# Catersplitter Build Thread



## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 21, 2012)

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.

Pumps and such came from P&J commercial products(1-877-775-4839. James builds and sells splitter to order and helped me a lot. He advertises here and is a top rate guy. I'd highly recommend them and tell them Kevin in Ohio send you.

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!





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.




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.




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




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.




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.




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. 




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.




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.


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## KiwiBro (Aug 21, 2012)

Hey, you just bought our mower model buy the looks of it, or something real close. Everything is falling apart on it now so if you were closer, we'd be keen on the parts you don't need, especially the body, which on ours seems to have developed a few extra grass chutes.

Looking forward to your build and the pics and to learning what we can do with ours when the time comes.


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## Arbonaut (Aug 21, 2012)

opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:


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## CWME (Aug 21, 2012)

Been pondering making something like a dr power wagon out of a riding mower... Seeing the frame and motor sitting there in your photos makes me think I might try it...

Keep us updated on your build! Interesting stuff!!


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## Blazin (Aug 22, 2012)

Subscribed


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 22, 2012)

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.






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.






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.






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.






Ground what was left of the welds flush. Gouged a few areas and will fill those with the MIG.






Here it is all filled with weld and ground flush.






Here you can see the fluid level indicator and screened, large mouth fill on the left side.






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.


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## andydodgegeek (Aug 22, 2012)

Looks good so far. Good thread.


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## Steve NW WI (Aug 22, 2012)

Subscribing...


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## giXXer (Aug 22, 2012)

Anxious to see the rest Kevin. Excellent detail so far which I know takes time out your busy day, but pppplllleeeeeaaaaasssseeee don't tease us too much!


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## ShaneLogs (Aug 22, 2012)

Subscribing also.


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## DFK (Aug 22, 2012)

This is going to be a good thread.

David


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 22, 2012)

Close up of the cut out on the bottom of the divider. I don't think this will break! 






Pump that was on the tank when I got it. A little too small for what I want.






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. 






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## Rattler05.5 (Aug 22, 2012)

*Pump*

Very interested in this build since I just bought the same starting platform. Mine is a 20hp Kohler with 150 hours on it, but it had been sitting for some years with a bad hydrostatic transmission. 

I'm going big, the cylinder I have has a 40" stroke. I only need 30" but the price was right. I'm thinking 28GPM with the engines that we have.

Any detail on how you mounted the pump to engine? Thanks!

Rattler


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## owbguy (Aug 22, 2012)

Liking this thread. Tipping my hat to you. Bravo man, bravo!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 23, 2012)

Here you can see I've gotten pretty much full penetration on the 1/2" steel.






Second pass and heat lines look pretty good.






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.






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.






Cleaned up the ends and smoothed the edges. You're looking down the inside of the reconnected box where the weld is.






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.






Ground some reliefs on both side of the steel on the ends so weld would lay pretty flush. Clamped it down for tacks.






End weld completed.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 23, 2012)

Did the other side the same and welded the entire length so Box section of the slide is done.






Should be plenty strong now as side walls are 7/8" thick.






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.






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.






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!






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.






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. 






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.


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## Steve NW WI (Aug 23, 2012)

Need a job? (With work like that I really already know the answer) Your fab skills are top notch. This is a machine your grandkids can appreciate when it's still around in 50+ years.

Repped!


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## zogger (Aug 23, 2012)

Man, your work is wayyy over my paygrade!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 23, 2012)

Steve NW WI said:


> Need a job? (With work like that I really already know the answer) Your fab skills are top notch. This is a machine your grandkids can appreciate when it's still around in 50+ years.
> 
> Repped!



I learned what I know from years of repairing "engineered" products. After a while you can see where something is going to break. 

We went to the Farm science review here in Ohio a number of years back and was looking at equipment. Okay, stealing ideas. Salesman walked up and started the pitch. I told him they may want to put some stretch risers on a box beam and he told me they run all there designs through a simulator for pretests. The next year they had bracing there. Real world tends be harsher sometimes than CAD specs.

I'm not a certified welder either but willing to learn from others and take suggestions. I just like making stuff that lasts and fits the job it's needed for. No, I'm not planning on building these commercially, too many projects and overtime at my day job.


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## redheadwoodshed (Aug 23, 2012)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> I learned what I know from years of repairing "engineered" products. After a while you can see where something is going to break.
> 
> We went to the Farm science review here in Ohio a number of years back and was looking at equipment. Okay, stealing ideas. Salesman walked up and started the pitch. I told him they may want to put some stretch risers on a box beam and he told me they run all there designs through a simulator for pretests. The next year they had bracing there. Real world tends be harsher sometimes than CAD specs.
> 
> I'm not a certified welder either but willing to learn from others and take suggestions. I just like making stuff that lasts and fits the job it's needed for. No, I'm not planning on building these commercially, too many projects and overtime at my day job.



Yea, you have to figure in mass produced and cost on "engineered" products.They are built just well enough, and no better.But hey, It keeps welders in business.You are doing a jam up job on your splitter!Rep sent.


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## DFK (Aug 23, 2012)

*Looking Good.*

Those are some serious MAN skills you are sporting Kevin.

Question: 
Are you planning to use the Hydrostatic Drive from the mower to make it "Self Propelled?" 

David


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 23, 2012)

DFK said:


> Those are some serious MAN skills you are sporting Kevin.
> 
> Question:
> Are you planning to use the Hydrostatic Drive from the mower to make it "Self Propelled?"
> ...



I weighs 2 ton and we just use a truck or tractor. Wasn't worth the extra cost and time for me to consider it. This suits our needs and trust me, I've was planning and thinking through options for years.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

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.






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. 






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.






Enclosed everything with a piece of 1/4" plate and finished welding it up. I'll do the same on the other side






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

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!






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.






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. 






Welded on and smoothed up. That will keep it where it belongs. I'll do the same to the front pulley.






Cable clearances all look good and here it is all done. Once it's all painted up it should look pretty good.






Center mounting plate/gusset runs basically down the center of the 2 side brackets. 






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'






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.


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## TJ-Bill (Aug 24, 2012)

Nice Work. I'm looking forward to seeing the end product!


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## redheadwoodshed (Aug 24, 2012)

That auto cycle valve would be a nice addition.I was thinking about adding one to my speeco.


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## Rattler05.5 (Aug 24, 2012)

*Why wait?*



TJ-Bill said:


> Nice Work. I'm looking forward to seeing the end product!



Not the first to be fooled by this. Kevin is doing us a favor and showing us the process that he went through to build this splitter. This thread is all what it took to build this ⬇
Here is the final product,
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/205803.htm


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## richv70 (Aug 24, 2012)

Wow Kevin! Great work!


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## cowroy (Aug 24, 2012)

opcorn:


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## Arbonaut (Aug 24, 2012)

Lookin' good.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

If you like this thread, I'd appreciate you guys rating it. This takes a little more time to do than I thought but wanted to do it if it'll help others.








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.






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.






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.






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.






