New Splitter Finally Arrived

[beerman6]

Hello I am new to this site. All this talk of chainsaws and splitters, I can hardly take it. This is a GREAT SITE. I my self have a outside boiler and have had if for three years. Needless to say I split a lot of wood. I own a Husqvarna 359 pre e teck, and a 288 xp lite i bought used. Both are great saws, the 288 has a 24 inch bar and not much will slow it down, the 359 has a 20 in. bar.
My brother-in-law and I actualy built a splitter two years ago. mostly from salvaged material, less the pump and cylinder. 28 gpm two stage pump and a 5x30x2.5 price cylinder. not much it wont split. I had a used 13 horse brigs engin off an old lawn mower that we used to power it. We also fabed a boom lift so no more bending over to pick up logs or spliting them on the ground.

Welcome to AS!

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Long tongue...

Hi. Great looking splitter. I'm quite envious.

I have a few questions - questions have of pretty much every splitter I've seen.

What size ball coupler are you using?

How does it tow on longer trips (ie greater than 10mi)?

I borrowed a buddy's splitter last year and that thing bounced ALL over the place back there.

I REALLY had to slow down below 50mph on the short highway run I had to make.

Most splitters have no suspension - meaning no leaf springs as a normal trailer would. If the road gets even a little bumpy, the relatively narrow stance of a splitter will cause it to 'hop' from one wheel to the other. This oscillation can get bad enough to tip the splitter over whilst under tow.

YIKES!:jawdrop:

Your longer tongue would allow more 'twisting' which could allow for larger deviations in the 'hop' phenomenon. Thoughts?

 

[milkie62]

My splitter is copied from a northern splitter.It works well but is too close to the ground.I also need a log lift.You really cannot build a modest splitter cheaper than you can buy one from northern.Since the price of scrap is down I will have to make a trip to the scrap yard for a new beam.I plan on taking the best points of the American and Timberwolf and making a super splitter.Has anybody used a China-Honda knockoff engine and is the pump mt bolt face the same as a Honda ??????

 

[maplemeister]

Hi. Great looking splitter. I'm quite envious.

I have a few questions - questions have of pretty much every splitter I've seen.

What size ball coupler are you using?

How does it tow on longer trips (ie greater than 10mi)?

I borrowed a buddy's splitter last year and that thing bounced ALL over the place back there.

I REALLY had to slow down below 50mph on the short highway run I had to make.

Most splitters have no suspension - meaning no leaf springs as a normal trailer would. If the road gets even a little bumpy, the relatively narrow stance of a splitter will cause it to 'hop' from one wheel to the other. This oscillation can get bad enough to tip the splitter over whilst under tow.

YIKES!:jawdrop:

Your longer tongue would allow more 'twisting' which could allow for larger deviations in the 'hop' phenomenon. Thoughts?

Hi Wet Behind The Ear:

Ball is a 2" which is what I use for most of my equipment anyway. The manufacturer recommends a top towing speed of 40 mph. I had it up to 45 and 50 mph on my way home from the dealer as the dealer told me it would be fine at those speeds. I didn't notice anything unusual on the main highway but did detect some hopping taking place after I hit some rougher
secondary roads. I slowed down to 30 mph at that point and everything was
fine again. I plan to proceed with caution in that department.

Maplemeister

 

[Dok]

Hello I am new to this site. All this talk of chainsaws and splitters, I can hardly take it. This is a GREAT SITE. I my self have a outside boiler and have had if for three years. Needless to say I split a lot of wood. I own a Husqvarna 359 pre e teck, and a 288 xp lite i bought used. Both are great saws, the 288 has a 24 inch bar and not much will slow it down, the 359 has a 20 in. bar.
My brother-in-law and I actualy built a splitter two years ago. mostly from salvaged material, less the pump and cylinder. 28 gpm two stage pump and a 5x30x2.5 price cylinder. not much it wont split. I had a used 13 horse brigs engin off an old lawn mower that we used to power it. We also fabed a boom lift so no more bending over to pick up logs or spliting them on the ground.

Welcome to the site! Post a new thread with some pics of that splitter. Everyone loves checking out home built splitters. I'd like to see that boom myself.
Dok

 

[dnf0929]

Congrats on your new arrival Harland. Looks nice...not so sure I'm ready for that snow but it makes a nice background for pictures. My early xmas present should be arriving any day now. I ended up going with a Super Split. The amount and type of wood I split made it a slightly better choice for me. I'll be posting pics shortly.

 

[savageactor7]

Congrats on your latest purchase I sure you'll be very happy with it. We got an American back in in the early 80's after a few years of hand splitting and renting.. the best labor saving investment we ever made. And it's still doing the job.

It's so nice to just putter away at the wood pile rather than make a project out of it...you'll be amazed at the cordage you can produce with just an hour a day labor.

Any time now you'll be posting that you should have done that 30 years ago. And why not? The average new englander that heats 24/7 will save over 3k a year so you owe it to yourself to invest in equipment that will help you work safe and efficiently.

 

[Ductape]

Nice splitter ! FWIW, there is an American dealer right down the street from me, and the $300 saved would most likely have been worth the drive.

 

[maplemeister]

Congrats on your new arrival Harland. Looks nice...not so sure I'm ready for that snow but it makes a nice background for pictures. My early xmas present should be arriving any day now. I ended up going with a Super Split. The amount and type of wood I split made it a slightly better choice for me. I'll be posting pics shortly.

