Home made wood splitter

[dking]

I've always used a wood maul but looked at splitters this year. I usually split between 7 and 10 cord so for me not worth the price of a new one. But for $350, this splitter was made from scrap parts. It ain't super fast, it splits about 1 cord in 2 hours, I can split straight grained wood faster with a maul but this thing will split the biggest, twisted wood I have without any hesitation.

Anyone else make there own splitter? How much did it cost to build? How fast is yours?

 

[Scotty370]

"I can split straight grained wood faster with a maul........."

That's why they say "Firewood heats you twice".......once while splitting it! ~S

 

[brandoro]

My splitter cost about $300.00 Canadian, that was for the cylinder, hoses and valve. The rest was stuff I had laying around.
Did your cost include the operators chair shown in the first photo?? I have to stand to operate mine.
Mine isn't too fast but it doesn't get tired and I don't need to count my fingers when I'm done. I looked at one another guy had built, he used a 2-1/2" cylinder. It was way too fast and didn't have enough power to split twisted or knotty stuff. Mine uses a 4" cylinder so travels at a sedate pace but doesn't stop. So far it has never refused to split anything I have put on it.

 

[PILOON]

Mine hangs on my 3-point and is powered by aux hyd output.
The cylinder is 4" and I lucked out at $25.00, however it does leak a bit.
I-beam was in the $40. range and the costly item is the valve.
Always figured my outlay was no more than $200 total.

With that 4" cylinder, while slower than I'd prefer, I can actually cut 4" maple to length (cross grain). While not recomended practice, it sure tests the integrety of my welding.

 

[DIRTROAD]

I built mine several years ago. Probably have around $300-$400 invested. The engine was a donor from a pressure washer that quit pressuring. Overall I am pleased with it, could be a little stronger though.

 

[bassgrinder]

I built a wood processor add on to my log loader it would do about 2.5 to 4 cords an hour the final product used a 72" slasher bar with 3/4" pitch chain and a 5" ram with an 8 way wedge the hydraulics for the slasher and ram were controlled by 12 volt solenoids and micro switches with "whiskers" to sense the wood so my part was to feed the logs in with the clam as fast as I could. I sold it off when I left Upstate NY but I have decided to build another since even though i do not use too much fire wood here in S Jersey the price for firewood is so high i can't resist

 

[archerm3]

I built a wood processor add on to my log loader it would do about 2.5 to 4 cords an hour the final product used a 72" slasher bar with 3/4" pitch chain and a 5" ram with an 8 way wedge the hydraulics for the slasher and ram were controlled by 12 volt solenoids and micro switches with "whiskers" to sense the wood so my part was to feed the logs in with the clam as fast as I could. I sold it off when I left Upstate NY but I have decided to build another since even though i do not use too much fire wood here in S Jersey the price for firewood is so high i can't resist

Am having a hard time envisioning this.. What's a slasher bar exactly? Do you have pics? Very curious I am.

 

[Sunkistdds]

Still looking for ideas on a guillotine style splitter. I have 2 4" welded cylinders and the heavy I beam as salvage. Want to put it on a 3 point. This just makes it a lot easier to load big pieces for my old back... well you don't load you just upright. I know it is pretty logical, but if there are problems, I would be interested before I strike an arc.

 

[bassgrinder]

Am having a hard time envisioning this.. What's a slasher bar exactly? Do you have pics? Very curious I am.

A slasher is what loggers some times use to cut logs to the correct length for market instead of a chain. There are two types a circular saw type and a bar type. It is basically a oversized bar and chain (the teeth on ｾ pitch are the size of a thumb) usually driven by a hydraulic motor, and it will pivot on one actuated by a hydraulic cylinder. The log lays in a cradle or bunk and the saw swings down and cuts it off. With some firewood processor designs a bar slasher is used for the step of cutting a full size log into the desired length blocks that are then split into the final product. I got rid of the wood processor I built over 10 years ago and have no pictures. Here is a fair set picts of a slasher that is used by loggers
CTR - Sawbuck/Slasher - IronMart
I used a bar, chain, and hydraulics, like this on my processor

 

[sizzami]

mine cost about 2000 with a lot of scrounging

 

[smfcpacfp]

I've always used a wood maul but looked at splitters this year. I usually split between 7 and 10 cord so for me not worth the price of a new one. But for $350, this splitter was made from scrap parts. It ain't super fast, it splits about 1 cord in 2 hours, I can split straight grained wood faster with a maul but this thing will split the biggest, twisted wood I have without any hesitation.

