Log Splitter Advice Needed - Nubie to the Site

[r0858]

I am building my first log splitter. Im new to the site. I have found alot of excellent post from you guys and they have been VERY helpful. Long story story short, I have a 9 inch wide I-Beam, it is very stout, forged in the early 1970's. I dont think I will run across many of these. Can any one give me advice about the building pusher plate that pushes the wood and rides along the I-Beam. From what I have seen, many of the pusher plates have wore out alot of the I-beams I've seen on other log splitters, store bought, and home made.

I am concerned with this issue of metal on metal wearing out my I-Beam. My questions are:

Do I have to install a pusher plate that rides along the I-Beam if I have the hydraulic cylinder mounted down tight at the front and the rear of the I-beam?

Or can I mount a pretty firm plate on the end of the hydraulic cylinder that does not touch the I-Beam period?

Just fyi, my set up is a 16 gpm two stage pump, 20 gallon tank, 5"X36" prince cylinder, 13 hp honda motor. This will all be mounted on a old stlye military pole trailer, with the wedge welded at the end of the cylinder. Any info and photos you can supply will be appeciated.

 

[rx7145]

Sounds good. I have seen copper wear strips on the beam and also my Northern had grease fittings on the wedge so you could grease the beam.

You might want to get a larger pump the 16gpm pump with a 5x36 ram is going to be slooooow.

 

[r0858]

thanks for the info, im wonder if i could set up some grease fittings for this pusher, im goning to have to go with the 16gpm for now until i get some more cash to up grade, i still have to get my hoses, and pay my welder.

 

[kevin j]

I would not rigid mount the cylinder, as either with or without a slider, the rod side loading can damage the rod, or seal, or rod bushing. Not good for cylinder design.

Smooth up the surfaces and spray with dry molydisulfide lubricant. It dries up to a dry film and does not hold grit or dirt. Much better than grease or oil. CRC makes it, and other brands. Grainger has some.

kcj

 

[avalancher]

I would not rigid mount the cylinder, as either with or without a slider, the rod side loading can damage the rod, or seal, or rod bushing. Not good for cylinder design.

Smooth up the surfaces and spray with dry molydisulfide lubricant. It dries up to a dry film and does not hold grit or dirt. Much better than grease or oil. CRC makes it, and other brands. Grainger has some.

kcj

I agree with this one, never rigid mount the cylinder. When splitting wood you will induce a lot of twisting on the cylinder, the moveable mounts found on splitters will allow for some movement negating the twisting. My neighbor has a small homemade splitter and I rebuilt the cylinder twice before I convinced him to allow me to redo the mounts removing the solid mounting that kept twisting the cylinder shaft in the housing, destroying the seals. Rebuilt that cylinder twice in 5 years before! And to my knowledge he had it repaired three other times before I moved here, and it ran him 150 bucks each time at the local hydralic shop. Made me wonder how he saved much money by splitting his own wood.
As was mentioned, use a dry lubricant, and I dare say you will be in your senior years before you notice any wear on the beam. My splitter has wear blocks in the slider that are replaceable, and are made of softer metal than the beam. Costs about 25 bucks to replace the slider blocks, and after 2 years and many cords of wood there is very little wear on the blocks. I use the dry molydisulfide, generally apply a bit every other time I am going to split and it lasts for hours and hours.
When you think about it, there really isnt that much pressure applied down on the I beam when splitting unless you are splitting some really knarly wood, your slider just kind of glides along the beam.

 

[Zodiac45]

I always take a spray can of fluid film, or the like and hose the sides of the beam before I start. Honestly though, you shouldn't be that concerned about wear. It would take years and years of hard use. Keep it reasonable adjusted (so it can't twist) and lube it before each use and you'll be good to go.

My splitter has replacement "shoes" that scrape along the beam between the pushplate/wedge in my case and the I-beam. They are designed to be softer than the beam. I've had this splitter for 4 yrs now and they still look great.

