Anybody try to build a super splitter

[KiwiBro]

There is video out there of these things splitting some pretty nasty stuff. Some of the stuff they hit more than once, but it is still a fast operation. All the doubters just look goofy trying to hang their hats on that.





Mr. HE

Fantastic. Can you or anyone point us to it please? What you consider goofy, I suspect some will consider due diligence, especially given how tight money is these days.

I'll go back to the logrite one again as I was more looking at that great winch idea and thinking if a long belt off a pulley on the side of the flywheels could drive a conveyor without sucking too much kick out of the ram. I agree with Steve NW WI, it's pulling some great ideas together that could work out really well, not the least of which is highway towing. Not sure how easily it could be configured to be worked from either side if need be for those jobs that might need it.

Does anyone know the price of that logrite 'system'?

 

[meierk]

Attempting my own build

I was just about to purchase a 4T Yardworks from Canadian Tire when I ran across this thread. I just happen to have most of the materials I need to build a Flywheel splitter so I'm going to attempt it. I suspect my main challenges will be my lack of experience welding, no engineering background and no access to a machine shop, but what I lack in knowledge and tools I more than make in in determination

From reading this thread, posts by django and sourcing parts, I have come up with the following list of questions. If you do not have all the answers, please answer what question you can. The information is probably all here in the various messages, but I lack understanding for what some of you consider basic engineering principles.

1) It appears that the size of the engine is not very relevant (i.e. 3 - 6+ HP), but I get the impression that it may be dependent on the spur gear pitch and O.D. Is that correct?

2) I believe there is a recommendation to have a flywheel shaft O.D. of at least 1 3/8", but when I sourced the spur gear on Motion Industries, the largest bore size is 1 1/4". Is the recommendation to have the spur gear on it's own shaft?

3) I plan to use 2 flywheels at approx 100lbs each. Would a flywheel shaft size of 1 1/4" be alright if I use a 4140 grade or better steel? I really wanted to go with 1 1/2 or 2", but limited to spur gear bore if on same shaft.

4) Would it make more sense to have the spur gear on it's own shaft (separate from the flywheel shaft) to make it easier to control the RPM if you change the engine out later and to remove limitation on smaller spur gear bore size?

5) Would there be any benefit by have a step pulley system in place to allow you to easily change the RPM? This likely doesn't make sense, but asking anyway.

6) Are all clutch assemblies the same or is the one on the SS special (i.e. is there a specific type/name for it)?

7) Do I really need a rack longer than 2' or can I simply weld on an extension on the push side? I don't think I want anymore capacity than 23".

8) Does it make any difference if I go with a 14 1/2 degree PA over a 20 degree PA?

9) I'm having a difficult time picturing the mechanism that will engage the rack with the pinion. Can anyone supply some close-up pics of theirs? Is there kick-up stops on both ends of the rail?


Regards,
Kevin

 

[cjnspecial]

Fantastic. Can you or anyone point us to it please? What you consider goofy, I suspect some will consider due diligence, especially given how tight money is these days.

I'll go back to the logrite one again as I was more looking at that great winch idea and thinking if a long belt off a pulley on the side of the flywheels could drive a conveyor without sucking too much kick out of the ram. I agree with Steve NW WI, it's pulling some great ideas together that could work out really well, not the least of which is highway towing. Not sure how easily it could be configured to be worked from either side if need be for those jobs that might need it.

Does anyone know the price of that logrite 'system'?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_zAEps8cCxs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Go to the 4:00 mark to see it split some crotch wood. The one with all the bells and whistles is about $9500.

 

[Freehand]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_zAEps8cCxs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Go to the 4:00 mark to see it split some crotch wood. The one with all the bells and whistles is about $9500.

I saw him fussing with that thing a little too long for my taste.A 35 ton hydraulic with a four way wedge would have the edge there.

 

[KiwiBro]

Go to the 4:00 mark to see it split some crotch wood. The one with all the bells and whistles is about $9500.

Thanks. That's a different video to the one I was watching on their website. It has some of the same sequences in it but shows way more detail. It looks like it's just a matter of the operator getting used to the machine and having to 'read' the wood a little better but they can still get through crotched wood OK. For the speed these things split at, working through crotches slower would be fine unless there was a heap of them, then a hydraulic would be better, surely.

