Woodsplitter build #2

[Scooby074]

Further thought. I think the jam in the box is caused by the thickness of the vertical members. they are .75 thick and even though they are angled out the wood has to compress by .75 as it passes through the opening. Then it expands sideways. A higher box won't help this. More force or thinner vertical members.
More force first. If I need thinner vertical members It might be easier to just build a new box. I would have to use a torch to cut out all the welds. I am not even sure I could reach the middle with a right angle head on a cutting torch.
Anybody ever seen a cutting torch with a straight head? Well That's for later.
Pressure increase for today.

How big is your welder?

If necessary, if your welder is big enough, you can crank it up and use it like a crude gouger with some 6010 or 6011's. Not pretty but it could get you out of a jam.

Yes you can get torches with a straight head, but it wont be cheap.

 

[6sunset6]

Ahh Don't have to worry about cutting out the welds on the box. I did not even have to raise the pressure. 2000 psi did it Got stuck on a knot while I was deciding how high to raise the pressure. The top weld on one end plate tore out and I decided to have the machine help. Pushed one more piece throu and the rest tore out on the top. The two center plates tore out and a wiggle broke them loose. So now I don't have to worry about how to take it apart. The good news is everything else held. One thing I learned is to have all steel parts clear anything that moves no matter what. Like when the log lifter is up and the ram comes forward , nothing should interfere between the two in any position. Right now the sled will hit part of the log lift if I forget to lower it. Ask me how I know. What I have to do is figure out how the put the box back together . It may not be possible but it sure makes nice fire wood. While it is apart I think I will make another base plate for a Tee wedge in case thats the only way to go.

Looking at the pictures I am thinking maybe just two verticals, let the outside run big. Would be 4" high and wider.

 

[Scooby074]

Well, thats one problem solved :thumbsup:

I noticed on your welds.. you had no penetration. No bevel and not enough heat.

You need to bevel them right back before welding and crank up the heat. Try and aim to get most of your heat into the horiz plate. Theyre pretty thick. Try something like a 6010 for your root.

 

[6sunset6]

I did not bevel the verticals. I thought there would be enough section through the fillet. I guess not. I think I am going to put it back together ????? can't decide. Either 2 verticals or a skinny center vertical and the the ones I have one on either side. Skinny would be 3/8 I guess . I need to think about this for a bit.
I have a Lincoln tombstone 225A AC only I used 5/32 6011 for the root welds at 145A. The guys in the welding forum said I should bring it someplace to get it welded. Another guy suggested slotting the top and bottom plates and welding from the outside to eliminate binding on the welds in the corners. The slots are interesting. I would have to make new vertical plates . It's a thought.

 

[Scooby074]

I wouldnt go slotting or making anything up. You should be able to get your rod in there and get a good bead. Even if you got to bend or use stub rods. Personally, I like the Burnard Short Stub holders. you can get them into some pretty tight places.

A bevel is a must. With the proper bevel i dont believe you'll have any further issues. You really got to drive the rod into the plate and let it fill the bevel, otherwise your just on the surface.

Id probably run 6011 3/32 rod at about 90A. Then cap it with 1/8 7018 at about 130 on my DC Thunderbolt. 7018 on AC though can be a pain.

 

[6sunset6]

I got it all apart and cleaned up. Beveled the verticals. I think I am going to put only 2 verticals back in , 5" apart at the start ,tapering out to 7" at the back. Leaving 4" high at the start, still 18" wide. The 4.5 cylinder could not push 3 full boxes out and a knot killed it. I set the pump bypass at 2800 psi. That was all I could get out of it in preparation for raising the pressure at the beam to something higher than 2000 psi. But watching everything at 2000 psi is scary enough.
I am going to leave it at 2000 and reduce the load by going to 1 box.
I probably will not get back to this till next week. The thing is outside now and the weather forecast is sloppy and cold. I could unbolt the base and bring it in but then I have nothing to clamp it to.

 

[GE222]

Instead of going to only one box, I would suggest two boxes. The taper your planning for the boxes sounds like the ticket to hopefully eliminate binding.

I believe a lot of folks are keeping a close eye on your progress for their own future splitter1 :thumbsup:

 

[jimmysisson]

If the splay in your verticals is greater than the thickness of the verticals, you won't get binding there unless the split expands after it leaves the cutting portion of the vertical. That's quite possible. I would guess if you double the thickness to get the splay (1" splay on 1/2" steel) it should be safe. I'd also tip the top piece up a similar amount. We've all seen wood "expand" as the stresses try to even out when a split changes the internal pressure dynamics of the log. It would be too bad to give up on the speed you get from multiple simultaneous splits. Sounds like tweaking is worth while.
Jim

 

[6sunset6]

I tacked 2 verticals in place this morning to the bottom plate but after reading the previous two comments I am going to rip it out. The vertical are 3/4 thick and they were all tapered originally out more than the thickness. The bottom plate also drops away, 1" in 12" . The top plate is level. The splits expanded quite a bit.
I just measured some A lot of 4" in one axis and 4.75-5 on the other axis.
The opening was 4 x 4. I don't know for sure which was horizontal and which was vertical. I think the 4" was vertical. I know the splits had to go about 5" before they were loose . Anyway I think what I am going to do is put in a center wedge thinner, maybe 3/8 and then the two 3/4 ones outboard . That will reduce the compression on the boxes. 2 boxes would be better than 1.
I also fixed the log lifter so that if it is up the sled won't hit it. My welds can't all be bad. When the ram hit the lifter two 1/2 plates bent but the welds held. They also held when I jacked them straight. I have an oxy acetylene torch but I don't like to use it unless I really have to. Gas is expensive.


.

 

[GE222]

Assuming you go with two boxes, three verticals, I was also wondering about the bevel on the outer two pieces. I don't recall if yours are double bevel cutting edge, or single bevel. Single would seem to be the logical choice for the two outside ones, with the bevel on the outside. Then a double bevel edge on the middle one.