wedge location

[f3cbboy]

I am looking into building my own splitter and have done some searches on here and gotton some help too, but one question I still have is does it matter if you put the wedge on the ram or mount it stationary on the end of the beam? Is there advantages of having it one way or the other? Thanks

 

[LLigetfa]

Wedge on ram allows for vertical splitting too if you pivot the beam. Wedge on ram generally needs to be fatter to spread the wood to clear the ram. When resplitting, the wood stays closer to you. Work tables are almost a must.

Wedges on beam can be narrower to slice through wood but the wood is pushed away from you so you have further to reach to resplit or to grab and toss. Out-feed tables are almost a must.

 

[kenny chaos]

Wedge on ram allows for vertical splitting too if you pivot the beam. Wedge on ram generally needs to be fatter to spread the wood to clear the ram. When resplitting, the wood stays closer to you. Work tables are almost a must.

Wedges on beam can be narrower to slice through wood but the wood is pushed away from you so you have further to reach to resplit or to grab and toss. Out-feed tables are almost a must.

Sums it up well.
I prefer fixed wedge and I use rounds and splits for work tables.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I have a very fat wedge on the beam of my horizontal splitter. The splits go off the side of the splitter instead of going forward. I prefer this but most seem to prefer the round to go off the end of the splitter.

 

[f3cbboy]

thanks for the info. i hadn't even thought of the reason for pivoting the splitter upright for splitting on the ground without having to pick up the logs. thanks

 

[Gooserider]

thanks for the info. i hadn't even thought of the reason for pivoting the splitter upright for splitting on the ground without having to pick up the logs. thanks

I definitely find splitting vertical is easier, but others argue the point... However if you don't have a good log lift or tractor equivalent, large rounds can be a problem with a horizontal only splitter, but with a vertical it's just a case of sliding them into place and busting them up.

For rounds that aren't as big, I like to make a big pile next to me on one side, and then just sit down in front of the splitter, grab the rounds, split and toss the splits to the other side... Actually I usually end up with three piles, one for small chunks that aren't big enough to stack, a big one for ready to stack splits, and a third for the splits that are to long to go in the stove (I've marked the splitter beam at 2" intervals so I can measure as I split...)

Gooserider

 

[kenny chaos]

Hey f3cbboy-
Put an extended tongue on your splitter.
Build a trough and log lifter and you're good to go.
Just roll log onto lifter, forward the log over the splitter,
whack off a chunck with your saw, split it, forward another, cut and split and on and on.
It takes all the ball busting out of the job and makes it fun again.

Of course if I had the physical capabilities, I'd love
to be one of them guys who sits at the vertical splitter all day.
For me, if it's too big for the horizontal, it's too big for the vertical.
I did put my splitter (in the vertical) on a metal-decked wagon one time and loaded
a bunch of massive rounds around it. I could move things around better
waist high while standing up. Worked real good.