Tacked on one mount, checked for straightness and put the cylinder on with the other mounting plate. I then tacked it on as well.






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.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

Here it is welded and drilled. Next is to cut away for clearance.






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.






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.






Drew up a pattern for the lower arm mount and cut them out the same way as before.






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.






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.






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.






Drew up another pattern for the cylinder ram mount/foot mount. Used 1/2" plate this time.


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## owbguy (Aug 24, 2012)

excellent thread. excellent skills on display.

how long did it take to get this far? how long was the total build?

I'll I can say is


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

owbguy said:


> excellent thread. excellent skills on display.
> 
> how long did it take to get this far? how long was the total build?
> 
> I'll I can say is



Started on it at the end of January and 3 1/2 months later it was done. Work loads of overtime(7 days with some 10's) so I got about 4 hours work time when nothing was up. To this point was about 3 weeks.

Thanks for the kind words and glad you guys are getting something out of it.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

Tacked it on first and checked for any problems. Everything checked out okay so I welded them on for keeps.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## ss~zoso~ss (Aug 24, 2012)

you NEED to post a video of this beast in action!


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## jags (Aug 24, 2012)

Awesome build. I am eating it up. Keep it coming.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 24, 2012)

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.






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.






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. Notice the drilled hole it the cut waste laying in the bottom. I do this to save the plasma tips so the splash back doesn't occur on start up.






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.






Got some 2" strap and bent it in the ring roller. It'll give a finished look to the pocket. 






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.






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.






Full down looks more like what I had planned from the start as well.


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## wndwlkr (Aug 25, 2012)

Excellent job :msp_thumbup: the real McCoy here for sure.


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## Steve NW WI (Aug 25, 2012)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> If you like this thread, I'd appreciate you guys rating it. This takes a little more time to do than I thought but wanted to do it if it'll help others.



Done. I gave it 3 stars. After all, the wedge is on the wrong end! :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange: Seriously, I'd have given it 10 stars if they'd let me.

On the pads, why make another set to bolt on? Take your pads that are cut for the rubber, weld on some bar stock to match the x pattern: in other words, when they're in use, the bar stock will sit on either side of your X bars and hold it in place, just set the bottom pads down and put the outriggers down on em. I could draw a sketch if you don't follow my description. For rubber, if you can find a small dairy that's not milking any more, see if they have any rubber cow mats you can scrounge. 1/2 to 1" thick depending, and plenty durable.

Wish I had half the fab tools you have. At least I work in a shop that can make anything (we build our own punch press tooling), but no employee discount on stuff I get made. Little things can sometimes be done on break for free though. Our new 6000W laser cuts 1" steel really nice...


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## Blazin (Aug 25, 2012)

Awesome work as usual Kevin!  That ring roller is a nice tool, beats using a piece of well casing for bending like I do


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 25, 2012)

Did the same on the other side and now the stabilizer arms are complete. 






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.






Both sides tacked on in final position and slide is VERY nice. Nailed the gaps perfect on this one. 






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.






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.






For the swing arm supports I'm using 1/2" plate as they will take a beating.






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".






After connecting the dots with the plasma I smoothed them up. Next up is get the hinges ready.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 25, 2012)

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.






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. 






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.






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. 






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.






Angle brace ties into the bottom part of the hinge so it spreads the load forces more. 






Here's the end gusset. Being 1/4" on all this it should take the weight it'll see with ease.






Nice to weld on clean steel! Stitch welding most all this stuff.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 25, 2012)

Steve NW WI said:


> Done. I gave it 3 stars. After all, the wedge is on the wrong end! :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange: Seriously, I'd have given it 10 stars if they'd let me.
> 
> On the pads, why make another set to bolt on? Take your pads that are cut for the rubber, weld on some bar stock to match the x pattern: in other words, when they're in use, the bar stock will sit on either side of your X bars and hold it in place, just set the bottom pads down and put the outriggers down on em. I could draw a sketch if you don't follow my description. For rubber, if you can find a small dairy that's not milking any more, see if they have any rubber cow mats you can scrounge. 1/2 to 1" thick depending, and plenty durable.
> 
> Wish I had half the fab tools you have. At least I work in a shop that can make anything (we build our own punch press tooling), but no employee discount on stuff I get made. Little things can sometimes be done on break for free though. Our new 6000W laser cuts 1" steel really nice...



Thanks Steve,
If the wedge wasn't on the ram it would create problems on the big ones. As it would push it through you'd have to release the winch tong or it would swing back or bind. I get enough exercise without having to drag it all back too  As you said, we'll agree to disagree.

Good tip on the mats as I still haven't found anything. Earthmover tires would be good too but I haven't come across anything yet. The one time I did do some on a driveway I just through some small pieces of plywood down. No rush on it, I get something eventually. Our backhoe has tires cut on edge, like a rear bushhog tire.

Tools are my weakness. That's what I spend my beer and cigarette money on! Catch 22 sometimes when you work all the overtime, you can save the money for the tools but hard to get the time to use them then.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 25, 2012)

[/http://photos.imageevent.com/kevininohio/woodsplitter/websize/MVC-022S_8.JPGimg]

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.

[img]http://photos.imageevent.com/kevininohio/woodsplitter/websize/MVC-018S_28.JPG

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. 






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 25, 2012)

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.






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. 






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 25, 2012)

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.






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.






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. 






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## brenndatomu (Aug 25, 2012)

Sweet build! I like your detent system for your split tables, simple but elegant.


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## ShaneLogs (Aug 25, 2012)

Looks like it's coming along well!


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## Gavman (Aug 25, 2012)

great work, impressed how much time you spent on this...


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 26, 2012)

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.






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.






Around a minute with the angle grinder gets you this. Saves a lot of time for roughing it in.






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.






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.






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.






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.






The finished 45 degree angle on a 1 inch plate.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 26, 2012)

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. 






You can get it pretty close but still a lot of finish grinding to do. 






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.






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.






All 3 passes on here and ready to get the backstops ready for welding.






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.






Snugged the clamp down and took off the wedge sides. 






Welds here lay pretty much flush. Overkill as always, but it makes it nicer to me.


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## 7sleeper (Aug 26, 2012)

All I can add is *amazing!*

7


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## sam-tip (Aug 26, 2012)

Overkill is underrated. Looks Great!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 27, 2012)

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.






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.






2 passes of weld lay pretty much flush with the sides so a little relief will clear it on the next piece. 






Close up shows what I'm referring to.






Stair stepped the next layer back and the beads basically make the correct angle for the wedge effect. Everything welded here and cleaned up.






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.






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






Deep reliefs but I want a lot of strength here. I get about 3/4" penetration this way.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 27, 2012)

All welded up. I'll make the other one exactly the same and add some wings to make it a 4 way split.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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. 






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.






Decided to mount it all up to see what it looks like. Centerline of the cross is on center with the ram.


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## redheadwoodshed (Aug 27, 2012)

I really like that 4-way design you got there.Should be quick and easy to swap out.Keep up the good work.


