Timberwolf 4-way wedge broke. Fix or replace??

[Theodore2]

Hi,
My Timberwolf TW-P1 4-way wedge broke today. It's 2 years old, bought it brand new from dealer, and has seen about 3cords of wood over its very short life. I've kept it away from knots but I think the last log I put in had some hidden ones and it just snapped.
Is this an easy repair for a welder, or do I have to buy a new one?
Thanks for the advice.
Regards,
Theodore2

 

[Davej_07]

Those look like lousy welds to me.

 

[al-k]

Looks like that could be fixed fairly easy. Grind old weld off and re weld.

 

[T. Mainus]

I would take some pics and send it to Timberwolf or back to your dealer and see what they can do for you. The paints not even wore off of that wedge yet. I'm not a welder but those welds looks like very little penetration was achieved when they put it together. If they don't help you any competent weld shop should be able to put that back together for you pretty easily.

 

[ATpro]

Dirt Dobber welds, no penetration on the parent metal. That weld would look good before it broke but the break exposes the flaw. What they attempted to do was make a core weld, put the ends so they could weld both base metals and make the weld be the corner. The problem is they placed weld on top of weld and forgot about bonding the parent metal into the weld, bet the whole thing is welded that way. What I would do is take it to a welding shop and have them fix it right and then have them weld all the inside welds that were never welded. That maybe would hold it together without any more problems from the Dirt Dobber welding. From the looks of the weld on the other side your going to have the same problem if not fixed. Personally what I would do is cut that puppy apart with the torch, grind off the old welds and start over the right way but then again I have the equipment to do these things and you may not.

 

[panolo]

Agree that it looks like a poor job and can be fixed.

 

[Woodchuck71]

Are those welds from the manufacturer??
They look like cr8p.
Like was said above,no penetration into the base.
Leading edge that still has paint on it doesn't look too good either.
I build a few 4 ways,and it takes longer but my leading edge is a solid chunk of steel.
But it's faster and cheaper the way they build it.
NOT saying it's junk,I just built mine different.
JMO of course

 

[backhoelover]

Something like that you need to use a 10018 series rod. Or spray weld it with a mig

 

[Jere39]

There's no way a good splitter like a Timberwolf should break with that little use. You should not have to avoid knots. In my mind that is why you buy a strong splitter. I'm no welder, so no comment on the welds. But with the paint not even worn off your dealer should be able to sort out a reasonable resolution with Timberwolf. That might be a proper weld repair. Maybe your dealer does welding too, and might fix it themselves. I wouldn't start fixing it till they've had a chance to make this right.
Good luck

 

[NSMaple1]

I was expecting to see a twisted mess. But that sure looks like a suspect welding job to me. I would likely just get it welded back up at a local welding shop, as mentioned, but first email pics to TW to see what they say about it.

 

[Ronaldo]

I certainly agree that any competent welder can quite easily re-work that, but I would start with contacting the manufacturer the very first thing.
They should be ready to help the consumer of their product to be satisfied with something like that when it is obvious how little it has been used and is obvious it is a faulty weld job.

 

[foeke]

I'm also not a Welder, but I can weld.
This is just stupid for a bought tool.
If I made it myself, I would not be surpised, but I would be ashamed.
Looks like it is welded with a home owners stick welder that doesn't have enough power to melt to the core. Or a case of the "already smelling the Friday weekend beer".

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[Sandhill Crane]

Sell it and buy an Eastonmade splitter.
You gave them a chance, paying top dollar and they gave you crap.
Move on...
It looks like a poor design to boot.

 

[cantoo]

I assume that it slides over the standard wedge so not likely enough room to weld the inside of the rectangle. I seldom buy new and I'm not a warranty guy so I would just grind it down and weld it better myself. I would send before and after pics to Timberwolf though just so they know. I would also sharpen the wings as in my opinion those wings are way too blunt. I also always try to run rounds butt 1st thru the wedge so that the split is splitting big to small. I have a Wallenstein processor and the wedge is way too blunt for my liking. At some point I will grind them all sharper ( 6 way wedge) so it is more like a knife. It really has to really work on knotty rounds to split them. Last picture is my homemade 4 way wedge. Wings are 5/8" thick so you can see the long sharp angle on them. It's mild steel so I just hit it with the grinder once in awhile if it needs it.
In your case I would take it to the Dealer, just set it on the counter and ask him what he thinks. If you have the round I would take it with me too.

 

[Big_Eddy]

Regardless of how old it is or warranty status, the manufacturer should replace that for you no charge. It was EXTREMELY poorly welded and never fit for purpose.
Don’t let anyone mess with it. Call them and politely request it be replaced.

If I were them I would want that back for root cause analysis. Hopefully it was an isolated case.


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[rarefish383]

I would take some pics and send it to Timberwolf or back to your dealer and see what they can do for you. The paints not even wore off of that wedge yet. I'm not a welder but those welds looks like very little penetration was achieved when they put it together. If they don't help you any competent weld shop should be able to put that back together for you pretty easily.

I agree. I think they would just hand you a new one. I know DHT would send you a new one ASAP.

 

[NSMaple1]

I agree. I think they would just hand you a new one. I know DHT would send you a new one ASAP.

Being that DHT is out of business, I kind of doubt that.

 

[rarefish383]

Being that DHT is out of business, I kind of doubt that.

Wow, maybe that's why the last time I went in Lowe's, their splitters were on sale? When did that happen? I'll just do a search. I guess they made good on too many oopsies.

 

[NSMaple1]

Wow, maybe that's why the last time I went in Lowe's, their splitters were on sale? When did that happen? I'll just do a search. I guess they made good on too many oopsies.

Not sure exactly. Sometime in the fall maybe? Seemed to be kind of a quiet occurrence.

 

[rarefish383]

Being that DHT is out of business, I kind of doubt that.

Are you sure, I just went through several pages of a google search and every one that sells them still list them, and not a word about them going out? They are still showing up as a sponser of this forum?