4way wedge on a 22 ton speco/countyline/husky?

I tried the 4-way. Split perfectly straight grain pine like a dream. Tried it on some maple, first knot turned it into a pretzel. You lose a couple inches of the max width as well.


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I have a speeco 22 ton and was also interested in a 4 way splitter wedge. I really liked the idea of a slip on wedge, because sometimes I'm splitting a huge round and don't want a 4 way split. I saw that speeco made one, but I didn't even give it a shot. All of the reviews said it was pretty light duty. I had some scrap steel laying around and my dad and I made one similar to the speeco, but with thicker steel. It was great being able to slip it right on and off. The 4 way wedge was only really good for a certain diameter, but it worked great. And since it slipped on, if it was the wrong size, it only took 2 seconds to take it off. My problem was, like another said, twisting it like a pretzel. In straight grained wood (like ash) it split just fine. The last time I used it, I think I was splitting elm and it just mangled it. It was great while it lasted. I'd buy one again if I knew it would handle what I threw at it. The splitter itself never had a problem with power, because like I said, it was only really good for a certain diameter log.

I bought a Swisher, 4 way wedge, that I use on my 27 ton White splitter, after a little grinding on the 4 way wedge and the splitter, it fits perfectly.
It's a well made wedge and has the advantage of bringing the splitting edge closer to the log stop so even stringy woods like hickory just fall apart. If you hold the log until it's centered on the 4 way wedge it will quarter any size perfectly. I usually quarter bigger stuff 16" and larger with the 4 way removed. The only disadvantage I have seen in 2 years of use is that it makes my splitter work harder, heats the hydraulic fluid and expands it so it runs out the overflow, fortunately the 4 way is easy to remove till things cool off.
While it doesn't make splitting effortless I would guess the 4 way makes splitting 30 to 40% faster.

I was hoping someone would comment on the swisher. That one has pretty good reviews.

ctswf said:

What is the 27 ton white splitter?

Is it one of the many variations of speeco u modified it for?

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Not a SpeeCo clone. White Outdoor was an outdoor power equipment company that got sucked into MTD. The White splitter looks like all the other MTD & Troy-Bilt clones

My apologies ctswf, I did not know what a Speeco was and thought you were looking for a good quality 4 way wedge.
Your machine looks very nice and my wedge would not work.
TreePointer is correct in saying the White is a standard old log splitter, much like the owner. : )

jkahn said:

My apologies ctswf, I did not know what a Speeco was and thought you were looking for a good quality 4 way wedge.
Your machine looks very nice and my wedge would not work.
TreePointer is correct in saying the White is a standard old log splitter, much like the owner. : )

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I've used some great White Outdoor equipment over the years and still have a 26" self propelled finish mower that's over 30 years old. It has never given me trouble and makes a great cut.

Speeco makes a great splitter for the money, but the 4 way wedge they offer isn't ideal for decent size hardwoods from my experience.

That 6 way you have pictured would have some drawbacks, especially depending on the size of rounds you're splitting. It also puts a lot of load on your machine, in ways it wasn't designed, especially on a hunk with knots or twists. That's a lot more surface area being used, and a lot of changes in the pressures and loads on everything, especially for a 22 ton that wasn't designed for it. Be fine on soft woods, but even some of them with knots might prove to be challenging.

In the end, I went back to my slightly modified, hand filed and blueprinted single wedge splitter. I can control the size of the splits a lot better, and it can keep up with me even if I'm really working quickly. I haven't seen anyone out hustle a 22 ton Speeco after an hour or so if they're using it right. With a log catcher, and tossing or stacking the splits as you work, how fast a machine does 1 guy really need?

DodgyNomad said:

With a log catcher, and tossing or stacking the splits as you work, how fast a machine does 1 guy really need?

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Faster than the 22 if you're in a hurry. What kills me is the cycle time. Plenty of power.

If you can keep that wedge moving non-stop for a full fuel tank then you have earned the right to say it's too slow.