I use a splitter that was my grandfather's that was made by Northern Hydraulics before they changed to Northern Tool. Just a few years ago they had basically the same thing just a different motor and a different layout, but the pump, cylinder, and valve were the same. It has the wedge on the beam and we've had several pieces stuck on the wedge that it couldn't split (usually pieces with large knots or a fork) and had to knock them back with a sledge hammer. Plus we might split stuff into a dozen or more pieces, and that's a lot of moving the wood backwards to split again. It seems like it would work so much better with the wedge on the cylinder with the piece that removes stuck wood.