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## andydodgegeek (Aug 27, 2012)

Amazing!!! And I thought I did alot of work in my garage. Very nice work. I would like to try splitting with that thing. Excellent thread.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 28, 2012)

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.






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.






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.






Relieved all the plates and clamped it up. Kept adjusting till everything was not binding and straight. Then put several tack welds on it.






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. 






These are the welds running up the angle and I did them vertical. The welder is working well and I have the settings down.






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.






Close up of the bottom welds all cleaned up.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 28, 2012)

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.






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!






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.






Hole in the top plate is for easy access to the zerk fitting on the back of the cylinder.






Got all the welds cleaned up and reassembled it. Starting to look like something again.






Everything slid together nicely. You double check everything but their is always that worry in the back of your mind you missed something.






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!






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.


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## redheadwoodshed (Aug 28, 2012)

What a beast that thing is.The toughest old wood ain't going to stand a chance!


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## BSD (Aug 28, 2012)

I gotta say. very very impressive build skills! I don't care for the design of the splitter per say, but man. those are awesome skills you have! thanks for taking the time to post the details


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## Blazin (Aug 28, 2012)

Awesome build thread Kevin, I love to see a pile of steel turned into a vision! 

What amp is that miller you have? Just curious because my lincoln 255 with .035 wire burns in nice up to 3/4", after that I usually have to preheat to get the penetration.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 28, 2012)

Blazin said:


> Awesome build thread Kevin, I love to see a pile of steel turned into a vision!
> 
> What amp is that miller you have? Just curious because my lincoln 255 with .035 wire burns in nice up to 3/4", after that I usually have to preheat to get the penetration.



I've got a Miller 250X and a Miller Syncrowave 250, which is stick capable. As shown, I tend to V groove stuff that is really critical to me with several passes of weld. That said, it's pretty easy to blow through 1/2" plate when it's cranked up. Probably not right by the book but it has worked well for me over the years.

I started out stick welding everything as that's all we had at my former job. Lots of repairs done while I was there and learned a lot about what works and doesn't. Nothing like welding so much the stinger is too hot to hold even with welding gloves on 

Thanks to all for the kind words and glad you guys are getting some from this. Projects like this are my recreation from the daily grind. Big plus is it makes your life easier and will last a long time.


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## DFK (Aug 28, 2012)

Kevin:
Did you ever find any rubber feet for it???

I had to drive around a mack truck blow-out tire this morning.
The tread would most likely work well. Stop and pick one up.

David


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 28, 2012)

DFK said:


> Kevin:
> Did you ever find any rubber feet for it???
> 
> I had to drive around a mack truck blow-out tire this morning.
> ...


Haven't found anything yet. Problem with most newer tires is dealing with the steel belts. It's hard enough cutting thick rubber without steel in it, I can't imagine trying to do it with one that does. Something will turn up in time, there is no real rush on that one. We have gotten earthmover tires before and they were corded. It's just, what do you do with the rest of it


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## redheadwoodshed (Aug 28, 2012)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> I've got a Miller 250X and a Miller Syncrowave 250, which is stick capable. As shown, I tend to V groove stuff that is really critical to me with several passes of weld. That said, it's pretty easy to blow through 1/2" plate when it's cranked up. Probably not right by the book but it has worked well for me over the years.
> 
> I started out stick welding everything as that's all we had at my former job. Lots of repairs done while I was there and learned a lot about what works and doesn't. Nothing like welding so much the stinger is too hot to hold even with welding gloves on
> 
> Thanks to all for the kind words and glad you guys are getting some from this. Projects like this are my recreation from the daily grind. Big plus is it makes your life easier and will last a long time.



That syncrowave 250 is a nice machine!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 29, 2012)

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.






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. 






Get some cardboard(like cereal box material) and lightly tap the edges till it is "cut" to size.






Slip it over the crank.






Next, use the other end of the ball peen hammer and tap lightly till it cuts the hole.






Put a bolt with washer in and snug it up. Move to the next one and repeat till you get them all.






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. 






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 29, 2012)

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!






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.


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## 7sleeper (Aug 29, 2012)

Hello Kevin,

Going great! Three things I do not approve (if I may say so  and I know your build is already done). First the angle from the horizontal blade is too sharp. I donot believe that it will stand, although very thick(!), a long time. Second, at least I didn't see it, did you streghten the bolt hole for the cylinder on the wedge end like on the stationary end? I think it would be a good idea. Third looking at the probable power of your splitter, I believe that you are wasting a lot of potential energy not going directly to a eight cut blade. That will just zip through normal wood and you would be much quicker with a higher cut amount with one passing. I hope that that was clear . 
Of course we all have understood by now that you donot own a chainsaw and expect to cut all your wood with the splitter! 

7

edit: one thing I forgot to mention, for that build sofar you sure must have eaten a lot of corn flakes! :hmm3grin2orange:


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## Freehand (Aug 29, 2012)

Nice build. Love the redneck dovetail cutting operation, gonna use that one. Impeccable welds. Subscribing.


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## MATTYB11 (Aug 29, 2012)

Awesome job! I wish I had the talent you have.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 30, 2012)

7sleeper said:


> Hello Kevin,
> 
> Going great! Three things I do not approve (if I may say so  and I know your build is already done). First the angle from the horizontal blade is too sharp. I donot believe that it will stand, although very thick(!), a long time. Second, at least I didn't see it, did you streghten the bolt hole for the cylinder on the wedge end like on the stationary end? I think it would be a good idea. Third looking at the probable power of your splitter, I believe that you are wasting a lot of potential energy not going directly to a eight cut blade. That will just zip through normal wood and you would be much quicker with a higher cut amount with one passing. I hope that that was clear .
> Of course we all have understood by now that you donot own a chainsaw and expect to cut all your wood with the splitter!
> ...



The horizontal blade has held up so far. I do tend to only use it when I get a pile of straight grain or easy stuff though, we'll see as time will tell.

There is 1 inch of steel per side there on the pin. Box slide has a good fit so I'm pretty confident it is fine. we'll see again there.

I think it would be way to much to ask for a 5 inch cylinder to do an 8 way. there is a tremendous amount of splitting surface when you try that much. Does someone out there do that? It would surprise me if they do. The wood I was doing was basically seasoned before splitting and I had a lot of popping going on. I made my vertical wedges pretty aggressive and it adds to that but it spreads fast.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 30, 2012)

MATTYB11 said:


> Awesome job! I wish I had the talent you have.



You just gotta get out there and try. Start small and build your experience base, that is what I did. Some of the best words of wisdom I ever heard came from a guy at work. If you never try, you will never have a failure but you'll never have a success either. I know, too many nevers but it is a pearl of wisdom to me.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 30, 2012)

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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






Pic of the fix from the same view as the first pic. I smoothed the corners out while I was working on it.






Other side the way it should have been done to start with.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 30, 2012)

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.







A little work with the torch and angle grinder and it's a lot nicer.






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. 






