I wanna do it, am I crazy?

[thenorth]

mmmmmmmm, heated subject eh..*s*
i had better not post pics of our wee home made............
that, by the way, has been in operation for the past 22 yrs...........


john

 

[58hydraglide]

Whoa guys, chill out.
MSLANKET, If you feel that you have the mechanical aptitude, go for it. But If I were you, I would research into this site and on the internet, specifically for hydraulic theory, power requirements, pump sizing, etc. A 4" cylinder will provided less splitting force than a 5" cylinder with comperable pump and engine sizes, but a larger cylinder will produce slower cycle times etc. Do your homework, determine what it's needs will be (amount of wood you'll split, size of wood, portability etc.) Then determine what size beam you'll need, vertical or horizontal style, axle type etc. Basically, If you decide to build your own don't be in a hurry. If you want one NOW, buy one. I'm sure you can build one yourself with some research into what you need, but I would recommend scrounging, visiting salvage yards etc. to get some of your parts (that comes with knowing what to look for).
If you put a dollar value on your time invested in a complete build I'm sure it will be cheaper to buy one, BUT If you find satisfaction in building it yourself exactly as you want, then the cost is negligible. Good Luck with whatever you decide and let us know how it goes.

SR and CB,
Whoa guys. SR gave his opinion on MSJ's question. Right or wrong it is his opinion. A contribution to the thread. Cabinman, you gotta back off, if you have an axe to grind with SR, do it in a PM.(Unless I'm missing something, and if I ,am I'm sure most everyone else is too) MSJ's got some questions. You haven't contributed much to it . I've read some of your posts and my guess is you could contribute to MSJ's post as well, instead of wasting time bashing someone else on their "inferior build" .The way I see it SR admitted that it wasn't perfect. If it works for him, then fine. I don't think he was trying to sell any plans for it! So let's get back on track guy's and help him out.

KevinJ,
Where you at?? MSJ needs some info!

 

[kevin j]

already PM'd him bunch of files!

and that's my conclusion also, like most of the others: if it is function vs. cost and time, buy one. If it is creativity and 'streetrod/chopper' mentality, buiild one for fun, challenge, and learning and pride, but make it unique and your own design and reasons to suit your own special needs.

I am big on speed, not force, but I also scrounge wood and don't split at a landing or home spot. Most of what I get is under 20 inches DBH, 4 to 4.5 cylinder is plenty for me, and I am working on a tiny portable one with 3 inch cylinder. Sort of like the Brave unit, but with two stage pump. The Brave is way too slow. So those make the designs unique and creative !

Really good fraternity of people and ideas. and it gets as heated as the ford/chevy, huskyu/stihl arguments ! good wood stove arm chair arguments until weather breaks and everybody can get back outside in the evenings!

go into the project with eyes wide open, but if you choose to do it, enjoy and go for it. It is within your reach if not comfort zone..

kcj

 

[bassman]

I also have been collecting parts and the only reason I am building and not buying is that I had a new 6.5 hp motor and a big I beam sitting in the shop.
after its all said and done I hope to have a splitter I can pull at 70 mph unlike the premade units that only have a solid axle and small wheels.
I also like building stuff so thats a close second..
post some pics of your progress .

 

[user 19670]

Congrats on taking on this project. One thing I like in the splitter I have is how balanced it is to move around by hand. The splitter I used to rent needed almost two guys to roll it around to get it hooked up to a truck or four wheeler. It was way too front heavy

Great point! Ours is toooooo heavy at the hitch.

My neighbour bought one and he made some changes to it. It now balances easily and can be moved by one man. He took the rinky-dink axle and wheels and replaced them with a homemade axle from a length of 4" H-Beam and 15" truck tires. NO springs! No suspension at all. The tires have enough give in them for something that light anyway.

Sigh - I gotta re-engineer ours bigtime.

I like to have the split wood not drop between two sets of wheels. Sometimes I like to hook it up to the truck and just split, move, split, . . . and come back another time to get the wood since it is on our property. My pet peeve is "standing in my work" so the pile of split wood building up around my feet gets me right here .

