This is a log (pun intended) of my wood splitter build. Yes, Wood (pun intended) have been easier to just buy one but I wanted one that fits the way we work our wood and no one currently offers anything like it. Me and my dad use wood as our total heat sources and have done so for over 30 years now.
We currently have a self contained, fixed, horizontal homemade that Dad made and has been strengthened over the years. The other splitter is 3 point that someone else made that has been rebuilt so I've learned from these what I want. the 3 point is nice as you can lay it on the ground for the big ones.
With this splitter I want to get rid of the straining and a lot of the bending over. If you split a lot you day dream a lot about, "hey, it would be better if....." That's where a lot of these ideas came from.
Not saying this is the way everyone should do it, it just suits our needs and I'll try to give some tips along the way to help others. Here we go!
Album by Kevin Foust. Photos by Kevin Foust. 1 - 466 of 466 Total. 49995 Visits.
1 I've been planning this build for several years. Did a little research and found what size motor was needed and started keeping my eyes open for a deal. Finally this mower was listed on craigslist and snatched it up.
2 You'll be dealing with a vertical shaft motor as opposed to horizontal but to me, it's not a big deal. This one was extremely nice and with the advent of hydrostatic transmissions now, you can find some bigger motors on smaller mowers.
3 25 HP is more than I need for a 28 GPM pump but my thinking was with the way they label motors anymore, 25 HP today isn't what it used to be! Plus the fact if it wears some and the power decreases, I still have plenty to do what I want and it is not stressed
4 Only had 271 hours on it and got the mower for $325.00. Guy was moving and had to go. Found it on Craigslist. A big plus is you get a lot of extra stuff with a rider. I'll use this hour meter along with cables and such which will be nice.
5 Ready to dig in! Ideally if you had a mower like this allready you could have a bunch of spare parts for your own. I'll sell the stuff off and you can basically get most, if not all, your money back. The electric clutch on this goes for $325.00. hydros are up there and decks are easy to resell in the Spring.
6 Less than a hour it was down to the motor. I didn't just rip stuff off as I labeled some of the safety stuff so when I go to clean up the wiring I know what to delete....hopefully!
(Side note) ended up selling all that I didn't want for $125.00 so I have $200.00 in the power plant and extras. Could have gotten more if I waited till the Spring but wanted it out of the way.
7 Electric clutch was easy to get off with impact as it's just 1 bolt. The pressed on pulley was a bear! Ended up welding to bolts with the heads cut off to the outside of it. Then ran that through a 1/2" plate and tightened the nuts. Old school trick but never failed me yet! No damage to the crank and you don't beat on it that way.
8 As you can see I tried the standard 3 jaw puller first and it was obvious that wasn't going to get it off. put washers to get more movement. I then loosened up and put a socket on the shaft and pulled it the rest of the way off.
9 Here is the tank I'm using for the hydraulic fluid. Very nice and made out of 3/16" steel. It was a stand alone unit with a 5HP electric motor(Taken off here}. Pump was a 15GPM at 1500 PSI and is adjustable.
10 Already has a screened fill point, full length baffle to isolate inlet and outlet, Level/temp gauge, access covers on both ends and boltable feet. 18" X 14" X 3' figures out to 33 gallon capicity which will be nice for cooling.
11 Removed the pump and elbow to get ready to clean the top up. From the other pic you can see 2 1 1/2 square blocks mounted to a 3/4" thick plate. Used a 9 inch angle grinder to flush out the welds. Plate had threaded holes so I just bottomed them out and one side popped.
12 One corner was too tight for 9 inch so I went to the small grinder. Hit the welds with a chisel and put a prybar under and it hinged, braking what was left of the end weld. They went a little overboard on attachment of this.
13 Ground what was left of the welds flush. Gouged a few areas and will fill those with the MIG.
14 Here it is all filled with weld and ground flush.
15 Here you can see the fluid level indicator and screened, large mouth fill on the left side.
16 Both ends have a domed 12 inch access hole to clean or work on the inside. Full length center divider is 3/16" plate as well and fluid circulates to other side around the domed covers and 45 degree cutout on the bottom.
17 Close up of the cut out on the bottom of the divider. I don't think this will break!
18 Pump that was on the tank when I got it. A little too small for what I want.
19 Went to the local scrap yard and lucked out. Happy I didn't have to buy this new. Beam weighs over 900 lb. They had just the box beam I was looking for. 6" X 8" X 1/2" thick, Picked up some heavy plates and misc there too.
20 I had them cut the box to 11' and took the rest as well. I'm using the shorter piece to make up the slide for the end of the cylinder. It will be a box beam on a box beam. Did this with all the splitters we have and it is bullet proof. Clamped a straight edge and cut it with the Plasma cutter.
21 Slide will be about 16" long so I cut a length to 32" Then sliced the length so there is 4 inches from the inside edge to the cut. 2 pieces will total 8 inches so it will fit over the main rail. I'll use 2 pieces of 1/2" plate on both sides of the beam to make the other part of the box snug.
22 Cleaned up the inside while it was easy to get to and cleaned the inside edge to be welded. I cut on an angle as I'm going to gouge out so I full full penetration. Probably have 3 passes of weld on it.
23 Put it on the beam and put some thin shims on the edges, clamped it so I can tack it up. You have to have some clearance as the steel will move sometimes and you'll get it locked on the beam if you don't use shims.
24 Tacked it up and tested it for clearance and it was fine. Used the angle grinder and gouged a groove a little over half way through. This is the first pass weld. Notice I put a copper strip under the weld area. This keeps the weld from sticking to the lower beam and the weld doesn't stick to the copper.
25 Here you can see I've gotten pretty much full penetration on the 1/2" steel.
26 Second pass and heat lines look pretty good.
27 End view of second pass. I'll run a light 3rd pass as I'm going to grind it all flush and put fish plates on both side of the joint the full length.
28 Inside view of the weld showing penetration. Not real pretty but I'll run a bead over this too and grind it all down as it had to be smooth to slide easy.
29 Cleaned up the ends and smoothed the edges. You're looking down the inside of the reconnected box where the weld is.
30 Ground the welds on the outside flush but there wasn't too much to do. Cut out some plates out of 3/8" steel to weld on for more strength and distribute the stress.
31 Ground some reliefs on both side of the steel on the ends so weld would lay pretty flush. Clamped it down for tacks.
32 End weld completed
33 Did the other side the same and welded the entire length so Box section of the slide is done.
34 Should be plenty strong now as side walls are 7/8" thick.
35 I'm using a boom hoist with winch on the end of the splitter to lift the big ones. Did some layout and got my measurements for the log tongs. I cut the riser and welded it on. It will double as a strengthening point for the back plate. I'm going overkill here as in time I may go with a bigger cylinder.
36 Upper view of riser. Needed 4 more inches for clearance on the tongs so used a 1 inch spacer and welded it in. In the inside of the riser box, I welded a 3/4" plate for more straight line strength. Also welded inside the box as you can see. These will be completely closed in so I drilled weep holes prior to putting all this on so condensation doesn't get trapped.
37 Welded the backing plate on. I'll be doing a lot of welding and reinforcing on it to ensure it won't be going anywhere!
38 Cut out a 3/8" plate that will reinforce the top edge of the backing plate and serve as a mount spot for the lifting boom. My plan calls for 5 of the mounting holes to be boxed in, so I welded nuts there.
39 Top plate welded on and put on the first reinforcement plate. basically I'm going to have a box the same size as the top plate till I'm done. Outrigger arms will be attached to the box so it has to have some strength.
40 All the parts came in so let the fun begin! I ordered all my stuff from P & J Commercial Products (877-775-4839) They build splitters to order or will sell you the parts you need. Super nice to deal with and they know their stuff.
41 Got all the filters, strainers, 2 spool valve, auto cycle valve, coupler, pump bracket 28 gal pump, 2 3 1/2 x 24 cylinders for stabilizers, dump valve and 5 X 30 Prince Gladiator cylinder. All nice stuff.
