I’d like to add some thoughts…. I have a firewood processor and do 50-150 cords (full cords) per year with it. Google Blacks Creek 1500, you’ll see the basic machine. The bar is belt powered from a 13hp Honda also driving the hydraulic pump for the splitting ram and log lift and infeed conveyor belt.
Don’t bother with a hydraulic saw. Too much $$ and complex for your needs unless you want to spend lots. Do some searching, look at a Wallenstien firewood processor, that’s more along what you’ll likely build.
Use a winch to pull your logs up, move the cable/choker and keep winching through. Have a chainsaw on a pivot…. Drill a hole through a bar, that simple. Make the splitter section a V shape so the blocks fall down into the V trough. Cutting from the bottom up may work better to make the pieces fall straight down, then the sawdust will get blown away from you as well. Blocks that don’t fall straight need to be monkeyed with to roll into or be straight in the splitting area. Hence having them simply fall straight down and self align with a V trough. The cylinder I use is a 3” bore with an upgraded rod (13/4” I think) for faster return time. Ports opened up and using 3/4” hose. 24” stroke. I have a ‘dump valve’ on the return to send the base end oil back to the tank rather than through the whole system. (Sped up cycle time about a second)
The 2/4 way wedge is manual height adjust. It works fine. No hydraulics needed. You have a clamp arm on your body, the one not running the pivoting saw.
Now, the second biggest problem with the processor is getting the split wood away from you, you need a conveyor that will carry it away. The splits need to push onto it without getting bunged up. I had a V trough with a hay chain style and it sucked for me. Moved to a rubber belt conveyor and it hasn’t missed a beat. I have a 16’ conveyor that I can adjust the height on with a long stroke ram. At max height I can pile about 2 cords of wood under it before having to reposition the machine.
My set up will do a cord (128cu/ft) an hour on 13hp. It runs cheap easy to get 325 pitch chain, 18” bar. Bars and chains wear out faster on the processor than a saw. There’s no forgiveness in crooked cutting. Wore Bars make saws cut crooked just a tad, that jams a processor or makes it work harder to cut.
I think the Wallenstien style processor would work well for you, leave your logs long, winch them up in, pivot a saw through, block falls into a V trough, ram pushes through a knife onto a conveyor. Sounds Easy!!!