Tips for splitting BIG rounds on a vertical splitter

[hair_boxers]

My old man just picked up a Speeco splitter, his first with vertical splitting capability. We went out to the farm to split some big rounds of white oak on Sunday and try out the vertical split.

Well, we were successful but it took a lot more work and time that we expected to split a couple rounds up. Anybody experienced with putting big rounds (18" thick by 36"+ across) through a vertical splitter that can offer up some tricks to make things easier?

One big thing would be a more efficient way to get the round to the splitter (or splitter to the round, which should become easier for us when we fire up the Allis Chalmers Big 10) and then up on to the metal plate that it needs to split against.

Thanks guys!

 

[mywaynow]

I keep a shale bar to help move the big ones into place. I also set the splitter downhill from the log, it tends to lean into the base then. If it is level then I put some bark in front of the splitter base to lift the log up a bit. Get the pieces into liftable sizes and get that thing horizontal as soon as possible. Saves the back splitting horizontal.

 

[Got Wood]

A scrap piece of plywood on the base helps make it easier to rotate

 

[bfunk13]

Probably obvious, but never let a piece hit the ground that will need split again. On big stuff i will split it down the middle and set the half aside (not on the ground) split the first half as many times as needed then work the second half. Any type of "catcher" is a big help in doing this. We built catchers on both sides of our splitter to keep any splits from hitting the ground and needing picked up.

 

[smokinj]

Roll and spin! Do it right do it "LIGHT" do it wrong do it "LONG"!

 

[mxjamie540]

I use a 3 or 4 36" lengths of 2 1/2inch sched 40 PVC to put on the ground. That way I can slide the rounds and maneuver then much easier.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Roll and spin! Do it right do it "LIGHT" do it wrong do it "LONG"!

You got it right Jay.

I've seen some of the splitters where the butt plate does seem to sit high and sometimes of the splitter is not set right the beam will not go totally vertical and that will leave the butt plate on an angle and cause you lots of hard work. If that happens, I'll simply move the splitter to get the beam vertical. I've even been known to put a 2 x 4 under each tire to raise the butt plate.

As for moving the big rounds, the key is to not set them upright but to get them on an angle so that you can roll them and that is quite easy to do. If getting the round lifted up is too hard at the start, jam a pole under it to help so you can get hold of it.


And then you assume the correct positioning of the body...

On the really big stuff, I do split them in halves and then work on a half at a time. One time I split some super big white oaks and we ended up working on a quarter at a time. Naturally, the first couple of splits have to be done standing when you have such behemoths. Most of ours is 34" or less in diameter and I can roll those while still sitting down and it is not difficult in the least. The one in the picture is not that big but these are a really great size to work on and I could enjoy doing it all day long.

 

[hair_boxers]

Great tips guys!

The plywood and/or PVC pipe tips will be implemented this weekend.

Please keep them coming.

 

[Dieselhead]

A scrap piece of plywood on the base helps make it easier to rotate

sometimes the simplest tricks are the best ones !!

 

[velvetfoot]

Last time, I was able to put some rounds on a little hill and as I took out one round, it was replaced by another.

 

[NextEndeavor]

Good pointers on vertical splitting, thanks. Speaking of power splitting; the instructions, yes …. instructions on mine state “never operate log splitter while it is attached to the vehicleâ€. This one has front and rear outrigger legs. They want both down and secured for stability which I agree you want cause this thing is very heavy. However, for my truck, I rotated the 2 inch hitch so the ball is higher than normal so it matches perfectly to keep the splitter level the same as both outriggers do. Then I put down just the rear leg for stability, especially for when all that weight is rotated vertical. At any rate, this saves the hassle of disconnecting/reconnecting the splitter every time I want to move it. I’ve been working through about 3 cords of 20 to 32 inch diameter logs (very heavy stuff) and prefer to take the splitter to them as opposed to moving the wood a 100 feet or so. Thoughts?