42 Camera makes it looked angled but trust me, everything is true and square. Put in a 3/8" angle brace behind the backstop and a leftover piece of the 1/2" box on the bottom edge.
43 Using 1/4" plate for the outer edges and center brace. The "box" will serve as a mounting point for the stabilizer arms and the hinge for the swing away tables. Upper Cylinder mount will be on the lower back half of the box.
44 Enclosed everything with a piece of 1/4" plate and finished welding it up. I'll do the same on the other side.
45 Got the other side all done and was ready to move on to the next phase. Decided it was time to get the top of the beam to the final height so I cut 2 28" diameter beech logs 32 inches long. With the 8 inch beam that makes it to the 40" height I want. This will be REAL nice for me to work at this height.
46 Had to play a little so I mounted the boom lift. This is going to make life a lot nicer. Caution as always when lifting stuff will be needed but as smooth as it moves you'll be able to move with one finger.
47 Best part about wedge on cylinder is you can split off the side of a big one and the boom holds it for you. With the swing tables you can move the big hunk out of the way and do the other side and repeat till you have a manageable size. That's the plan anyway! I'll put the cable on the tong later, this is just to give you an idea of what I'm doing. This also shows how you can back down the log or drag the chunks to you to split.
48 Started mounting up cordless Winching system. Had to mount the winch low enough to be able to work the quick release for unspooling. Figured up the best location and cut out a mounting plate, tacked it on to double check and it looks fine. Power leads look a little light to me but time will tell.
49 On the top I have to use pulleys for the cable guides. Took some measurements for cable clearence and cut out some steel for the rear bracket. I'll trim more off the front side of those brackets as it isn't needed. Winch "says" it will pull 3000 lbs. Pulleys are rated for 2000lbs and using 3/16's cable. Shouldn't overload it!
50 Trimmed off the excess on the rear pulley mount and made up piece to bolt the pulley to. Bent it so it will tie into the beam as well when welded.
51 The pulleys were open faced. Meaning, it would be possible for the cable to slip off so I needed some keepers. An easy way to do that is to saw down the middle of the appropriate size black pipe. Then cut it off and you now have 2 keepers. I deburr them real nice prior top welding on.
52 Welded on and smoothed up. That will keep it where it belongs. I'll do the same to the front pulley.
53 Cable clearances all look good and here it is all done. Once it's all painted up it should look pretty good.
54 Center mounting plate/gusset runs basically down the center of the 2 side brackets.
55 End pulley mount is a small piece of heavy angle iron. 45 degree mount allows more front clearance on the cable. Made filler pieces to tie into the box beam from the open ends of the angle iron. Welded the nuts on the inside for the pullet bracket.
56 Next phase is setting up the stabilizer arms. did my measurements and drew up a bracket pattern for the cylinder mount. After finalizing the design I made another pattern a 1/2 inch smaller for a cut pattern I'll transfer to a piece of wood. Notice I marked the hole center. I'll draw the pattern on the steel and drill the holes first.
57 I drill a small pilot hole then step up in size to .4375. I then used the final size drill, 1.250. in the .375 plate.
58 Once the holes are done I use them as a locator. I dropped a hole saw in through the wood pattern and clamped it all together with a C clamp. Dead simple way of doing it and keeps everything in place. saves a lot of excess trimming this way.
59 Here's all 4 of them straight from the hand held plasma cutter. I've leave the hole saw in all four and grind them all at once. easy to keep everything square and exactly the same. Makes welding set up nice and measurements will repeat to the other side.
60 Used a 9 inch angle grinder and you can see how nice it makes it. Used a belt sander on the corners. I use a square to assure the edges are 90 degrees.
61 Tacked on one mount, checked for straightness and put the cylinder on with the other mounting plate. I then tacked it on as well.
62 I made it so the port can go on either side. I'd like to keep it on the bottom if possible to protect it from the logs. Hoses will come out the inside of the box beam. Cylinder won't be straight up but the arms hopefully will.
63 Scrap yard didn't have any double or triple wall pipe so I drilled some 2" bar stock for collars. Made them about 1 inch long and welded them on. This takes the stress of the pins and mounts.
64 For the arms themselves I need some clearance so I'll cut away some of the box once I get the little brackets welded on and drilled. I'll use a modified hole saw to do the holes once they are in final position like this.
65 Here it is welded and drilled. Next is to cut away for clearance.
66 Same 2 inch rod gun drilled for 1 1/4" pins. Flattened the bottoms as the pin sits almost to the box beams edge. All welded up on the bottom side now. drilled and tapped for a grease zerk on the non showing side.
67 Cut out the needed amount for arm clearance when folded up. I then inlaid a plate into the opening and welded it in. Ground everything smooth and here is the finished arm end that is pinned to the lower splitter mount.
68 Drew up a pattern for the lower arm mount and cut them out the same way as before.
69 Welded the plates on and inlaid a section of large pipe on the inside. This is another area I needed clearance in as this is what the stabilizer arm swings up/into. I just did one side so I can fine tune the measurements in case I mis figured something. Once it is checked and okay, I'll do the other side using the same measurements.
70 Slid the lower mount underneath and held it up with some jacks. Installed the arm to check the swing. The arm will be straight when cylinder is fully closed. Doesn't look like I'll be able to have lines underneath as it looks too close.
71 Down looks pretty good and gives it around a 10 foot width with pads. Ram's eye centerline will be flush with end of box beam. Lots of stuff to think/worry about here.
72 Drew up another pattern for the cylinder ram mount/foot mount. Used 1/2" plate this time.
73 Tacked it on first and checked for any problems. Everything checked out okay so I welded them on for keeps.
74 Cut the bottom box beam and welded the lower mount on the other side. Brought out the Papa bear Jack and his little cub to hold it in place for any adjusting. Once centered and everything was okay I welded it on.
75 With the bottom mount set I went from that to set the upper brackets position. Tacked it on good enough to hold. I'll start on the ground contact pads for the arms next.
76 Cut out 6 10" X 10" plates that are 1/2" thick and drilled holes in them all. Made a pattern for the mounts and cut out 4 of those. I'm making 2 sets of bolt feet. One will have thick rubber if I work on concrete or surface I don't want to chew up and the other set will have the normal steel shoe.
77 Put a thin washer on one side of the pin and clamped it in place. Simply laid the arm down on a flat surface and welded it up.
78 On these I needed it a little wider on the inside to clear the box beam so I made up 1/2" collars. I used the same 1" collars on the outside and finish welded everything. Plate sucked in a little but the press put it right back and pin slides through freely.
79 For the steel shoe I got some 1/4" X 1 1/2 strap and bent them up. I'll make up 3 more and have an X on the bottom of the shoe.
80 Got the X welded up and bolted it on. The feet can pivot about 135 degrees if you want them out of the way when the arms are up.
81 Took a short piece of pipe and opened it up. Welded it on to the shoe side once it was bolted tight. This is so I can throw it up on the arm while in the air and not have to wrestle to get the bolts in.
82 Here is how it works, built in third hand. Don't know how much I'll trade to the rubber pads but it will be easy. I'll make the rubber padded ones later when I find some thick 2 inch + rubber for them.
83 With the stabilizers done I started looking at figuring out the 2 tables layout. It became apparent with the hydraulic ports up it was going to be close. I wasn't happy with the idea anyway so I decided to make a pocket for clearance in the arm. This way I'd protect the lines and make it easier for the tables. Marked the offending area and cut it out.
84 Put the arm back on to double check and it looked good. With the inlay I'm planning it shouldn't hurt the strength any.
85 Got some 2" strap and bent it in the ring roller. It'll give a finished look to the pocket.
86 Took 2 pieces of 1/4" flat strap and welded it on the backside to of the curve. Beveled all the edges hard and tacked it in. Then ground it all flush and smoothed it.
87 Fully closed here and there is now plenty of room. little bit of work but I'm sure it'll save a line break in the future.
88 Full down looks more like what I had planned from the start as well.
89 Did the same on the other side and now the stabilizer arms are complete.
90 Up next was to put the 1/2" filler plates on the sides of the box beam. It'll strengthen the beam even more. If I didn't do this I would have had to cut the slide box on all four sides. Not really worried about wear as the other splitters we did this on(on a smaller scale) show basically no wear after many years of service.