 

[grampakev]

MSJ, like i said in my first post scroung, go to the nearest highway dept. they allways have a i-beam from a downed sign off the hiway that can be had for a coffee and dougnut (its galvi so dont breath it in while your welding). go to your local used boat dealer someone is always buying a new traler and they will be glad to give away the old one, theres your axel. i live in the sticks around here there are alot of people theat buy old lawnmowers and rebuild and sell them for $45. theres your motor.i see your from CT. alot of sand & gravel trucks around I know i drive one, follow them to their pit garented they have a piston laing around that needs a seal, even if you pay somone to fix it, thats $40-$50.thats cheap for a piston. plenty of ways to scroung. amazing what a coffie a dougnut will get you. good luck

 

[Zodiac45]

I can pull my little 4" 5hp around the yard by hand with ease. It's quite well balanced. For the home owner, cracking his/her own firewood, you don't need any more than a set-up like mine. I have never failed to split a round with it, including some rock maple the size of truck tires that took two of us too winch up on the pickup.

Why people are so obsessed with cycle time is beyond me too because how often do you ever use the whole cycle? If you take a little care in the way you buck your wood, you'll rarely need the full cycle and some stuff like ash for instance , it's 2-3" back and forth of cycle. I think the only time I ever use the whole cycle is lubricationg the slide or warming up the oil! So yeah, my cycle time of 11 or 13 secs whatever it is? sounds slow but if I'm only ever realisticly using half or a 1/3rd of it while actually working, it's not so bad.

 

[mga]

Many splitters are s-l-o-w....Some have teeny tires and pull poorly on roads. Some have wedges that are too short. Some have pumps that guarantee slow cycle times. Some have cheapo engines.

i built my splitter on a small boat trailer that has small wheels. what i liked about it was the leaf spring suspension...makes it excellent for towing especially at hi speeds. you don't even know it's there. i once towed another splitter with huge tires on it once and the thing would sway so bad at 50mph i would have to slow down to 40 to get it under control.

if you're going to build a splitter that you feel you might be towing around constantly, you better give plenty of thought into designing the basic suspension so that it will tow safely.

as for wedges....i used an 8" wedge and i'm sorry i didn't go for a 12", but no matter what size log i throw on there, that 8" does the job. adding the angle iron 'wings" to it made a huge difference.

match your pump to your engine size and remember, you are not building an excavator...it's just a log splitter. a well designed splitter doesn't have to be compensated in one area for poor performance in another. just match things accordingly.

 

[user 19670]

i built my splitter on a small boat trailer that has small wheels. what i liked about it was the leaf spring suspension...makes it excellent for towing especially at hi speeds. you don't even know it's there. i once towed another splitter with huge tires on it once and the thing would sway so bad at 50mph i would have to slow down to 40 to get it under control.

if you're going to build a splitter that you feel you might be towing around constantly, you better give plenty of thought into designing the basic suspension so that it will tow safely.

as for wedges....i used an 8" wedge and i'm sorry i didn't go for a 12", but no matter what size log i throw on there, that 8" does the job. adding the angle iron 'wings" to it made a huge difference.

match your pump to your engine size and remember, you are not building an excavator...it's just a log splitter. a well designed splitter doesn't have to be compensated in one area for poor performance in another. just match things accordingly.

My neighbour is sitting here slurping coffee as we speak. I just asked him and he says that he has no problemo with his solid axle and no springs @ 60 mph.

WHAT, pray tell, would be the engineering considerations in designing a trailer that doesn't sway? The trailer manufacturers :censored: that up all the time so they would like to know too. After all those years with camping trailers when I grew up and all those years with trailers as an adult I don't see that the type or even existence of suspension makes a difference.

Wayne (my neighbour) does say that he mounts one of those long flourescent rods on the back of his so he can see where it is and what it is doing when he is backing up with the truck. Can't see it in the mirrors until it jackknifes.

 

[wireedm]

Not trying to change the thread but, uh, what kind of welder does Sawinredneck have that's so badass? lol

Just curious.

