

Forums tend to repeat uber-safety drivel. They have to, there's no way to know if the readers have any sense, or manual dexterity. But the problem is drivel makes it hard to find real information. I was digging around on a contractor forum, what a relief to read posts from guys who had to make good decisions and keep on moving. We have those on TBN too, of course but a lot more hobbying I think.

 

[City Farmer]

I think a buzz saw is a lot more dangerous than this splitter. One slip and its all over. A few properly placed guards on the wheel splitter and I'd use it. As for the buzz saw, not me, no way. I had a chance to get one for free and turned it down.
Maine Made Cedar Shingles - CKShingle.com - YouTube

 

[Sodo]

Ha yes that shingle saw gives me the willies, watch how he just reaches in and grabs a shingle without even looking at it. But anyway people can learn to do things. Swim, fly airplanes, climb mountains.

And they can learn to do things with missing digits too but thats not a good thing.:thumbdown::thumbsup::number1::crossfingers:

 

[downsizingnow48]

When I was in my twenties I never thought about safety. By the time I was in my thirties had seen enough accidents and near accidents to take it seriously. I had a California contractor's license and we did new homes and remodelling. I don't agree with the notion that safety is drivel or for hobbyists. Usually it doesnt take much to add the necessary margin of safety for a particular job. Use a scaffold instead of a ladder, for example. Now take that shingle saw. You can get proficient at lots of dangerous things, like the guy operating it. But, It would require about $5 of materials and maybe 30 minutes to rig a metal guide to tip the shingle off the blade without using your hands. That's what I mean. The additional cost of the safety, added to the cost of the installation, is minimal. Even more minimal if you consider the cost of an injury.

 

[Sodo]

Agreed, Safety is NOT drivel, especially for an employer. I would not say that. And one person can put others at risk. But a lot of forum chatter about safety........ is drivel.

Agreed on simple guards that at least add some separation or something to brace upon. But really, a skilsaw is as dangerous as that wood splitter. And every tractor is much more dangerous than that splitter. No need for Darwin awards here.

 

[jinman]

A shielded version:

Maybe the fastest woodsplitter in the world! - YouTube

Bruce

Bruce, isn't it funny how the splitter is shielded, but the belt drive is wide open with not so much as a fence to keep somebody from falling into it? One kid running and falling into that drive belt and they will be sucked around the pulley in a heartbeat. Open belts and pulleys are just one trip/fall away from disaster. It seems there's always something waiting to snap us up around any rotating equipment.

 

[bcp]

They at least had a tape to keep adult spectators back, but it wouldn't have slowed down a child.

Bruce

 

[TomSeller]

Watching people spilt wood, I am always amazed at they don't organize better.. I would have had a pallet beside the splitter and stacked directly on it, then moved the entire pallet to the woodshed with the forks on my FEL. I try to make as few times handling the wood as possible before the wood goes into the stove. These people were tossing into a pile, some picking up from a pile and tossing to another.

 

[bcp]

Sometimes the simplest thing would make a big difference.

This guy needs a table on his splitter, or at least a small log on each side. It makes me tired just watching.

poor boys wood splitter - YouTube

Bruce

 

[joshuabardwell]

Watching people spilt wood, I am always amazed at they don't organize better.. I would have had a pallet beside the splitter and stacked directly on it, then moved the entire pallet to the woodshed with the forks on my FEL. I try to make as few times handling the wood as possible before the wood goes into the stove. These people were tossing into a pile, some picking up from a pile and tossing to another.

I don't have pallet forks. The best I have done is to load rounds into the bucket, then slide from the bucket onto the splitter, then put the split pieces back into the bucket for transport to stacking. Frankly, it's slower than piling the split wood and transporting it later with a cart, because my bucket isn't that big, and my tractor isn't very nimble, but it's a whole lot less labor. Zero lifting.

 

[TomSeller]

... but it's a whole lot less labor. Zero lifting.

Perfect. Less labor, lifting the better as we get older

 

[sixdogs]

Wow, what a video. One blink and your nickname is "stubs" for the rest of your life. I've split a boatload of wood but that splitter is not for me. I have plans for these digits.

 

[aczlan]

Wow, what a video. One blink and your nickname is "stubs" for the rest of your life. I've split a boatload of wood but that splitter is not for me. I have plans for these digits.

I agree. With a hydraulic splitter, if you let go of the lever. It stops. Not so much with that one...

Aaron Z

 

[ericher69]

I agree. With a hydraulic splitter, if you let go of the lever. It stops. Not so much with that one... Aaron Z

Like I stated earlier; what about on the return cycle?? No need to hold a lever there!

Anyways I responded in the past to just this scenario.

Retracting cylinder (no one holding a lever)
Slippery frozen ground
A slip...
And head in the wrong spot at the wrong time...

 

[aczlan]

Like I stated earlier; what about on the return cycle?? No need to hold a lever there!
Anyways I responded in the past to just this scenario.
Retracting cylinder (no one holding a lever)
Slippery frozen ground
A slip...
And head in the wrong spot at the wrong time...

True, but in the 20+ years I have been doing wood with a hydraulic splitter, I haven't come close to seeing such a scenario. I have seen several instances that would have ended badly if a flywheel splitter had been involved.
So if the probability of a retract side accident is 1 in 10,000, the probability of a accident with a flywheel splitter is probably 1 in 3000... And, an accident similar to a retract side slip and fall accient would always be there with a flywheel splitter vs just the 3-5 seconds that the retract cycle lasts.


Aaron Z

 

[steverino101]

c'mon, nobody wants to get hurt here. you gotta admit, these things look like fun, don't they?

 

[sixdogs]

c'mon, nobody wants to get hurt here. you gotta admit, these things look like fun, don't they?

Depends if someone wants to gamble with their opposing thumbs. Pretty hard to do a lot of things without them. In the event of an errant slip, I suppose they could graft your toe in place of the thumb and you could still split wood.

 

[k0ua]

Depends if someone wants to gamble with their opposing thumbs. Pretty hard to do a lot of things without them. In the event of an errant slip, I suppose they could graft your toe in place of the thumb and you could still split wood.

Yeah but you are gonna have funny looking feet

 

[crazyal]

My neighbor has one of these.

It's amazing to watch. It increments the log out unevenly so you can cut a tapered shake. In the video they have going much slower than it would be in normal use. You feed a cut log in from the back while it's running and then true up the sides of the shakes in the planar bolted to the flywheel. Decades ago a group of farmers bought it and would sent it and a youth or two with it from farm to farm to make shakes. Usually 4 boys would operate it, one using a swing saw to cut the logs to length, one to keep feeding them into the saw, and two more truing up the edges.