91 Both sides tacked on in final position and slide is VERY nice. Nailed the gaps perfect on this one.
92 Going to do the swing away tables next. My thoughts are I don't want them overly big as they would be in the way. Swing away will allow easier working and you can have some place to put the splits if someone is stacking. You can also load up with a few bigger rounds. Cut some 2 inch, 1/4" thick angle for the perimeter.
93 Got it welded up and smoothed. Using 1/4" aluminum floor grating in the center. It's light and It'll allow small trash to fall through. I want tables on both side so when you split a big one you can put one slab on one side and swing out. Split another side off and swing it away and your left with the manageable center section on the log tong. Trying to eliminate the stuff going to the ground.
94 For the swing arm supports I'm using 1/2" plate as they will take a beating.
95 Decided to skeletalize the arms to cut the weight and still have the strength. Laid out where I wanted cross supports and drilled pilots with both of them clamped together. Step drilled up to 1 1/8".
96 After connecting the dots with the plasma I smoothed them up. Next up is get the hinges ready.
97 For the hinge I gun drilled some 2" bar stock to 1 1/4". Cut the centers to 1.650 long using a cut off wheel on a surface grinder. Spin the tube in a Harig fixture and I can cut them within .001 and the are perfectly true. Undersized the diameter of the hinge mounts for clearance and drilled/tapped some zerk holes.
98 Laid the hinge with a bar in the middle in the corner. Self positioning that way and tacked it up. Checked to see if everything was smooth working and put the arm in position and tacked it up as well.
99 Arm is offcenter of the pin so I can flush mount it to the stabilizer mount. Lets me get 100% weld penetration too. After checking the swing with the tacks, I finish welded the arm to the hinge. Relief holes were made to clear the stabilizer pins.
100 This position is how the arm will be when the table is up to the splitter beam. When the arms are down I'll have 90 degrees of swing. When they are up, it'll be about 60 degrees. You can see the welds are flushed out on the back side.
101 Cut out some angle braces and put them on. To help eliminate any twist I put in a strap brace on an angle. Helps both sides as it's a pull and push strength deal.
102 Angle brace ties into the bottom part of the hinge so it spreads the load forces more.
103 Here's the end gusset. Being 1/4" on all this it should take the weight it'll see with ease.
104 Nice to weld on clean steel! Stitch welding most all this stuff.
105 Both tables are done now and up next is the locking system to keep them in position. I'm planning on using some gears I have so I can lock them in every 10 degrees or so depending on what the situation calls for. Reliable and simple is the plan.
106 Found some gears at the local surplus store. The black one has a smaller gear on the underneath side, I'll use that one and the top portion will act as a slide and keep the debris from getting into the teeth. I'll cut the black gear down to fit in the box beam.
107 The box beam needed to be pretty thick as it will have some force against it. Welded in a shim to get the alignment right, Ground the big gear to size and took off the teeth on the showing side. Ground a radii to match the box beam as well.
108 Here it is slid inside. I'm going to weld it on the top edge of the table arm. The box does several thing. Protects the springs and keeps debris out, strengthens the table to the hinge and I'm also using it for a stop so the table can't hit the wedge slide.
109 Gear is 2 piece held together with a tiny roll pin. The radii are ground so it self locates. Also nice if I break a tooth I can flip it around and reuse it. Enough stock I can regrind 90 degrees and get a total of 4 uses.
110 For a pull arm I'm using a stainless 3/8" rod. Ground a 3/8" slot and I'll TIG weld the rod to the gear. Rod will run mid way through the grating in the table. Release handle will be on the end where it's convenient.
111 Welded up and now you can see the little gear. The other gear will be bolted in the center of the table hinge. I'll grind a slot on the hinge pin and use a set screw through one of the collars to hold it. The gear may move with just one 5/8" bolt holding it but hopefully that will act as a breakaway.
112 Got everything welded up. You can see the rod here along with how the box will work. I'll get the pins done next along with the handles for the release.
113 Got the hinge pins drilled and tapped and slid the locking assembly into place. You can see how it works here. All self contained and add washers to stiffen up the spring as needed.
114 Pushed the assembly in and tightened the 5/8 -11 shcs down. I ground a flat on the shaft and top collar has a set screw to keep it in place. You can see how the top part of the hear I left acts as a scraper to keep the junk out of the teeth.
115 Release rod is out the front. I cut the rod and ran some threads on it. Used a bigger shaft for a handle and spun the ends down to give a nice smooth grip. Relieved it as well where the rod goes through so it feels good to the hand.
116 On the bottom side of the hinge I put on some zerks so it will be smooth and last a long time. Tables seem nice and stout.
117 This end is all complete now except for some final welding on the arms mounts and such. Tables have about 10 different lockable positions in 90 degrees. Should be real handy and save the back.
118 Started laying out the design of the splitting wedge. As stated earlier, I'm going to make them removable with a single, 4 way split and probably in the future a flat plate for pressing and such.
119 Cylinder mount is 4 inches wide with a 1 1/2" pin, I'm using a 1 1/2" plate 8 inches high. Centerline of pin will be in the middle of the 8 inches. Using 2 more 1 1/2's to get it to 4 1/2". I'll use 1/4" washers to take out the slop.
120 When I cut the center plate out I extended it as much as possible. I'm limited by the clearance of the cylinders outer case. Left extra too as I'm building it so I "could" use a 6 inch cylinder in the future if needed.
121 If your like me and don't have access to a mill, here is a way that will save a little time grinding angles on heavy steel. I'm doing 45 degree reliefs here but cutting edges can be done the same way. I mount a piece of flat along with the work piece in a vise. Leaving the flat just high enough to let the cutters tip ride along it.
122 Carefully run the cutter along the edge holding it at the same angle that you want or slightly flatter. Slag makes it looks rougher than it is but you can see how straight it is. I can't freehand very well so this helps me.
123 Around a minute with the angle grinder gets you this. Saves a lot of time for roughing it in.
124 To make them really straight I scribe a straight line to the desired edge line using a magic marker as a background. I use a combo square and slide it along, marking as I move it.
125 I then use the angle grinder and go just to the edge of the line, leaving it peaked towards the center. Keep the grinder fairly flat so it doesn't dig and move one end to the other.
126 After both edge lines are established, I ink up the outer edges again and start grinding out the center to the edge lines. Being careful not to gouge out the center and leaving a little to play with. Here I am working my way down.
127 When I get it to this stage I switch to a new 9 inch wheel. I use the whole bottom surface of the wheel that way and it'll get it flat. Ink it all up and you can see it come in. Mounting on a corner like this is a good way to hold it and have the ability for full passes.
128 The finished 45 degree angle on a 1 inch plate.
129 I did the main splitting wedges the same way. Marked a line in the center and went to town. Again, a mill would be a nicer option but sometimes you have to work with what you have.
130 You can get it pretty close but still a lot of finish grinding to do.
131 For the slip on wedge I made up a drill hole location template and drilled 4 holes. The 2 in the center are in case I end up having to bolt it tight. I'm going to see if a press fit 7/8" pin and a slide in 5/8" pin will work first. Reaming the 7/8" hole here.
132 Relieved the corners to be welded so I can get 3 passes of weld on it. Put the wedge sides on to hold it all straight while tacking.
133 All 3 passes on here and ready to get the backstops ready for welding.
134 Relieved the backstops as well and double checked both wedge mounts to see if everything was right. It was okay so fire up the welder again. I drilled a hole down through the top pin. That way it will lock the pin in place with one simple, gravity held pin.
135 Snugged the clamp down and took off the wedge sides.
136 Welds here lay pretty much flush. Overkill as always, but it makes it nicer to me.
137 Cut out 4 1/2 inch plates and drilled the 1 1/2 inch holes for the cylinder mount. I ground reliefs again on the edges that will be welded. Slid the pin in to check the location.
138 Just to be safe, I put the cylinder in to double check all the clearances and alignment. Checked okay so I'll weld them on.
