# Detailed log lift plans for splitter?



## jonsered630 (Feb 10, 2011)

Ok age is starting to take its toll, time to add a lift onto the old splitter. Does anybody have or know where I can get some detailed plans to make a simple hydraulic log lift? It's a homemade splitter set on an I-beam platform. Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks.


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## blades (Feb 11, 2011)

Lots of pic around the forum but I have never seen any thing in a complete spec package, likely because everything is unique to that particular build. I can tell you that 1/4"line is all you need to and from the cylinder if hydro and that you likely need a restrictor ( fitting that is plugged internally with an 1/8" or so hole drilled through the plug ) other wise it operates too fast. some have used dc winches, the $50 kind if you have electric available on your rig, and some have rigged up small jib cranes ( an Idea I like, nothing sticking out down low to trip or bust shins on) with that though you need a set of tongs or something to pick the round.


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## triptester (Feb 11, 2011)

Typically log lifts are hydraulicly operated because hydraulics are already available but the hydraulics needed are quite expensive. With a little engineering an electric winch or even a hand winch can be used to activate the log lift at a fraction of the cost of the hydraulic components.

Build the log lift arm the same as if it was hydraulically operated then extend an arm horizontally out from the beam near the front of the ram. Attach an electric or manual winch to the end of the arm to lift the front of the log lift.

Attached is as pic of a very simple but effective non-hydraulic log lift. Built by AS member, jags

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=154186&d=1287159379


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## 8433jeff (Feb 11, 2011)

That looks like it would work. We had one, hydraulic, worked well but the table/place where you roll the round on got in the way of normal splitting. Limiter valves are inexpensive ways to control the flow.


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## jags (Feb 11, 2011)

triptester said:


> Attached is as pic of a very simple but effective non-hydraulic log lift. Built by AS member, jags


 Thank yuuu...thank you very much. (as only Elvis could say)


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## jonsered630 (Feb 11, 2011)

The electric winch might be a good option for me if I can get the motor set-up for it. Thanks for the pic. Cuttin 36"+ oak next week so I need to get something soon.


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## jags (Feb 11, 2011)

TreeCo said:


> That looks like a really good cost effective solution. I was hoping one day to see a log lift that used the power of the splitting cylinder to raise and lower the log lift table but am still searching. With so much power so close by it would be great to be able to harness it to lift wood.


 
I had plans in my head on how to make that happen, but decided that I did not want the lift portion to be cycling up and down with every stroke of the ram. It would have ran via cables and pulleys from the back of the push wedge (clipped onto it), then basically through a couple pulleys and over an arm (much like the one I have the winch hooked to). If you disconnect the cable from the lift, it would be at ground level, and to mess with a "lock" system to keep the table up (if wanted) was gonna be a PIA.

Hence my current design.

As far as power goes - no doubt the hydraulic ram has more, but the 1500# winch has never struggled, even with some very big rounds.


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## 8433jeff (Feb 11, 2011)

Our hydraulic lift had #4 JIC connections, so the inside diameter of the line was around a quarter inch. The cylinder was from a reaper/swather, 1 1/2" by 2", maybe a 20" stroke. It lifted a 48" round two ft wide of wet elm. At 1500 lbs, you'd be better off splitting it once or noodling it with the saw rather than try to lift it, with any from of lift.


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## blades (Feb 11, 2011)

The only thing that can to mind was a table going up and down every-time the ram went out to split. On second thought though, a coupling system that could be engaged at will to the ram for the lift function is not that far out of line. A simple bell crank system could be fabricated to make your out feed table double up as a lift utilizing the return stroke, An auto latch to hold the raised position of table could also be incorporated.


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## atvguns (Feb 11, 2011)

here is a link to a thread that used a cable run log lift on a vertical splitter


http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=119263&page=2&highlight=lift+table


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## 8433jeff (Feb 11, 2011)

blades said:


> The only thing that can to mind was a table going up and down every-time the ram went out to split. On second thought though, a coupling system that could be engaged at will to the ram for the lift function is not that far out of line. A simple bell crank system could be fabricated to make your out feed table double up as a lift utilizing the return stroke, An auto latch to hold the raised position of table could also be incorporated.


 
How is that simpler than another valve?


