build a splitter

[chainsawnut]

Hey guys I posted on the end of an old thread so will put this one up looking for more information.Firstly JJ thanks for pm and surplus centre email adress ,But I have had no replies so anyone got a street adress for them,I am situated in south australia,With the sled,I intend using I beam with the wedge at the opposite end to the ram.
What sort of clearance should the sled have on the beam.
I intend to use a 4 1/2 ram 18 inches long a 13 gpm pump and a 5 or6.5 engine.
There are lots of splitters here made in china around 1,500 dollars but I suffer from deep pocket short arm syndrome so DIY is the only way I will end up with a pump.
Here in oz a 2 stage 13gpm pump runs at close to 400 dollars so surplus centres prices look pretty good even with exchange rate and postage.
I have spent many days enjoying the many build it yourself posts this is a great place to visit cheers

 

[lostcause]

a little over a year ago i built a similar sized splitter. i used a 3-1/2"x18" cylinder. i designed it so that i had 19" between the wedge and the plate on the end of the cylinder. so far this has worked well. i used the remains of a slip-on 4-way wedge for my splitting wedge, and the angle causes most wood to pop apart long before the cylinder reaches maximum stroke. for the one or two odd pieces that are too twisted and stringy to split apart before the cylinder reaches the limit, i just leave it there and put another piece of wood on. the new piece pushes the first log the last inch to finish the split.

 

[chainsawnut]

thanks lostcause,does your pusher just float above the I beam or is it held down in some way.I gather yours rruns from tractor power,still have had no luck contacting surplus centre any one got any other reasonable priced suppliers in mind

 

[lostcause]

the angle that pushes the log toward the wedge is secured by guides along the toes of the flanges that are slightly thicker than the flange. another wider guide sandwiches the beam flange in so there can be nothing but a nominal amount of vertical movement. pay no attention to the missing bolt. i was one short when i put it together and i had the intention of getting one for it, but it hasn't happened yet. maybe i will when i paint it. i intended to do that once i had assembled and tested it, but we can see how that went too.

the thing to remember with this is that it isn't necessarily the exact way i would have designed it - it was designed around what i had for steel. i had two lengths of 4" beam to work with. one was about 3' long, the other about 1'. the two pieces are not even from the same original piece, and probably not even the same heat. they are the same shape: w4x13, and are within rolling specs (i assume) but the flanges are not parallel with each other and not quite the same thickness, width, or depth. this makes the splitter construction look a little poor when examined closely, but it was the nature of trying to splice two non-identical pieces.

i chose to put 1" plates in the middle (directly under the valve support) and on the ends to lengthen the beam, but i get the added bonus of a little flange stiffening.

the angle that pushes the log is a 4x6x3/4 x 6" long. ideally i would have had a 6" vertical leg, but i didn't have one. i've also been meaning to attach a 2" plate to the top of the 4" leg to make up for this, but that hasn't happened either. i also think i may drill 4 holes in the vertical leg of the angle and thread in bolts sharpened to a point to help hold the log in place. i have seen this on another homemade splitter and i like it compared to a weld build-up pattern.

i'll gladly answer any questions you may have or give you any insight you might want. one thing that i have noticed here is that most here who have splitters would not accept one as small as i did. i based my decision on the fact that while growing up my in the 70's and early 80's family had a standard 4x24 splitter on a 4" deep beam driven by a 3.5-5hp briggs motor. it split every size log imaginable, and for several family members each year. probably 15-35 cord per year. it was abused and broken occasionally, but not from use. rather from falling out of a truck or similar accidents. it is still partly in use by different family members now with various additions and repairs, but still the same cylinder, valve, and beam. i'm not sure about the pump and motor, but they may be partly original.

myself, i've never seen the need for these massive 35+ ton splitters sold today. i'm sure ours was rated 12-16 ton and did everything for a good sized family. maybe if splitting for commercial sale i might want bigger, but even then i'm not sure.

