A while back I bought a 4 way wedge for my 22t huskee for $60 + tax from TSC. I called in to order it and shipped it to the store (no shipping charges). It is a slip on style that goes on and comes off in seconds. I forgot to take pics since I was in a hurry last night (racing darkness) but I did get to use it for the first time. Here are my thoughts.
It comes with instructions stating to only use it in horizontal mode and on softwood. Also stating its best suited for 8-14" diameter logs. The wood I was splitting was a mix of cherry and hackberry.
It slipped on as easy as stated. Since its a slip on, it comes down lower than the original wedge. Great for the downstroke if you need it to nearly hit the footplate....not so great if the wedge sticks and you have to use the built in wedge remover on the I beam. The wedge sticks down too far to pull completely out. Rule one: dont get it stuck. I had to use a split to beat the round off the wedge.
It hated the stringy hackberry. Mind you these were well above the 14" limit but hackberry is stringy, no matter the size. Quickly earning a spot on the ground. I got most of the hackberry done the old school way and decided to try it again on the cherry.
It did great on the cherry. It does not make 4 even sized splits. It makes 2 large ones and 2 smaller ones. The secondary wings come off at an angle less than 90. Some of the large ones were large enough to need split one more time (I have a tiny insert). I also had a few pieces of sugar maple in there which were perfect sized and it worked great on them too. Definetly will do straight grained hardwood.
Overall, what I would say is that its not a end all be all solution. It has its place. From now on, I will be sorting the rounds in 2 piles-a 2 way wedge pile, and a 4 way wedge pile based on species and size to increase my production. Knock out the 4 way pile, pull it off, and do the other stuff. No digging thru piles to find the 4 way logs this way.
Is it worth the $60 bucks? I say so. Anything that saves me time is a return on my investment. My time is worth alot these days (depending on who you ask lol). It wont take long to save me $60 worth of time.
It comes with instructions stating to only use it in horizontal mode and on softwood. Also stating its best suited for 8-14" diameter logs. The wood I was splitting was a mix of cherry and hackberry.
It slipped on as easy as stated. Since its a slip on, it comes down lower than the original wedge. Great for the downstroke if you need it to nearly hit the footplate....not so great if the wedge sticks and you have to use the built in wedge remover on the I beam. The wedge sticks down too far to pull completely out. Rule one: dont get it stuck. I had to use a split to beat the round off the wedge.
It hated the stringy hackberry. Mind you these were well above the 14" limit but hackberry is stringy, no matter the size. Quickly earning a spot on the ground. I got most of the hackberry done the old school way and decided to try it again on the cherry.
It did great on the cherry. It does not make 4 even sized splits. It makes 2 large ones and 2 smaller ones. The secondary wings come off at an angle less than 90. Some of the large ones were large enough to need split one more time (I have a tiny insert). I also had a few pieces of sugar maple in there which were perfect sized and it worked great on them too. Definetly will do straight grained hardwood.
Overall, what I would say is that its not a end all be all solution. It has its place. From now on, I will be sorting the rounds in 2 piles-a 2 way wedge pile, and a 4 way wedge pile based on species and size to increase my production. Knock out the 4 way pile, pull it off, and do the other stuff. No digging thru piles to find the 4 way logs this way.
Is it worth the $60 bucks? I say so. Anything that saves me time is a return on my investment. My time is worth alot these days (depending on who you ask lol). It wont take long to save me $60 worth of time.
