Log Splitter Wedge Question

[D Chaplin]

Fellow builders of custom log splitters. I'm building a vertical splitter w/ a raised work surface so my wedge will be attached to the ram. I had planned to buy a complete wedge assembly from Timberwolf because i figured i'd take advantage of their decades of R&D but its a bit pricey and limits which H Beam i can use. When i was talking to their parts department, the guy told me to be sure and get the wear plates so the wedge doesn't wear out the beam.

Is this something you guys are doing on your splitters? I had a gas splitter before (Cubcadet brand) and that wedge rode right on the beam (greased of course). The only negative effect was paint wear and i used it for a couple of years. I'm not sure what you'd use for a wear plate. Any advice?

 

[woodworker501]

I built a horizontal splitter 30 years ago, using a old I beam. On the push plate, I did have wear plates. I sold it a few weeks ago and for all the cords it split, I saw no sign of them wearing out.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

There is a You Tube video of a guy with a wedge on beam splitter that used cylinder rod stroke reducing collars. The collars clamp over the cylinder rod and when retracting, using a detent valve, he stripped the threaded cylinder rod end and had to replace the cylinder. It seems to me one could have the same or similar issue with stop blocks, or strip blocks, whatever they are called, to strip a stuck round of wood on retract. The cylinder rod end on my old splitter had a threw bolt hole to hold the push plate. I did shear that keeper bolt over time, and replacing it each year became regular maintenance. I never connected that bolt failure to using stroke reducing collars. It is possible it happened on the push as well.
I'm saying check out your cylinder rod connection first. For the YouTube guy must have been a costly fix. I believe he had a TW-1, or 2.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Had to look it up because I can never remember the letters.
UHMW is one of the self lubricating plastics often used in such applications. Plastic supply houses, and online outlets. Readily available, often used in the food industry. You probably have a cutting board made of it in some pretty color. Check it out online and do a little reading. Lots of variations and some better suited than others for wear blocks.

 

[D Chaplin]

Had to look it up because I can never remember the letters.
UHMW is one of the self lubricating plastics often used in such applications. Plastic supply houses, and online outlets. Readily available, often used in the food industry. You probably have a cutting board made of it in some pretty color. Check it out online and do a little reading. Lots of variations and some better suited than others for wear blocks.

Any idea of how thick the UHMW would need to be to prevent it from cracking or breaking? I've used a similar material on the guides of a pontoon boat trailer because it didnt like to slide up the carpeted boards very well. Worked exceptionally well.

 

[D Chaplin]

Also, if you are using material like this are you also still greasing the beam? I assume you would but figured I'd ask

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I have heard for boom slides on cranes...no, do not grease. Truth is, I really do not know.

 

[D Chaplin]

it seems to make sense if you have the wear plates that grease may not be needed because grease gunks up quickly when splitting. i would think that super hard plastic would last a really long time even without grease. Also, if you did wear them out.. you just build new ones right? haha

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

How many cord a year are you planning on? The biggest thing I've seen cause premature wear is to have your slide either too loose or too short. the longer the better as it will take a lot of the side flex out of the equation IF you have everything close and smooth to start with.

I'm running a box beam and box slide and it is 16 inches long. It's not going to wobble side to side. Make sure to smooth everything up and don't let ANY weld slag or burrs left on there. A burr can create a drag that will start a gouging action and wear grooves.

Notice how mine looks black here? That's the following.

It's Graphite paint. Also called slip plate and can be applied with a brush. Most Ag supply stores or tractor dealers have it. Farmers use it to paint wagons on the inside to get grain to flow. Used to use it on combines and plows to keep the rust at bay during downtime. It's so slick you'll go head over heels in a grain wagon if you step on it. It wears off quickly on high contact points like anything does but I found it helps a lot. Same deal, paint it if you know it's going to be setting for a long time.

This is the first year after about 75 cord worth of wear.

I wouldn't use grease just from the mess factor. You'd have it everywhere and as stated, it'll hold the dirt there, what you don't want.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I wouldn't use grease just from the mess factor. You'd have it everywhere and as stated, it'll hold the dirt there, what you don't want.

My TW-6 has grease zerks on the push plate slides. I've never greased them and never will. My SpeeCo run thirty plus years without. And I certainly do not want to hear from customers that they got grease on their cloths, furniture, in their cars, etc. from me selling them wood. It spreads worse than a cold.

 

[D Chaplin]

Kevin,

I'll have to look into that graphite paint for sure. So yours is the steel push plate riding right on top of the boxed beam right? No plastic guides or shims or anything? That thing looks great for processing 75 cords this year.

