Specialized Splitter Build

[vandedav]

A few months back I posted a thread about buying a splitter for the camp I work at with money that was donated. Well, here is the current situation: we will be keeping the existing splitter on site, and have $2000 of donated money to put towards a new splitter. the camp itself can pitch in some more money if need be.
i have not really found anything on the market that i am in love with and started to consider building something myself. I have a large trailer that i plan to turn into a wood processing center. off of the one side of the trailer i plan to attach a log lifter. the trailer will have a platform that we can also set full length logs onto and buck right in place. on the opposite side of the trailer i plan to mount the splitter itself.
the questions i have for you experts is in reference to the spec i should design the splitter around. this will pretty much always be operated when we have a group of 4 to 8 people present. i want it to be safe, but i also want it to be able to keep up with that amount of manpower. my thought is we would have a couple people supplying the logs, a couple people working the splitter end, and 2-4 stacking.

what would your suggestions be for engine size, pump size, cylinder size, etc.

thanks for any suggestions.

 

[MasterMech]

Sounds an awful lot like a processor build. Specs on the components will be determined by the size/stubborness of the wood you process. Refresh our memories?

 

[mikefrommaine]

$2000 budget, 4-8 volunteers and home made. Sounds like a bad idea to me.

 

[vandedav]

Sounds an awful lot like a processor build. Specs on the components will be determined by the size/stubborness of the wood you process. Refresh our memories?

mostly oak, hickory, and poplar. i don't really have a size requirement in terms of length (mostly around 18-20"), almost all of it is used for outdoor cooking/campfires. 36" diameter trees are pretty common to have to process.

 

[vandedav]

$2000 budget, 4-8 volunteers and home made. Sounds like a bad idea to me.

the volunteers will not be building the machine, they will just help operate it. i will be doing the design and construction.

 

[maple1]

How much wood/year will be split?

 

[vandedav]

How much wood/year will be split?

around 12-14 cord (4'x4'x8') a year.

 

[Jags]

A $2000 budget (plus or minus a bit) is a tight budget to be building a unit that will keep 4-8 people busy. You will be requiring fast cycle times and multiple splits coming off at once. And a method for efficient in-feed and out-feed or you will be tripping over yourselves. Basically a processor.

IF you are going to be custom building this (and that is a big IF), I would simply aim for the highest production unit I could build and then deal with how many folks will be around this beast.

I would start with specking out a large frame beam - a 6 inch ram - 28 gpm pump - 14+hp engine and a box wedge design for multiple splits. But thats me....

A hydro adjustable multi wedge could also be a consideration.

 

[maple1]

With that many hands around, I think I'd just concentrate on a splitter.

You could buy a new splitter for less than $2k that would easily handle a lot more than 12-14 cord a year.

Heck, a 51 year old me plus my two dis-interested teenage kids split over a cord last night in less than 2 hours with my well-used $1K kijiji find.

 

[Jags]

You could buy a new splitter for less than $2k that would easily handle a lot more than 12-14 cord a year.

You are not gonna let me have any fun spending someone elses' money and designing a killer splitter - are you?

 

[maple1]

You are not gonna let me have any fun spending someone elses' money and designing a killer splitter - are you?

Don't let me stand in the way of that.

 

[vandedav]

this is kind of what i was thinking. the front silver part would be where the tank, engine and pump would go. the opposite side of the splitter would be where the log lifter would go. i have designed the platform out of 4 x 6 spaced apart to where i can set an 8' log up on the deck with the tractor forks and buck it right in place. plan to have a catch table off of the close side of the splitter to keep rounds still needing to be split up at height.




i already have some of the components sitting around our shop, so that $2000 is for anything additional i will have to purchase, but i understand it is not a lot of money to spend on something of this magnitude.

i have considered just taking the $2000 and buying two $1000 units. that would be great for when we have volunteers to do the work, but the volunteers are not always around when it has to be done. so, sometimes we would be operating this with our staff of 2-3 people.

