Wood splitter

[BigJ273]

A friend of mine was given this splitter when a friend of his died. He didn’t have a use for it so he gave it to me. I’m looking to see if anyone is familiar with it, and possibly may know a website with the owners manual. As best I can tell it is a “Farm and Country” brand. It says it has an 8 hp motor on it. It looks like a pretty good industrial style splitter and appears to be in great shape. I haven’t started it yet. If anyone knows the exact model number etc that would be helpful also. Thanks.

 

[BigJ273]

Well, just gave her a test run. Fired right up. Seems to be well taken care of. One question...should I place some oil or hydraulic fluid on the bar that the wedge slides on??

 

[Deets]

Well, just gave her a test run. Fired right up. Seems to be well taken care of. One question...should I place some oil or hydraulic fluid on the bar that the wedge slides on??

I like to use a spray lubricating wax. Stays on pretty good and prevents rust.

 

[johneh]

I use an old burnt down candle on my bar
If I don't have one a bar of soap works
Don't like oil gets on the wood and makes a mess
Just something to keep it slippery and prevent rust

 

[peakbagger]

That reminds me, I bought some Anchorseal which is used for sealing the ends of logs prior to sawmilling. Unlike firewood that wants to dry quickly through the ends, boards need to dry through the faces to reduce splitting on the ends. The product is basically emulsified parafin wax. Just brush it on and it leaves a coating of way. I wonder how it would work on splitter? The price is right.

 

[WiscWoody]

I’ve never used anything on the bar. It might get a little surface rust where the paint has wore off it but it quickly wears off as soon as I start to use the splitter again. Looks like a nice splitter and for free, thats great especially if you heat with wood much. You’ll really appreciate it if you split any elm or other wood with knots in it. If you ever change the fluid and filter you can use ATF in it if you -lan to split wood when it’s cold out. Or regular ISO 32 light hydraulic fluid. Thats what I use but I don’t split wood in the winter at all. Check how long it takes to run the ram all the way forward and back at full RPM throttle to see how fast (or slow) it is. Typical times are 12-13 seconds but if you get around 10 second times or (not likely) less then you've scored big time! Have fun and watch where your hands are when using your new tool.

 

[peakbagger]

FYI drain the fuel whenever you leave it for awhile or use ethanol free at the end of each run. Thats is what kills small engines these days, gunked up carbs.

 

[DodgyNomad]

Seen a few of them, most had Tecumseh's, pretty solid units. Ethanol free fuel for sure, 10-30 oil in the crankcase is my choice on those.

 

[Mutineer]

Noticed that there isn't a leg to fold down to support the log end of the unit underneath. Is this meant to only get used when it is attached to a hitch on the back of a vehicle? I can just see it going vertical when you wrestle a 75# round on the bar.

 

[BigJ273]

It has a support on the other side. All the weight is on the engine side. So it would have to be a really heavy round, in that case I would use it vertical anyway.