My take on power log splitters on the market today.

[alleyyooper]

I am 72 and I am not going to noodle a block of wood to get it small enough to lift 3 to 4 foot to get it on a spliter beam. Oh sure many you can strain your guts out to wiggle them under a vertical wedge just as bad way I see it.
Why they build them that way I never know unless they are looking for ward to you spending extra money to have a log lift on the splitter.

Now if I were the enginer I would have a rotateing beam with the wedge on the under side of the beam so you roll a block under the beam and split it to lifting size. or rotate it so you could lay the blocks on the beam to split them.

I have a good friend with a 3 point mounted splitter on his tractor with the upside down wedge. slickest thing going but since it is ran off his tractors hydrlics is slow, but sure saves your guts and hemroids lifting.

Al

 

[JeffHK454]

I suppose there’s always room for improvement but my regular old combo hyd. unit works just fine. I leave the splitter horz. till the pile gets down to the stuff I’m not interested in lifting and switch to vert. then get my stool and position the big stuff within arms reach and go at it.

I hate noodling so I tend to wrestle bigger rounds than most but I’ve got a tractor with a FEL and it makes it doable.

 

[jimdeere]

I noodled some big ash rounds yesterday. Cut in half, they were still to big. But I wrestled them onto the horizontal splitter anyway. Today I’m off to the store for some Preparation H. No more heavy lifting for a while.

 

[Patrick62]

In other parts of the world you have hard wood (heavy) and there is justification to a log lift, or finding a way to engineer a way around.
I have wrestled lots of blocks onto my horizontal splitter. Sometimes it required some basic assistance from a ramp, or a couple blocks to roll the big ones onto to get it to the beam.

 

[svk]

You can have anything made if you spend enough $.

Noodling is easy if you use proper technique and enough saw.

 

[dave_dj1]

I have a log lift, it was a "must have" when I built my splitter. If the rounds are 12" and under I just leave the lift horizontal and use it as a staging area. If the rounds are big like the ones I split today (23" diameter x 24" long Beech) then I use the lift as a staging area for the half on that side of the beam. I still find myself muscling around the rounds just rolling them onto the lift, the homemade hookaroon works great for this too. I'm 6'-2" and built the splitter so I'm not bending over.
No matter how you cut it (pun intended) firewood is a lot of hard work, plain and simple!

 

[c5rulz]

You can have anything made if you spend enough $.

Noodling is easy if you use proper technique and enough saw.

I agree. Noodling to 100# or smaller chunks is way faster than wrestling real big ones and I have a splitter with a log lift.

 

[babybart]

I only do vertical to get them into manageable chunks then go horizontal. I take a hookaroon/pickaroon to flip large rounds, kick roll to the splitter, hook them again to flip them onto splitter and split. I do less bending over that way. This year time permitted me to split a couple loads right off the dump trailer, SOOO NICE! Zero bending over!

 

[alleyyooper]

I like Sawyer Robbs set up, use the graple to lift a log over the wagon cut into rounds into the wagon.
Take it up near the house and just roll the rounds on to his splitter to split.

So slick and simple.

Al

 

[Jules083]

I like Sawyer Robbs set up, use the graple to lift a log over the wagon cut into rounds into the wagon.
Take it up near the house and just roll the rounds on to his splitter to split.

So slick and simple.

Al

I tried that one year. 2 reasons I don’t do it anymore are the mess in the yard, and my firewood storage area is on a hill so the wind never quits blowing. Good for drying wood, but bad when it’s 30 degrees and you’re trying to split.

Now I hold the log over a pile and cut into the pile. Once I get a healthy pile of rounds I’ll get the splitter out and start splitting/hauling. I almost never cut and split in the same day anymore either.

 

[panolo]

Here was my answer to that problem. Crack them to lifting size and finish on the SS.

 

[Circle B MN]

Here was my answer to that problem. Crack them to lifting size and finish on the SS.

Same program here. I sort all the big logs as I work thru my piled then put the splitter on and bust it all up.

 

[J.W Younger]

My problem is cutting it to length for my outside unit (usually 20-24") I can no longer load the stuff 12" or over in diameter.
Also the longer stuff is much harder to hand split...I don't like cutting shorter because it leaves a lot of wasted wood and doesn't stack well (but noodling leaves a lot of wasted wood and chain wear as well). I don't like it but I have to cut it to a length I can either load as a round or split with a maul and load.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I have a good friend with a 3 point mounted splitter on his tractor with the upside down wedge. slickest thing going but since it is ran off his tractors hydrlics is slow, .

Al

Bypass the tractor hydraulics and get a PTO hydraulic pump.

 

[alleyyooper]

Ya could do that if he every wins the lottry. But he has to start buying ticket to do that.

Al

 

[Hinerman]

I like Sawyer Robbs set up, use the graple to lift a log over the wagon cut into rounds into the wagon.
Take it up near the house and just roll the rounds on to his splitter to split.

So slick and simple.

Al

Could do that if I ever win the lottry. But have to start buying ticket to do that.

 

[Matt93eg]

Today I’m off to the store for some Preparation H. .

“They” say it feels good..........on the hole.

I forget what movie that was from.

Unfortunately, I do not currently own a hydro splitter. I keep trying to talk myself out of it to get the exercise splitting by hand but I’d like to have a hydro splitter.

 

[NSMaple1]

I get all the splitting exercise I want using the hydro.

 

[muddstopper]

I guess everyone has their own preferences. I don't like log lifts. You have to roll a round across the old chips, sawdust, and little pieces of wood, to get it on the lift. To me that's just as bad as picking it up and carrying it to the beam. For me a boom and winch is the only way to go. I can pickup a 4ft dia round with the winch and if its 20ft from the splitter, I just walk over and hook up the tongs and hit a button and let the winch drag it to the splitter. The only thing I see a lift fit for is staging rounds for splitting. With a lift in the raised position, you can stack multiple rounds on it and split until its empty, reload and go again. I have used the vertical splitters and that little foot they have just isn't big enough for really large rounds. And, you have to handle every single split as its produced just to get it out of the way for the next split. give me a horizonal splitter with the wedge on the end of the beam and a good boom with a winch for loading rounds and I am happy, sort of.

 

[B Brown]

If they are big rounds, i just take my saw, make a X on the face of the cut, put a steel wedge into it, and give it a couple of whacks with my maul. Normally it'll split it in half, then i split the halves, to quarters. Put them on the splitter and finish the final splitting that way. To me, its not that big of a deal, plus it helps me physically as well, i'm 72 also. I plan on cutting my own wood as long as i can do it, i'm a pretty independent guy i guess. lol