Thought I built this thing to be indestructable and yet another failure. First I bent the beam flange from the cam followers which I fixed, then the cam followers themselves have not held up and now after adding my 4 way this happened? The steel I used is 3/4" thick and sticks out from the main wedge 9" and is 8" deep. Well atleast my welds held! Am going to burn this one off and weld another one on. Any suggestions to ammend this failure besides quit splitting 36" logs with knots?
Here's what I would do:
Replace those knives with 3/4" AR400F treated plate. Buy some 9018 rod, or 7018 in a pinch. Preheat parts before welding to around 150 F. . . Keep weld temps @ or below 350 F. Post heat after welding to allow a slow cool down of the parts. . . Fast cooling is no good.
Box in the ends of that I beam. . . The slide doesn't go all the way to the end anyway. Use 3/8"-1/2" X 6" flat bar for the box-in. Full weld isn't necessary, 3" welds @ 3" centers will work, stay 3/8" away from the end of the plate with your welds -- a little give in the welds is good. . . Make sure the craters get filled.
If you're worried about stuff getting jammed in between the beam and new plat, close it of with a piece of FB, again, no need to fully weld it in.