Logsplitter 2.0

[rswyan]

I've tried that, spoke with several companies both big and small about both firewood and wood chips. I'm 15 min from the edge of a city of million people with a dozen outfits between here and there and they all say I'm too far away :-(

Well ... crap ...

 

[aczlan]

Yeah ... probably could just run a chain around all of it ... :thumbsup:

If you already keep a chain with the splitter to pull stuck pieces off of the wedge, you may as well make use of it...

Aaron Z

 

[rswyan]

The apple wood:

This is the pile I wound up with after we finished this afternoon except for about 4 bucket loads that we stuck behind the house to burn. It really needs to season :

 

[rswyan]

If you already keep a chain with the splitter to pull stuck pieces off of the wedge ...

I do now ...

... you may as well make use of it...

Makes sense to me ... :thumbsup:

 

[rswyan]

Spent most of last night working on finishing things up and fixing things on the splitter.

What happens to a log lift hinge pin when it gets in the way of the push block :

Dang thing rotated handle up ... and the block caught it.

Heated it up with the torch and straightened it out ... after I did the same for the log lift brackets. Drilled the pins as well, for some hitch pin clips.

Got about 1 1/2" trimmed off the log lift top, which should keep it out of the way of the push block when it's raised. Also capped the square tubes ... so they don't collect water.

The super-duper thread sealer turned out to be Permatex No. 2 (non-hardening) - which I already had - so I got the two problematic fittings between the valves pulled, cleaned up, coated with sealer, and reassembled.

Heated up the pipes on the table grate and bent them into position.

Got the valve cover for the engine pulled and found what was causing the leakage (bent around the bolt holes) ... still have to straighten that out and cut a new gasket.

 

[rswyan]

Table grate with pipes bent. Also did a little mod awhile back to the center tube so that it would clear the wedge when folded up into the upright position:

 

[rswyan]

Picked up a restriction orifice fitting (1/2 MPT ---> 1/2 FPT swivel) at TSC yesterday and installed it after I got home.

It's 1/32" (.03125") orifice ... which sure does look tiny. I installed it on the line to rod end of the cylinder, which should be a little faster than if it were installed on the line to base end. Have to test it out here in a little bit.

Also picked up a new muffler, as I noticed that the one on there is rotted out in at least one spot. It's an "Arnold" brand replacement part ... not exactly an identical replacement (it's a bit longer) but it should work with a little modification of the heat shield that (mostly) covers it. Be interesting to see if it quiets the engine down any.

Of course, that assumes I can actually get the old muffler off ... we heated up the pipe elbow it screws into yesterday with the O/A torch to cherry red ... and it still wouldn't budge.

Cut a new gasket for the valve cover and tried to straighten up the edges of the cover itself a little. Slapped some of that Permatex No. 2 (non-hardening) on it to see if I can eliminate the oil leak. If this don't handle it, I think I'll be looking for a new valve cover.

I also used some blue Loctite on the bolts, as I noticed several were loose when I went to remove the cover yesterday.

Might try and see if I can sort out why the engine will only run at WOT today ...

 

[CarterKraft]

Might try and see if I can sort out why the engine will only run at WOT today ...

Great job on the splitter and the thread. I have found the build thread to be as much work as the build.

Usually if the engine won't run in idle or mid-low RPM it's due to the pilot jet being clogged. There are a bunch of small holes in this jet that clog easily.

 

[rswyan]

Great job on the splitter and the thread.

Thanks.

I have found the build thread to be as much work as the build.

LOL ... yeah, there's definitely some T and E involved in documenting it.

Usually if the engine won't run in idle or mid-low RPM it's due to the pilot jet being clogged. There are a bunch of small holes in this jet that clog easily.

I got into trying to figure this out yesterday ... probably should have taken some pics but I didn't.

I pulled the arm on the throttle linkage that goes to governor off when I cleaned up the engine ... which was probably a mistake ... although it was still doing this (only runs at WOT) before I did that.

Looking at the throttle linkage, it seems to me that there is no return spring anywhere to pull the butterfly in the carb closed ... all the springs (there are 3) actually tend to pull the butterfly open ... :confused2:

I can take my finger and close the butterfly and idle the engine down while it is running ... and it runs fine at an idle ...

Of course, the B/S owner's manual is absolutely worthless - no real info there.

Probably have to do some more hunting around on the 'net to try and find some pics or a video that shows how it is supposed to be.

 

[rswyan]

Managed to get the old muffler off yesterday by heating the crap out of the pipe elbow that it screws into. Here's the old muffler and the new replacement:

Made sure to use anti-seize when I installed it.

The new one sticks out a little beyond the stock heat shield ... I had to replace the sheet metal on the front section of the heat shield because it was rotting out. Took a win on that because I was able to weld it successfully without blowing holes in it (it's about 18 gauge sheet) Still have a couple of small tabs to weld on, so the heat shield can be screwed onto the muffler as an anchor point.

No noticeable difference in the noise level with the new muffler ... but I was in an enclosed area.