 

[Zodiac45]

I would not rigid mount the cylinder, as either with or without a slider, the rod side loading can damage the rod, or seal, or rod bushing. Not good for cylinder design.

Smooth up the surfaces and spray with dry molydisulfide lubricant. It dries up to a dry film and does not hold grit or dirt. Much better than grease or oil. CRC makes it, and other brands. Grainger has some.

kcj

+1 on that! On mine, the cylinder has pins on the sides and just "floats" in a C mount.

 

[mga]

I am concerned with this issue of metal on metal wearing out my I-Beam.

i think by the time the metal wears down to the point of making the H beam useless, you'll be in the ground.

as for the cylinder being rigid or not, the guys are probably right. however, i used a 6 x 24 cylinder that is round. the rear mount is with a clevis pin and i made a large U bolt to hold the front down...tight. i took great care when designing my slide to ensure the ram would be prefectly straight along the H beam, and made sure the slide and ram were perfectly aligned.

i watched a slide give out on one splitter and because the cylinder wasn't held down near the front it lifted, bending the ram right there. the back held but everything just "bowed" upwards. not a pretty sight.

so....take it for what its worth. my cylinder is held down tight on both ends and i've never had a problem at all.

you can see the U bolt in this pic:

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/mga_01/?action=view&current=DSCF0210.jpg

 

[Cowboy Billy]

When I get around to building my new splitter I am thinking of making rollers for the bottom and sides. I was thinking on using piece of 1 1/4 round stock and drill a 5/8 bolt hole through it. I just went out and looked at the splitter and thought of using a sealed bearing for it instead. I am not worried about wear. but there is a lot of drag there from friction. Grandpa's splitter that I have now has a railroad rail for a beam. It has two 5/8 clamp bolts on each side. When he put it together he used what ever bolts he had laying around. Well two std grade bolts stretched and that it let the pusher plate twist side sideways enough th break off the end of the ram. Luckily there was enough threads that I could clean them up and get the knuckel screwed down tight. Haven't had any problems with the grade 8 bolts I replaced them with.

Billy

 

[mga]

When I get around to building my new splitter I am thinking of making rollers for the bottom and sides. I was thinking on using piece of 1 1/4 round stock and drill a 5/8 bolt hole through it. I just went out and looked at the splitter and thought of using a sealed bearing for it instead. I am not worried about wear. but there is a lot of drag there from friction. Grandpa's splitter that I have now has a railroad rail for a beam. It has two 5/8 clamp bolts on each side. When he put it together he used what ever bolts he had laying around. Well two std grade bolts stretched and that it let the pusher plate twist side sideways enough th break off the end of the ram. Luckily there was enough threads that I could clean them up and get the knuckel screwed down tight. Haven't had any problems with the grade 8 bolts I replaced them with.

Billy

the rollers might be a good idea....i thought about that myself, but i'm too lazy to take the slide apart and re-design it.

let me know how it works out for ya.

 

[triptester]

The slides on the push plate should act only as guides . When there is a lot of wear on the slides it usually because of a poor design. The slides should be as long as the push plate is tall, this reduces binding. The centerline of the cylinder above the beam should be half the height of the wedge.

When looking for a cylinder for the log splitter the ram should be 2" diameter minimum. Commercial splitters use 2 1/2" or larger rams.

I see you are planning on using a 36" stroke cylinder. This will require about a 10 foot beam and as the lenght increases the beam has a greater tendency to flex.

 

[A. Stanton]

When you are done building your splitter, put one of these handy work tables on it. A guy with the handle "33flame" sells em for about $60 on Ebay.

 

[mga]

When you are done building your splitter, put one of these handy work tables on it. A guy with the handle "33flame" sells em for about $60 on Ebay.

not a bad price for that......

http://cgi.ebay.com/24x-CRADLE-FIRE...ryZ29520QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Hugenpoet]

I always take a spray can of fluid film, or the like and hose the sides of the beam before I start. Honestly though, you shouldn't be that concerned about wear. It would take years and years of hard use. Keep it reasonable adjusted (so it can't twist) and lube it before each use and you'll be good to go.