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.






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.






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. 






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.






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.


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## USMC/BANG (Aug 30, 2012)

This is by far the most complete build that I have seen yet!!! Great job and good on you to take Pics along the way!!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 30, 2012)

USMC/BANG said:


> This is by far the most complete build that I have seen yet!!! Great job and good on you to take Pics along the way!!



Glad you are getting something out of it. I've found that taking pics as you go helps motivate me to keep going. Nice to look back too after it is done, sometimes it is just to prove to others you DID do it!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 31, 2012)

Cut out 2 1/4" plates and tacked them on. This side will be the tank side.






Bent up some 1/4" X 2" strap to hold the tank in place. Used the compact bender after figuring out the measurements. 






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.






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.






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.






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.






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.






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


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 31, 2012)

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.






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.






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.






After checking and rechecking I tacked it in place. Checked again and I was ready to start fill welding.






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.






All smoothed out and ready to weld in the side spacers on the inside.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 1, 2012)

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.






I put it in place and made sure everything was even and put a few tacks on. Check again and start final welding it.






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. 






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.






One down and a few more to go!






All the gussets done and installed. I'll do the rest of the welds when I disassemble and roll it on it's side.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 1, 2012)

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. 






Ground the edges to straight and smoothed them out. They'll be 4 lines plus the electrics for the winch going through here.






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.






Made up a gusset brace for the axle to beams and welded it in. Should be good to go here now.






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.






Got some 3/8" stainless rod and heated it up. Bent it around a large piece of round stock for a hose holder.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 2, 2012)

Made another one with a triple loop for the 4 hoses that run to the outriggers. Keeps everything tidy.






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. 






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. 






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.






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.






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.






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. 






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 2, 2012)

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.






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.






Here it is cleaned up and this position is for the truck. 2 5/8" bolts will hold it in position.






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.






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.






Needed some mounting points so cut a piece out. Ready for welding here, after double checking measurements.






Welded in and smoothed. Put a support in the center as well while I was at it.






Got some stainless strap and bent them up using the bender. Makes really nice repeatable bends cold.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 3, 2012)

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.






Here is a close up of the attachment mount.







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.






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.






Loose patterns make it a lot easier and you can change the design quickly. When it right, just tape them down.






Bent the front panel from some stainless sheet and mounted everything up. Turned out pretty nice and clean.






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.






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 3, 2012)

All done and ready to go. 5/8" bolts for attachment.






Using left over angle iron for the battery box mount. Ready for final welding here. 






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.






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.






Strap feeds under the box and over the sides, Overkill but it'll keep everyone happy for transport.






I don't like the strap that came with the box so I'll probably switch it to a ratchet style later.






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.






Poly centrally locates it and keeps the rattles down. Set screw hold the lower pin in place.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 4, 2012)

All done but the pin here. Not OSHA approved with the exposed edge!






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.






Close up of how it works.






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.






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.






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.






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.






In place and you can see what I was going for. Should be bulletproof.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 4, 2012)

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.






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.






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. 






He has a industrial Ford 6 cylinder for a power source. Thing purrs like a Kitten and you just run it at idle.






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. 






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!






Painted it all outside and moved it in once dry. It'll get scratched up soon enough!






Here it is all together. Test run all checked out with no leaks and everything worked well. Will do some splitting and testing soon.


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## howellhandmade (Sep 4, 2012)

It's over? Awwwww. Looking forward to pics in operation. Too bad there are no splitter shows.


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## husqvarnaguy (Sep 4, 2012)

What was the total cost?


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 5, 2012)

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.






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 






Stainless holder keeps the chains off the ground and splitter at the same time when not in use.






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.






Slide limit shown here and no way to loose it in transport when it's locked back.






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.






Auto cycle on left and the 2 spool for the stabilizers on the right. Both reachable from either side.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 5, 2012)

Here is the finished wedge holder pin with the 4 way on it.






Hoses out of harms way as much as I could do.






Gotta have some fun with the decals 






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. 






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. 






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.






All spread out and it's about 11 feet wide in this position.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 5, 2012)

Good shot of the graphite paint and the tables out. They will come in real handy and save a lot of bending over.






Won't look like this for long.






Hose routing through the main frame.






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.






Light pole sits in the box tubing shown here. Nothing fancy, just easy and reliable. I used quick connects of the wires. 






Here's the "Powerclaw" close up.






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. 






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.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 5, 2012)

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 






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.






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.

I really liked doing this project as it had been in the planning stages for years. Nice to see it all come together and work  I have just under $6,000.00 in it. Yes, Quite a chunk of change but will probably be the last my lifetime. Used steel prices have gone up a lot here recently and I bought most of the hydraulic stuff new as I wanted no question marks there. More scrounging could have made the price lower but I was working with what I had. Hoses and fluid have gone through the roof as well.

As I said at the start, You can get a smaller factory made for less, but I wouldn't have gotten the features I wanted. Try splitting a 4 ft diameter, 24 inch long Beech round with an inertia splitter and report back 

Thanks to all for the kind words and hope this has helped answer some questions or gave you some ideas to steal. I'll try to get some better action shots in the future. Kept forgetting to get them as we were having fun!

Special thanks to P and J Commercial Products. James was always quick to return calls and answer any questions I had. Top of the line company with nice stuff.


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## howellhandmade (Sep 5, 2012)

I just went back and read through the whole thread and that's a huge amount of work and time, and steel. Excellent work, straight and tight and hell for stout. I don't know if you could buy something that thoroughly reinforced. The only part I wonder about lasting forever is the pawl mechanism on the swinging tables. Should be fine if the table is always still when engaged, but if the table is moving even slowly with a heavy piece on it and the gear gets dropped in it seems like it would be like dropping a lathe into back gear before it stops completely. Had enough lathes come in missing bull gear teeth to know it happens. Not a problem if you always run it yourself.

Great project, great thread. No mysteries, you showed how and why you did everything. Thanks a million.


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## husqvarnaguy (Sep 5, 2012)

Cant beat a CAT.


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## jags (Sep 5, 2012)

Absofreakingloutly awesome. As a guy that has built a couple of Tonka Toys (in comparison) I respect the amount of time, energy and engineering it took to make that thing come together. Just the planning stage alone must have consumed hours upon hours.

Very nice work and one helluva piece of equipment you have there. Kudos.


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## Steve NW WI (Sep 5, 2012)

Kevin, I'm just curious if you considered a powered lift cylinder on the hoist instead of the manual one on it? When I've been considering adding a boom, I've been thinking 2 more valves and a hydraulic motor would make it power lift and swing. The thought of using a hyd winch vs electric also crossed my mind, but maybe I'm just getting carried away. Running the extra hoses and keeping them out of the way would be a pain...

Any chance of your stroke limiter plate vibrating out if you're not working on level ground?

