Log splitter pusher plate question

I made the mistake of lending my log splitter to a friend who is not mechanically inclined. One of the nuts on one of the two hold down straps holding the hydraulic cylinder to the I-beam vibrated off while he was using it, and one came lose on the other strap. He didn't realize anything was wrong and kept using it. It tore apart the pusher plate. That was a poor/weak design anyway and there was never anything attaching the rear of the hydraulic cylinder to the I-beam.

Here is the original configuration:


I took it to a friend who fabricated a new pusher plate:



I had shown him several photos of typical pusher plate assemblies and how they need to wrap around the I-beam for proper function and safety. Here is a typical example which I showed him:



I don't know if he forgot, thought that was overkill, or was being lazy. However, my hydraulic arm is pretty well cradled on the I-beam:



and he did a decent job of fabricating a hydraulic arm mount where previously nothing held it in the rear:


So the question:

Is it safe to use this with the pusher plate the way it is configured now in the second photo above, or should I ask him to revise the pusher plate to something like the fourth photo above with it wrapping around the top of the I-beam?

Nothing there to absorb side thrust if the end of the round isn't perfectly square. Could wind up breaking a mount or bending the cylinder rod.

Yeah, that was my fear.

I'll be taking it back tonight for further revisions. Then the 16gpm pump and auto return control valve.

On my Huskee 35-ton splitter, there is only a large clevis mount (single bolt) on the back end of the cylinder and only the ram is secured to the beam on the other end (not the cylinder itself).

If your metalworker isn't up for all the work in your picture, tell him that he doesn't have to drill all those holes:

I believe the Huskee/Speeco machines like yours have the wedge running in a track, no? That would give the support necessary.

You are correct, but it's the same principle. The cylinder walls aren't immobilized by brackets or cradles. The cylinder is secured only on the back end with a clevis pin/bolt. The front end stays on the beam because the ram is secured in the track. There are no brackets or cradles that support the middle of the cylinder.

The point of that Brave splitter picture is that securing the pusher or ram can be done with many fewer bolts than BrianK pictured.

My Ramsplitter's cylinder is secured only by a clevis and the pusher plate carriage.

Which is the key. Absolutely necessary.

After I posted, I realized the pic doesn't show it, but the carriage end is also secured with a clevis, but vertical in this case .