My splitter has replacement "shoes" that scrape along the beam between the pushplate/wedge in my case and the I-beam. They are designed to be softer than the beam. I've had this splitter for 4 yrs now and they still look great.

I take a similar approach which I observed when watching an older farmer work a PTO mounted splitter. At the start of each session with the splitter he would pour bar oil over the working surface of the beam. When finished wipe the surface down with a rag.

 

[eric_271]

I am building my first log splitter. Im new to the site. I have found alot of excellent post from you guys and they have been VERY helpful. Long story story short, I have a 9 inch wide I-Beam, it is very stout, forged in the early 1970's. I dont think I will run across many of these. Can any one give me advice about the building pusher plate that pushes the wood and rides along the I-Beam. From what I have seen, many of the pusher plates have wore out alot of the I-beams I've seen on other log splitters, store bought, and home made.

I am concerned with this issue of metal on metal wearing out my I-Beam. My questions are:

Do I have to install a pusher plate that rides along the I-Beam if I have the hydraulic cylinder mounted down tight at the front and the rear of the I-beam?

Or can I mount a pretty firm plate on the end of the hydraulic cylinder that does not touch the I-Beam period?

Just fyi, my set up is a 16 gpm two stage pump, 20 gallon tank, 5"X36" prince cylinder, 13 hp honda motor. This will all be mounted on a old stlye military pole trailer, with the wedge welded at the end of the cylinder. Any info and photos you can supply will be appeciated.

What is the thickness of the flanges and web on the 9'' beam?

 

[drmiller100]

when the top of the beam wears down, grind it flat, then weld a piece of 1/8 strap on top of it.

it takes a LOT of wood to wear out the splitter, especially if you oil it just a little.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

the rollers might be a good idea....i thought about that myself, but i'm too lazy to take the slide apart and re-design it.

let me know how it works out for ya.

The slides on the push plate should act only as guides . When there is a lot of wear on the slides it usually because of a poor design. The slides should be as long as the push plate is tall, this reduces binding. The centerline of the cylinder above the beam should be half the height of the wedge.

When looking for a cylinder for the log splitter the ram should be 2" diameter minimum. Commercial splitters use 2 1/2" or larger rams.

I see you are planning on using a 36" stroke cylinder. This will require about a 10 foot beam and as the lenght increases the beam has a greater tendency to flex.

MGA I'll do that. But it probably will not be until next year. I have more projects than I can handle right now.

Thanks TripTester. It works fine in strait wood. But I am having problems with knotty wood big maple and elm with a lot of crotches. It is twisting the pusher plate sideways and thats where I am getting my binding. It has a railroad rail upside down as a beam and its only 5.5 inches wide. Right now the push plate is 10" tall but the guides are only 6" long I can see where making them longer will help now that you showed me the problem. Thanks.

How far up would you mount the cylinder to the pusher plate using a 12" tall pusher plate? I am getting ideas together on what I want to build and how I want to build a new splitter. The splitter I am using now my Grandpa made 25+ years ago and want to leave pretty much as it is. But I want one that I am not bending over all the time and has the ram and wedge behind the rear axel. And have a tray that the split wood will push off into a small trailer so I do not have to handle the wood so much as I mainly split by myself.

Thanks Billy

 

[triptester]

If your push plate and wedge are going to be 12" tall I would set the centerline of the cylinder at 5" to 6" above the beam.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Thanks TripTester. It really helps to someone knowledgeable like you to turn to for help. I am taking the time to read up see what everyone else has done. To try to figure out what I want before I build. Everyone here is a lot of help. Thanks.

Billy

 

[triptester]

Thanks for the knowledgable compliment but many people have spent a lot of time and money for schooling to learn how to build things right. I just try to understand why their ideas work and adapt them to what I try to build.