That's about all I really question after the whole build. I'm sure if I were doing it, there would be more than that to question in the first post, let alone the whole thread. Great work!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 5, 2012)

howellhandmade said:


> I just went back and read through the whole thread and that's a huge amount of work and time, and steel. Excellent work, straight and tight and hell for stout. I don't know if you could buy something that thoroughly reinforced. The only part I wonder about lasting forever is the pawl mechanism on the swinging tables. Should be fine if the table is always still when engaged, but if the table is moving even slowly with a heavy piece on it and the gear gets dropped in it seems like it would be like dropping a lathe into back gear before it stops completely. Had enough lathes come in missing bull gear teeth to know it happens. Not a problem if you always run it yourself.
> 
> Great project, great thread. No mysteries, you showed how and why you did everything. Thanks a million.




The gears are hardened and that was on my mind as well as far as tooth loss. What I did to combat it is to grease them well and make the springs fairly weak. You can rachet the tables without using the release handle but I try not to. I agree, probably a better solution but it has worked well so far. Like you said, I'd rather it be able to move than be rigid as something WILL give. I may grind end up grinding out a gear from softer material if needed.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 5, 2012)

Steve NW WI said:


> Kevin, I'm just curious if you considered a powered lift cylinder on the hoist instead of the manual one on it? When I've been considering adding a boom, I've been thinking 2 more valves and a hydraulic motor would make it power lift and swing. The thought of using a hyd winch vs electric also crossed my mind, but maybe I'm just getting carried away. Running the extra hoses and keeping them out of the way would be a pain...
> 
> Any chance of your stroke limiter plate vibrating out if you're not working on level ground?
> 
> That's about all I really question after the whole build. I'm sure if I were doing it, there would be more than that to question in the first post, let alone the whole thread. Great work!



The reason for not having a powered lift cylinder was cost, weight and loss of reach. I can lift the front end up off the jack and sometimes on rough roads it bangs a little. When I took it across the local scales it weighed 3990 lbs.

The manual cylinder on the boom is not used at all. I may put a solid rod in there if it starts leaking. I just left it on as it gave me a little cushion on log position. The winch has 30 feet of reach so I can drag chunks to it and not have to move as much when backing down a tree's length. If you notice there is a handle on the boom that you can spin it with. I find I don't use it much as a hand on the log and the other on the cordless remote seems to work well. The winch is a little slow but honestly, it's safer that way and is fast enough for me. I normally was winching one up in position while Dad was finishing up the smaller chunks. Kept everything moving well.

On the plate, most of our ground it fairly level. The stabilizers will level it out pretty close. Haven't had it move out yet and normally it doesn't stay on the outstroke long enough for it to happen. Auto return is NICE!  If it does happen a simple screw in eye on the axle face and a welded nut on the limiter is all that would be needed. Just use a tarp strap to hold it. If we were running 16 inch long stuff occasionally I'd make up another limiter that size. We don't sell much so it probably won't happen.


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## TonyK (Sep 6, 2012)

What??? The show is over? Damn. What do you have planned for the sequel? I would put this thread up as one of the top five ever on the board. Fantastic work Kevin. (but I'm thinking you already knew that)


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## Diesel nut (Sep 6, 2012)

Nice build. You have a lot of time in this. It takes lots of time to fabricate and put everything together. Not to mention all the trips to town for parts and making everything fit together. Great work, I wish I had more time to build something like that. I'm in the process of building my own splitter as well as other guys on here. I'm thinking of stealing your idea of using box tubing for the slide for the wedge. Looks like it'll hold up for a long time. Have fun with your new toy!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 7, 2012)

TonyK said:


> What??? The show is over? Damn. What do you have planned for the sequel? I would put this thread up as one of the top five ever on the board. Fantastic work Kevin. (but I'm thinking you already knew that)





I'll get some action shots in the future but it'll be a while. Always have irons in the fire it seems. Thanks for the kind words. Kevin


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## crowbuster (Sep 7, 2012)

WOW Is all I can say. love it, way beyond my meager means, you are very talented. Was just wondering if there were any plans to make some sort of protection for the extra wedge? Or is it not a concern? Your protection and/or it's protection. Thanks for sharing, I was rivited


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## WidowMaker (Sep 7, 2012)

Great job, great thread, I'm envious of you skills an your tools..
Speaking of which,
how bout some shots of the parts of that bender so's aguy might make one


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 7, 2012)

crowbuster said:


> WOW Is all I can say. love it, way beyond my meager means, you are very talented. Was just wondering if there were any plans to make some sort of protection for the extra wedge? Or is it not a concern? Your protection and/or it's protection. Thanks for sharing, I was rivited



I'm not loaning this out so really there is no need. Too many things for someone to screw up or hurt themselves, like most equipment anymore. I've always taken responsibility for my own actions which seems to be a lost idea nowadays.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 7, 2012)

WidowMaker said:


> Great job, great thread, I'm envious of you skills an your tools..
> Speaking of which,
> how bout some shots of the parts of that bender so's aguy might make one



Which bender? There is a least 3 different ones shown. let me know which one you are referring to.


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## giXXer (Sep 7, 2012)

Very enjoyable read. Thanks for taking the time to go through the entire build with so much detail and pics. Can't wait for the next contraption and corresponding thread.


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## WidowMaker (Sep 7, 2012)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> Which bender? There is a least 3 different ones shown. let me know which one you are referring to.



----


The one you referred to as a compact bender, that roller bender is slick also but looks like it would be much more difficult to fab...


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 8, 2012)

WidowMaker said:


> ----
> 
> 
> The one you referred to as a compact bender, that roller bender is slick also but looks like it would be much more difficult to fab...




I got it through Shop Outfitters years ago. I do not see it on their website now as they have upgraded it but here is a link:

Metal Bending Fabrication Equipment | Shop Outfitters

It will bend up to 2 inch wide flat steel.

Harbor Freight sells a knock off of it now. I do not think I'd try to make one but here you can see some close ups of one.


harbor freight bender - YouTube


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## owbguy (Sep 8, 2012)

This was a good and entertaining read. Thanks.

The nice part for you is you get what you want, no exceptions. Congrats. That thing looks like it will last your lifetime and then some.

The only things I question are the motor and the splitting point. I know you discussed the reasons for putting the wedge on the cylinder. I think you could satisfy those reasons and still have the wedge(s) fixed mounted to the butt of the splitter, so you push your wood away. Your winch and tables would still keep the wood from hitting the ground. Its just a personal preference, I know, and your's trumps. :smile2: The other thing is the motor. If I was doing this build I would have found a conventional commercial motor rather than using the mower motor. Your cost would have gone up though, even on a used motor.

Like I said, great thread, great splitter, great job! You :rockn:


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## WidowMaker (Sep 8, 2012)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> I got it through Shop Outfitters years ago. I do not see it on their website now as they have upgraded it but here is a link:
> 
> Metal Bending Fabrication Equipment | Shop Outfitters
> 
> ...



===

Thank you , that shows it quite well. I Didn't realize that was a commerially available unit. I thought it was something you had made youself...


