New to me splitter project. ( finished Pics)

[Jamess67]

Heres what Im working on now. This is how I got it off Craigslist. It has an 8hp B&S;, 11 gpm 2 stage pump, and will have a 4x24" ram. Ill be using an portable air tank for the reservoir. The beam will be shortened by about a foot. The plan is to mount a floor plate (steel tread plate) then mount the motor and tank next to the beam.
Then raise the beam up via a 2" angle iron frame 18" high and building a pivot point at the rear of the trailer. I have a power up gravity down cylinder that is 45" from the centers of the mounts and has a 36"ish stroke. IF the cylinder is good I can mount that to the underside of the beam and to the bed and use this to raise and lower the beam. Other thoughts were to keep them beam flat and use the 12 inch ram to build a log lift. I cant decide. Your help and opinions are welcome.
As the weather warms slightly and the funds increase Ill post more pictures.

 

[cityevader]

I was trying to picture what you're saying...are you thinking of using a cylinder to raise/lower the overall height of the beam while staying horizontal? If so, that would be cool! Use your best judgement on material size for the paralellogram linkages, as tremendous loads occur when suddenly dropping a heavy round onto the beam.

 

[Jamess67]

As cool as that would be... the plan was to raise the beam from horizontal to vertical. I was afraid that the weight distribution would be to far forward to make raising the beam by had difficult. That appears not to be the case. If you picture the main beam ontop of 2- 10 inch tall "I" beam sections, and the motor on the right front corner of the bed and the ram mounted to the front main beam, and about a foot of main beam cut off of the back... thats the plan. Oh and expanded metal as the floor of the trailer.

 

[Jamess67]

Just finished the fabrication process. Still needs a few tweeks like down sizing my foot plate. Stay tuned.

 

[awoodman]

I wouldn't down size the foot plate. A lot of times I wish mine was bigger to hold the front of the log up. I half to keep presure against the log pushing it against the I beam as the cylinder comes down because the base dosen't extend out far enough. And you will want to weld something to the base to keep the logs from kicking out under presure.

 

[LLigetfa]

Do you need the weight to help upright it?

 

[Jamess67]

I wouldn't down size the foot plate. A lot of times I wish mine was bigger to hold the front of the log up. I half to keep presure against the log pushing it against the I beam as the cylinder comes down because the base dosen't extend out far enough. And you will want to weld something to the base to keep the logs from kicking out under presure.

This is why the foot plate is so big. The only trouble is that it weights 50 pounds and the trailer will not sit upright w/o a brace (jackstand) under the rear. When I down size it to what is needed to do the job it will loose 15-20 lbs.
As for the extra support I may bolt or weld on a lighter plate (1/4 inch) since all it has to do is support the log.

 

[LLigetfa]

Won't the cylinder balance out the weight? Is the oil reservoir full? It will act as a counterweight too.

A 1/4" plate will get bent by the pressure of the ram.

 

[Jamess67]

Yes I did go check out the cylinder I plan to buy, and it is quite heavy. As for the reservoir it only holds 3.5 gallons and is the length of the trailer so I dont think its going to do much for balance. Today I did cut 4 inched off the length of the toe plate and shaved some off the sides where it wasnt in contact with the wood or the beam. It has improved the balance some but the cylinder will do the trick I think.

 

[cityevader]

Toe plate size is less critical in horizontal mode. Once in vertical, you may regret trimming it, as it doesn't take much for the piece being split to spread goofy or slip and push against the ground and send the whole machine airborn.
Can you get additional tank of some kind? Seems a bit small especially if you go with "rule of thumb" of 1 gallon reservoir capacity per GPM of pump, which may be overkill if looking at many designs, yet that is a figure often quoted.
If you're still aiming for a 4-way wedge with the 4" cyl, it may be good to have the "wings" set fairly far back to get the "primary wedge" plenty of time to start a split before it starts another.

