New to me splitters ..... or ..... like I need more projects

[lowroadacres]

A few weeks back we were visiting friends who were preparing for an auction sale. While looking through what we were told was going to be scrap metal a huge log splitter assembly was spotted.

It was built on a very large I-beam and set up for a 36 inch hydraulic cylinder which it was missing. The splitter was built to mount on the forks of either a three point hitch lift or a loader and to run off the tractor hydraulics.

Yesterday my dad was in attendance at the sale while I was working and he was able to purchase the assembly for the whopping price of $10.

At the same time our friend who was selling out his acreage points across the line up to another miscellaneous pile of equipment parts and pieces and says "You may want to buy the other splitter too!".

Turns out that there was another splitter in the sale built in a similar manner, albeit rougher, but with the cylinder and hoses in place.

Dad purchased that one for $40.

This week when work takes me back to the town where I grew up about an hour from where we live now the work truck will have both units loaded in the back and brought home.

I know, I know..... Pictures or it didn't happen......

Trust me you will get to see pictures. We might even laugh together once we see these units on the forum because I know the one is ridiculously large. I have located a 3 foot cylinder but depending on the mounting format we will see if it is a fit.

We have come close to buying splitters in the past but as some of you know I have been an advocate of renting a split-fire for $75 for a weekend, working it like a dog (or it works us) and then turning it back in without spending a cent on oil, maintenance, insurance or the purchase.

Now that we have pulled the trigger on these units at less than the cost of one weekend's rental I admit defeat and have joined the ranks of splitter owners..... If the one works and if the other can be set up to work.

 

[lowroadacres]

Here we go.... The pictures of our $50 worth of woodsplitters or wood splitter components. My mom shot a couple of iphone pics before I go to pick them up this week.

 

[MasterMech]

Be interesting to see the final product lowroad.... Looks like you have your work cut out for you!

 

[bogydave]

Didn't Johnny Cash have a song about a Cadillac.
"One piece at a time"
Sounds like a fun project.

 

[lowroadacres]

I don't think we will be sneaking these units home in the lunch box like Johnny did with his Cadillac.

 

[fossil]

Looks like your dad wants to keep you off the streets for a while.

 

[Jags]

Do you have a plan of attack?

 

[lowroadacres]

Plan of attack is to pick these pieces up and get them home. The pictures were taken at the auction site. Work has me headed that way later in the week so at that point I will get them loaded up with my dad's help.

From there we will clean them up and decide which one to get going first or if at all.

My ideal would be to set up the larger one on wheels with a motor and a hydraulic power pack and a new cylinder but we will see as we do need to get rolling on splitting a pile of rounds on our yard that gets bigger every week due to a tree service dropping off wood.

This is going to be a bit of an experiment to say the least. Every time I have a day off or an evening on our yard the song..."There's a hole in the bucket Dear Liza, Dear Liza, There's a hole in the bucket Dear Liza a hole" plays through my mind as one project, leads to another project, leads to another set of repairs, and so on and so on...

 

[Jags]

Ahhhh...just wondering. As a person that has built a few splitters I always get a twinkle in my eye when I see log splitter fodder laying around.

Heck - I already have the blue beam built (in my head).

Here is the thread from my last one. Maybe it will give you some ideas (and maybe not).
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/jags-splitter-build-pic-heavy-update-its-alive.83540/

 

[lowroadacres]

The blue one is the one I want to get rolling as it is built pretty heavy. I will be very open to suggestions as I need/want to do this relatively quickly but also on a very tight budget.

 

[Jags]

The blue one is the one I want to get rolling as it is built pretty heavy. I will be very open to suggestions as I need/want to do this relatively quickly but also on a very tight budget.

If you have the time, my post (above) might make a good read for you. The whole intention of the build was to be on a tight budget. There are a couple of nuggets of info on sourcing parts, too.

 

[lowroadacres]

Already read it and I am going to be re-reading it. One of the items we already have is a hydraulic power pack and tank in one unit from a truck hoist. The other thing we need to get fixed in the process is an old miller welder with a pooched Onan engine that we hope to swap out to a newer motor.

