Logsplitter Steel

[WoodTick007]

I am considering making a logsplitter and would like to know what grade of steel should be used. I have the pump, ram, engine, valve and the beam. I just need to purchase the steel. Also, does anyone have a suggestion on the best place to purchase the steel in michigan? My brother lives near Detroit and can get it to me from there.

Thanks

007

 

[TonyM]

Steel for the wedge? I think 4140 pre hard would work well. McMaster Carr can probably ship it to your door. They will be a little more expensive, but not when you are after small quantities. ALRO is probably one of the best steel suppliers in Michigan, but they will want to charge you full 20ft bar prices and will probably only sell to commercial accounts.

 

[WoodTick007]

Thanks For the reply Tony.

I need to purchase steel for the entire project. Where is McMaster Carr located? Will they cut to sizes needed? Do you have a contact there that you have worked with? Let me know.

Thanks Again!

 

[TonyM]

Mcmaster Carr

They will do well on bar stock sizes, but probably won't help much with structural shapes. If you call ALRO, you might check into some drops, which are left overs from special cuts done for someone else. You would probably have to check with some local machine shops to see if you could get them to buy it for you, if you want to go through a typical industrial supplier. Others that come to mind are Ryerson and Fastenal. I think you can order from Mcmaster Carr with a credit card.

 

[Al Smith]

4140 steel

I am not trying to be a smarty pants,but 4140 ,pre heat treat,has very poor weldability .The last 2 numbers,are the carbon content.Any thing above a 30,welds poorly.

 

[BlackSmith]

l'm a T-1™ freak myself, preheated to 400°, 11018 rod kept at 300°

 

[Al Smith]

Yea buddy T1 ,tough azz steel .It isn't cheap,but niether is 4140.Come to think of it,since the Chinese bought all the steel scrap,nothing is cheap.

 

[geofore]

Preheat?

Blacksmith, you ever use 30 weight motor oil one drip at a time to judge temp in the field? Heat the part till one drop of oil dripped on object catches fire, let cool till the oil no longer catches fire but just smokes and you're at the right temp to weld?

 

[BlackSmith]

geo, l use a digital temp probe, oil would just contaminate the weld.

 

[P_woozel]

Yea buddy T1 ,tough azz steel .It isn't cheap,but niether is 4140.Come to think of it,since the Chinese bought all the steel scrap,nothing is cheap.

Okay never knew that, what does the first 2 numbers mean?

 

[Al Smith]

Not real sure

The "41"is chrome moly,of which are 4130 and 4140 .4130,is weldable,and has been used for years in motorcycle frames,aircraft fuselages,etc.I'm not exactly sure how the SAE numbering system works.When I am in doubt,I just look it up.You can make 4140,harder than the dickens .It,however,"grows " a little bit,when heated to the hardening heat{ 1600 f},the color of a pumpkin.It is a cheaper alternative,in some cases,than oil,or air hardening steel.I have used it to make a few spurs,for my old saws,and they work well .In the past,I just used cold rolled plate,for the splitting wedge,it worked okay.When it lost its edge,just hit it with a side grinder,it doesn't have to be like a razor anyway.

 

[Pacific]

You also have to keep in mind harder the steel more brittle it gets as the others said its hard to weld. I would probably use regular steel for the push block with a bolt on cutting edge. Wood is far softer than steel so you really don't need to spend a fortune building a wood splitter. Yes the price of steel is skyrocketing doesn't matter if it new or used its getting very expensive.

If your looking for cheap options for harden steel you can look at cutting up cones out of a cone crusher (rock) or a jaw out of a jaw crusher.

 

[BlackSmith]

If your looking for cheap options for harden steel you can look at cutting up cones out of a cone crusher (rock) or a jaw out of a jaw crusher.

Jaw dies and cone crusher liners are 18% to 20% manganese. Most people wouldn't know how to weld it or what rod to use and the dust from cutting manganese is known to the state of Califorication as a carcinogen.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Nothing but your basic hot formed shapes are needed for a wood splitter. Stay away from the fancy stuff especialy if you are not an expert welder. It is dangerous if not welded by somebody who knows what they are doing and most of it cant be welded at all except under conditions that dont exist in the home shop. If you simply must have something above plain ol steel use T-1 and check with your welding suppier for rod or wire, I believe 11018 works well with T-1. Even the wedge on my splitter is made from ordinary plate steel, no problems after 20 plus years.

 

[Crofter]

I have used a piece of grader blade to cap a number of wedges for splitters. Used blades usually have one edge that has the 25 deg. or so angle still unworn. Cut a piece off with torch and weld it on to mild steel. It should be preheated. The blazing oil will be pretty good temperature. 7018 rod is good. ( actually has better ductility than the higher tensile 11018 ) This saves a lot of scarfing to sharpen a 1'" or more bar of steel for the knife. By going to a salvage yard you should be able to pick up everything you need at less than half new price. I will try to stick on a picture tomorrow of this.

 

[Al Smith]

Yep,11018,is the rod .All straight line stringers,the last 2 are the annealers,right on the fusion lines.of the filet.Preheat,a must.My vote,is mild steel,it will work very well.

 

[Pacific]

Thats good to know blacksmith I never had to cut or weld cone liners I know the gravel pit my familly deals with gets rid of alot of liners. Once they are cracked they get shipped away to get rewelded or new ones.

I forgot about cutting edges off of a grader they do work fairly well but I think T-1 steel is probably the best. I know the pit goes through alot of AR Plate I don't know what AR stands for but it comes in 8' wide sheets. We have some scraps of 1".

 

[ray benson]

AR plate - Abrasion Resistant Steel Plate ( WEAR Plate ) for use in mining equipment, ore processing equipment, earth moving equipment, heavy construction equipment fabrication and rifle and target range applications.

Isn't the steel used malls and wood splitting wedges a mild steel?

 

[Crofter]

Some of the abrasion resistant steels are virtually unweldable. In use for chute liners etc they are bolted with countersink head bolts. Welding them even with the low hydrogen or stainless rods result in underbead failure. They are very high in Phosporus and Sulphur.
Other abrasion resistant alloys are made for buckets and other earth moving equipment and are entirely weldable but of course do need attention to preheat and postheat and good procedure to minimize trapped stresses. You dont need anything exotic for a woodsplitter. Hammers etc are usually a straight carbon steel over 50 points of carbon. The term mild steel usually applies to anything less than about 25 points of carbon. Heating and Quenching does little to affect hardness below this point.

 

[bwalker]

If I was building one I would look at the scrap yard first.