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## WidowMaker (Feb 12, 2011)

If you use the search function with a simple search such as ,,,log lift, or...loglift, you come up with several days worth of reading and numerious ideas,,,pick one ya like or if you come up with a novel idea, post it up, with pic's


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## blades (Feb 12, 2011)

"how is that simpler than another valve"

No extra valve or cylinder needed. If you use a long arm on the bell crank to ride the backside of the push plate/wedge assembly, the return stroke of the ram will force it down , conversely the other side of the bell crank causes lift. Have to return the ram to home position anyway to start another split cycle. Being able to couple or un-clouple this at will is the key. A latch is needed to hold table in up posistion which can be incorporated into or on the long arm, maybe a spring loaded pin making it an automatic function. or just a siding bar on a lever to lock /unlock table. Location of latch should be be convenient to the ram control valve just for ergonomics. By using the out-feed table in this manner, nothing under foot to trip on and would not tie up either side access to the splitting area.


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## Suz (Feb 13, 2011)

jonsered630 said:


> Ok age is starting to take its toll, time to add a lift onto the old splitter. Does anybody have or know where I can get some detailed plans to make a simple hydraulic log lift? It's a homemade splitter set on an I-beam platform. Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated. Thanks.


 
Or, scrap the idea of that type of log lift and build a swiveling boom lift run with a winch. I built a boom lift on my splitter and I think it is handier than a log lift that IMHO is too restrictive. 
(You have to roll the rounds to the splitter and you are restricted by working off one side of the splitter.)


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## djones (Feb 13, 2011)

It might be simplier to turn your horizontel splitter into a vertical splitter, no lifting, no exrtra hydraulics, no winches, just roll the log to the plate, split, turn, split,turn,---easier on your back, less cost.


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## blades (Feb 14, 2011)

Vertical splitter, which at one time mine was vert/horz. Tried that once rounds were 30" dia. That was more work and harder on me than noodling them down and splitting horz. Maybe I didn't approach it correctly?


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## Wife'nHubby (Feb 14, 2011)

Horizontal vs vertical devotees are staunch in their opinions and I respect that. 

We use a 1970's horizontal Didier - splitter beam sits about 12" off the ground. Ugh some will say - too low! Well, we sit in lawn chairs when splitting.  

However, I am looking into raising our splitter and since hubby doesn't necessarily remember how to weld (dang! he was a certified welder at one time) I'm looking into simply jacking up the splitter and putting cement blocks under it. The *main reason *for raising it up means I can back up our trailer to the end of the splitter and have splits just drop right into our trailer - less bending to pick up splits, etc. Age has it detriments - repetitive bending is not a recommended activity! 

So, while I love Jags lift design and will continue to look into how I can get something like this fabbed up (welded) the outlook seems dim in this respect. If I could figure out if simply bolting pieces of metal together would work I know I could cut the square tube stock & drill/bolt it. This idea would require multiple drilled holes through the splitter beam and I'm not sure if drilling the beam is a good idea or not. (Anyone have thoughts on drilling the beam? I figure 4 holes (2 each) for the two pillow blocks/hinge area and at least 2 more for the upright winch support.

In the meantime, I'm also looking at this hydraulic table from Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-hydraulic-scissor-table-cart-93116.html Yes, the table is still 12" above the ground but it raises to 34-1/2". I would gain work table space at the same time the table would fit to whatever height I raise the splitter and would then be able to drop splits right into our trailer.

So, I'm thinking/planning about how to make splitting a little easier for us - we are not getting any younger! 

Shari


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## jags (Feb 14, 2011)

Shari - in my opinion, I wouldn't be too concerned about drilling a couple of holes in the beam. You will not weaken it with 4 half inch holes.


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## triptester (Feb 14, 2011)

Shari,
I can fab all the items to make your splitter more user friendly. All I need is some measurements.

Jerry


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## Wife'nHubby (Feb 14, 2011)

Jerry,

What a generous offer! Might take you up on that - problem right now is splitter is parked, covered, in a snow-inaccessible location right now. I've got some parts. We will talk....... 

