MadDog
Platinum Member
OK, I'm starting a new thread on this, since I picked up the steel today.
I have a 6' 8x8 .51"web H beam sitting in the back of my truck downstairs, along with various pieces of 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1" plate and some 2" and 4" 1/4 angle iron and 2" square tube.
The hydraulic pump, return line filter, jackshaft and bearings arrived last night and the ram cylinder and hydraulic reservoir will be delivered Monday. The valve, gearbox, pulleys, etc. are on their way.
I'll unload the steel tonight but I'm going to NYC for the weekend so construction won't start until I get back and snowblow myself and my neighbors out from the storm that's supposed to hit us Sat night and Sunday.
I will take pics as I go along and post links to our photos website.
Parts have run a bit more than I originally planned, but that's mainly because I have, as usual /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif "overdesigned" and "over-speced." It would be possible to buy all the parts for a perfectly serviceable splitter, with about the power/performance specs of a Timberwolf TW-3 HD for under $1700.
My parts will run about $2500, but for that I am building a splitter with:
a top-quality welded 5x20x2.5" 3000psi cylinder that can generate about 54k# (27 tons) ram force running at 2750 psi
a 28 gpm 2 stage Barnes pump (plus pressure guage) that will still generate 6.4 tons ramforce at low (650psi) pressure (28 gpm). Assuming that the cylinder can split logs at low pressure for 16" of travel and must switch to high pressure (for knots, etc.) for 4" that will yield a time of 5.7 sec on split and 2.75 sec on retract for a total cycle time of 8.45 sec.
a 30 gal hydraulic reservoir w/level and temp guages and a good filter on the return line, that should stand up to pretty much continuous use without fluid overheating issues,
a complete auto cycle valve to activate an entire out and back cycle with one movement, rated for up to 3000psi, and 25 gpm
4-way and 6-way wedges that slip over the vertical wedge and can be hydraulically adjusted,
a hydraulic log lifter, and
a "moose" of a beam at its core (the beam alone weighs 348#) , that should be able to handle full cylinder ram force without appreciable deflection.
A commercial splitter with roughly equivilent performance specs (but not necessarily all the same quality componants) appears to run between $5700 and $7000. The list price on Timberwolf's equivilent machine, with log lift, is a bit over $8100. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif but you can buy 'em cheaper. Of course, the people who build them get paid for doing so and that figures into the price. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
At any rate, I expect to get a lot of fun and satisfaction out of building this, and to come out with a piece of equipment that easily justifies the $$ (albeit not, perhaps, the labor) that I put into it.
BTW, I could have gone REALLY nuts and bought a "custom" cylinder with a 3" rod from Baileys for about $215 more, but I figured that since they rate the standard 5" bore cylinder for use at full 3000 psi pressure for stroke lengths of up to 36", I could probably squeak by with the regular 2.5" rod. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Of course, my wife thinks I'm "nuts" anyway and that I ought to sign the papers I file in courts with "Farmer Larry." /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
You'll see....she'll change her tune.... AND THEY'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I have a 6' 8x8 .51"web H beam sitting in the back of my truck downstairs, along with various pieces of 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1" plate and some 2" and 4" 1/4 angle iron and 2" square tube.
The hydraulic pump, return line filter, jackshaft and bearings arrived last night and the ram cylinder and hydraulic reservoir will be delivered Monday. The valve, gearbox, pulleys, etc. are on their way.
I'll unload the steel tonight but I'm going to NYC for the weekend so construction won't start until I get back and snowblow myself and my neighbors out from the storm that's supposed to hit us Sat night and Sunday.
I will take pics as I go along and post links to our photos website.
Parts have run a bit more than I originally planned, but that's mainly because I have, as usual /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif "overdesigned" and "over-speced." It would be possible to buy all the parts for a perfectly serviceable splitter, with about the power/performance specs of a Timberwolf TW-3 HD for under $1700.
My parts will run about $2500, but for that I am building a splitter with:
a top-quality welded 5x20x2.5" 3000psi cylinder that can generate about 54k# (27 tons) ram force running at 2750 psi
a 28 gpm 2 stage Barnes pump (plus pressure guage) that will still generate 6.4 tons ramforce at low (650psi) pressure (28 gpm). Assuming that the cylinder can split logs at low pressure for 16" of travel and must switch to high pressure (for knots, etc.) for 4" that will yield a time of 5.7 sec on split and 2.75 sec on retract for a total cycle time of 8.45 sec.
a 30 gal hydraulic reservoir w/level and temp guages and a good filter on the return line, that should stand up to pretty much continuous use without fluid overheating issues,
a complete auto cycle valve to activate an entire out and back cycle with one movement, rated for up to 3000psi, and 25 gpm
4-way and 6-way wedges that slip over the vertical wedge and can be hydraulically adjusted,
a hydraulic log lifter, and
a "moose" of a beam at its core (the beam alone weighs 348#) , that should be able to handle full cylinder ram force without appreciable deflection.
A commercial splitter with roughly equivilent performance specs (but not necessarily all the same quality componants) appears to run between $5700 and $7000. The list price on Timberwolf's equivilent machine, with log lift, is a bit over $8100. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif but you can buy 'em cheaper. Of course, the people who build them get paid for doing so and that figures into the price. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
At any rate, I expect to get a lot of fun and satisfaction out of building this, and to come out with a piece of equipment that easily justifies the $$ (albeit not, perhaps, the labor) that I put into it.
BTW, I could have gone REALLY nuts and bought a "custom" cylinder with a 3" rod from Baileys for about $215 more, but I figured that since they rate the standard 5" bore cylinder for use at full 3000 psi pressure for stroke lengths of up to 36", I could probably squeak by with the regular 2.5" rod. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Of course, my wife thinks I'm "nuts" anyway and that I ought to sign the papers I file in courts with "Farmer Larry." /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
You'll see....she'll change her tune.... AND THEY'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