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## bert0168 (Sep 8, 2012)

Dudes got mad skillz


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 21, 2012)

Was asked to post some close ups of the bypass system so here they are.






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.






Trying to show the hose runs here.






I used long loops when possible to save heat and restrictions of hard 90's. Couldn't help having to have the T's






Hope this helps.


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## jags (Sep 21, 2012)

I know I have said it before - but - the quality of your work is admirable to say the least. Your attention to detail is NASA worthy. Kudos to you.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Sep 21, 2012)

jags said:


> I know I have said it before - but - the quality of your work is admirable to say the least. Your attention to detail is NASA worthy. Kudos to you.



Thanks, I do take a little pride in stuff I try to make. This one may not be the fastest or lightest, but the stuff we deal with would crush an inertia splitter. It just fits our operation and that is why I wanted to make one as there just isn't one out there like it. Maybe for good reason to some!


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## wndwlkr (Sep 21, 2012)

Real nice job Kevin, freaking awsome. that'll be here for ever.


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## WidowMaker (Oct 4, 2012)

Kevin

That is a thing of beauty, I really like your two wedge system. What grade steel did you use for the construction of the wedges, think I'm going to revamp our SpreeCo...


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## Kevin in Ohio (Oct 4, 2012)

WidowMaker said:


> Kevin
> 
> That is a thing of beauty, I really like your two wedge system. What grade steel did you use for the construction of the wedges, think I'm going to revamp our SpreeCo...



Appreciate the kind words, thanks. 

I know it goes against what a lot of people preach here but I have not seen the need for any expensive grade of steel here. On the 2 other splitters we have that I upgraded I just used what the scrap yard had at the time. One is close to 20 years old now with only one ding from a bolt that was hidden in a tree. I have not retouched either of them with a body grinder and they are still sharp enough for me. No breaks or cracks either. 

Right out of high school I used an old plowshare for the cutting edge, thinking that it being hard would hold an edge better. It broke about 2 inches up from weld when I had a crotch piece twisted around. V gouged and welded it and it held till I redid the whole wedge 4 years later. Just no need for hardened from personal experience.

The removeable aspect of this one is another reason I'm not worried here. Time will tell but I'm pretty confident, from past experience it will be fine.


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## jthornton (Jan 19, 2013)

It took me 3 days to read through this thread. Thanks for posting it, lots of good info and good to look at professional workmanship. All I can say is this an awesome machine you have built.

Thanks for posting this.

John


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 20, 2013)

jthornton said:


> It took me 3 days to read through this thread. Thanks for posting it, lots of good info and good to look at professional workmanship. All I can say is this an awesome machine you have built.
> 
> Thanks for posting this.
> 
> John



You're welcome and thanks. Best part about it is that it was "Made in USA"


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## mr.finn (Jan 22, 2013)

Kevin, great job. I highly enjoyed reading every page of this thread. You have a top notch build there that will be around for a loooong time. That thing is pure awesomeness. I would rep you but not sure how to. Thanks again.


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## kmcinms (Jan 22, 2013)

mr.finn said:


> Kevin, great job. I highly enjoyed reading every page of this thread. You have a top notch build there that will be around for a loooong time. That thing is pure awesomeness. I would rep you but not sure how to. Thanks again.



Hit the star in the lower left hand corner of the post you wish to rep. 

Great work as always Kevin. This splitter won't be complete until we see video of it ripping open a 4 footer :msp_w00t::msp_w00t: :msp_biggrin:


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## origionalrebel (Jan 24, 2013)

hey, kevin. what kind of cycle times do you get?


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## mhrischuk (Feb 13, 2013)

Very enjoyable thread. Great job. That machine deserves the CAT name on it.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Feb 13, 2013)

origionalrebel said:


> hey, kevin. what kind of cycle times do you get?




With it set on a 24" inch stroke I timed it 8-9 seconds splitting, 8 second return. This was timed with fluid cold so warm temps would speed it up some. IF it would go to second stage that would also slow the splitting stroke down. It doesn't do that too often.


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## kmcinms (Feb 13, 2013)

*Video*

We need video....:msp_w00t: :msp_biggrin:


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## Kevin in Ohio (Feb 13, 2013)

kmcinms said:


> We need video....:msp_w00t: :msp_biggrin:




You're talking to a guy that doesn't have a cell phone. I'm lucky to just be able to post pics. This 'puter stuff isn't my strong point!


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## Pcoz88 (Feb 14, 2013)

*Awesome job!!*

Just went trough thread.awesome job !! reps sent!!!What do you do for a living?


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## Kevin in Ohio (Feb 14, 2013)

Pcoz88 said:


> Just went trough thread.awesome job !! reps sent!!!What do you do for a living?



Thanks. Worked on a family farming operation for 10 years. Learned a lot about Fab work then and rebuilding so things wouldn't break. Run a manual surface grinder now for a living and been there 18 years. Don't get into video games or TV, get more satisifaction out of making stuff.


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## huskysplitter (Feb 14, 2013)

What an awesome job! Talk about heavy duty, this one takes the cake. Really enjoyed your build!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Feb 23, 2013)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> With it set on a 24" inch stroke I timed it 8-9 seconds splitting, 8 second return. This was timed with fluid cold so warm temps would speed it up some. IF it would go to second stage that would also slow the splitting stroke down. It doesn't do that too often.



Just notice a typo as the return is 6 seconds, not 8 as I wrote. Naturally faster due to the large rod taking up space.


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## fatbob (Mar 11, 2013)

"WOW" i live down the street from a CAT dealership and that thing needs to be sitting in the showroom representing your crafstmanship awesome build man i'm jealous.


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## hoskvarna (Mar 11, 2013)

alittle too big for the ranger to tote around. very impressive work ,i weld at a ag equipment manuf. ,so was noting your fab and weld skills,once again nice work:msp_thumbup::msp_thumbup:


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## Gavman (Mar 11, 2013)

I for one would love to see a video of it in action if you get a chance sometime


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## twinfiddles (Mar 12, 2013)

Ditto on the video!

Kevin, where did you get the bypass valve? I'm thinking of adding one to my splitter. 

Awesome build! Wish I had some of the toys you have in your shop.


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## jaars (Mar 12, 2013)

Great job Kevin as everyone else says, a lot of attention to detail. A lot of People dont know how much time that kind of detail work takes. 
Fabricating my own splitter as we speak. Again great job and cant wait for videos!!!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Mar 13, 2013)

twinfiddles said:


> Ditto on the video!
> 
> Kevin, where did you get the bypass valve? I'm thinking of adding one to my splitter.
> 
> Awesome build! Wish I had some of the toys you have in your shop.



James at Splitez can fix you right up. Knows his stuff as he builds them and has great service and prices. He does have a website with parts and splitters.