What part of Oh are you in. I'm in the Air Force and we are moving from northern CA to the Dayton area in Feb/Mar time frame. I don't know how many cords a year I'll do but not nearly that many. We move every 3 years so I doubt I'll get into splitting much for sale. If I did it would be on the very small scale.

The house we are planning to buy has an outdoor wood furnace and two fireplaces so most of my splitting will be for that.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Kevin,

I'll have to look into that graphite paint for sure. So yours is the steel push plate riding right on top of the boxed beam right? No plastic guides or shims or anything? That thing looks great for processing 75 cords this year.

What part of Oh are you in. I'm in the Air Force and we are moving from northern CA to the Dayton area in Feb/Mar time frame. I don't know how many cords a year I'll do but not nearly that many. We move every 3 years so I doubt I'll get into splitting much for sale. If I did it would be on the very small scale.

The house we are planning to buy has an outdoor wood furnace and two fireplaces so most of my splitting will be for that.

Coming to Wright Pat huh? We'll be neighbors. I'm just west of Dayton by about 10 miles.

Steel on steel. I would not want poly as it would wear, crush or squish. My opinion is you don't need it if your slide is built right.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Have alost 9000 hrs on the 18-20... it's still fine.

 

[Streblerm]

The speeco design where the top of the beam beam is formed around a "sled" (for lack of a better term) on the bottom of the wedge didn't impress me at first. I thought there was too much slop which would cause binding or wear. After over 100 cords through my splitter I can't see any wear to speak of. My friend has a 35t version with well over 500 cords through it and no problems there either. The design must be ok as I see DHT uses a similar design.

I realize these are not pro level splitters by any means and I certainly wouldn't fault a person for overbuilding something. IMO stressing about wear plates on anything other than a dedicated commercial unit is probably unnecessary.

 

[GM_Grimmy]

Use some AR400 for a slide plate and on top of your beam...........never have to grease anything nor will it wear......done!

 

[D Chaplin]

The speeco design where the top of the beam beam is formed around a "sled" (for lack of a better term) on the bottom of the wedge didn't impress me at first. I thought there was too much slop which would cause binding or wear. After over 100 cords through my splitter I can't see any wear to speak of. My friend has a 35t version with well over 500 cords through it and no problems there either. The design must be ok as I see DHT uses a similar design.

I realize these are not pro level splitters by any means and I certainly wouldn't fault a person for overbuilding something. IMO stressing about wear plates on anything other than a dedicated commercial unit is probably unnecessary.

The other thing I'm thinking is that it will only be used in the vertical position so that may help ever so slightly with wear also just because of gravity and such. As long as everything is smooth and perdectly aligned I think we'll be just fine. I just want this to last as long as I feel like splitting wood because steel prices aren't cheap and I've invested a pretty penny

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My TW-6 has grease zerks on the push plate slides. I've never greased them and never will. My SpeeCo run thirty plus years without. And I certainly do not want to hear from customers that they got grease on their cloths, furniture, in their cars, etc. from me selling them wood. It spreads worse than a cold.

My TW3HD has those same grease zerks. I DO give them a pump of grease EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, there is NO mess! Anyone greasing the wear area on the beam and getting a mess, it over greasing!

All it takes is a light film, not gobs to attract dirt and make a mess getting every place!

You don't see gobs of grease or a mess on my splitters beam.

SR

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

My TW3HD has those same grease zerks. I DO give them a pump of grease EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, there is NO mess! Anyone greasing the wear area on the beam and getting a mess, it over greasing!

All it takes is a light film, not gobs to attract dirt and make a mess getting every place!

You don't see gobs of grease or a mess on my splitters beam.

SR

It works so well it doesn't even take any paint off the 4 way wedge, Impressive. Sorry, I couldn't resist on that one. That's a nice splitter.

Has that push block held up? I would have laid money it would be bending on those corners over time with no support.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I get the paint crack all the time, guys swear my splitter just hasn't been used much.

As pictured, it has a LOT of big though wood through it, the paint is still good and nothing has bent or needed service.

This splitter has become one of my BEST BUYS!

SR

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

I get the paint crack all the time, guys swear my splitter just hasn't been used much.

As pictured, it has a LOT of big though wood through it, the paint is still good and nothing has bent or needed service.

This splitter has become one of my BEST BUYS!

SR

That's pretty wild if they hold up that well. People must love that for resale! That push block still baffles me though. Looks like a load on a corner would hurt it in a hurry.

Mine has around 200 cord through it here. Not as pretty as your, but effective non the less.