 

[mikefrommaine]

the volunteers will not be building the machine, they will just help operate it. i will be doing the design and construction.

4-8 volunteers crowded around your splitter and running it hard will find the weak point in your design pretty quickly. Hopefully without injury.

 

[triptester]

I'll be the devil's advocate. Too many things happening in a small space. A log being loaded onto the deck could roll into the splitter. While logs are being cut a broken chain could be launched at the splitter operator. The blocked wood will be difficult to move. Occasionally a block being splitter will suddenly pop sideways, you don't want someone operating a chainsaw in this zone.

 

[MasterMech]

My advice would be to look at how some "inexpensive" processors are setup and see if it might be feasible to build something similar. Are you going to be supplying this thing with cut rounds or log lengths that you will cut on the trailer? I'm curious why you want to mount the splitter on the trailer as opposed to building a towable splitter.

 

[Jags]

You wouldn't catch me within a logs distance of someone running a chainsaw. Nope. No way.

 

[lukem]

One guy getting rounds onto the splitter.
One guy flipping the wood on the beam as needed.
One guy running the handle.

That's about the most you can really do effectively. The rest of the guys are stacking.

The question becomes how fast do you need to deliver the wood to the stackers?

If you REALLY want to keep 8 guys busy then get two splitters for a grand each. You are going to need a beast of a splitter to keep up with 4 or 5 stackers.

 

[Ashful]

Call me crazy, but if I had a $2k budget, and was looking for a way to process wood using 4 - 8 men, I'd buy TWO Huskey 22-ton units at $900 each, and use the $200 left over toward a saw or fuel (gasoline for splitter, beer for men).

2 men with a 22-ton splitter can process a hell of a lot of wood in one day. My record is somewhere around 5 cords with one helper, but that was using a $2500 Iron and Oak with faster cycle time than the Huskey, and we were hustling faster and longer than the average volunteer.

 

[lukem]

So, thinking outside of the box here, who says you can't get one big motor...one big pump...and put two rams/wedges on it? Think two Huskees sharing the same powerplant. Not sure if that is a good idea...but it is an idea.

 

[smokinj]

4-8 people Its time for two splitting crews and a couple saw guys. On a 3,2,1 BREAK!

 

[Jags]

Hydro works on the principles of fluid dynamics. The problem that you could run into would be that the fluid will take the path of least resistance. What does this mean? If you and I were trying to split at the same time and my log was "easier" than yours, it would transfer the vast majority of flow to me and my splitter would get jumpy and your log wouldn't split till I let up.

It will also be unpredictable without flow limiters and such. If only one handle was moved it would be really fast until the other handle was pulled - virtually cutting the fluid flow in half.

 

[Ashful]

It will also be unpredictable without flow limiters and such. If only one handle was moved it would be really fast until the other handle was pulled - virtually cutting the fluid flow in half.

All manageable with flow controls and accumulators... but this drives up the cost and complexity.

I'm thinking with two $900 splitters, four or five men would be pretty busy. If there are extra volunteers, putting them on felling, branch removal, bucking, and hauling.

edit: ...and when one splitter eventually breaks down (will happen some day), you're not shut down for the day! You can limp along with one, until you get the broken one back online.

 

[Jags]

Truth be told - outside of my want to design a mean ol splitter - the two splitter option appears to be the most logical.

 

[Clarkbug]

What about buying a SuperSplit with the money? That will keep a good group busy. Might be a pain when you have the big rounds. But makes nice small splits when you need the little stuff for cooking.

 

[vandedav]

i appreciate all the discussion on this.

here is the issue that i am having with the two splitter thing. one, we already have one big box store splitter that we have been using for many years. it has been a good splitter and we can continue to use it...but it has been breaking down more and more often. the two smaller splitters would be great for when we have groups of volunteers in and we can send them to different wood sheds to split on there own. but, when we don't have volunteers and it is just 2-3 of us working on splitting up what we have stacked, the second splitter will be sitting idle (the other guys working with me would not be able to split individually). this is where it would be nice to have a splitter that is a little more capable. am i making sense?