3pt. log splitter?

[willy1947]

I need a project for the winter. Has anyone tried making a 3pt. log splitter attachment? I have access to a hydraulic log splitter cylinder and was wondering if I could power it from my tractor hydraulics. I have a L3830.

My uncle built one using the PTO and long time ago, I just thought I would try something different.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Golfgar4]

Hi Dave,

A quick search in this forum yielded this I wanna Make a Homemade Log Splitter from earlier this year.

Hope this is useful. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[PILOON]

I made one about 3 yrs back using the tractor (MT180D) hydraulics aux output.
Essentially it consists of a 5' long 6" I-beam with a pair of ears to accept the cylinder pin.
The ears were 3" X 1/2" flat stock mounted vertically at the 3 pt end. This was about 16" higher than the upper face of the I-beam and served as the upper 3 pt mount.
For the lower mount I simply welded a suitable length of shafting with a backup washer and drilles for linch pins.
I welded the splitter fixed at the tail end and devised a sliding pusher plate (about 6" X 6") from heavy (5 5/8" plate) welded to an appropriate slider base with ears to guide along the upper I-beam face.
To the rear of the push plate I welded a suitable short piece of pipe to act as a socket for the cylinder push rod.
A simple hole drilled to match my cyl rod acts as a 'pull back' for the push plate.
The ears have a bottem retainer (1/2 X 2") to prevent the pusher from jumping off.
The slider was made longer than wide to prevent it from binding sideways. All slider measurements are very 'sloppy' to prevent binding.
My MT180D pump is 2.5 GPM and the cylinder is 4".
While I might like it to be a bit faster it sure is not lacking in power.
Fast enough to tire me out after 1 hr or so, so I guess it's fast enough.
Hydraulics is straight fwd plumbing with quick disconnects for ease in setting up.
Lever arms with springs can turn the splitter into self return and position stopping.
With my FEL it balances out fairly well, but then I do not drive fast with the splitter mounted as that's a lot of weight overhanging the rear.
A very nice feature is that you can raise the splitter to suit your 'aching back'. Also it is easy to reposition when the wood pile gets a bit cluttered.
Just for fun I occasionally 'cross cut' 6" maple logs just to show off.
Certainly beats swinging an axe!
All in all I am very pleased with the results (and my welds)
My total costs were I-beam ,about $50.00 and the cylinder (scrapped bulldozer lift cyl) about $20.00 some plumbing and a scrounged valve for about $60.00.
Balance was from my 'precious pile of (someday) scrap pile'

 

[jmc]

Bob,

Just stumbled across this clear and thorough description of your log splitter and thought it deserved a response. Thanks for posting it.

John

 

[rdbrumfield]

I built one that is self contained that fits my 3pt. It works with the 540 pto, but I like to use my smaller tractor with the 1000 rpm pto pick up the cycle time of the cylinder. Also it has a winch for picking up larger blocks. It will pick up 6' dia blocks and has a T knife so it only takes two pieces off the bottom of the block as you work down through it. It has been in use for about 25yrs and except for having to replace the bolts on the slide it has worked great.