139 2 passes of weld lay pretty much flush with the sides so a little relief will clear it on the next piece.
140 Close up shows what I'm referring to.
141 Stair stepped the next layer back and the beads basically make the correct angle for the wedge effect. Everything welded here and cleaned up.
142 Side plates are welded completely around the edges. Beads are flush and total thickness is 1 inch per side. Will start on the wedges next.
143 As mentioned earlier, wedges will be removable. Got the 1 inch side plates relieved in all the needed areas and cut the tapered slot for the pin mount. Notice I put a spacer under the wedge so it won't dig into the beam.
144 Deep reliefs but I want a lot of strength here. I get about 3/4" penetration this way.
145 All welded up. I'll make the other one exactly the same and add some wings to make it a 4 way split.
146 This is on the inside of the wedge. I relieved it too and it lays flush as well. Hopefully this will be enough to keep it all together.
147 Bottom pin is a press fit and stays. Top pin slides in and is drilled for a simple bolt to hold it in place. It's protected and leaving it long makes it easy to pull out while gravity does it's thing.
148 To make it easy to get the hole aligned I ground an arrow in the pin and filed a hash mark to locate it correctly. Takes the guesswork out of it.
149 For the wings I made a template of the needed contour. I rough cut them with the plasma and went to the angle grinder. I got one right and then laid the other one behind and used it as a guide to grind to.
150 These will take some serious stress so I relieved from both sides till only an 1/8" was left in the middle. Should be 100% penetration that way.
151 I tilted the wings up so the wood doesn't get pinched on the bottom. Wedge angle goes up only as you can see. Here they both are all cleaned up after welding.
152 Decided to mount it all up to see what it looks like. Centerline of the cross is on center with the ram.
153 Put the cylinder at full extend with about 1/8" space between the wedges and back plate. This way takes the guess work out of the rear mount location. Set the centerline of the pin the same as the slide. Double checked the space between cylinder bottom and beam and it is the same everywhere.
154 Plan is to use 2, 1/2" plates per side for the mount. Making this a little more complicated as I'm leaving clearance for up grading to a 6 inch cylinder if needed. here you can see the needed clearance for future use.
155 This will give it enough to clear the body. The pin section can be cut out with a hole saw and another plate scabbed on the outside and it should be ready if I decide to upgrade.
156 Relieved all the plates and clamped it up. Kept adjusting till everything was not binding and straight. Then put several tack welds on it.
157 I welded the plate to the beam on the inside. I knew it would warp in so To try to keep it at a minimum I used bar stock about .150 bigger than what I wanted to finish size to be. Spread it and drop them in near the edges. I then welded it complete along with the outside plates.
158 These are the welds running up the angle and I did them vertical. The welder is working well and I have the settings down.
159 This is the bottom view of the mount. It's 23 inches long and some marathon welding here. Decided not to stitch these either. One pass on the 2 plate joint and 2 passes on the plate to beam.
160 Close up of the bottom welds all cleaned up.
161 Decided to put a center plate in and weld 2 strips in to fill the gap. Got it tacked here, equally spaced on the bottom and will stagger weld the bottom top chase the weld warp.
162 Cut out the plates along with a small piece to bridge the top. Welded it all up and I think it is there to stay!
163 Here you can see the reliefs and how it will allow a bigger cylinder if needed. Notice no weld near the pin hole so it can be cut out easily.
164 Hole in the top plate is for easy access to the zerk fitting on the back of the cylinder.
165 Got all the welds cleaned up and reassembled it. Starting to look like something again.
166 Everything slid together nicely. You double check everything but their is always that worry in the back of your mind you missed something.
167 The working end is okay as well. Everything seems out of scale because of the size of things. A 24 inch log will look small in there!
168 Did some layout and started with the hydraulic tank. Decided on the best place for the pick up hole and cut the hole. Then welded on the threaded bung.
169 2 stage screening system is being used and they thread into each other. One more reducer to barbed fitting for suction hose and it should be good to go.
170 Next was to lay out a pattern for the motor mount. This also will be used for the mounting bracket for the hydraulic pump. Here is an easy way to get it right. Need to find a diameter that is exactly the same size as the crank and clamp it in the vise.
171 Get some cardboard(like cereal box material) and lightly tap the edges till it is "cut" to size.
172 Slip it over the crank.
173 Next, use the other end of the ball peen hammer and tap lightly till it cuts the hole.
174 Put a bolt with washer in and snug it up. Move to the next one and repeat till you get them all.
175 Now you have an exact pattern of the holes and when I measured it's a 10 inch bolt circle. the holes are offset but they are all in the outer edge of a 10 inch circle. this comes into play when you make the hydraulic pump bracket as they have to be true to each other. Notice I give a point of reference (exhaust side) so I don't make a mistake on locations.
176 Found the best position to mount the pump for the inlet/outlet ports and used the same method to mark the hole position. Double checked positions measuring out and the bolt circle was even so it is good.
177 Here is the final pattern ready to transfer to the steel plate. This takes the guesswork out of it and idiot proofs it, which is needed for me!
178 After drilling the holes I recessed the adapter plate holes on the motor side. Normal bolts would hit the bottom of the motor and needed a way to hold them. I used angle head allens and TIG welded them into the countersunk holes.
179 Mounted the motor and pump to the plate and blocked it up to where I wanted it. It'll set high but the ground clearance will be nice will going through the woods with it.
180 Hard to see but I positioned it so the outlet from the tank is inline with the inlet to the pump. I'm trying to keep hard 90 degree bends out of the system but I'll have to have one on the suction hose.
181 Tacked it on along with some small angle braces. Leaving everything tacked till everything checks out positioning wise. I'll put angle braces on the outer edges as well and they'll meet with the braces for the hydro tank. Basically binding on each other which will make it plenty strong.
182 On the Hydraulic return I needed a dispursion tube to even out the flow. I used a 1 1/4" pipe about 2 ft long and cross drilled holes down the length. Threaded both ends and will put a cap on one end.
183 Needed to make sure it was clean and free of burrs/shavings that might fall off, damaging the pump. I used an old trick of wrapping a rag around a drill bit and winding some emory. Makes for a cheap method of getting the job done. I've welded a rod to a long bit and it about 16 inches long here. Under the hone you can see the almost done top mounting plate for the return into the tank.
184 After a LOT of layout and thinking I welded the now finished plate to the down pipe. Put a Union on it so I can pull it all out if need be. Return is low pressure and 1 1/4" in size so I used pipe for this. I've seen commercial splitters set up with pipe so I went this route. All High pressure stuff will use the correct fittings.
185 Made up an adjustable mount for the return filter. This is the other end of the pipe from the previous pic. On the other side of the filter is the bypass valve. This keeps from having all the oil going back through the valve, saving the wear and tear on it. There's a cross there that the returns from the 2 spool and auto cycle feed into as well.
186 I was ready to work the mounts out for the hydro tank. I decided I'd better do the axle first so I can have the main beam and lower beam distances set. I'm using a 10 ton wagon gear's one axle. Good for 5 ton.
187 This gear was originally for an anhydrous tank used in farming. The existing riser only needs 1 inch more to be right. I got extremely lucky there. Nice feature of this gear is the width is adjustable to 20 inches. I'll set it to the narrowest setting.
188 One problem I found was some VERY poor welds on the spindle attachment points. How this got out the door is beyond me. No excuse for this from a manufacturer and I'll redo them.
189 Other side is worse as hardly any penetration of the 2 pieces. Just a high bead in the center. Looks like they had the heat setting WAY too light. Maybe it was a bring your kid to work day and he let him do one.
190 Gouged it all out with the angle grinder and laid a root pass. Put a second bead on long bridging the 2 pieces for a solid, safe joint.
191 Pic of the fix from the same view as the first pic. I smoothed the corners out while I was working on it.
192 Other side the way it should have been done to start with.
193 Must have had a hitch mount here that someone roughly cut with a torch. I'll clean this up too. Redid the stitch welds below as well. Front axle has quality welds eveywhere but the rear was a different story in spots.