Shari


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## WidowMaker (Feb 14, 2011)

Shari,

Hook us up with picture of your, ah...ah..ah, :blush:, splitter. 
It'll help get the creative juices going...:blush:


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## blades (Feb 14, 2011)

Shari has a Didler and yes that thing is about as close to the ground as you can get. Right now she has about 3 ft of snow on it from Mother natures visitation Feb 5-7th. Although by the end of the week might be nothing there snow wise ( heat wave). About eight weeks yet before we are clear of her wrath for the season. Hey Sheri did you have to dig tunnels to the wood pile? That Northeast wind must have stacked some purty good piles around your place.I spent the whole weekend moving snow away from the house due to the melt down this week. ( same orientation house wise. Chris


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## Wife'nHubby (Feb 14, 2011)

Blades is correct but the snow is/was around 4' deep.  It took me around 1-1/2 hours with our snowblower attached to our riding mower just to clear a 4' deep drift by 24' x 15' in front of our garage door. Another 2+ hours and the drive/sidewalk was finally cleared. Luckily I had brought a shovel in side the house the night before as I did need it to shovel my way 'out' of the house. Blades is also correct in that I can't get to it right now. 

Anyway, here's some older photos members might recognize which I posted when I first came to AS looking for direction on how to put the splitter back together after other people took it apart.

Obviously it is now all back together and has been working wonderfully for at least 2 yrs. I did replace the hyd. flex hoses from what is seen in the photos.












In a perfect world I would just sell this and put that money to wards a new splitter - but the world is not perfect and things like medicals bills, municipal sewer installation and a new roof have taken precedence over a new splitter. 

BTW As far as parts: I already have cement blocks to put this on to raise it. Also already have a 1700# Warn winch - something like Jags is using - and have a cargo carrier that fits into a Reese receiver to be used for material for a lift if needed.

Shari


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## jags (Feb 14, 2011)

One thing that you will need to be thinking about with a log lift is side pressure. I get away with lifting large logs because the splitter has about a 5ft wide stance and is very heavy. You have a narrow stance and the splitter is comparably lighter. Just say'in. 

(an out rigger type foot would cure that issue - so it is not something that cannot be worked out, just something that will need to be taken into consideration)


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## Wife'nHubby (Feb 14, 2011)

jags said:


> One thing that you will need to be thinking about with a log lift is side pressure. I get away with lifting large logs because the splitter has about a 5ft wide stance and is very heavy. You have a narrow stance and the splitter is comparably lighter. Just say'in.
> 
> (an out rigger type foot would cure that issue - so it is not something that cannot be worked out, just something that will need to be taken into consideration)


 
If the final design is something like yours do you think an outrigger down from the vertical shaft supporting the winch be sufficient? I do tend to be working with rounds 24-33+ inches in diameter most times (or at least is seems like that at the end of the day.  )

Shari


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## jags (Feb 14, 2011)

Wife'nHubby said:


> If the final design is something like yours do you think an outrigger down from the vertical shaft supporting the winch be sufficient?


 
Yep, I don't see why that wouldn't work.


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## TheLazyBFarm (Feb 15, 2011)

For those of you using a winch, how do you recharge the battery? How many lifts can you get the a standard auto battery?

Thanks,

Al

ETA: Saw in the NRA magazine last night that HF has their 3k lb winch for $49; that's a pretty good deal.


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## jags (Feb 15, 2011)

Albin said:


> For those of you using a winch, how do you recharge the battery? How many lifts can you get the a standard auto battery?



Not sure about an auto battery, I use a standard deep cycle. I don't know how many lifts I can get out of it. I have never wore it out in a day. It gets recharged with a battery charger, but if your engine has a charging circuit, it could be handled on board. Mine has a charging circuit, but I have been too lazy to hook up the voltage regulator. It really is a non issue to me. The only thing that will change my mind is if I get on the ball and hook up the flood lights, then I will probably go with the on board charging.


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## Wife'nHubby (Feb 15, 2011)

TreeCo said:


> Shari I had a splitter like your back in 1985 or so. I would dig holes to drop the back tires into....and the I-Beam sat right on the ground. This made it easy to roll large rounds onto it. We used it like this for years to bust large rounds then would split the chunks from it on another larger splitter with a 4 way wedge. I still have the large splitter to this day.


 
Well, now, that is Yankee ingenuity at it's best! 

The only problem I would have is that set up doesn't drop the splits into the trailer - but - it's still a neat idea!

