Homemade Skid steer log splitter

[Raw Dodge]

I built a splitter for my skid steer last summer,and I figured Id put the pictures up here for everyone to see.I wanted a splitter that would split the big stuff into manageable pieces,I dont need to split wood down to firewood size as I dont split below 12" wood.Also I figured if I could split as I load my dump trailer,it may save a little time..I built a very simple one,its pretty heavy,so heavy the ford 1910's loader can barley lift it onto a trailer.I figure it weighs 800-1000lbs,you barley know its on the skid steer.I used a 5" prince 3000PSI cylinder I bought from Northern tool,also got a 12" tall wedge from them as well.I secured a beam from a local source a friend at a structural supply house,its 6x8 28 lbs per foot.Lucky for me,my brother owns a flowjet,and he cut out several pieces for me,including the push beam,and the cylinder mounts.It took me about 2 weeks in my spare time to build after work,and one saturday.I have a good supply of scrap steel around,so I used it,I bought a SS plate off of Ebay pretty cheap,and went from there. I got about 800.00 into it and my time....pics to follow...

 

[Raw Dodge]

Here are various pics in the building stages.Nothing fancy involved,just heavy steel,7018,some 6011,6013 and my Hobart/Onan 18HP welder.

 

[Raw Dodge]

A few more pics,Ill post pics after paint next.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Some more after finished. This thing works better than I had hoped for.It isso strong it can actually sheer most trees under a foot in diameter,then i can pick them up with it,and drag them where i want.Im glad i built it very heavy duty,as the exact tonnage is unknown,but it is noticably stronger than my friends 35T Husky...and it splits 42" oak rounds like nothing.It also picks them right up and splits things where you want.....I may in the future add a pivot to the 4" main beam,so i can tuen it up striagh and use it like a regular splitter.Of course id need to add a return valve and different lines....

 

[Big Bri]

Very nicely done.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Thank you! Here is a few more of me "abusing" the splitter. It always ends up happening,I find another use for something.The splitter makes a great tree sheer for smaller trees,this past winter,i sheered a bunch of trees,and got them thru 9"-12" of snow to the wood boiler area and never even had to get out of the skid steer! Most of this was partially blown down locust,uprooted after hurricane floyd in 99.Cutting with a chainsaw was to risky for me,with the trees under pressure lean on other trees,and the deep snow.I felt it safer to simply sheer them from the distance and safety of the cab of the Cat.It worked great,then i grabbed them and got them out of the woods as well.Im not sure how much weight i had ,but i know i was picking up 1000+lb trees easily.Good thing I overbuilt the main beam and push plate!

 

[Oasis]

Nice job, and thanks again for the advice on my DIY splitter. I'm on the coast of Oregon so firewood is not so serious as in your snow country. That's a stout looking rig.

Flowjet water cutting _ very cool. My dad worked for Flow International. I have some goodies from the Washington plant and some stock. No cutter_ but I wish.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Very cool but that is cheating not have to wreck your back picking up the wood.

Chris

 

[Raw Dodge]

Very cool but that is cheating not have to wreck your back picking up the wood.

Chris

It sure is! I picked up a 52" oak round and split it easily,recently..

 

[towmotor]

Clever setup.

 

[tree grower]

Raw dodge- This is a pretty fine set-up. Why did you mount the unit so far from the attachment plate? Visibility?

 

[J_J]

Nice build,

You have about 58,905 lbs or 29.45 tons of force.

I can almost bet that 35T splitter your friend has is not a true 35T. Manufactures like to inflate those figures for sales purpose.

In order to get that figure, the cyl would have to be around 5.5 in bore, at 3000, and if that is used with a two stage pump, the max pressure is around 2500 psi, and would be less.

So you have him beat all around, and you should have a faster split speed/cycle time

 

[J_J]

Those 37 ton log splitter they advertise, using a two stage pump, is in fact only about 25 ton.

They call it 37 ton peak. What peak. Where is the extra coming from, on a clear day maybe. Not.

5 in at 2500 psi = 49,087 or 24.54 ton

How can they straight out lie so good?

 

[LD1]

I hate to be the one to point this out, but this thread is abou 1-1/2 years old, and raw dodge hasnt been online for about 3 months.

And While I agree that Mfg's like to inflate #'s most of the time, unless you actually put a pressure guage on the splitter, you are just guessing.

We put one on out huskee 27 ton with 4.5" cylinder. We knew we needed at least 3400psi to make the 27 ton mark. Lo an behold, we hit 3500psi out of the barns 11gpm 2-stage.:thumbsup: 27.81 Tons of force.

That same pump is used on the 22T splitters with a 4" cylinder. 3500PSI would put it right @ 21.98 Tons, so their right on their.

On a 5" cylinder, it would be about 34.38 Tons. So the MFG's were a little closer when they were calling them 35T splitters. To get to 37T, they would need about 3770PSI.

The point of all this is simple. If in doubt, put a guage on it. Frankly the 3500PSI suprised me. But it proved that we do indeed have a 27T splitter.

 

[J_J]

You got how much out of that Barnes pump.

Surplus Center - 11 GPM HALDEX/BARNES 2 STAGE HYD PUMP

 

[LD1]

You got how much out of that Barnes pump.

Surplus Center - 11 GPM HALDEX/BARNES 2 STAGE HYD PUMP

No misprint, we got 3500psi out of it. But that is only 500psi over the rated MAX. They list the GPM rating on the second stage @ 2500PSI but they also list the MAX psi @ 3000, NOT 2500.

But for what its worth, when splitting a log, rarley IF EVER will it even see that. Even if it was a 5000psi pump, it is only going to develop enough pressure to get the work done.

 

[tthopskin@yahoo.ca]

any splitter is better the a 8lb mall i get about 90 95 lb psi :laughing:

 

[Raw Dodge]

I'm still here and i check in,spend most of my time in the ventrac and ford forums..,i get busy and dont have time for the internet except for stuff i have to do,not fun stuff like coming here .Just a note on my splitters pressure,the machines relief valve hits at 3335 psi,not 3000psi,and i dont think ive ever hit it....nothing to stop it yet...and to answer the question on why such a long beam,because im loading my dump trailer with it directly,and it makes visibility much better when splitting vertically,id be looking at the back of the attachment plate if it was shorter...im very glad its this long,its worked out great and it still easily fits in the bed of my pickup,so when i transport the ,machine with the grapple on it i lift the splitter into the bed of the truck with the grapple and load up and go.i just finished using the splitter hard for a week here,ill put some pics up soon...my boys use the splitter more than me i preffer to do the cutting.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Here's a few pictures from this season's wood gathering... I admit it I cheat a little, using my two and a half yard loader to take out the big trees and we hand load its bucket with anything that doesn't need to be split, it then goes right in the trailer while the caterpillar walks on breaking down the big stuff it goes pretty quick with just me and my 2 boys. With a pair of 372 XP s, one of them ported, bucking logs goes pretty quick too