 

[mga]

WHAT, pray tell, would be the engineering considerations in designing a trailer that doesn't sway? The trailer manufacturers that up all the time so they would like to know too. After all those years with camping trailers when I grew up and all those years with trailers as an adult I don't see that the type or even existence of suspension makes a difference.

first of all, my point was that a suspension with leaf springs is much safer to tow. nothing wrong with a solid suspension, but, as others have said, at hi speeds, it has a tendency to bounce off the ground, not to mention the stresses put on it.

secondly, if you're making your own from scratch, it's important to at least have the axles, no matter what type you are using, squared or perpendicular to the tongue to give it the best handling as possible. surely i don't need to explain that further...right?

 

[Gologit]

msjanket....

The only real advantage to building your own splitter is that you get a splitter that's exactly the way you want it.

If you look at ten different makes of splitters you'll see something in everyone of them that you like or don't like or think maybe you could improve on.

If you define, before you start to build, exactly what you expect your splitter to do and build it accordingly you'll have a machine that suits you.

It's cost effective to build your own only in the sense that you can shop for your components through a wide range of vendors. And even do some scrounging the same way. You can spend your money more effeciently if you have time to shop around. But you're still going to spend a pile of money. Don't cut corners on quality...you'll regret it every time you use the machine.

There's also a great sense of satisfaction in designing, building, and using something that started out as just a need and an idea.

Besides, if you don't build one you might always wish you had.

 

[triptester]

Yes many many towed vehicles run without suspension but I have seen spindles and bearings go bad prematurely on two log splitters. Both had auto or truck spindles and bearings that normally carry much heavier loads.
All axle manufacturers de-rate their axles by as much as 50% if used without suspension.

 

[user 19670]

first of all, my point was that a suspension with leaf springs is much safer to tow. nothing wrong with a solid suspension, but, as others have said, at hi speeds, it has a tendency to bounce off the ground, not to mention the stresses put on it.

secondly, if you're making your own from scratch, it's important to at least have the axles, no matter what type you are using, squared or perpendicular to the tongue to give it the best handling as possible. surely i don't need to explain that further...right?

A splitter is a light thing indeed. You would be hard done by to have the proper set of springs under it no matter what you do. Too hard and it will bounce. Too soft and it will . . . hmm, what will it do? It will fishtail THAT's what it will do. Lets face it. How bumpy could your highway possibly be compared to our roads in the great white north? You have to tape your glasses to your face on my highway just outside my door.

Listen, I ran a 1950 Harley Davidson stroked and bored to 91 Cu. in. It was a stock looking Dresser "sleeper" and it had a hardtail (translation - no springs). Couldn't get it to bounce any more than any other bike I had and I took that baby up to 138 MPH. The one time I can think of that it bounced, I was racing ahead of a major thunder storm and believe me, at that speed and with that bump ANYONE would catch air.
Store bought and professionally manufactured trailers can and do sway and even fishtail.

You really didn't answer my question.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

The only real advantage to building your own splitter is that you get a splitter that's exactly the way you want it.

If you look at ten different makes of splitters you'll see something in everyone of them that you like or don't like or think maybe you could improve on.

If you define, before you start to build, exactly what you expect your splitter to do and build it accordingly you'll have a machine that suits you.

It's cost effective to build your own only in the sense that you can shop for your components through a wide range of vendors. And even do some scrounging the same way. You can spend your money more effeciently if you have time to shop around. But you're still going to spend a pile of money. Don't cut corners on quality...you'll regret it every time you use the machine.

There's also a great sense of satisfaction in designing, building, and using something that started out as just a need and an idea.

Besides, if you don't build one you might always wish you had.

I agree with that!! Bragging rights!!! You can go out and buy and have it good enough to to the job and be a good splitter and if some one wants to do that its great. But there is a great feeling of pride to use something you built your self that is setup just the way you want.

This is the splitter I am using now.