Shari


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## cassandrasdaddy (Feb 15, 2011)

*i am*

toying with a lift powered by the retracting ram hooked up via cable to pull the lift up. its currently a vertical/horizontal 22 ton. i know cables slip off pulleys so i was considering using a motorcycle chain and sprocket instead of cable and pulley. am also thinking to make it removable so i retain the vertical option. anyone ever tried that? i have to pay to get my fabrication done still skill set not up to it yet


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## jags (Feb 15, 2011)

cassandrasdaddy said:


> toying with a lift powered by the retracting ram hooked up via cable to pull the lift up. its currently a vertical/horizontal 22 ton. i know cables slip off pulleys so i was considering using a motorcycle chain and sprocket instead of cable and pulley. am also thinking to make it removable so i retain the vertical option. anyone ever tried that? i have to pay to get my fabrication done still skill set not up to it yet


 
It would be very difficult to do with a chain like you are thinking. Chains are uni-directional (meaning that they don't do direction changes like corners). The lift is at a 90 degree position from the forward/backwards motion of the ram. No way to take a single chain and make it change direction without levers. A cable will.
(I hope that makes sense.)

EDIT: That post sucked. How about this - you need to be able to "lift" the table. The table is 90 degrees off of your forward/reverse motion. You will need 3 turns in the chain - from push plate back - 90 degrees to side - and another 90 degrees down (to the table) . a chain has to stay in the same "Plane" so the 90 degree downturn wouldn't happen.

(still sucks - but maybe a little better)


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## loganj01 (Feb 15, 2011)

I've thought about using a cable powered by the ram as a log lift as well... I haven't gotten to the point of actually designing anything to work with the splitter that I have yet. I think you could mitigate, if not eliminate, the problem with cables jumping pulleys by putting guides/guards on the pulleys? What comes to mind, for lack of a better example of what I'm talking about, is the sheet metal guards on the deck of a riding mower that keeps the belt in the pulleys when the "clutch" is disengaged. JMHO...


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## ponyexpress976 (Feb 15, 2011)

If there is anyone in eastern Pa interested in building a lift and table for a tw-6 id be all ears. Just got another quote from the dealer at 500 for the table and 950 for the lift plus 100 for shipping. For that coin I might as well buy a second smaller one and bury it most of the way in the ground like suggested earlier!


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## joe14 (Feb 15, 2011)

*Log Lift*

Here is a few pictures of the log lift I'm building, no plans, just winging it.









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## Wife'nHubby (Feb 16, 2011)

Welcom to AS, Joe - nice looking lift your are putting together there!

Shari


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## johnha (Feb 17, 2011)

Places like Cabelas or Sportsmans Guide sell cable lifts for lifting game into a truck using your ball hitch. I think I may try to pursue something like this as I have neither the tools or ability to weld.


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## mt.stalker (Feb 23, 2011)

*log lift boom*

To Suz , Do you have any pics of your boom to share with us ? I'm quite interested in this approach . Thanks , John


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## brisawyer (Feb 23, 2011)

Thought about buying this and mounting to the splitter or a concrete pad in the splitting area. It would be handy on a reciever hitch setup but it would probably have to have an outrigger.

1/2 Ton Capacity Pickup Truck Crane with Cable Winch

I found a Hiab off a brick truck I cant wait to get it mounted and running 2600lb capacity at 16 foot reach bring it on big wood.


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## PaulW (Jul 23, 2011)

I've been using my engine crane with tongs with great success. Few boards for a runway and your mint.


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## mt.stalker (Jul 23, 2011)

PaulW , Got any pics ???


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## PaulW (Jul 23, 2011)




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## WidowMaker (Jul 24, 2011)

djones said:


> It might be simplier to turn your horizontel splitter into a vertical splitter, no lifting, no exrtra hydraulics, no winches, just roll the log to the plate, split, turn, split,turn,---easier on your back, less cost.




====


Not by a long way....


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## blades (Jul 25, 2011)

Hey Paul W how is that HF splitter holding Up? After ten years of abuse I rebuilt mine. still on the same pump and cylinder, replaced valve as it went south.


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## PaulW (Jul 25, 2011)

that splitter I borrowed from somebody last year. it did the job, but I bought a troy-built this year for myself. I'm in the process of putting a hydro log lift together for it now. I'm building my log-lift as a seperate machine completely self contained, so I can take it with me to load my truck offsite.


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