Hi Dan,

I looked at the Super Split also. No question that it is a higher output machine but just not what I felt I wanted at the present time. If I ever get to the point where I am selling a good volume of wood I may reconsider that option. Can't wait to see your pics when you get ready to post.

H.

 

[maplemeister]

Congrats on your latest purchase I sure you'll be very happy with it. We got an American back in in the early 80's after a few years of hand splitting and renting.. the best labor saving investment we ever made. And it's still doing the job.

It's so nice to just putter away at the wood pile rather than make a project out of it...you'll be amazed at the cordage you can produce with just an hour a day labor.

Any time now you'll be posting that you should have done that 30 years ago. And why not? The average new englander that heats 24/7 will save over 3k a year so you owe it to yourself to invest in equipment that will help you work safe and efficiently.

Savage Actor:
Thanks for the comments. I have rented in the past and also split a lot of my own wood by hand over the years, but the recent prices for oil and propane convinced me to get my own equipment. This way I can take advantage of the free wood that pops up occasionally and also, the state is
opening up woodlots over this way for permit cutting next year. Should be able to obtain about 5 cord at least for 6 dollars or so a cord on the stump of
course. If I can find a deal on log length stuff I would like to buy a couple of those as well and get a jump on next year so I have some dry to sell and hopefully pay for this splitter within the next couple of years. And by the way, I allready wish I had done this 30 years ago.

Regards,

Maplemeister

 

[maplemeister]

Nice splitter ! FWIW, there is an American dealer right down the street from me, and the $300 saved would most likely have been worth the drive.

Hello Ductape:

I did have a couple of quotes that were slightly cheaper than what I paid but elected to go with a local dealer who is only 20 minutes from me and has
a good reputation for service if I ever need it.

Regards,

Maplemeister

 

[Swamp Yankee]

wow i cant believe how much some splitters cost. talk about a markup!

Just like the Winch industry, behind every splitter is a lawyer lurking, looking for a reason to sue. Stupidity doesn't count for anything.

Part of the price you see is the cost and overhead of defending the company against frivilous law suits. These costs are high. In a high volume product the cost adder may be small, but if that premium and cost is spread across only 1000 units it can be a substantial addition in the price the consumer must eat.

Question: What do you call 1000 lawyers locked up in jail?












Answer: A good start.


Take Care

 

[maplemeister]

In the final analysis, I guess we all have to make our own individual decisions as to what something is worth to us. Speaking strictly for myself, I am confident that I will be happy with my purchase after having used it only a short period of time. The table grate option is a real labor saver in itself. After splitting a chord of wood, I only recall bending over and picking up about 5 pieces of wood off the ground that fell down from the table. Thats a whole lot of not bending over constantly while you split. Also, the 4 way wedge saves a lot of time and repeat handeling of the wood as well. These types of options can run up the costs quickly but I figure I only have to sell 15 cord over the next year or two and the machine is paid for. For me, that
works.

Maplemeister

 

[John D]

wow i cant believe how much some splitters cost. talk about a markup!

Seriously,they arent that hard to build yourself. I built one for a skid steer ,it was time consuming,but rewarding.Several of the things i put on it are much heavier duty than anything ive seen available on even $3500+ units. I think i would take a chance with the chinese Honda knock offs,under 300 bills for an electric start 13hp,and a nice 16gpm pump,with a 4-4.5" cylinder,you'd have a fast splitter that could be built for under 2K. I think id go with a belt drive pump,16 GPM-and pulley it so the 13hp engine ran at 2750 RPM,and the pump at 3600,govern the engine down so it can't go past 2800,and you'd have a quiet fast splitter.The 13hp engine will make 9+hp at 2750RPM.My I beam i used was 6x8 28 lbs/ft.It would cost under 200 bucks at current steel prices.I did reinforce mine though.You could even buy the wedge/cylinder from Northern and clamp it right on the I beam.Also the have the anchors to bolt/weld on as well of needed. I think once you build one,and add up all the parts and time,you'll see why they charge what they charge for a finished,proven,warrantied retail product.If your time is worth anything,then it isnt worth building it yourself.If your not busy working,I love to fabricate,and build in my off season,which is what I usually do.

 

[A. Stanton]

I would consider buying thids splitter if my current splitter dies. My local Kubota dealer sells em.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

If my current splitter dies, I'll just buy a replacement handle from Lowes... LOL

Ian

 

[maplemeister]

If my current splitter dies, I'll just buy a replacement handle from Lowes... LOL

Ian

I used that same brand of splitter for a lot of years to Ian but I just passed
the big 60 mark this past fall and finally figured out I ain't 20 anymore.

Maplemeister

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Question: What do you call 1000 lawyers locked up in jail?
Answer: A good start.

Nah, I call that, "Not enough!"


What do you call 25 lawyers skydiving?











Skeet.

 

[husky455rancher]

i mainly wanna try to build one just to do it. i like to build stuff or improve existing things, all metal of corse.

 

[wampum]

Just got my new splitter two weeks ago today,its a split fire 3465,awesome machine. Has an interchangeable single to 4 way wedge. It splits on both the in and out stroke. Just to see how powerful it is I cut an 8" log in half across the grain,never came close to stalling. Also dealt direct with the factory saved a bunch. Its a very fast machine,with the 4 way would easily out split the super split. Most of the top splitters are good machines,looked at the American,timber wolf,speed co,and super split. In reality they are probably all as good as the others. Price sold me on the split fire.2800.00 plus shipping about 250.00,from factory.