Log splitter and a flying log - safety

[Code54]

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers. As for my father's age, he was 90, so he had a great long life and was a Korean War vet.

I took a break from everything else and walked over to the shop to snap a photo of the beam and wedge, as requested. Perhaps the flat end may need some more aggressive rough edges to help keep the wood from slipping.

 

[jmc]

Yep on more traction for your anvil. If the log wasnt cut off squarely, one of the split segments may not even be touching its anvil lug.

 

[dodge man]

I have no idea if this is a positive thing or negative for keeping splits from flying. On mine the round silver thing on the bottom plate spins. I could see that helping to relieve stress, I could also see it allowing things to pivot and aim at you.

 

[Code54]

That is interesting; I never saw one that rotates. I like the little wedges and should grip the log better.

Tomorrow my hockey helmet with the steel face guard comes, so I will be all ready to get back at it! Lol

 

[Jack Yuan]

Interesting. Not the way I would have designed it. I would have used a few metal bands. One would have thought that they would have designed the door/lid would be on the side so as not to have to lift the log even higher. Then again many areas of Europe rely on copiced wood for firewood, so the pieces tend to be smaller.

Variety is the spice of life as they say...

All the best, Peter

right, the latest EU standard requires all the horizontal log splitter has such protection cover since 2017.

 

[Jack Yuan]

That is interesting; I never saw one that rotates. I like the little wedges and should grip the log better.

Tomorrow my hockey helmet with the steel face guard comes, so I will be all ready to get back at it! Lol

A good helmet is always a good idea, and remember to operate machine by two hands in the same time, this is also the latest EU safety standard.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

 

[dodge man]

Those all looked pretty scary.

 

[SPYDERLK]

well, this is the log splitter follow the latest Euro safety standard, you can see the difference from yours.

Piece of perforated stall mat should do it. Or maybe baseball catcher togs would be less pia.

 

[beenthere]

Today I was splitting wood with a 25-ton log splitter as I have done a 1000x before. I had a piece of oak in, and the ram was moving forward as normal when I heard a pop, then saw a flash of a log flying. When I came to, I was lying on my back in the pile of logs, blood dripping from my face, and unable to see very well. It seems the log hit me. Long story short, after the trip to the ER I ended up with a broken orbital socket, some stitches, and a mild concussion.

My question is, what would cause a log to come off the splitter like a rocket? I realize it is under pressure, but I never saw a 20lb log become a full-blown projectile. I was lucky; I had my safety glasses on (the lens was damaged from the log), but not sure how I would have prevented it or how I could have been better prepared. The machine was in the horizontal position where you pick the log up and set it in the machine when this happened. Thinking that having it in the vertical position may be better because if it spits one out it would at least be at ground level.

For 50 year now, have done all my splitting on horizontal splitter, and the operator has to watch the grain in the log being split or can get hit by the occasional flying log. Not the splitters fault, but is a result of operator not reading the log.
Wood grows around limbs and causes "curly" hard to split wood. Most who grow up hand splitting wood know quite well that curly, knarly grain is difficult to split. I hand split for 15 years, and know it well.

This thread shows some good designs that could help.