So, they say 2 cord an hour. How many people, what wood, etc? I'm assuming that's a best-case scenario, so what would it typically be for Joe Average in a typical hardwood mix (if there is such a thing)? If we allow 25% real-life factor, and say 1.5 cords per hour, that's pretty darn good. Here that's pushing about 6-7m3 per hour. what does a four-way hydraulic get through per hour in a similar mix in real life, and does that hour include moving the splitter to keep it clear of the wood (there's no conveyor to this 'processor')?

The cover and belt cover look the same as super splitter, only blue instead of red. Is it a blue super splitter?

Some cool things about that set-up though. They've put some thought into it for sure.

 

[Hddnis]

One thing I notice, I'm guilty of it too when I first used a hydraulic splitter, was that you see how much power you have and you start just throwing wood in there and pulling the lever. I learned not to do that the first time I had to use the chainsaw to get a big crotch off the wedge. Learning to read the wood is a fact no matter what machine you use, most the time a fellow doesn't even think about it.

It comes back to basic math, a kinetic splitter is producing some serious power, it just uses stored energy so it dumps it quick too which makes it faster. A hydraulic splitter is geared lower as it were, so it can keep going, but unless you have a two stage pump (second gear) they are really slow per hp.

Four way wedges offset the slow speed a great deal and that takes the power produced at a slower speed and starts using it better. At the end of the day you have to compare productivity and cost of operation. A good hydraulic machine with a for way will come close to what you can produce with a kinetic splitter, but in every case it will burn at least twice as much gas.

As an example, I have a friend with a splitter that uses a four cylinder Ford industrial moter off an old genset. It is a really nice custom unit he has $4k into even using mostly salvage parts. His production rate is two cords an hour average, but he is burning two gallons of gas an hour at half throttle. A superplit type machine would match that production and use 1/8th of the fuel, a savings of roughly $6 per hour. Your average hydraulic splitter, without a four way wedge, tops out at half a cord an hour, to a half gallon of fuel; wasting most of the energy it produces just pumping fluid that does not do any work.




Mr. HE

 

[BSD]

I don't know what kind of pissing match you fellers have going on this subject.I have no doubts that it is a very capable machine.I have yet to see a link provided that shows the rack and pinion platform performing in less than ideal wood.That is all.

Around here,if you chucked every knotty piece over your shoulder you would waste half the tree.I guess markets differ as I have never encountered a customer rejecting a load calling it "trash wood".

ok guys, I dug through my stash and found a nice double stem crotch of red oak. base of it was around 15" diameter and each stem was around 8-10". I cut it to 18" and put it on the table. I got out the HD cam and away we go! after getting through it and seeing the inside, it was a truly nasty piece. I'm not trying to hide anything, I did have the machine up to 3500 rpm for this log, where I normally run around 2700.

I wouldn't recommend doing pieces like this all the time with this machine, its just flat-out dangerous. the amount of energy that is transferred from the flywheels is amazing. it tosses this 60lb brute like a rag-doll. I actually was about to give up in fear of my safety, hence my shrugged shoulders and pause in the middle of the video,but I figured you guys needed to see what these machines are capable of. Like I said, i wouldn't do pieces like this all the time because it is a bit dangerous as you can see from the video, but it is doable. these pieces will be saved for the hydro machine next time.

[video=facebook;272170812816613]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=272170812816613[/video]

 

[buildmyown]

As an SS owner the Logrite setup is slick and gives me some bad but good ideas.

 

[ultrahd2000]

saftey switch

ok guys, I dug through my stash and found a nice double stem crotch of red oak. base of it was around 15" diameter and each stem was around 8-10". I cut it to 18" and put it on the table. I got out the HD cam and away we go! after getting through it and seeing the inside, it was a truly nasty piece. I'm not trying to hide anything, I did have the machine up to 3500 rpm for this log, where I normally run around 2700.

I wouldn't recommend doing pieces like this all the time with this machine, its just flat-out dangerous. the amount of energy that is transferred from the flywheels is amazing. it tosses this 60lb brute like a rag-doll. I actually was about to give up in fear of my safety, hence my shrugged shoulders and pause in the middle of the video,but I figured you guys needed to see what these machines are capable of. Like I said, i wouldn't do pieces like this all the time because it is a bit dangerous as you can see from the video, but it is doable. these pieces will be saved for the hydro machine next time.

[video=facebook;272170812816613]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=272170812816613[/video]

did you change the handle ? I noticed it looks like you are able to operate with just one hand?

