Opinions on 4-way wedge

[dnf0929]

I have a 22 ton 6.5hp Tractor Supply splitter. Would love to upgrade but it's not in this years budget. Most of the wood I cut/split is relatively small and straight but still I end up splitting each round 3 times with the current setup.

There's a guy who makes 4 way wedges for this splitter. Is it worth a try given the spillter/wood combination?

Here's his site

http://www.freewebs.com/logsplitter/

 

[avalancher]

I have a 22 ton 6.5hp Tractor Supply splitter. Would love to upgrade but it's not in this years budget. Most of the wood I cut/split is relatively small and straight but still I end up splitting each round 3 times with the current setup.

There's a guy who makes 4 way wedges for this splitter. Is it worth a try given the spillter/wood combination?

Here's his site

http://www.freewebs.com/logsplitter/

Defintely will speed things up for you without a doubt, but keep in mind one thing. If you have a splitter that is both vertical/horizontal and your wedge is on the ram, you can cause a lot of damage to the ram by putting a 4way on it. Your wedge really needs to be on the foot, with just a push plate on the ram. With a four way on the ram, you can do a lot of twisting on the ram, causing at the minimum a lot of leakage in your seals.

 

[avalancher]

I took a look at the website that you linked to, and that guy ought to be shot. 175-200bucks for a 4way?
If you are determined to put a 4way on your splitter, you can buy one from Northern tools for less than a hundred and modify it to fit your ram mounted wedge. I did.
It took less than an hour to modify and has never had a problem. I use mine ONLY when I have very straight grain wood, no crotches. I also beefed up my slide considerable to handle the extra twisting with adjustable guides that keep the slide in check, no side to side twisting.
If you want a pic of mine, let me know.

 

[cityevader]

I'd like to see a picture of that. I'm also debating on a Northern tools 4" cylinder with 4-way wedge....for high speed easy splitting, save up the tough stuff and put the 5" cyl back on.....or maybe a custom slip-on wedge for my existing ram wedge flat toe plate.

 

[avalancher]

Here is a picture of mine. I bought the Northern tools 4way, cut the straps off of it, and welded this loop on it instead. Slips on and off when ever you need it.
Works for me, and it was considerabley cheaper than the 200 buck option.

 

[dnf0929]

Thanks! Those are some great suggestions and things to consider. Love this forum...learn new things everyday.

 

[avalancher]

I dont think there has ever been a day that I have hung out on the boards here and not learned something. Sometimes its trivial, sometimes I have learned things that changed the way I do things.

 

[cityevader]

hard to tell from angle of pic, but do the "wings" clear the stationary part that pushes off wood to the wedge when ram retracted?

 

[twincam]

I took a look at the website that you linked to, and that guy ought to be shot. 175-200bucks for a 4way?
If you are determined to put a 4way on your splitter, you can buy one from Northern tools for less than a hundred and modify it to fit your ram mounted wedge. I did.
It took less than an hour to modify and has never had a problem. I use mine ONLY when I have very straight grain wood, no crotches. I also beefed up my slide considerable to handle the extra twisting with adjustable guides that keep the slide in check, no side to side twisting.
If you want a pic of mine, let me know.

Whats wrong with making a profit. If it cost $100 to make one, I dont think $175 is bad. Im sure its a low volume item.

 

[avalancher]

Whats wrong with making a profit. If it cost $100 to make one, I dont think $175 is bad. Im sure its a low volume item.

A hundred bucks to make one? You have got to be kidding. Made of 1/2X6 inch flat bar. I bought a stick 20 ft long a few months ago to do some repair work, the whole stick only cost me 45 bucks.

 

[avalancher]

hard to tell from angle of pic, but do the "wings" clear the stationary part that pushes off wood to the wedge when ram retracted?

No, the wings do not clear the retractor, but if you get a wedge stuck, generally a swift lick with a maul will free it right up. You can also pick the wood up leaving the 4way stuck in the wood, and run the wedge right along underside it, splitting the wood and freeing up the 4way.

 

[046]

way..... over priced!

beware of 4ways mounted on ram... wood splitting off in vertical mode can spit back at YOU!

I have a 22 ton 6.5hp Tractor Supply splitter. Would love to upgrade but it's not in this years budget. Most of the wood I cut/split is relatively small and straight but still I end up splitting each round 3 times with the current setup.

There's a guy who makes 4 way wedges for this splitter. Is it worth a try given the spillter/wood combination?

Here's his site

http://www.freewebs.com/logsplitter/

 

[nickblaze466]

wedges with a apex in the center point are prone to pinch logs. This one is mine, its not the best pic but the only one i have at the moment thats somewhat big and clear.

 

[husky455rancher]

i was screwing around this winter with the splitter and i welded 2 small wedges on the side just to see what worked and what didnt. its definatly better to set the side wings back a bit from the main vertical wedge.

it did work pretty well but i took them off as my splitter was working its little ass off to do any logs of any size. its only a 16 ton it does a regular wedge great but 4 ways are too much for it.