foxhunter said:
i'm thinking of building my own log splitter. i have everthing except the rail and the hoses. my question is this, can i use the two 3.5"x24" cylinders mounted side by side. i have a 30 gpm pump and valve to match. if so what ton-age will the splitter be. i also want to weld a piece of metal sarated floor plating (the diamond shaped non skid type) to the front of the ram to keep the log from slipping under pressure.
any thoughts?
tia
bob
First, the proper place for this post is in the GEAR ROOM, remember that for next time.
For the rail you can cut up a - I beam - from the scrape yard with a oxygen-acetlyne cutting tourch & weld on a wedge on the end of the beam or just a foot plate on the end of the I beam
& put the wedge on the ram of the cylinder. That way, you can place a scrapper plate that the wedge will retract past & it will scrape off any rounds stuck on the wedge.
Also, you will need the foot plate on the end of the I beam if you are planning a verticle/ horizontal log splitter.
Do Yourself A Favor And PLan for a VERTICLE MODE LOG SPLITTER so you dont have to lift all that heavy wood up to a horizontal table. Your back & other assorted muscles, not to mention your hernia,--will thank you for it.
With less opperator fatigue, you can get more wood split.
Also ,look into
www.northerntools.com
they sell a 4 way wedge , and it quarters the round with one stroke instead of just halfing the round as most log splitters do. Less strokes & miller time is sooner!
Several thoughts. Tonnage should be 30 to 40 tons but with parallel hydralic cylinders you
might or might not have a hydralic flow rate problem.
What if one cylinder goes faster than the other cylinder. Will this cock the ram off to one side & cause it to jam the ram guide or bend your metal??
With a 30 gpm hydralic pump, what hp of gasoline motor are you planning to use a 20 hp honda vortec twin ? Or maybe just a small 12 hp & strain the heck out of it??
If I were doing it, I would only use 1 hydralic cylinder for about 22 tons (20 to 26 tons depending on the cylinder) & not have to worry about unequal cylinder speeds.
You would do well to find out from someone that knows more about the subject than me because I never considered dual cylinders before, I would just buy a stronger cylinder instead.
so as to "keep it simple,stupid", like prez clinton used to say.
The 4 way wedge needs 28 ton to work well because it is hitting the round with 4 edges
(+, _ ) instead of one edge.
Unelse you are planning on building a commercial log splitter (it can split anything no mater how knotty or knarley the wood may be) you are planning for massive overkill & unneccessary expense
both in parts & in gasoline consumption with the larger engine.
Weight may be another factor, especially if you have to move the splitter when it is not hooked up to the tow hitch.
If you are building it yourself,& plan on towing the log splitter, use a solid, all the way across, axil with highway speed tires, fenders & license plate & turn signals, so you can easily tow it.
The small 8 inch tires are only good for 50 mph,
maximum & the axil stubs that are welded on to the log splitter's hydralic tank can rip the hydralic tank open if you hit a pot hole or rail road tracks. Mine don't have fenders or lights or wiring ,either. Most don't because of keeping the cost competitive. So a log splitter made to really tow at highway speeds, costs extra.
The cheaper homeowner type of log splitter is not made to tow much, if at all. But the huskee 22 ton sure splits wood great
The engine size is primarly determined by the pump size, the more gpm the more hp needed.
For a normal 20 -26 ton log splitter, a 10 to 12 gpm & a 6.5 hp to 8 hp engine are fine & less
expensive gasoline wise to opperate.
Special thought should be given to the routing of the engine exhaust well away from the opperator, no mater which way the wind is blowing from.
this is something that the homeowner models give no thought to in the least.
Most times, you get the exhaust right in your face & then you move the log splitter, only to have the wind shift & the exhaust is right back in your face again.
Who wants to spend most of the day repositioning the log splitter every time the wind shifts.
A shady area is a must to a comfortable day of log splitting. I ended up with electric lights & splitting at night due to lack of shade. Its a lot cooler at night too, so you dont work up a sweat.
I have a 22 ton huskee that I buy from
www.tractorsupply.com for $1150.oo fully assembled & including engine & hydralic oil & I have not yet hit a log or knot or limb in the trunk that
it won't split through ,although sometimes I have to go to full throttle, momentarrily, to do it.
For most logs, & for most of the splitting session, the 22 ton huskee with 6.5 hp B&S;engine opperates at just over idle speed.
There are web sites that will sell you a how to build your own log splitter book for $12.95+ship&handling;, so you should check that out before buying the parts & learn how to match the parts to the intended outcome.
www.ask.com or
www.google.com
Why go 30 to 40 tons when 22 tons is all you need, unelse you want a commercial grade log splitter for a business & then you should get one with a hydralic log feeder /lifter arm or table
to bring the rounds up to the horizontal bed.
My splitter is opperated exclussivley in vertical mode, even though I have horizontal mode available to me . I never lift a round up off the ground in vertical mode & I love it.
Horizontal mode sucks hard, with all that lifting, compaired to vertical mode.
Opperator fatigue is important on a long day of splitting.
You can Personal Message me if there are any questions.
I was planning to build my log splitter, but I needed to spend my limited time splitting wood for winter.