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## motoman3b (Mar 13, 2013)

I'll second that, I needed a cylinder to replace the one that grenaded on my splitter, saw a nice deal on James website called him up ended up talking with him for almost an hour! Couldnt ask for a nicer guy to deal with and his prices are great


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## twinfiddles (Mar 14, 2013)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> James at Splitez can fix you right up. Knows his stuff as he builds them and has great service and prices. He does have a website with parts and splitters.





motoman3b said:


> I'll second that, I needed a cylinder to replace the one that grenaded on my splitter, saw a nice deal on James website called him up ended up talking with him for almost an hour! Couldnt ask for a nicer guy to deal with and his prices are great



Thanks guys, I'll check him out.


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## dave_dj1 (Mar 23, 2013)

Kevin, I just briefly went back through your thread and couldn't find it but I thought you made a 6 way wedge? If so, what angle did you make the upper ones to? 
I just built one for mine and I used 45*, it almost looks too steep, I drew it out first and it looked ok on paper...lol
thanks,
dave


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## Kevin in Ohio (Mar 23, 2013)

I might have mentioned it but I don't think I personally need it. If I was doing production firewood sales from a stationary site with a conveyor, Yes, I might do it. My thing is I split/use everything I cut from ANY species of trees. A 5 inch cylinder with a 6 way would probably stall more than it would be worth for us. We run 24 inch length wood which makes it harder as well. Lots of surface area to deal with and I hope you stairstepped it.


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## dave_dj1 (Mar 23, 2013)

Thanks Kevin. I did step it and only plan on using on short (12-14") wood for a small stove.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 14, 2014)

As with all things you build, you think of things to improve it. I had a couple things I wanted to work on so I thought I'd show them here.







First was my single wedge. You can see here form the original making, it was really aggressive. I had it hang up on some real nasty's and decided I wanted to lessen the taper. Really no need to have it like originally but I didn't think it would ever stall.






*Spent some "quality time with the angle grinder and reduced the included angle and took out the step. Look close between the 2 pics and you can see how much was taken out.





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 did this earlier in the month and it does great now. I ran it through some pretty nasty stuff and never hinted at stalling.





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 because of reaching to release the gear. I was also worried about breaking teeth if a piece got caught. I didn't want to modify the existing setups pieces so I could always go back if needed.






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 retighteneng. Had to have something sacrificial so I decided on some bronze. Here are the basic cut pieces.






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 side to side. I was going to use die springs for pressure but changed my mind.





I made it all out of stainless because I had it laying around. Had to cut a relief on the bottom for clearance.





The wear bushings are .250 thick and after cutting them off I sanded them on a surface plate to complete smooth so the surfaces would be true.





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.





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 things 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.





Here is my original set up so here we go.*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 14, 2014)

*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.*





*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.*





*Cut a thin piece and installed it with a button allen head.*





*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.*





*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.*





*Can't wait to try it out with this.*


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## dave_dj1 (Jan 14, 2014)

Looks awesome, should help you speed things up. Not that I want to work any harder than I have to but if it speeds up the process I'm all for it! LOL 
Happy splittin'
dave


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## jthornton (Jan 14, 2014)

Looking Awesome!

Your quite a craftsman.

JT


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 14, 2014)

jthornton said:


> Looking Awesome!
> 
> Your quite a craftsman.
> 
> JT


 Thanks guys, Yours is getting close too and looking great! nothing like when you finally get to use what's been in your minds eye all along. I owe my friend on this one as he made it look way nicer than I could have without a lot of work. CNC mills rock!


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## jthornton (Jan 15, 2014)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> Thanks guys, Yours is getting close too and looking great! nothing like when you finally get to use what's been in your minds eye all along. I owe my friend on this one as he made it look way nicer than I could have without a lot of work. CNC mills rock!



Yes, I'm getting excited to see mine split some wood. I love my CNC mills and lathe and plasma cutter. I spend a lot of time getting them up and going and very little money...

JT


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## kubotakid (Aug 27, 2014)

Kevin,
Awesome work,... Iam like you, I like to build in atleast a 150% duty factor, As long as it don't look silly over building is a good thing, I sleep better knowing that I engineered it the best I could for it to last a life time. As you know, alota or, MOST of the stuff available today has about a 50% duty rating...
The price of steel has been a priority for me when building anything in recent years, but thankfully I have access to surplus material. 
This has been a good read, Thanks, for sharing. Eric


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## Kevin in Ohio (Aug 29, 2014)

kubotakid said:


> Kevin,
> Awesome work,... Iam like you, I like to build in atleast a 150% duty factor, As long as it don't look silly over building is a good thing, I sleep better knowing that I engineered it the best I could for it to last a life time. As you know, alota or, MOST of the stuff available today has about a 50% duty rating...
> The price of steel has been a priority for me when building anything in recent years, but thankfully I have access to surplus material.
> This has been a good read, Thanks, for sharing. Eric



I learned early on that you are better off doing it as good as you can the first time to save a lot of problems later on. Nothing worse than getting everything in place to work and having your equipment fail because you skimped on doing the little extra to make it last.

Glad you liked the build. I did it because I like to see the details on how things were done. Lord knows I've picked up quite a few ideas from this site and thought it would be good to give back. Kevin


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## OH_Varmntr (Sep 1, 2014)

I love this thread. That is all.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Dec 22, 2016)

Was asked for some close ups of the detach wedge. Here you go. Let me know if you want something else.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Dec 31, 2017)

*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.






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.





*

*Cordless remote is a lot bigger and has a lock out switch, both features will be nicer.





*

*Bolt pattern was narrower but at least the other 2 bolts lined up.
*





*Just quick wrapped the wires now till I get some time on it. Everything looks fine and works so we'll see.


*


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## brenndatomu (Dec 31, 2017)

You can by remote kits to put on any winch you want...at least I think they'll fit anything...


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 1, 2018)

*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*

*



*

*They just had a small diameter mild steel thread screwing into the booms 3 inch tube. Naturally, it has stripped and mushroomed the end. had to use Vise Grips to get it out.*

*



*

*A single, standard thickness nut was welded to the tube. Time to change this*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*Here you can see the bearing on the bottom. The whole thing is a little sloppy and I may see about addressing that.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*Cut the nut off first. *

*



*

*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.*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 1, 2018)

*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*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*I have .125" hard poly strips left from another job the will work just fine. Lots easier and probably better.*

*



*

*Cheating here as I clamped it and just plunge down on the cut lines, just to the edges.*

*



*

*Nice, easy and quick*

*



*

*On the sides I did the same only went real slow as it wants to push out/deflect if you try to go fast.*

*



*

*I just use a hacksaw blade to finish to the corners on the longs.*

*



*

*Now I'll drill a hole and run a burr to the cut lines making 2 halves.*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 1, 2018)

*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*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*Then just pry out with a small pair of Vise Grips*

*



*

*Clean up with a file and one hole is done.*

*



*

*Now I'll repeat the process on the splitters tube. Would have liked to go a little lower but the hole is there.*

*



*

*Now both holes/windows are done I have my final size for the brass*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 1, 2018)

*Did the math and ground one side till I was equally centered with the flat.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*I then flipped it 180 degrees. To get rid of some of the stock, I just cut it out. I need the curve going the other way and I'll have to grind that.*

*



*

*Lay the vise the other way and cut it off.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*I then redress to exactly 3.00" and did the final infeed to clean.*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 1, 2018)

*Used a prior made thread holding jig and ground a 1/2 inch bolts end to perfectly flat.*

*



*

*This way it won't dig into the brass. I'll smooth the edges too on a deburring wheel.*

*



*

*Cut the block off and ground the cut side to size.*

*



*

*Bolt will push this into tube*

*



*

*Here's a visual of what I'm going for. Now I need a threaded collar*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*Got it tapped so now I'll do the collar holder.*

*



*

*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.*


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## hoskvarna (Jan 1, 2018)

Damn what you can do with the right tools [emoji106]
Looks very nice. 