Anyone else make there own splitter? How much did it cost to build? How fast is yours?

You and I are in the same boat. Mine is slow but powerful and cost a few $100 about 30 years ago. Mine has a 1955 Wisconsin 7 hp engine

 

[skidsteer.ca]

I built a wood processor add on to my log loader it would do about 2.5 to 4 cords an hour the final product used a 72" slasher bar with 3/4" pitch chain and a 5" ram with an 8 way wedge the hydraulics for the slasher and ram were controlled by 12 volt solenoids and micro switches with "whiskers" to sense the wood so my part was to feed the logs in with the clam as fast as I could. I sold it off when I left Upstate NY but I have decided to build another since even though i do not use too much fire wood here in S Jersey the price for firewood is so high i can't resist

I'd love to know more about this project too. I have a 200 Serco knuckboom loader, mounted on a old Mack, 3208 cat power with 4 vane pump sections, apox 140 gpm total.
It has a tow behind 60" circular saw slasher with 3 section electric over hydralic valve to run the bunt board, saw arm and length slide. (unfortunately that does not go down to 24") that we cut 8' and load trucks. I'd like to build something I can heel tree length to and block and split it, so we can make use of it in the summer season.
Need ideas for a infeed and out feed conveyor and a splitter arrangement.
Sorry for the hi jack.
Ken

 

[bassgrinder]

Skidsteer
Can you post some pics of the tow behind slasher? Off the top of my head I think you have a good portion of what you will need already in place. You might have to elevate the slashing portion to leave enough room to drop the block to the splitter and then drop finished product from there to a conveyor hopper, etc. I would say the beam the wedge is on would need to be a min of 16" from the ground. Of course 3 feet would be much better, mine was about 3 ft and I could only run about 20 minutes without a conveyor before I could no longer see the wedge and would have to move forward. I built a hopper from 2” X 2” x ¼” sq tube and 1/4” plate and placed it at the bottom of an old hay elevator. I got a double chain square type elevator that was originally 30’ but was rusting out, I managed to save 4 the best 4’ sections for 16’ it worked perfect for me and let me load directly into my tandem dumps. The electric valves are great for automating with a nice little control system the splitting ram and at least the return of the arm saw would work great in auto and you could have the cut stroke of the saw also be an auto cycle but with a manual start. The operator could position log against the bunt, push cycle start, position log against the bunt, push cycle start, and keep repeating until log is gone, grab new log, rinse and repeat. Note the ability to select quickly from 2,4,6,8 way splitting will be IMO crucial, having to sort pieces still too big from the product and process further would be a enormous PIA, particularly when everything else is done smoothly and efficiently
Wayne

 

[skidsteer.ca]

I could watch that saw slicing off a 1/2 cord of wood all day long.
Don't give me any **** about being slow, that was the first couple clam fulls and she was warming up

 

[Gizmo2]

Made this one about 18 years ago.
The oil tank was the biggest challenge, 10" pipe I think. I also made allowances for shorter length wood by using bolts to be placed behind the ram in the platform so to stop the ram from having to go all the way back in order to detent. The first test drive out the axle bent from bouncing hence the 5 1/2" channel.

 

[bassgrinder]

Nice
Does the length between the bunt board and the saw change under hydraulic power? I think you could build a rack that would set in your current cradle and lock to it. I also believe you could attach everything need to further process blocks into fire wood on this frame. That way you could lift the whole works in and out with the grapple some locking pins and quick connect hydraulic lines and you can change back and forth rather easy. There are many possibilities not sure how it might work with the pulp grapple clam but with a narrower Rotobec grapple clam you might even just add a clamp or bolt on spacer to bunt against and have what you are holding in the grapple be the firewood length blocks after slashing and then have separate splitter trailer behind or beside the slasher with a hopper for the blocks and a carry away conveyor, just drop the grapple full of blocks in the hopper after slashing. The main thing is that you have penty of hydraulic power to tap into, the slasher that will most likely cut your blocks faster and easier than anything else, and the grapple to handle the logs.
Wayne

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Nice
Does the length between the bunt board and the saw change under hydraulic power?
Yes currently it slides 10" from 96 to 106" lengths.

