log splitter build: wedge or pushplate?

[cantoo]

Lapeer, I just enlarged the pics and that really looks like the same type of bar I used. Mine was brand new and for a Volvo grader. Is there some way you can test weld a piece and beat the crap out of it before you do all the welding to get it on the beam? Maybe ask Kevin from Ohio his opinion on the stuff.

 

[lapeer20m]

That little tidbit of information may ruin my day!

It's already welded in place.

 

[bpwelding2005]

i personally worked in a welding/fab shop for few years and advise against the cutting edge also sadly. the steel is hardened and all though it has great wear against abrasion, it becomes very brittle and has no flex left and snaps very easy. only way i have ever had any luck welding it is to use plenty of pre heat because the steel has to cool very slowly so it does not crack the are around the weld because of the brittleness of the harden steel. hope this helps. also wish i would off seen this b4 it was welded into place

 

[cantoo]

Yeah, I wish I had seen your post earlier. I wasn't going to say anything but then remember how pizzed I was when all the work I did was snapped off so easily. One of the joys of reusing stuff, sometimes you learn the hard way. Mine broke right beside the welds.

 

[lapeer20m]

I was able to finish her up with just enough time to split a piece or two of firewood before I had to leave for work.

It needs a little reengineering when it comes to attaching the push plate to the beam. I apparently did not understand the forces involved.

Here is a really short video of her In action.

 

[lapeer20m]

as expected, the hardened steel wedge failed catastrophically.

I have to find a suitable piece of steel and some more free time and i will rebuild the wedge end of the splitter.

I also learned that a chain is a terrible idea for attaching the splitter to the hoe. I will attach it via a plate and pins in the future.

here is the latest video including the moment when the wedge failed.

 

[cantoo]

Darn. Oh well now you can improve it. Here a couple pic of the wedges I put on my splitters. One is a redone Speeco and the other is a homemade one I bought somewhere. They are now about 12" tall I think, I've since welded a taller push plate on the Speeco so I can split two 8" rounds at a time. I've always thought it was better to have a bigger, taller wedge as long as it was welded properly and you split big pieces using your brain. That means splitting pieces off the edge instead of trying to split a big gnarly one right in half the long way. I try to read blocks as I put them on the wedge to take advantage of natural cracks in the round.

 

[lapeer20m]

If I understand the top photo correctly you cut out part of the beam and welded the wedge to both the bottom and top of the beam. This is the approach I used and will use again when I rebuild.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Just saw this and wish I had earlier to ghelp avoid the lost time. I too did the same thing early on and had to learn the hard way. I redid dad's splitter and used a plowshare which I thought was a great idea so it wouldn't wear. WRONG. I preheated at the bottom for welding though. Ours broke midway up and just snapped from a twisty. Lesson learned and rebuilt using non hardened. No issues since.

The line of thinking about needing something hard to hold an edge is a mistake from my experience. I've dealt with 3 of our own splitters and they all have mild steel wedges on them, including the Catersplitter. Edges are all still fine and the only issue I had with the Catersplitter was when I encounters a 3/4" steel screw in gate hinge which it promptl sheared in 2. Messed up the edge there but rewelded, ground down and can't tell it now.

Your wedge is plenty high and hope it holds for you. James at splitez told me the max height for my beam size was 10 inches so be aware of twistys if you get them. The higher it is the more you compound the force exerted below.

I'm no expert but I have had to live and learn by mistakes too so it happens to everyone. Forums like these just help folks from falling into the same issues and having wasted efforts. That is a great resource to be able to tap into.

 

[cantoo]

Lapeer, on the top one I never cut out the beam it is just welded to the flat on the top. I was extending the beam because it was only a 20" cylinder on it before. I did at least 3 good passes of weld but I'm hoping it's still the weak point and shears off instead of bending the beam.
The bottom one (Speeco) is done the same way, just welded onto the top. I would rather it break there than a harder to fix spot. It's only 1 1/4" wide so it cuts as much as it splits tough stuff. I was going to put a wide wing on it but decided that extra pressure might just break it off.
Kevin most of what I split is Ash and it's pretty easy to split. I did some elm on it to test it and had no issues other than the beam twisting some. I just use mild steel and have no issues with keeping the edge. I had a plow share too and was going to use it until I talked to a local welding shop that makes splitters. The top wedge was made by them, they charged me $100 for it but I figured it was money well spent for the advice and lesson I got. I make my own stuff now.