Sent from Hoskvarna Hills


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 2, 2018)

*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.*

*



*

*Pressed it in and it'll make it easy to TIG weld. Next is the handle.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*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!*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*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*

*



*

*Hole is done. *

*



*

*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.*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 2, 2018)

*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.*






*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.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*Quick measurement for the blocks width and height and cut that out. This will work to keep it in place as well.*

*



*

*So glad this is working out. I would not want it any tighter.*

*



*

*I'm also going to put a spring on the inside to keep drag pressure on the boom. Threaded collar serving double duty here*

*



*

*I'll just trace the hole and drill close. Then finish with a burr in a die grinder.*

*



*

*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.*


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## avason (Jan 2, 2018)

I think this belongs in the WTF thread...Awesome!! This craftsmanship is off the charts. I'm very envious of your skills.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 2, 2018)

avason said:


> I think this belongs in the WTF thread...Awesome!! This craftsmanship is off the charts. I'm very envious of your skills.



To me it's just about taking the time to make what you want. Appreciate the comments shown here but I've always just looked for a practical solution and think up something that will work. It may be a few days till I finish it now as my Miller TIG is down. The rotary switch on the torch died. Went today and ask them to verify what I had trouble shot and they agreed. 






Typical corporate greed here. this part they are charging $120.00. The whole thing new with wire and plug is $240.00. I'm sorry there is no need to gouge like that.


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## blades (Jan 2, 2018)

in another life eons ago i spent a lot of time sourcing parts for those type of things just so we could repair them in house, rather than paying Highway robber barons pricing. Things like a 50 cent ic chip vs $3000.00 for a whole board. I would guess that the reostat went south on there.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 2, 2018)

blades said:


> in another life eons ago i spent a lot of time sourcing parts for those type of things just so we could repair them in house, rather than paying Highway robber barons pricing. Things like a 50 cent ic chip vs $3000.00 for a whole board. I would guess that the reostat went south on there.



I paid for the board this time but as you say, I'll be talking with my brother. He works in electronics and he should be able to find that rotary switch/reostat. His wife just got diagnosed with Leukemia so he is taking care of her. Not a good time to ask him so I bit the bullet this time. Miller probably has less than $5.00 in that whole board.

I'm getting to be not shy about charging folks for repairs and upgrades because of this stuff. I at least like to make McDonald's wages per hour, let alone when you are wearing your equipment out.


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## muddstopper (Jan 3, 2018)

I had to buy a new switch for my battery charger last year. Company wanted around $50 for a new one. I got on ebay and found one for $4 with free shipping. Had a old ford escort several years ago. The control box for the AC when out. Ford wanted $300 for a new one, took it to a electronic guy and he fixed the box for $25. The actual part needed only cost a few cents, the rest was for his labor.


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## panolo (Jan 3, 2018)

This is my first venture into this thread. Love your work Kevin! Should have know when it was a 9 pager you started it was gonna be good!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 6, 2018)

*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.*






*Real close and I'll either take more off or press it in once I have the V bracket final welded.* 






*Got the bottom one done too.*

*



*

*I used the grinding wheel to align everything for tack welding. I'll then double check it on the splitter before final welding.*

*



*

*Checked fine so I welded it on.*

*



*

*After getting the other side I tapped in the center brace supports. This should make it real stout. *

*



*

*Then the top side was done. next will be the handle screw.*

*



*

*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. *


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 6, 2018)

*Put it all back on and really like how it works now. Looks better too!*

*



*

*Haven't tried the coat hanger yet. LOL*

*



*

*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. *

*



*

*



*

*Still can grease it easy too. Should be better with zerks 180 from each other.*

*



*

*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.*


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## blades (Jan 6, 2018)

Very nice.


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## hoskvarna (Jan 6, 2018)

Dang Kevin that looks professional [emoji106]
I’m a welder by trade (28yrs)before my shoulder injury and permanent layoff. 
Welds are beautiful and am envious of your tools,lathe etc. 


Sent from Hoskvarna Hills


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 8, 2018)

*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.* 






*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.* 






*Here you can see forming the lip*

*



*

*I set a pair of calipers a little small and will use them as a go, no go gauge.*

*



*

*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. *

*



*

*All done and took about 15 minutes.*


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 8, 2018)

*I then marked, cut and drill for the zerks and brass lock down.*

*



*

*This will help to keep it in position and allow the grease to get in there where it will keep it smooth.*

*



*

*Should work out pretty well.*

*



*

*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.*

*



*

*What a difference that made. No more rocking.*

*



*

*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.*


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## nighthunter (Jan 9, 2018)

Have you a video of the splitter working it looks like a beast


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 10, 2018)

No video yet. I don't even have a cell phone. LOL


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## foxtrot5 (Jan 10, 2018)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> No video yet. I don't even have a cell phone. LOL



So, you can build crazy mechanical contraptions but you can't text?


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## Kevin in Ohio (Jan 10, 2018)

foxtrot5 said:


> So, you can build crazy mechanical contraptions but you can't text?



Texting is a skill that I don't mind not having.  I think some people would be amazed how much extra time they would have if they'd throw the cell phone out. In the best twilight Zone voice.... Imagine if you will, a world in which you could do a job and no get interrupted or distracted...........


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## foxtrot5 (Jan 10, 2018)

Kevin in Ohio said:


> Texting is a skill that I don't mind not having.  I think some people would be amazed how much extra time they would have if they'd throw the cell phone out. In the best twilight Zone voice.... Imagine if you will, a world in which you could do a job and no get interrupted or distracted...........



When I run the splitter, I've got earbuds in my ears, then hearing protection over that, my phone can ring, ding, and ting all it wants I won't hear it. Come to think of it, I do tend to get more splitting done in the same amount of time it takes me to do anything else. You may be onto something!


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## Kevin in Ohio (Feb 14, 2018)

*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.






I'm chunking about double normal size as I just want it to dry a little more






Makes for some nice wood and doesn't take long to do.






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.






Makes such a big difference in fatigue not having to wrestle stuff around. I can level the whole splitter up with the stabilizers too.






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. *






*Started to rain but got it all loaded. It was "only" one load. LOL






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.

*


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## Sandhill Crane (Feb 14, 2018)

That is a nice splitter.


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