Wet1
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'm not sure why you would even try moving 36" wood at all, whether it be up on a horizontal splitter, over to a vertical, or even onto or out of the truck/trailer. Unless you have a skidsteer or a tractor, it makes no sense. Rather than try moving this size wood, I cut it in half,or even quarter it, with one of my big saws (3120, 880, 064, etc.). It only takes a minute to do and I don't have to struggle with it at all.
With that said, the SS tends to be suited better for wood (hardwood) under 24" or so. When you throw really big wood on there it sometimes takes two or three hits to break through it... so cutting it first makes it not only easier to handle, but also easier to split. But honestly, what percentage of the wood you handle that is >24"? I do get some biggies every so often, but the majority is certainly under 24".
dieseldave said:
I had the same problem when I got mine. I was pretty irritated when I first got it, but after asking about it, I was told it was normal and that it would wear in with some use and become a non-issue... which turned out to be the case. Regardless, there are some tricks that you'll learn which can make this much less of an issue. First, I keep a 1" scraper on the machine (it fits perfectly on the left hand side of the back of the engine between the engine and the frame). Every so often I run the scraper down that 1/2" path the roller travels. It's important to keep this and the beam clean, especially when it's new. Don't forget to pull the rack out by hand every so often and scrape the beam behind where it rests as well. I also found spraying the beam down (and then wiping it) with WD40 makes a big difference. I spray the beam, under the rack, the wedge, and the production table down (and wipe it so there's no wet spots) before every use. You might want to spray the beam every so often until your SS loosens up. The other thing you can do is put some more tension on the springs, they can be adjusted under the engine. Do these things, and keep the beam clean, and you'll soon find this problem will disappear.
I have yet to find a piece of wood my SS wont split, but I might have to hit and move it several times to get through it. The key is to learn to read the wood and to disengage the rack quickly if it starts to struggle (and then reengage it a second later for another hit). There is a little bit of a learning curve with this, but once you spend a little time with the machine, you quickly learn what it will and wont do. It doesn't have much of a problem with small or medium size crotches (or knots), but it will struggle with large crotches. But again, if you position the wood correctly, it will go through it after a hit or two. But rather than mess with the really bad stuff, I cut the crotches flush with the saw when I'm bucking the logs so it wont be an issue when splitting. In the rare event I see something that I know it's going to be a major PITA to split, I'll just rip it with the saw.johnha said:
There's no doubt a medium or large hydraulic splitter will handle very large or knotty wood better than a SS, but the SS can typically handle it, and if not I have yet to find a piece of wood my saws wont go through with ease. But how often do I have to struggle to get the SS to go through something? Probably less than 5% of the time it takes a second hit. But the trade-off is that it will run circles around most hydraulic splitters the other 95% of the time... A trade-off I'm very happy and willing to accept!