 

[lostcause]

oh yeah, one thing i will add... since cost is as much of an issue as quality to you, i'm going to give you the bad news that it will probably cost more to build one than it will to buy one. aside from metal, welding rods, and bolts, i have around $450 in mine: $200 for the cylinder, $100 for the valve, and $150 for hoses, fittings, and couplers. i did buy everything locally, so the prices were a little higher, but after factoring in shipping, not that much higher.

if you have to buy motor, pump, tank, valve, cylinder, hoses, fittings, wheels, and tires, you're probably close to the price of a purchased splitter already, not even including the metal. if you can find a damaged one for real cheap it's a great start, or if you have access to any sort of salvage yards where you can buy parts used, then it could turn out fairly cheap.

i think a complete 3ph tractor driven splitter similar in size to mine from northern was in the $600 range, plus $100 shipping and $100 for couplers and connecting hoses. if i had to putchase all the steel i probably would have been at the same price. i looked for the pieces i needed at scrap yards, but never found anything. maybe your luck will be better.

 

[49er]

This is another mounting option for the slide.
The sides come down past the top of the beam and solid bars bolt on which ride underneath the beam. I used UHMW plastic in the corners of the base of the slide for smooth movement.

 

[chainsawnut]

Thanks lost cause and 49er I appreciate your replies,I have a ram ,plenty of offcut steel 1 inch plate included,a box of hydraulic conectors some hoses from old hydraulic systems.I dont need a big splitter as I can no longer handle large logs
.When my dad passed away 2 years ago he left behind a machine shop ,milling machine slide shaper 3 lathes tool and cutter grinder large stick welder.and stacks of other stuff all 440 volt.
I now need to clear this all out for my mum who is 85 but I can keep whatever tools I want for myself or my sons,one is in the airforce studying plane maintainence,cant think of the proper term.
What I want to do is build something which will make my life easier before I start to part out his shed.
I also have a few honda motors available smoky but functional,I at 10 hp 1 at 6.5 I will use the smaller if I can no longer have the strength for cranking over the big one.
The 6.8 has a gear reduction box fitted can I remove this or just run the speed back up at the pump by using a larger pulley on the pump and belt drive.Pump and valve are way to dear down under so will try buy them in the usa. cheers and thanks for the support,due to financial restraints this thing will be built bit by bit

 

[chainsawnut]

Any clues as to wether I can remove the gear reduction gearbox from the honda engine,and still use the motor.Have not had any luck in getting email replies from surplus centre or northern maybe they dont ship abroad anymore.
But I tried 1 more email tonight.I received a reply from an ebay store that could supply a pump and valve butcould give me no info on what matched what and could not provide motor mounts couplings etc.His pumps only weighed 6pounds so I gather they would not be Hb pumps I think they weigh in at around 12. cheers

 

[49er]

Sorry, no clue here.

 

[jimmysisson]

Not sure about the gear reduction either, but I endorse the sharpened bolts for securing the log at the pusher. It's just a safety factor for those logs that are not cut square (who does that?) jumping off into your leg. A gnarly piece under full ram pressure has lots of power in it.
I only question the ram length, but if you already have the cylinder, that speaks louder. Good luck with your project, and moving all dad's HEAVY machinery!
Jim

 

[chainsawnut]

well guys still slowly moving with this thing illness and other things have got in the way,but after tearing the ligaments in my lower back last weekend while splitting with a maul it has now come back to being a priority.I have just sent off to an ebay store for a set of plans on dvd so hopefully that will arrive here in my part of australia within the next week or so.I now have an extra 10hp honda motor for parts so maybe some sort of assisted starter motor may be in order.I am still trying to get a reply from surplus centre but no luck as yet JJ had sent me an adress and a contact but no luck probably once I have the plans and know what I need I may have more luck.The seller of the plans is USA based and says they supply a detailed parts list and supplier list and at the moment the aussie dollar is up against the greenback.As far as bought machines go the stuff available down under is to me undersized and the postage is over the top.the postage on one of the 4 tonne machines is around 170 bucks I can get a good pump for that and the others are rated around 8 ton but dont look very strong to me probably all chinese made but without being able to actually view one I am a bit sceptical as to how many bits of aussie hardwood they wood cut cheers

 

[woodgrub]

hi,what sort and size wood do u wan to split / wedge on end of beam is best.have seen wedges torn off beams because not cut and welded and reinforced, intergrated into beam. anchor cylinder end with two or three web mounts and intergrate into the beam. beam choice can be box tube,where the pusher plate can slide along encasing the beam,safest method, or weldhalf inch plate along top of beam work area for slide. i beam is cheap,that,s why many folk use it,but u still have to beef it to stop twist stresses.have had both types of beam, prefer box beam myself.redesigned wedges to split the toughest wood australia has to offer.if u build one for home or commercial use at the end of the day u don,t want to be repairing the machine. cheers

