Bought a Swisher Splitter today

[Banjoec]

Very spontanious purchase. 22 Ton/ 6.5hp B+S engine. I've been looking and researching for a while, but didn't have the money. I'm way behind on the wood splitting, and the heat has been making my lazy. So I used plastic.
Does anyone know about these splitters. Are they worth $1099.
:greenchainsaw:

 

[Sprig]

Hiya! In my opinion not worth the effort of gettin' off yer azz and just doing it! Absolutely no offence man but I have always found I can out-split a splitter unless its truly ugly stuff, when you factor in gas and maintanence etc etc, is it what you need? I think the price is average, low hp unit, makes me wonder why bother?

:rockn:

 

[Banjoec]

Thanks Sprig, for your words of encouragement. :bang:
I've hand split for years, but I'm working 12 hour days now. Time is the enemy, and winter will be here soon.

 

[Sprig]

lol, sorry. Hey if ya gots kids I hear they'll work for a price! (ya ya jk jk)

But really, if its just for you, figure in your time setting everything up, placing the wood etc etc, how does that work out? As I said, absolutely no offence man, I am totally wood powered for over 20 yrs, never considered a splitter, but I'm probably just dumb or lazy.

quick edit here>> Then there is the infamous 'splittin' party'. I have a true tale of one of these, for later, but the gist is I got some buds all wound up to split crappy rounds (big), it was a hoot. Hey, were I your neighbor all you'd have to do is get the brews on ice, we'd make a day of it!



Serge

 

[Diesel JD]

You have to look at what he's splitting and look at the fatigue factor involved. I can agree that if you have stuff that you can easily split with a maul you can outsplit a splitter just cause they are slow and not exactly efficient. Around here, I need some sort of splitter, and I got one of the manual hydraulic units. I'm splittinga lot of fibrous wood like live oak and green sweet gum. I'm it was just small dia laurel oak, it would be less attractive, but the fatigue factor is less. $1099 sounds a bit high, but B+S is a good engine. 22 Ton is a lot of force. Good luck,
J.D.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

You have to look at what he's splitting and look at the fatigue factor involved.

Gospel there!


Im thinking sprig is splitting mostly soft woods, wont get far in 30" pin oak in a week.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Banjoec]

I'm splitting some hickory which can split your elbows before the wood. The medium sized Oak & Maple is easier with the maul.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Banjo, looks like a good deal to me. Im using a cheap MTD that was purchased by my sister for $900 and change 10yrs ago and it still does its thing.




Small dia dried Hickory is nice to whack on, over 12" is a different story.


I got ahold of some Oak that Im calling "Jesus oak" due to the phrasing elicited by everyone who has tried to split it by hand so far.:bang:




:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Sprig]

Banjo, looks like a good deal to me. Im using a cheap MTD that was purchased by my sister for $900 and change 10yrs ago and it still does its thing.




Small dia dried Hickory is nice to whack on, over 12" is a different story.


I got ahold of some Oak that Im calling "Jesus oak" due to the phrasing elicited by everyone who has tried to split it by hand so far.:bang:




:hmm3grin2orange:

LOL,^^^, we do get some oak and maple up here, arbutus is a real bear to split after its sat for a while, always split it green if you value your wrists and back. You're right though, most of the wood is 'softwood', douglas fir being one of the best bang for the buck. A splitter or macho teenager would have been good for the last stuff I acquired, 3/4 twist in it even at 14" it was a nightmare.



Serge

 

[clearance]

I learned to high grade firewood, where the branches start is where I stop. If you have knotty rounds and no splitter, "split" them with a big, sharp saw, like a 394 or something.

 

[Diesel JD]

The knots do make it harder to work with, but IME, not teh deciding factor unless they are some real big knots. For example, a lot fo laurel oaks and water oaks are mostly straight but have say a 3 or four inch couple of limbs and the knots don't go deep into the trunk. They are still a heck of alot easier to split by hand than a straight bolt of live oak or hickory.

 

[TwinTurboRam]

Though its not a gas powered, I got a 3 point setup that hooks to the tractor hydraulics. Seems to be well made unit. I called them about a problem I was having with the valve, they were great to work with and got the problem resolved right away. Havent had any issues with it since then. Im more than happy with it.

 

[FourMoCajuns]

I have the 7 hp model and with the wood I split it is a life saver. I don't work with wood for a living but I do love to mess around with it during the colder months. I cut off of other people and end up cutting only less than perfect trees. If there is a good looking straight hardwood standing next to an old knotty oak or hickory or even elm well I just take out the ugly tree. It sure makes for some extra work but when I am done cutting on a place there are no brushpiles no high stumps and lots of good trees left.
Now don't get me wrong I am not a tree hugger by any means! I just treat other peoples land better than I would treat my own.

Now back to your question..... don't try to use the splitter in the horizontal position as a falling chunk can damage some lines and I also place a 24" sq piece of flat steel under the foot to help with stability.

 

[Luke]

New, for me, splitting Technique

I've been working on a huge pin oak (what I was told anyway) that is at least 7 feet across at the butt. It was a tornado casualty. I have only been working on the limbs up to this point and probably won't ever touch the trunk. Some of the limbs have been 30 inches. Until harvest, there is no way to get to it with a splittler. I have been ripping all of the way thru then slugging it out by hand. Greg at Bailey's suggested multiple rip cuts 1/2 to 2/3's of the way then splitting at the kerfs. Big help. I may be the only person that never heard of this or figured it out on their own, if not, try it. Really helps.