194 A little work with the torch and angle grinder and it's a lot nicer.
195 All narrowed up with the 1 inch spacer block welded on. I'll slip it under the main beam next. I'm going to leave it all together with the front axle for now. It'll just make it easier /safer to work on till it's all final welded. This thing is heavy enough to crush you if something went wrong.
196 With the back solidly held up by the wood rounds I lifted the front with the overhead hoist. Slid the gear under to the farthest point back I can. It'll be rear heavy but I'll see how much I have to add to counterbalance once it's completed. Kinda stuck on the position of it.
197 The front wheels hold the axle in position really close to right. Just a little lift was needed. Spent quite a bit of time measuring here to get it correctly positioned.
198 Put a couple of beads to the beam so it is set now. I slid the front axle out as I have to get that collar on the lower tube off.
199 I needed a lower flat surface to mount things on and used 3/8" angle iron. It's set to the same width of the main beam so I'll just bridge the 2 with flat plate. Took a little bit of creative cutting to tie it all into the existing gear bracing.
200 I left the angle iron long as I haven't got the hitch design figured out yet. I have to extend the tube and make it drop down for a hitch point. I'm leaning towards a heavy Reese type so I can switch from a ball to a hitch pin type depending on what is being used to pull it around.
201 Cut out 2 1/4" plates and tacked them on. This side will be the tank side.
202 Bent up some 1/4" X 2" strap to hold the tank in place. Used the compact bender after figuring out the measurements.
203 Both of them bent up and I'll add steel toes on the ends to spread the load. Tank will have some weight with over 30 gallon in it.
204 Attaching it to the cylinder mount and threaded both hole. It's 1 inch thick so it has plenty of strength. Bonus is I can put nuts on the backside to have a locking system.
205 Here you can see how it works. Majority of the weight is held by the lower 3/8" angle. The straps hold it to the beam.
206 Time to do the front hitch mount. Basically necking it down by sliding a box beam into the larger one. I cut the center section out of the angle iron and will weld the remaining to the beam. Still need to extend the gears round beam.
207 To extend the heavy wall pipe I made up a transfer plug so they would align easily. It's an oddball size and I could only find triple wall pipe at the local scrap yard to use. Id on the one was 3.00" and the other was a good bit smaller.
208 Cut the pipe extension to length and marked the angle needed. Cut that and smoothed it up till it sits flush on the beam. I'll weld it in place once the angled box beam is in place.
209 This gives you an idea of what it will look like. I need weight up front to counterbalance the back so that is why this is overbuilt. Have plans to mount stuff up here as well. I went ahead and marked the locations of the box beam while it was mocked up.
210 Cut it out with the plasma. Sides kinda sprung open as normal but I'll pull them back to clean the edges to keep everything straight. I'm going to put a thick plate top and bottom to surround the removable hitch.
211 I didn't want to cut out the whole backside for strength issues so I cut out a slot and ground the edges of the top plate so it'll slide in there. Kind of a pain to do and get everything aligned right but it'll be worth it to me.
212 After checking and rechecking I tacked it in place. Checked again and I was ready to start fill welding.
213 All welded in and ready for grinding smooth. I welded it on the inside as well as the box beam I'm using has large rounded corners and it won't hit anything.
214 All smoothed out and ready to weld in the side spacers on the inside.
215 Cut out the side spacers and welded them in. Just needed .125 per side so an easy fix. Welded them now as I can get to it easier.
216 Cut a piece of 3/4" plate for the bottom. I put the hitch box beam inside along with one layer of cereal box cardboard. Gives it just the right amount of play when you take it out. Here it is all welded up.
217 After a lot of measuring I drilled the holes for the hitch receiver. I want to be able to flip the hitch over so the splitter will remain level when using a truck or a tractor. I'll make the hitch a drop for the tractor, turn it 180 degrees and it's a riser. Doing this on the drill press bed keeps everything straight.
218 I put it in place and made sure everything was even and put a few tacks on. Check again and start final welding it.
219 Everything ties together making it a lot stronger. Looks a lot better better now as it comes together. You think of things in your head but you're never completely sure till you see it in real life.
220 Wanted to put some gussets where the 2 big boxes meet. Cut out some .375 plate and bent it in the press to match the splitter.
221 One down and a few more to go!
222 All the gussets done and installed. I'll do the rest of the welds when I disassemble and roll it on it's side.
223 For the valve mounts I just bet up some 3/8" plate that's 6 inches wide. I wanted the valves in a position where you could work them from either side but not be in harms way.
224 I bolted these on as I know from the past, sometimes you might want to "adjust" things. The layout of the hydraulics is the most mind challenging aspect of this for me. Trying to figure out the position where it will line up is a pain sometimes. I did a drawing of where each line goes to help me out.
225 I'm routing the hydraulic lines for the stabilizers through the main box beam. Needed an access so I used a 3 1/4" hole saw and drilled the holes. Took awhile with 1/2" steel as I kept cutting oil on it to save the hole saw.
226 Ground the edges to straight and smoothed them out. They'll be 4 lines plus the electrics for the winch going through here.
227 You always wanted to avoid wear points if possible. I slit some hose down the length and rolled it in place. Keeps itself there but if I see something better I may change it out.
228 Made up a gusset brace for the axle to beams and welded it in. Should be good to go here now.
229 Hose from the pump to the auto cycle valve runs through this space. I relieved the corner of the box and inlaid a section of big pipe. Welded and smoothed it makes for a tidy run. I'm going to make a hose hanger here as well.
230 Got some 3/8" stainless rod and heated it up. Bent it around a large piece of round stock for a hose holder.
231 I then got the stand off height measurement I needed and bent it there. I then TIG welded a small plate between the rods and cut them off. Drilled a couple holes in it for mounting.
232 Put it in place and marked the holes. Drilled and tapped them so it's simple and clean. I'll clean them later and leave them bare.
233 Made another one with a triple loop for the 4 hoses that run to the outriggers. Keeps everything tidy.
234 I used some smooth bore field tile inside the main box beam for the hose runs. There are some bolts sticking through the beam and this way the hoses will be safe from wear spots. You can see the conduit for the electric run for the winch as well. Going to make a coverplate next for this end.
235 Threaded 2 holes into the 1/2" box beam to hold the cover on. Glued a threaded connector onto the conduit. A threaded weather seal connector holds the pipe in place, quick and simple. I'll tie the hoses when it's all painted.
236 With the lines in place I knew the clearances I have to deal with so I made up the outer braces for the motor mount. Used some heavy angle iron and tacked it on.
237 Made up a mirror image of the first one for the other side. Had to inset it a little so it would be flush with the bottom rail. Better for the suction side line as well.
238 Was wondering what muffler system I would use and thought I'd have to start from scratch. Started looking and found I could use the stock one with a simple bracket. Put an angle brace below it as well.
239 Here is the muffler attached and I can use the safety shroud as well with it.(not shown here) Was happy this worked out so easy.
240 While we're on safety stuff: I made up some hook points to hold the arms up while transporting. Simply attach to the pins on the stabilizer feet. I'll run a strap up through the hoist arm to hold it in place at the same time.
241 Next was to do the hitching points. I want a heavy ball and hitch pin set up depending on what I'm pulling it with. Doing an oversized Reese type. Cut out and drilled the pieces for the hitch pin one here.
242 Measured the offset needed for the truck and tractor and made the offset accordingly. This way the splitter will be level when using either while using the same hitch. Welded it all up and one 1 inch bar extends into the tube enough for a lot of weld in the inside.
243 Here it is cleaned up and this position is for the truck. 2 5/8" bolts will hold it in position.
244 This is for the tractor drawbar. I'll make another box up to mount the ball coupler to. Waiting on it to arrive at the moment.
245 Got my fuel tank which holds 12 gallons. Welded on some angle to basically trap it in position. I'll make up some straps as well.
