Fixed wedge or wedge on cylinder???

[jrider]

Have you never had a big piece of elm stuck on the wedge?Sometimes you just can't finish the split.No choice but to pull it off backwards.A real pain!

Not elm, but plenty of gum. I split around 135 cords within the last 12 months. A small portion of it ( maybe 5-6 cords) has been big nasty stuff and while it does suck whacking it with a sledge hammer multiple times to get it unstuck, those are the only ones its been an issue.

I now will take my saw and carefully noodle down close to the top of the wedge on those real stubborn ones and that seems to work well. But I try to avoid that kind of wood in the first place as time is money.

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

Wedge on cylinder for me! If you have to pick up the wood to split it again, all you have to do is rotate it as opposed to picking it up and moving it back.

My modified wedge and plate for my 22 ton Huskee:

 

[cantoo]

I've only had a piece stuck on the wedge a few times and it didn't take much to beat it off. I try to read the piece before I split it, saves much time in the long run. Tables are a must for any wedge.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I have NEVER had a piece of ANY kind of wood stuck on the wedge!

I don't even have a hammer or ax or anything else around my splitter,

EVERYTHING goes right on through the 4-way wedge,

AND I don't ever have to pick up anything off the ground for a resplit, as it's right there on the table. BUT, anything that needs resplit usually doesn't make it to the table, it ends up on top of the 4-way wedge and I just pull it over backwards with one hand, back onto the beam and push it through again.

Having the wedge on the beam is absolutely a faster, more efficient way to split for me...

SR

 

[spike60]

I prefer the wedge on ram. Nearly every block needs to be split more than once, and this design keeps those pieces right where they should be for the next split. The work area is a more compact radius with less reaching.

@JeffHK454 mentions that either design is much better if you have trays/tables to keep the wood from dropping to the ground, and he is correct. But with no trays on either style, which is usually the case with inexpensive splitters, the wedge on ram still allows you to use the beam itself as a table.