 

[chainsawnut]

Hey woodgrub far south coast is a big area where are you

 

[woodgrub]

Hi, i'm in Narooma, south of Batemans Bay. Did you get the beam design ideas? I'm happy to talk splitters any time!!!:thumbsup:

 

[chainsawnut]

hey all back to this project is there any reason a logsplitter pump has to be two stage I have found a couple of power take off pumps and another single stage pump.Why are all splitter pumps direct drive whats wrong with using a single stage pump with a pulley and belt drive set up.I have no hydraulics knowledge at all so thats why I am asking questions cheers Is ther an easy way to find posts that you have participated in but cant find

 

[lostcause]

hey all back to this project is there any reason a logsplitter pump has to be two stage I have found a couple of power take off pumps and another single stage pump.Why are all splitter pumps direct drive whats wrong with using a single stage pump with a pulley and belt drive set up.I have no hydraulics knowledge at all so thats why I am asking questions cheers Is ther an easy way to find posts that you have participated in but cant find

the benefit of the two stage pump is that when under no load (the return stroke and the take-up before the log is engaged) the cylinder will get the benefit of the fast fluid speed. a 16gpm 2 stage pump only flows that fast under no-load conditions with a low pressure. it reverts to a low flow high pressure when it is actually doing the work.

a single stage pump will work, but you will want a reasonable flow to make the no-load speed bearable. i built a splitter that i run off my tractor's hydraulics. it's a single stage 5.6gpm pump, and it can be a little slow on the return, but it's fine for me as a one-man splitter.

 

[chainsawnut]

thanks lost cause speed is not an issue to me,these power take off pumps that I found been out in the shed hunting and could only find one it is gear driven made by Edbro england model is a bit confusing as it has two sets of numbers one says pto model then these digits stamped on the first 4 are on a flat plate the last two on the casing numbers are 702852.
At the other end are cast edbro england and wpa57p,this is a largish pump about the sise of a 009 stihl chainsaw,I also have a smaller one of the same make but have to find where I stuck it,do you think these things would work or should I forget that option I am open to advice. I don't want to chop the end off of the pump to fit a pulley where th cog is if this pump would be better off being reused for it's proper purpose but I do not know what that is cheers and thanks for replying

 

[zonta223]

Hi
I am from near Adelaide so not far from you.
I bought a 12 ton Chinese log splitter could have gone the DIY route but did not have the time having to work the vineyard.
It came with its own trailer/mount.
Has been a great buy and certainly saved my back.
If you want to see one in action got to 12 TON Hydraulic Wood LOG SPLITTER 5.5hp 4 Stroke B/New | eBay and click on the video.
The demo is splitting Australian hardwood and I have done a lot bigger logs than shown.
The company provides great service.
regards

 

[chainsawnut]

thanks zonta I had seen that while cruising the bay over the last couple of weeks(strained back splitting firewood) . Wondered if it was as good as it looked ,does it have filtration for the oil,not towable on roads by the look of it
.
,just how long have you had yours not a bad price 799 do you remember what the freight to adelaide was.,How does it handle old dead wood I have a stack of 6 to 7 year seasoned redgum and tuart gum, the red will split by hand but not the tuart.
The beam is it box or I beam ?
Thanks for the feedback I might be better off putting my bits up on ebay and put the money to the splitter,I really appreciate your input .a lot of my family are in adelaide what part of town are you in any chance of a demo one weekend if you are doing a bit of splitting cheers and thanks again. pete

 

[woodgrub]

hi zonta, i have that same splitter for about ayear now, modified wedge,d6 dozer ripper shoe as wedge ,extra angle weldeld on sides to enhance quicker split,standard wedge was too small,too slow.mounted mine on rear of hilux tray ute 4x4. did away with original mounts,sits flush with tray,has loglifter/bench with dropleg support socan use as bench loaded with roundswhile splitting.lifter/bench works with retracting the cylinder via cable,will lift enough to take frountwheels off the ground,or enough wood to keep u busy .