246 Needed some mounting points so cut a piece out. Ready for welding here, after double checking measurements..
247 Welded in and smoothed. Put a support in the center as well while I was at it.
248 Got some stainless strap and bent them up using the bender. Makes really nice repeatable bends cold.
249 Used some 1/2" blocks on the ends and drilled/threaded them. I then TIG welded them to the straps. Here it is all installed.
250 Here is a close up of the attachment mount.
251 Up next is the control box for the switches, gauges and such. I'm using an old electrical box and needed a mounting surface. Got some heavy strap and bent a 90 in it using the press.
252 Not really a whole lot to deal with but made a pattern out of cardboard and cut out patterns for the other things as well. This way I can move them around to see what will work out best in actual size.
253 Loose patterns make it a lot easier and you can change the design quickly. When it right, just tape them down.
254 Bent the front panel from some stainless sheet and mounted everything up. Turned out pretty nice and clean.
255 Ball hitch receiver came in so I could make it up as I knew the measurements. Bottom bolt mounts had to be recessed for the hitch point to be right, 1 inch plate leaves plenty of strength.
256 Grabbed some scraps and cut out some small triangles for strength gussets. Quick and easy. On small stuff like this it's easier to mount the straight edge in the vise and clamp the piece to it for straight cuts.
257 All done and ready to go. 5/8" bolts for attachment.
258 Using left over angle iron for the battery box mount. Ready for final welding here.
259 Mounting it to the top of the beam for easy access. Once I was happy with location I welded it down. Left the ends open so water and such won't get trapped.
260 I'm using a plastic marine battery box and need to have a way to hold it all down in place. I plasma cut some slots in the angle to allow a strap to be fed through.
261 Strap feeds under the box and over the sides, Overkill but it'll keep everyone happy for transport.
262 I don't like the strap that came with the box so I'll probably switch it to a ratchet style later.
263 Made up a mount for the extra wedge. Wedge rocks back and rests on the mount. One pin with a spring pin will securely hold it in place.
264 Poly centrally locates it and keeps the rattles down. Set screw hold the lower pin in place.
265 All done but the pin here. Not OSHA approved with the exposed edge!
266 Since I'll always have one hitch not being used, I needed a storage space. There was and opening on the front where the beam goes down and decided to use that. 2 simple straps on both sides swing for adjustment and hitch pin with spring pin traps it all in place.
267 Close up of how it works.
268 Got a side handle lift jack and welded the mounting plate on. Side handles are real nice and save busted knuckles when mounting in situations like this.
269 I'm using a 30 inch stroke cylinder. We normal cut 22 - 23 inches long and needed a stopper to save the wasted stroke. Nice to have the extra for occasional long ones but most time it is not needed. This is what I came up with. 2 pieces of angle welded on the bottom with an open slot in the middle.
270 Used a piece of heavy plate and welded a "key" in the center. This way you can slide it in and out with no tools and it will stay in place when not used. You can make up more plates in different sizes if needed as well.
271 This way the box slide can come all the way back when not in use. Nothing rides on the ram like a slip collar and it's quick and easy.
272 In place and you can see what I was going for. Should be bulletproof.
273 With all the stuff in place I tore it all down and flipped it over for final welding. Got a little weight here but did it all by myself.
274 One little detail I did was mark where the oil filter was and drilled a drain hole. I then ground a "funnel" area to the hole which will keep it a little nicer when changing the oil.
275 I sand blasted everything completely bare and painted it in pieces. Did 3 rounds of this over the course of 3 days. Got a friends homemade compressor which made it go a lot better.
276 He has a industrial Ford 6 cylinder for a power source. Thing purrs like a Kitten and you just run it at idle.
277 Taking a pic from a pic so please excuse the quality here. Goes to a gear reduction and slows it down more via a large belt. I believe he said it came out of an old combine.
278 Power is then used to spin a large V8 motor. Yes, he uses all 8 cylinders for pumping and boy does it move a lot of air. He has a radiator and functional water pumps on both motors keep the temps down. He uses it to blow his leaves in the fall....in a hurry!
279 Painted it all outside and moved it in once dry. It'll get scratched up soon enough!
280 Here it is all together. Test run all checked out with no leaks and everything worked well. Will do some splitting and testing soon.
281 Using 2 straps as I changed my mind here for transport. One locks the tables and the boom hook while the other is the safety for the stabilizers.
282 33 gallon hydraulic tank and I put on safety chains as well to keep it all safe. they will get hooked to truck when on the road ;)
283 Stainless holder keeps the chains off the ground and splitter at the same time when not in use.
284 Added a carrier for a pole light when working at night or a dark barn. Tarp strap holds it in place when not in use.
285 Slide limit shown here and no way to loose it in transport when it's locked back.
286 Control panel can easily be reached from the working/splitting position. I upgraded the battery cables to a bigger size than stock for reliable cranking.
287 Auto cycle on left and the 2 spool for the stabilizers on the right. Both reachable from either side.
288 Here is the finished wedge holder pin with the 4 way on it.
289 Hoses out of harms way as much as I could do.
290 Gotta have some fun with the decals;)
291 Bypass in the top right hand corner keeps the fluid from going through the valve on return. Saves wear and tear on it and was recommended by P and J.
292 With this wedge design I don't believe I'll need stops on the backside if a piece gets stuck on the ram. The reason is it's 24 inches from the wedges cutting edge to the valves when returned to open. If I was selling I'd put one on but for personal use we'll be able to manage. I can always add if needed too.
293 Limiter easily slips out. The black paint on the sliding surface is graphite paint. Makes it real slick for initial start up but wears off. You can repaint but I've found once you get past the start up you're fine.
294 All spread out and it's about 11 feet wide in this position.
295 Good shot of the graphite paint and the tables out. They will come in real handy and save a lot of bending over.
296 Won't look like this for long.
297 Hose routing through the main frame.
298 Here is the overhead light in place for those late nights. On the lift arm you can see the cordless winch too. That should save the back too.
299 Light pole sits in the box tubing shown here. Nothing fancy, just easy and reliable. I used quick connects of the wires.
300 Here's the "Powerclaw" close up.
301 Lots of room in there and you can stand towards the valves for safety if something pops. From our experience I'd rather have the wood be able to move a little that to add the stress in the splitter.
302 Here is an action shot. These are Beech and just over 3 ft in diameter. Sure saves the back but I am always leaving an escape route. Don't want to be in between steel and one of these rounds falling, they'd win.
303 These were cut last Winter as 2 trees fell out into the field. We bucked them up and moved them with the backhoe to a spot in woods. I was saving these to play with ;)
304 Biggest one is about 4 1/2 ft at the crotch. You have to plan a little as you can put the partial chunk on each of the tables and hold a piece with the tongs. Getting used to it now and we don't let any of the chunks hit the ground to save lifting.
305 When we were doing the smaller chunks in the barn we were getting over a cord/hour, stacked. The big ones slowed us down as we were here 2 1/2 hours. There is a stack on the right side about the same as the left. The best part is my back isn't sore and don't feel tired. Mission accomplished.
306 Was asked to post some close ups of the bypass system so here they are.
307 The cross has the return from the 2 spool valve running the stabilizers, bypass and return from the auto cycle plumbed into it. From there it goes through the filter and back into the tank.
308 Trying to show the hose runs here.
309 I used long loops when possible to save heat and restrictions of hard 90's. Couldn't help having to have the T's
325 Snow finally melted off and we had about 4 inches of rain. Temps went low so it's froze enough to finish splitting up the big ash at my place.
326 Working by myself this morning as I had some time. It's on a hillside so I leveled it up with the stabilizers.
327 It goes pretty quick when you are chunking for the boiler. Just making them nice handling size. Hard to see but the downhill side wheel is in the air.
328 This tree was getting close to 5 ft in diameter but half of it split off a few years ago. Wood is still really nice and didn't want it to go to waste.
329 When I made my splitter I had the single wedge in a stair step design. It was REALLY aggressive and I did have it stall on a few nasty chunks. Spent some "quality time with the angle grinder and reduced the included angle and took out the step.
330 Wish I had a mill! Used about 1 1/2 9 inch angle grinder wheels and took about 3 hours, Yeah, That's wanting something bad! I didn't baby it today and it never stalled going straight through knots. This is ash though so we will see.