I think you could build a rack that would set in your current cradle and lock to it. I also believe you could attach everything need to further process blocks into fire wood on this frame. That way you could lift the whole works in and out with the grapple some locking pins and quick connect hydraulic lines and you can change back and forth rather easy. There are many possibilities not sure how it might work with the pulp grapple clam but with a narrower Rotobec grapple clam you might even just add a clamp or bolt on spacer to bunt against and have what you are holding in the grapple be the firewood length blocks after slashing and then have separate splitter trailer behind or beside the slasher with a hopper for the blocks and a carry away conveyor, just drop the grapple full of blocks in the hopper after slashing
.
Never thought of that but maybe, The current grapple is .4 cord and 25" wide, but the saw motor hangs out 17" on the loaders side of the saw, which would make it tough to slash short wood
The main thing is that you have penty of hydraulic power to tap into, the slasher that will most likely cut your blocks faster and easier than anything else, and the grapple to handle the logs.

It could easily cut 10 to 15 bloacks at once, though with 1 to 4 the saw would need little time for the rpm to recover. In the video the saw runs @ 1500 rpm and likely drop to 750 after a cut like that.
Wayne

What I had been thinking so far was to have another hitch on the passengers side rear outrigger to offset the slasher to the side allowing a outfeed conveyor to come up over the bunt board along side the loader and carry the split wood out, without interfering with the loaders swing.

Have a couple drop legs to get the slashers tires up 24" so the rounds would drop from the saw into the splitter basket, which would ram them forward and onto the outfeed conveyor.

The tree could be loaded and advanced with the loader but I would like to have a live roller feed to bring the tree forward, so the loader could be getting another stem. The live feed could come later though.
The 50 gpm that runs the saw goes into a flow devider that splits 12 gpm off for the slasher cylinders. (to the 3 section electric hyd valve, So I really have 5 total pump circuits.) This flow could be robbed to advance the infeed.

Hopefully the saw motor oil could be robbed momentarily to run the splitter.

It would also be good to have a way to process multiple stems, though I have no idea how the splitter would be arranged

I have looked at the Multi Tech (love that feed grapple) and Cord Kings and like you said most of it is there.
Ken

 

[toxicjeeper]

Made this one about 18 years ago.
The oil tank was the biggest challenge, 10" pipe I think. I also made allowances for shorter length wood by using bolts to be placed behind the ram in the platform so to stop the ram from having to go all the way back in order to detent. The first test drive out the axle bent from bouncing hence the 5 1/2" channel.

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Hey Gizmo..Your splitter looks exactly like what i want to make..lots of room to work withour getting into the tire..What are your pump spec and eng HP..also what size is that beam..looks like what i need to run a 15 HP 16 gpm pump with a 3.5 inch 24 inch long cylinder..hopeing for a high 6 low 7 sec cycle time..

 

[Gizmo2]

Hey Gizmo..Your splitter looks exactly like what i want to make..lots of room to work withour getting into the tire..What are your pump spec and eng HP..also what size is that beam..looks like what i need to run a 15 HP 16 gpm pump with a 3.5 inch 24 inch long cylinder..hopeing for a high 6 low 7 sec cycle time..

Wow, sold the splitter about 10 years ago and don't recall some of the requested information. What I do know is the beam, I think was 10", 5-HP motor, 2-speed pump. Besides the axle needing to be braced I also needed to add bracing to the beam under the wedge as the unit was twisting the top of the beam. I will add, if I may, your 15-HP engine and 16-gpm pump requirements seem to be a lot. Others on here will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[toxicjeeper]

Thanks Gizno..Sorry i didnt realize the thread was that old till now..I am in the process of looking for a beam now..Have a line on a 6 x6 x 8 but that just seem too small..my only reason for wanting to build over buy is cause the stuff on the market seem cheaply made and slow as snot for the 2ooo+ price tag..The pump i plan on using with the 15 hp is 16gpm on the low pressure side and 4 gpm on the high pressure side..I could get away with a smaller motor but the 15 hp is pretty cheap knock-off motor and has an electric start :thumbsup: