Hydraulic Log splitter wedges

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One day while splitting wood with my Northern products horizontal splitter made in 1998, I ripped the wedge right off the splitter. The mistake I made was to clean everything up and re-weld the original wedge back on. This wedge is 8" high. What i should have done was to order a 12" high wedge and weld that on. In hindsight, does anyone know of a 12" slip on wedge WITHOUT BEING A 4 WAY, (which I already have) that can slip over the original wedge just as a 4 way would? This taller wedge would come in handy when splitting 18" rounds without having to turn it over to split the top part that didn't quite get split all the way. Here are the things I thought of as I cannot find what i'm looking for:

1. Buy another 4 way that is 12" high and cut off the wings.

2. Weld a 4" piece of splitter wedge to the top of this one.

3. Contact a company that makes the 4 way wedge and ask for one without the wings.


I do not have metal working tools to make up my own wedge that would require welding two 1/2" plates together at the proper angle then creating a cutting edge some how. I haven't seen any 2 way wedge slip ons which would be the easiest thing so I'm asking if anyone else is aware of such a design or give me other ideas?

 

[turnkey4099]

One day while splitting wood with my Northern products horizontal splitter made in 1998, I ripped the wedge right off the splitter. The mistake I made was to clean everything up and re-weld the original wedge back on. This wedge is 8" high. What i should have done was to order a 12" high wedge and weld that on. In hindsight, does anyone know of a 12" slip on wedge WITHOUT BEING A 4 WAY, (which I already have) that can slip over the original wedge just as a 4 way would? This taller wedge would come in handy when splitting 18" rounds without having to turn it over to split the top part that didn't quite get split all the way. Here are the things I thought of as I cannot find what i'm looking for:

1. Buy another 4 way that is 12" high and cut off the wings.

2. Weld a 4" piece of splitter wedge to the top of this one.

3. Contact a company that makes the 4 way wedge and ask for one without the wings.


I do not have metal working tools to make up my own wedge that would require welding two 1/2" plates together at the proper angle then creating a cutting edge some how. I haven't seen any 2 way wedge slip ons which would be the easiest thing so I'm asking if anyone else is aware of such a design or give me other ideas?

Perhaps weld a single "slitter" on top of the wedge at the rear. Wedge would sstart the split and slitter would sever the top half. Stubborn ones would be finished by the next block pushing the first one clear.

That would only require grindin and edge on a piece of 1/2" or perhaps even 3/8" iron.

I recall seeing designs using such an arrangement.

Harry K

 

[techman]

When I made my splitter I found that the wedge ripped off easily, even though it was welded with a continuous bead to the beam. The solution was to put a tail on the wedge, about 2" long, and weld the wedge to the beam surface and the tail extended over the end of the beam and was welded to the beam web with continuous beads on both sides. It was 10 years old with heavy use and I sold the splitter with the wedge still firmly attached.

Paul

 

[Brimfield]

So it's good to know I am not the only one to have a wedge come off. My homemade splitter is a 13 hp with a 22 gal per min pump and a 5" cylinder. It was splitting fine until I had to try an oak log full of knots and twists :yell: I added a back up plate to mine and asked a Real Welder from work to weld it on for me. No problems now' nothing slows it down yet but no 4 way wedge for me. If the back up to the wedge in the pic is bad I can get a better pic.

 

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Perhaps weld a single "slitter" on top of the wedge at the rear. Wedge would sstart the split and slitter would sever the top half. Stubborn ones would be finished by the next block pushing the first one clear.

That would only require grindin and edge on a piece of 1/2" or perhaps even 3/8" iron.

I recall seeing designs using such an arrangement.

Harry K

Thanks TK. If I can envision what you're saying, I'd still be able to fit the slip on the 4 way.

 

[arrow]

So it's good to know I am not the only one to have a wedge come off. My homemade splitter is a 13 hp with a 22 gal per min pump and a 5" cylinder. It was splitting fine until I had to try an oak log full of knots and twists :yell: I added a back up plate to mine and asked a Real Welder from work to weld it on for me. No problems now' nothing slows it down yet but no 4 way wedge for me. If the back up to the wedge in the pic is bad I can get a better pic.View attachment 447677

I do believe the trouble of ripping off wedges starts when a stubborn round rides high on the wedge itself. Creates more leverage to rip the thing off. That's how mine popped off. I had the 4 way on and it rode to the top part of the wedge and off it came. This only happened last year so I got 16 years out of the original weld. If I can envision what Turn key is suggesting, it may look like this which is not a bad idea. It creates height while re-enforcing the wedge a little bit itself.

 

[Brimfield]

The only mod I might add would be a back wedge that is wider. With my narrow wedge it can take longer to finish the split. But then I wonder if that would add lots of stress on the wedge.

 

[turnkey4099]

I do believe the trouble of ripping off wedges starts when a stubborn round rides high on the wedge itself. Creates more leverage to rip the thing off. That's how mine popped off. I had the 4 way on and it rode to the top part of the wedge and off it came. This only happened last year so I got 16 years out of the original weld. If I can envision what Turn key is suggesting, it may look like this which is not a bad idea. It creates height while re-enforcing the wedge a little bit itself.

Yep, that is the idea. I have seen pictures of splitters with that but haven't seen any reports about how well it works.

Harry K