The other thing we are considering, of course knowing that the capacity of the hydraulic pump is not ideal, is using our 20 HP Ford New Holland tractor to power one of the splitters.

We are very open to suggestions and once I have the parts home I will take more photos and post some dimensions for perspective.

 

[Jags]

The other thing we are considering, of course knowing that the capacity of the hydraulic pump is not ideal, is using our 20 HP Ford New Holland tractor to power one of the splitters.

I have ran several splitters that ran off of tractor hydro. I strongly suggest biting the bullet and using a two stage pump designed for splitters. Most 20HP tractors will not have any where near enough GPM to run a decent sized ram. They will typically have single stage pumps and that equates to about a 6 GPM pump at normal splitter pressures.

Edit: If you are going to use a tractor, you might want to consider a PTO hydro pump but you will start to get pricey with that.

 

[lowroadacres]

I will try to post a picture of the hydraulic unit as well. Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with re-tasking a hydraulic pump and tank from a truck hoist when building a splitter on the cheap?

 

[Jags]

Hmmm...I have never done it, and I don't know anybody that has. I can speculate that there might be issues though. That type of configuration is not designed for repetition. It dumps and it drops, then moves on for another load. Heat might be an issue. Is it a 12V pump/motor? Any way of finding pressure/volume stats on it? Is it power out only (meaning gravity return)?

 

[lowroadacres]

Great questions. I haven't looked closely at it but I will now. Moments like this make me glad for Hearth.com members who I can bounce ideas off of.

Now if only I could get an answer to the question of how I am to make more time for woodcutting, splitting and stacking with work, kid's activities and other acreage work getting in the way of my hobby/exercise.

 

[Jags]

I am currently working on a calendar that will allow for the 28 hr day. I am in the same boat as you. Not enough time.

 

[MasterMech]

I am currently working on a calendar that will allow for the 28 hr day. I am in the same boat as you. Not enough time.

The 28 hour prototype is interesting but I need to see at least 36 to buy in.

 

[lowroadacres]

Now I will need the 28-36 hours per day. Got the splitter parts home today and now the fun begins of scrounging and planning the rest of the pieces needed to make this franken-splitter work.

Here are some more photos to give perspective. I can tell you right now that I won't be "resurrecting" the rail iron splitter with the ... flat steel, chisel point, cultivator shovel wedge.... as it sits right now.

We are aiming at bringing the I-Beam splitter back to life. It is designed for a 36 inch cylinder which must have been for splitting wood for an outside wood boiler or for a homebuilt furnace.

We are considering all sorts of configurations for cylinders, pumps and power (electric or gas).

We are also debating whether to mount the splitter on wheels or we may go with a stand/legs and move it around with our loader forks.

 

[bogydave]

Looks like a great Father Son project.
Who has the final call?

Have fun

 

[Jags]

With a 36" stroke capability (which I assume you have no need for), I would be looking at cutting off the wedge end and start over (with the wedge). I am not sure why it was designed like that, but the large bump in front of the wedge is gonna make big splits jump all over for no apparent reason. 24" stroke rams are pretty common, I would probably be looking in that range and build the splitter accordingly.

 

[lowroadacres]

Jags. This is exactly the feedback I am hoping to get. Going to take our time doing this thing right. That might mean one more "rental splitter" weekend in the near future to clean up the significant pile of rounds on our yard. Gotta make sure that our kids have lots of work in front of them for splitting and stacking.

 

[Splitter77]

Now that looks like quite the project. Looking forward to the finished product!

 

[lowroadacres]

Today I acquired another piece of the puzzle... maybe. I was just given a Wisconsin S14D electric start engine that has been sitting in storage that turns freely with reasonable compression. My gut feeling, and I have a lot of gut feelings about this project...... and not all of them are good..... is that this engine may well be overkill but I won't be short of power if we get it all hooked up. Debating on pump, tank, cylinder options now.

 

[Jags]

That is one heck of an engine you are dealing with. A real monster work horse.