 

[Jamess67]

...If you're still aiming for a 4-way wedge with the 4" cyl, it may be good to have the "wings" set fairly far back to get the "primary wedge" plenty of time to start a split before it starts another.

I will defiantly keep that in mind.
If I had realized how heavy the cylinder is I may not have trimmed the toe plate. DOH!
As far as the reservoir goes I guess I could find a secondary tank but I havent seen any that are in the budget. luckily if I find one in the future I can add it in. My plan is only to cut maybe a half a cord at a time since that is all I can transport at once. So given that, I dont think that I will be overheating the AT (Dextron 3) fluid.
On the up side the smaller tank will allow the fluid to warm up faster.

 

[Jamess67]

Here it is mostly finished

 

[mjbrown]

very nice job hope this beast works well for many years for you.

mike

 

[raybonz]

Wow looks great! Very professional looking .. How does it perform and how much did it set you back all together?

Ray

 

[Jamess67]

I havent actually used it yet. the pump spider blew out. I think it was the wrong one (came with motor when I bought it) and the pump needs lined up better. Also my assistant (son) wont let me use it until he comes to visit next time. (lives w/ his mom). The first pic in this thread cost me $375. I added the cylinder hoses plumbing, paint etc... for another $300. So I basically got a towable at 70mph splitter with a new cylinder, almost new pump, all new hoses,, new wedge, and a used (1983 B&S;8 hp) engine for close to $700. There are pros and cons to doing this vs buying a used splitter for almost the same price, but this is what I have so Ill use it.

 

[cityevader]

You don't mess around, do you?
You said you have some stuff and some ideas, and barely a week later there it is, all fabbed up. I'd have milked it for weeks, for every beer out in the shop it could've gotten me.

 

[savageactor7]

Excellent looking restore James...let us know it works out.

 

[smokinj]

Wow very nice job!

 

[Jags]

Me LIKEY!

 

[Jamess67]

Thanks guys. :red:

 

[Jamess67]

Won't the cylinder balance out the weight? Is the oil reservoir full? It will act as a counterweight too...

With everything put together its still 20-30 lbs back heavy, kinda like me. Im going to move the tongue stand to the rear since it naturally wants to lean than way. However I do plan to mount a large storage box on the empty side of the trailer to put my gas can , saw, chains etc in. that will help with the balance.
BTW the system will hold 4.5 gallons of auto transmission fluid which is more than I thought it would.

 

[NitroDave]

Don't think of towing that any faster than about 2 mph if it is tail heavy.... You need to have 10-15% weight on the tongue to make it stay behind your vehicle...

An easy way to achieve this is to move the axle to the rear of the trailer... would hate to see your splitter passing you upside down.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

Very nice job James!!

Don't think of towing that any faster than about 2 mph if it is tail heavy.... You need to have 10-15% weight on the tongue to make it stay behind your vehicle...

An easy way to achieve this is to move the axle to the rear of the trailer... would hate to see your splitter passing you upside down.

Right on Dave. I was thinking of adding weight to the front of the trailer but that a much better idea!! I still may need a tail stand if you put a heavy log on it.

Billy

 

[wingsfan]

Sweet. Nice job.

 

[Jamess67]

Don't think of towing that any faster than about 2 mph if it is tail heavy.... You need to have 10-15% weight on the tongue to make it stay behind your vehicle...

An easy way to achieve this is to move the axle to the rear of the trailer... would hate to see your splitter passing you upside down.

Have already considered that. I have towed travel trailers for many years and hate when an improperly loaded trailer starts swaying. I have actually had it up to 65 without any trouble, but wont do that on a regular basis. Mostly just in town driving. I do plan adding some ballast in the form of a tool box to carry the chainsaw, gas etc and probably a couple sinder blocks. lol
I have thought about moving the axle back but I will only be able to go about 4 inches or roughly a 10% weight shift. It would help but I dont think the ends justify the means.