log splitter attachment. Yes or no

[Botabill]

Get the stand alone. I had to split some maple logs that were 36 - 48 inches across and if I didn't have tractor with fel to lift the logs onto the splitter they would have rotted on the ground.

 

[Corm]

Hello Will. I'm afraid I can only find one picture of my splitter tonight, and it isn't the best of pictures.

My splitter is made up of a lot of pieces I scrounged. The right angle gear box came from an old buzzsaw that was on a Ford 8N. I took off the old wide flat belt pulley that was on it, and replaced it with a double v belt crank pulley off of a small block Chevy V8. The pump was an Ebay find, the oil tank on it was a fuel tank from a dragster my friend had, and the cylinder and valve came from Northern Hydraulics. I had to pay the long dollar for the I beam, and the PTO shaft I also bought new.

It is packed away for the winter in back of my storage shed, so I can't get at it right now to take any better pictures.

Corm

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Has anyone check their system pressure while splitting?

With a 4" cylinder most of my wood splits well under 1000 psi, 800 to 900 about average for the ash I'm in. Some of it 20" dia.
I put a 6" round in it cross grain and still only got the pressure up to 1300. It would have sheared it right off if the wedge didn't stop 1" short of the flat plate that holds the block because the cylinder ran out of stroke.
Seems to me a 3" cylinder would handle most of what I split.
Ken

 

[John_Mc]

With a 4" cylinder most of my wood splits well under 1000 psi, 800 to 900 about average for the ash I'm in. Some of it 20" dia.
I put a 6" round in it cross grain and still only got the pressure up to 1300. It would have sheared it right off if the wedge didn't stop 1" short of the flat plate that holds the block because the cylinder ran out of stroke.
Seems to me a 3" cylinder would handle most of what I split.
Ken

Ash has to be one of the easiest woods to split. It's one of the few I really enjoy still splitting by hand. For a real test of a splitter, you need some gnarly pieces of other species: elm, oak with knots or crotches, etc.

Having said that, I agree that a 3 inch cylinder is probably fine for a lot of individual users. I have a 3.5" cylinder on my 16 ton splitter. It works just fine in all kinds of hardwoods - oak, maple, elm, ash. I'm generally splitting from 10" to 18 or 20" diameter, have gone bigger. Are there times when I wish I had a bit more power? Sure, but it's a very rare piece that I can't split -- on those, I may have to back out and go at it again, but it gets done. IMO, the 30+ ton splitters a lot of places are selling are way overkill for even a heavy home user. Yeah, I know there may be exceptions, but the average homeowner/landowner just doesn't need that much machine. For somebody trying to make a business out of firewood, it's a different story.

On a side note: I had lots of fun setting up my city-slicker 220 lb former marine friend with a bunch of Elm to hand split. He was cussing and griping and generally not getting much done. Meanwhile, I went at a stack of Ash. One swing, and it popped right in two. I gave him lots of bogus "pointers and tips" to try to help him get the hang of it. Even traded splitting mauls so he could have the "good one". Made sure our wives were watching the spectacle. Waited till he was about ready to blow a gasket before I slipped an ash into his pile... "Hey, now you're getting it". Finally, as we were enjoying a beer afterward, I let him in on it. I almost ended up wearing his beer, but he eventually started laughing about it. Unfortunately for me, payback's a b*%ch... he'll get me back one of these days.

 

[SPYDERLK]

On a side note: I had lots of fun setting up my city-slicker 220 lb former marine friend with a bunch of Elm to hand split. He was cussing and griping and generally not getting much done. Meanwhile, I went at a stack of Ash. One swing, and it popped right in two. Unfortunately for me, payback's a b*%ch... he'll get me back one of these days.

From "The Wonderful One Hoss Shay" by Oliver Wendell Holmes:

The hubs [were made] from logs from the "Settler's ellum,"
Last of its timber--they couldnt sell 'em--
Never an ax had seen their chips,
And the wedges flew from between their lips,
Their blunt ends frizzled like celery tips;
larry

 

[Wayne County Hose]

If a 3" or 3.5" bore works for you, great. However, just be careful of the rod diameter. I wouldn't have a log splitter with a rod diameter under 2". When you do get a nasty, knotty piece in there and the rod is pretty far out of the cylinder, you will find it much easier to bend a 1.5" rod than a 2" rod. I get a lot of splitters in my shop with bent rods and most of them are under 2". I like to talk the customer into installing a 2" rod as a replacement so that I will probably never have to see him again.

 

[Youare]

I would suggest you get a stand alone splitter. You can use a stand alone splitter in places you would not want or can not take your tractor, like a relatives place. Most splitters will fit in a pick up bed or nicely on a small trailer which makes them more mobile than the 3 PH types.

Most 3 PH splitters are slower operating than most stand alone splitters. A few seconds more time multiplied by half the number of pieces in your wood pile I bet would add up to a big chunk of time.

Unless your tractor is set up with remotes for the hydraulics that is another expence you will have. Take that money and purchase a better stand alone splitter. A stand alone splitter is easier to store and move around than a 3 PH style when it is not connected to the tractor.

The "extra" work of taking care of another engine is not that much work. A oil change once a year and some gas stabilizer now and then is about all you will need. I also considered a 3 PH splitter but went for the stand alone and I am glad I did.

Randy

 

[WilliamBos]

I would suggest you get a stand alone splitter. You can use a stand alone splitter in places you would not want or can not take your tractor, like a relatives place.



Randy

If my tractor don't go, the splitter don't go!! If I don't lend one, I don't lend the other regardless of value.

For us, speed is not an issue, if it can split faster than us, than it is perfect.

 

[skidsteer.ca]

If a 3" or 3.5" bore works for you, great. However, just be careful of the rod diameter. I wouldn't have a log splitter with a rod diameter under 2".

A bigger rod would also reduce retraction time. I would think most of the bent rods have been on 4" bore cylinders though?

As for power, it just seems to me most people don't have enough pump volume and a smaller cylinder would provide enough force to do the vast majority of splitting.
A faster cycle would benefit you 98% of the time. As opposed to waiting because you have more tonnage, which you almost never need.

Yes ash as a rule splits fairly easy, but the crotches don't. It does not cut cross grain vary easy. Yet my 4" bore will shear a 6" round of ash cross grain at under 1500 psi. I have 1000 psi in reserve, that I can't see ever needing.
Sure with a 3" ram I might have to reposition the odd piece to get it split, but it would not be many.
Maybe I'm just impatient.

Ken