 

[BSD]

did you change the handle ? I noticed it looks like you are able to operate with just one hand?

yes, all my mods are documented in the other thread: http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/180355-10.htm

 

[Junkfxr]

Has anyone tried building one of these rack and pinion splitters with the wedge on the rack? I can see some of the down sides of that but it would save all of the dragging large rounds back to be resplit.

 

[half]

super splitter

I,m in the process of deciding what to build hydro or mechanical splitter, I can see the advantages with both but it seems the mechanical one could be the go, as decent hydraulic components are not cheap, $300NZ plus for a good valve bank, ect And they have a lot more things to be correctly matched up, I.E motor pump ram . Ive seen some horrorible splitters made by people without hydraulic knowledge. running slow, getting hot, and just not performing, and using mismatched worn out parts

I have still to price up the rack and pinion and am interested in a real good look at the cam system that controls the rack return. I want mine to be trailer mounted and able to be towed at normal speed so balance will come into it

 

[half]

clutches

just a question about clutches, not knocking them, just my understanding of a centifugal clutch is, it is on the motor shaft and as it increases in speed, it throws out and engages the drive pulley and drives the flywheels.
So really all the help it can provide is at startup, it is no use if the machine stalls in a knotty log,As it is controlled by the motor speed, so is it really required

 

[half]

super splitters

I,m probably a bit of a pain asking the questions, but down the bottom of the world we do not have the advantage of going down to the local dealer and having a good look "under the hood"' so to speak. Or having a good look at your mates one.There is none around. Any pictures are a great help to people wanting to build one. All we seem to have are hydraulic ones

 

[Stihlasaurus]

ok guys, I dug through my stash and found a nice double stem crotch of red oak. base of it was around 15" diameter and each stem was around 8-10". I cut it to 18" and put it on the table. I got out the HD cam and away we go! after getting through it and seeing the inside, it was a truly nasty piece. I'm not trying to hide anything, I did have the machine up to 3500 rpm for this log, where I normally run around 2700.

I wouldn't recommend doing pieces like this all the time with this machine, its just flat-out dangerous. the amount of energy that is transferred from the flywheels is amazing. it tosses this 60lb brute like a rag-doll. I actually was about to give up in fear of my safety, hence my shrugged shoulders and pause in the middle of the video,but I figured you guys needed to see what these machines are capable of. Like I said, i wouldn't do pieces like this all the time because it is a bit dangerous as you can see from the video, but it is doable. these pieces will be saved for the hydro machine next time.

[video=facebook;272170812816613]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=272170812816613[/video]

What looks dangerous to me is leaning over the splitting area with the type of handle you use. Maybe its just the angle of the camera that makes me nervous, but if you leaned over and the handle got activated maybe by debris sticking to your clothes it would be game over. As a general rule, it does not seem like a good idea to ever lean across the splitting area of one of these while the motor is running for any reason. Otherwise, I like your handle better than some of the others using the rack & pinion.

I got to get me a rack & pinion machine!

 

[BSD]

What looks dangerous to me is leaning over the splitting area with the type of handle you use. Maybe its just the angle of the camera that makes me nervous, but if you leaned over and the handle got activated maybe by debris sticking to your clothes it would be game over. As a general rule, it does not seem like a good idea to ever lean across the splitting area of one of these while the motor is running for any reason. Otherwise, I like your handle better than some of the others using the rack & pinion.

I got to get me a rack & pinion machine!

i try not to, but I try not to speed in my truck either... it happens once in a while...

at least, it'll be a quick and painless death with my split speed, unlike those slow pesky hydro-machine deaths.

 

[half]

super splitter

Yeah, I get a check from Super Splitter once a month for promotion here. Hahaha :msp_rolleyes:

I've posted photos here of mine with the hood off. There's also older threads of SS builds with detailed info. But with an attitude like yours, I doubt you'll get much help.

That is him not me,
I am trying to get as much information as I can on this design.So i can build one. The main problem I have with it, is the chances of seeing one for real, And running a tape over it, is about the same as sleeping with Miss World. They are not in this country, and the current price from D.R factory is about $3000 NZ dollars without frieght to the bottom of the world.{On the west coast go to hawaii then 10 fly hours south] Sure I can source most of the parts, except the rack and pinion maybe, but I have seen the source on this forum so can import one. So am in the process of getting parts together. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[north1]

hai

wil bi the shaft 32mm thick enough for two 50kg flywheel

 

[m37]

Keep up the good info. And pics of the progress.

 

[north1]

almoust