331 Here is one of the upper limb chunks for reference, It's right at 30 inches.
332 Here is a visual of the way I split with this set up. With it on the hook, split about a 1/3 off.
333 Swing it away and split a 1/3 off the other side. Real world here as it chunked out in the center. No worries, I'm adaptable ;)
334 Threw that chunk on top of the other and rolled it over while on the hook. Split that off and push to the opposite table when done. Hanging chunk swings away.
335 Swing it a safe distance away and work up the other stuff as small as you want. It's light enough now that you can handle it and it never hits the ground till it's to size. Once the tables are cleaned, go back to the hanger and finish.
336 Next piece, Here how it normally works!
337 There is another pile about the same size just out of the pic. Starting to build up! I had to change as I normally back down the log. The hillside would have made the boom swing around so I came in from the side.
338 Spent 2 and 3/4 hours splitting. Looks like 2 1/2 cord as there is another load at least this size yet. pretty decent for one guy as I had some camera time but the bigger size makes it go quicker.
339 The bigger size also makes loading faster, Took about 15 minutes to get this one on. Good wood as you can see she is squating. I'm just burning this off the truck to save a handling. They aren't calling for any snow so far.
340 Decided to change my swing tables a little bit. I had made them so they were indexable via a spring loaded gear arrangement. It works well but I found it was slowing me down some. I was also worried about breaking teeth if a piece got caught. I didn't want to modify the existing setup pieces so I could always go back if needed.
341 Tossed around some ideas in my head and did some measuring. I wanted it to be spring loaded so I could infinitely adjust the pressure. I also wanted it to "float" meaning as it wore you can still keep it going with retighteneing. Had to have something sacrificial so I decided on some bronze. Here are the basic cut pieces.
342 A good friend milled the dogbone shape for me and I cut all the pieces in half as pictured. The dog bone shaped one will slide into the exiting box I had. It can float up and down for adjustment but the snug sides will keep it in position. I was going to use die springs for pressure but changed my mind.
343 I made it all out of stainless because I had it laying around. Had to cut a relief on the bottom for clearance.
344 The wear bushing are .250 thick and after cutting them off I sanded them on a surface plate to complete smooth so the surfaces would be true.
345 The idea with these is to let them ride up against the splitters side an isolate the wear washers so they are trapped to drag. I'll trim them down closer once I get the needed measurements. Hard to explain but you'll see in the end what I'm after.
346 The more I thought about the die springs the more I didn't like it. My buddy asked me why not use Belleville washers. Man, these thing are sweet! You can get them in various sizes and strengths. Nice and compact and VERY user friendly. They are just domed, spring steel washers. You can stack them either way and build you clamping force to greater amounts. EXACTLY what I needed.
347 Here is my original set up so here we go.
348 First step was to secure the center pin. I had used smaller set screws but decided to drill and tap a single 5/16 bolt. Isn't going anywhere now.
349 Took the original stuff out and decided to put a stainless wear plate on the splitters side. Drilled and tapped a hole for that. No rust issues and keeps it nice this way with just a little effort.
350 Cut a thin piece and installed it with a button allen head.
351 After trimming down the smaller pieces and installed it all. Works JUST like I hoped and am very happy with it. Nice and clean looking too which is a plus. Should be plenty strong too.
352 Here you can see how everything is trapped but it still can float up and down for various adjustments. Only used 2 springs and seems good. They were rated for 900lbs each. The way these plates are set up it keeps the bolt from wanting to back out or tighten.
353 Can't wait to try it out with this.
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355 After using the new set up, it is awesome. Works even better than I had hoped it would. After one year I still have not had to tighten the adjustment as it must not be wearing.
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358 Close up of suction line from tank to pump. Welded on bung and strainers neck it down. Heavy band clamps keep the spiral suction hose in place. Way better than standard auto clamps.
359 It's a straight. short run to the pump.
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363 Optional hand warmer ;)
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370 Was getting ready to use the splitter and have a few problems I need to address. First up is the winch. When I first made the splitter I bought 2 cordless remote winches at harbor Freight. Couldn't find a cordless anywhere else at the time so it was my only option. First one worked great and lifted everything. All was fine till something dies in the remote and it won't recognize commands. Yes, the battery was fine in the remote. Installed the second one as the remotes signals were different. It was not as strong and it wouldn't lift a few 4fters I had to work up. Then, over the summer it decided to spool up on it's own. I didn't notice till one day I looked at it and it had everything bound up. Switched the battery out and it will just infeed constant. Decided to try a winch from the local farm store so I installed it to try.
371 Came with a manual switch as well. I'm going to leave it hanging till I see if it works out. I'll tidy everything up then. We're just in a trial mode here. If anyone out there knows of a good, 12 volt winch with a cordless remote, let me know.
372 Cordless remote is a lot bigger and has a lock out switch, both features will be nicer.
373 Bolt pattern was narrower but at least the other 2 bolts lined up.
374 Just quick wrapped the wires now till I get some time on it. Everything looks fine and works so we'll see.
375 Next issue was the boom lock. I figured this would fail. The swivel boom was bought and the lock is pretty weak and poorly made. Lets see if we can make it nice and build it to last.
376 They just had a small diameter mild steel thread screwing into the booms 3 inch tube. Naturally, it has stripped and mushroomed the end.
377 A single, standard thickness nut was welded to the tube. Time to change this.
378 The whole hoist just sits in a tapered roller bearing and rests there. I just put a strap on it and lifted everything up using the Gantry I made and a winch.
379 Here you can see the bearing on the bottom. The whole thing is a little sloppy and I may see about addressing that.
380 I wrapped a bag around the bearing and taped it to keep the dirt out of it. I strapped the hoist to the splitter top keep it from moving around as well.
381 Cut the nut off first.
382 Went to the stainless stack and was looking for a bigger pipe/tube but all I had was this. I go to my local scrap yard occasionally and the have a stainless pile and they sell by the pound. Pennies on the dollar of new and such a sweet place to get steel. I don't know what this was for but it would be VERY expensive to have made.
383 Don't know if this was made from a solid hunk or they welded the ears on and turned them smooth. I'm leaning toward a solid hunk though in looking at it. I'll use as is and keep the holes there. If nothing else, I now will have a coat hanger rack on the splitter. LOL
384 Stuffed some towels in the tube to keep debris out and I have an issue with the sizes as you can see. I originally thought I'd slice a section out and weld angle on it. Drill some holes and just clamp it together. When I measured them, they were exactly .250 different. Hmmm, plan B.
385 I have .125" hard poly strips left from another job the will work just fine. Lots easier and probably better.
386 Cheating here as I clamped it and just plunge down on the cut lines, just to the edges.
387 Nice, easy and quick.
388 On the sides I did the same only went real slow as it wants to push out/deflect if you try to go fast.
389 I just use a hacksaw blade to finish to the corners on the longs.
390 Now I'll drill a hole and run a burr to the cut lines making 2 halves.
391 They are about 1 inch wide so I cut them to the correct length and pushed them in for a test fit and work great. Warmed them on the stove to make them more pliable as this stuff is tough.
392 Going to used brass as a grip to the tube. It'll spread the load and can slowly wear. It'll probably outlast me though. Started by facing on end smooth.
393 Made up a pattern for the "window" for the brass to pass through. It's .950" x 1 .400". I also clamp the tube in a vise and brought a cut off wheel down and just gave it witness marks. This locates the flat side exactly in the back where I want it. I center the pattern to the marks.
394 I then took a marker and trace the outside. Now I have cut lines to go to. You can see I marked the pattern with a center line as well.
395 Then just pry out with a small pair of Vise Grips.
396 Clean up with a file and one hole is done.
397 Now I'll repeat the process on the splitters tube. Would have liked to go a little lower but the hole is there.
398 Now both holes/windows are done I have my final size for the brass.
399 Did the math and ground one side till I was equally centered with the flat.
400 Used the chuck as a surface plate and squared the flat to do the other side. Once it was to size I resquared again(shown here) to do the drill hole side the will locate/trap the screw thread.