My Grandpa built it and it works good. He passed away 18 years ago and I feel close to him when I am using it its like he is right there with me. It is a little slow but I need the time to pick up the next log and get it positioned anyways. It is well balanced but heavy notice the beam is a railroad rail. It pulls down the highway great but on side roads and pot holes it bounces all over the place. On any trailer you need 10% to 15% of the weight of the trailer on the tongue or it will be all over the road and unsafe.

I am thinking of building my own for only two reasons. Its too low and I am always bending over and its hard on my back. And I want one where I can split and when I get a pile just pull forward a little and keep splitting. I could rebuild this one but I want to keep it as it is.

Anyways build and be Happy!!!

Billy

 

[sawinredneck]

Not trying to change the thread but, uh, what kind of welder does Sawinredneck have that's so badass? lol

Just curious.

The only thing really "badass" about it is it will power the house if the power goes out. It's a Hobart Champion 10,000, welder/gen set.

If you have specific ideas, as I did, and don't want to spend 10k, as my buddy didn't. Then it's worth looking into. I researched and researched, got hooked up with a guy that has built some of the most ignorant splitters I have ever seen. One is an 80hp diesel powered double wedge block. It has six "boxes" on the bottom level and five on the top. I forget which model Timberwolf he designed it after, but i fully loaded you get 11 pieces of firewood with each stroke of the cylinder. He gave up on that idea after a while. It's great with straight wood, but twisty or knotty and you spend an hour with a sledge hammer driving the wood out. He has built some incredible stuff.
His words still ring in my ears, "Once you have it all figured out, you will change it 30 times while you are building it. Then once you have it working right, you will figure out what all you did wrong and build another to fix those problems!"
He was right from the get go!
My point? Build it if you want, but allow a lot more time than you think, and more money than you think to start with. And there is nothing wrong with taking pride in something you built!

 

[wireedm]

The only thing really "badass" about it is it will power the house if the power goes out. It's a Hobart Champion 10,000, welder/gen set.

He thinks 230 amps is badass? lol To have that badass designation he might want to start at 350-400 amps, add the word MIG and TIG to the side cover, and go up from there.

 

[sawinredneck]

He thinks 230 amps is badass? lol To have that badass designation he might want to start at 350-400 amps, add the word MIG and TIG to the side cover, and go up from there.

I guess I was bragging somewhere that it was badass, my bad.

 

[wireedm]

I guess I was bragging somewhere that it was badass, my bad.

Hey man, no harm. I figure if a welder is too small, you can always make more passes. If its to big, you just burn a hole in the part.

I have to have precision welding done sometimes. We send it to a company that can put a bead of weld around the head of a stick pin. Yes, you have to look at it under a magnifying glass to see. I think he only uses a half amp. lol

http://atwnc.com (Advanced Technical Welding)

 

[jags]

I'll throw my $.01 in. I will second everything that MGA said (and he's got a kick butt spitter by the looks of it) but I will add a few specifics. This comes from building a few and using a few.

If its gonna be towed - suspension it.
If you like working on your knees go vert/horiz.
If you don't like working on your knees (like me) - go with a log lift.
Make sure your I beam is plenty heavy (like 6x9" heavy web)
Build it so the beam can be touched while you stand straight up.
Keep the tires away from your work area.
If you go with a log lift, place the wedge at the end of the beam, not on the ram. It won't drop splits on your feet.
I would recommend 2 setups, you decide - 4" ram w/16gpm pump 8HP or 5" ram w/22 gpm pump with 11+ HP. Decent cycle times for both, ram size can be decided on with what you are gonna split (easy or ugly).
I personally like electric start but I also use the battery for the winch I have on my log lifter.
Log splitter detent valve with appropriate hoses.
A tank that will hold 1/4 to 1/3 of the rated gpm output of the pump (for cooling if you work in the summer. Winter use only, you can get away with a little smaller tank).
12" wedge (I made the same mistake that MGA did and used the 8", wish it was 12")
Work table is a must.

This is my opinion only and its a little like BBQ ribs, everyone has their favorite recipe. I built mine with a total cash outlay of ~$600. It specs out at the machines costing over $2000.