Kubota Woodsplitter/widowmaker

[treeboone]

Here is a pic of it on my 1988 Case I-H 255 (21 pto HP)
I bought the tractor new and just traded it in on a new Kubota L4610 (FEL, 9000 woods backhoe, Curtis front plow, 6 foot brush cutter, Don't ask what it cost....) This little tractor has been utterly reliable throughout the 600 hours of hard work Ive demanded of it. Just wanted a new toy.

 

[HR_Mutt]

treeboone
Yes, the splitter looks dangerous.(there, I complied with the subject of this thread/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif)
Would appreciate some comments(pics?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif)on the curtis front plow (on my wish list) and the backhoe! Why the woods? How's it work, etc. I've just started getting info on them and would like to get one someday.
Thanks
Mutt

 

[Bird]

treebone, I'd never seen one of those PTO powered log splitters, but I watched a demonstration of the one that replaced a car's rear wheel (actually a pickup truck) at the State Fair of Texas many, many years ago. Don't know whether they sold enough of them to amount to anything or not, or whether they still make them.

Bird

 

[treeboone]

Mr Mutt, I won't take delivery till this wednesday(fingers crossed) I ordered the Woods 9000 since it had a decent reputation and is the most common aftermarket hoe in the N. Idaho area. I ordered it self contained, preferring to avoid contaminating the tractor hydraulic, and also ordered the subframe mount. I have been plowing snow with the little Case 255 for 11 winters using a back blade and the loader bucket. It works without fail, but the last few years I have not been looking forward to the job, and find more excuses to put it off. I worked 2 winters at a ski resort in Calif. in snowremoval using a 11 foot Balderson blade on the front of a 966 Cat loader, not unlike a very heavy version of the Curtis plow. I am looking forward to it. That combined with a hydro transmission will make the job bearable for a few years at least. I sure am glad to have found these forums, it really was a MAJOR assist in buying my equipment. Thanks to one and all.

 

[treeboone]

Bird, I would be very surprised if this type of splitter is still available new, if so it is not made in the US. They are fast but have some quirks that are hard to live with (pun intended again.) They have a bad habit of sucking in the wood and wedging it firmly behind the screw. If you could reverse the pto this might not be a problem. Since that is not an option, the sledge hammer or maul is never far away, nor long without use. Sometimes I would work harder to dislodge the wood than if I had split it manually to begin with. It was a cool implement and seemed like a good idea at the time, but trust me when I say it is not a loss nor are you missing anything good.

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya's
I have seen the same thing here in New Zealand it had a table that the block of wood sat on and you let the screw pull the log onto it's self but i have seen one jam and snap the pto off inside the tractors back end big bucks to fix and a pain in the a$$ when it happens ,hydro splitters have taken over in bigger numbers here there is one in the usa i'd like to see working it's called splitfire (i think thats the name) it works both ways ,like haveing 2 spliters if ya had a few mates around you would split heaps in a short time
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[s1120]

I just got one of the two way splitters. It was made by case for the case garden tractors.

 

[jdkid]

hi ya
i did not know case made them too, most of the ones i have seen run off a gas motor but i'd just get one for the back of a tractor.How do you find it for splitting?? from what i have read about 2 way splitters one side is better for bigger or harder logs and the other for smaller stuff
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[s1120]

I have not used it yet, I just got it. It runs off the tractors hyd system. I am hoping to use it this weekend. I will try to get some pictures next week.

 

[Bird]

treeboone, I never knew anyone who owned one of the screw type splitters; just saw that demonstration at the Fair that one year; don't know whether he sold any. One thing I noticed right off and mentioned to my wife was the fact that he had a lot of very nice, straight, uniform sized wood that he was splitting./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I told my wife if I only had that kind of wood, I could split it even faster with a splitting maul./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif And this other type (two-way) you guys are discussing may be something I've never seen; I don't think I understand what you're talking about. Anyone have a picture?

Bird