401 Here's a trick to get reasonably central on a round. Once clamped in position, just grind a small flat with a narrow wheel. I eyeballed to the scribed line and the center punched it.
402 I center drill the hole and then step drilled it to .650 deep and .500" diameter. Here I'm flat bottoming it to the same depth.
403 I then flipped it 180 degrees. To get rid of some of the stock, I just cut it out. Need the curve going the other way and I'll have to grind that.
404 Lay the vise the other way and cut it off.
405 Tube diameter is 3.00 and I need it to be accurate so it will grip nice. I just ground a wheel passed the paper to 3.050 to rough in. You notice I had to relieve the holding tang as the hub would hit other wise. this stuff grinds like butter so I set a table stop and infeed. Made several passes to lessen the heat.
406 I then redress to exactly 3.00" and did the final infeed to clean.
407 Used a prior made thread holding jig and ground a 1/2 inch bolts end to perfectly flat.
408 This way it won't dig into the brass. I'll smooth the edges too on a deburring wheel.
409 Cut the block off and ground the cut side to size.
410 Bolt will push this into tube.
411 Here's a visual of what I'm going for. Now I need a threaded collar.
412 Off to the junk drawer. Found a 1.00" long round with a hole in it. I'll drill it to size and tap it for a 1/2 coarse thread.
413 Got it tapped so now I'll do the collar holder.
414 For the collar holder I found a small piece of strap. Put a couple lines equal distance from the end and bent it with the compact bender. Makes quick work of it.
415 I'll weld this to the big round but I have to drill the hole for the threaded collar. I'll do a press fit hole.
416 Pressed it in and it'll make it easy to TIG weld. Next is the handle.
417 Had a piece of .500 round that was 10 inches long and that will work out great. I want a T handle as opposed to just one side like it had before. That way which ever side you are on it will be easy to lock the boom in position. Need male threads on both ends for the ball knobs so instead of turning them, I just drill and tap.
418 Once they are both done, I just thread in some bolt and tighten. I threaded only enough that it would stop midway on the thread. bottoming out if you will. that way it will stay. Especially since I locktighted them too!
419 Then I just cut the heads of. This way you have a hard corner with threads all the way. Makes the knobs look better to me as they are tight.
420 Here you can see what I mean. I'll drill a .250 hole in the middle next but only go about 2/3 through. This will lock the handle in position. You'll see what I have in mind shortly.
421 Hole is done.
422 Junk draw yielded another piece. I'm drilling a .500 hole here clear through for the handle to pass through. I'll then drill and tap a 1/4 - 20 thread on the lathe to hold the handle there.
423 On the other side of the piece I recessed it. Went just about the thickness of the bolt head. I'll TIG weld this on as well.
424 I also want to get the hole for the grease zerk done so I marked it and drilled it out a little small. Once I was certain it was right, opened it up big enough to get a grease gun on it easily. I think I'll add another one to the other side in the same spot.
425 Other side is done and to size so I'll finish the poly band. I'll have to take the stock off where the zerk holes and brass block passes through.
426 Quick measurement for the blocks width and height and cut that out. This will work to keep it in place as well.
427 So glad this is working out. I would not want it any tighter.
428 I'm also going to put a spring on the inside to keep drag pressure on the boom. Threaded collar serving double duty here.
429 I'll just trace the hole and drill close. Then finish with a burr in a die grinder.
430 Need to make 2 braces for strength. Out comes the cereal box for pattern making. Should be able to get both of them out of this little leftover.
431 I trace the curve from the pattern and grind most of it out. I finish the curve on the roll wheel of the belt sander. Want these tight as I'll TIG weld.
432 Real close and I'll either take more off or press it in once I have the V bracket final welded.
433 Got the bottom one done too.
434 I used the grinding wheel to align everything for tack welding. I'll then double check it on the splitter before final welding.
435 Checked fine so I welded it on.
436 After getting the other side I tapped in the center brace supports. This should make it real stout.
437 Then the top side was done. next will be the handle screw.
438 A little fill welding and we are done. I'll rechase all the threads and coat it all with Anti Sieze before putting it in.
439 Put it all back on and really like how it works now. Looks better too!
440 Haven't tried the coat hanger yet. LOL
441 I used a button head cap screw on the handle lock. I may also put a poly bushing on the inside of the tube to get some of the wobble out of that. I'll see how this goes first with some use.
442
443 Still can grease it easy too. Should be better with zerks 180 from each other.
444 Real happy with the end result and the double ended handle will be a lot better. Loads more advantage on tightening and surface area on the tube.
445 Weather got worse as we had some ice on top of the snow so I decided to go ahead and take the slop out of the swing mast before even try out the new lock. Measured the difference between the 2 and it was .175 so I need a n .0875 bushing per side. I have poly that thickness but worried about it moving around. Came up with another plan using .125 thick. Measured the distance I had to deal with and took off some. Then marked that with a marker.
446 I thought about how to form the lip using a saw with the depth set or screwing it to a board to hold it flat. I figured with the time involved in that It would be quicker just to free hand it. I'll use a carbide burr in a die grinder. I just go up to the line while a short section is sticking out of the vise.
447 Here you can see forming the lip.
448 I set a pair of calipers a little small and will use them as a go, no go gauge.
449 Here is an illustration. I just did about 2 inches at a time. Once I got it started it went quicker. I could get all but the last 3/4" this way and I just held it for the last bit.
450 All done and took about 15 minutes.
451 I then marked, cut and drill for the zerks and brass lock down.
452 This will help to keep it in position and allow the grease to get in there where it will keep it smooth.
453 Should work out pretty well.
454 I greased the bushing and mast lightly and it slid right in. Then pumped grease through the zerk while slowly turning the mast so it got a nice even coat in there. Did the same on the other zerk and you can see it coming out in an even pattern at the top of the black bushing.
455 What a difference that made. No more rocking.
456 The brass lock down should be better as well as it won't be on an angle. With it cocking like it was it was taking it out of alignment with the way I ground it. Everything works as smooth as silk now.
457 Weather has been bad here and it's either been snow covered or too wet to do anything. They're calling for more rain tonight so I decided to knock a couple of trees that I had ready to try the splitter on. It's ash so it'll be soup but wanted to see how the winch and swing would work.
458 I'm chunking about double normal size as I just want it to dry a little more
459 Makes for some nice wood and doesn't take long to do.
460 Moved to the other tree and I'm really happy with the swing lock. Smooth as silk and easy to use. The winch works really well too and the bigger buttons on the remote make it better than before.
461 Makes such a big difference in fatigue not having to wrestle stuff around. I can level the whole splitter up with the stabilizers too.
462 Here you can see it. Notice the wheel is off the ground to the left. A big plus is I can easily work up the bigger stuff by myself which is a huge plus to me and why I went this way.
463 Started to rain but got it all loaded. It was "only" one load. LOL
464 Probably just over a cord. We have another tree top do yet which has a couple loads but with the rain it'll be a while as it's in a fencerow.
This is the most informative instructional documentary I have ever seen. I'm jealous of your skills; I'm jealous of your welding; I'm jealous of your conceptual ability; I'm jealous of your final product. Shit, I'm just jealous.
Wonderful production and, and thank you for sharing it. I was mesmerized by every step!
Amazing attention to details and design! The big question is what would you do differently (if anything) now that you have some time using it? - Eric Borg, Thu, 7 Dec 2017 4:52PM
I am impressed... - albert miller, Mon, 15 May 2017 10:17AM
Designs and work to be proud of! - Tom, Sat, 7 Jan 2017 1:00AM
great looking splitter.I did a good job on mine that I built 25 yrs ago without a breakdown but want to copy something like a Timberwolf - Ed Milkiewicz, Tue, 23 Feb 2016 7:50PM
Awesome freaking work, I bet you're one happy dude! Thanks for these imageevent pages, I've spent many hours here. Just awesome, glad to see all your posts on Arboristsite too, thanks again. - Greenthorn, Sun, 7 Jun 2015 7:21AM
