At what point did you buy a splitter?

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groundup

groundup

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I can't decide whether or not to take the plunge. I split only to sell. I sell about 12 cords a year, mostly split by hand and some from borrowed splitters. I could get more done if I had a splitter... not sure how to justify the $1300 or whatever to get one.

What convinced you?
 
wdchuck

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Nerve damage from using a maul for 1/2 cord of ash. It split well enough,but the resulting short term consequences were enough reason for me to get smart regarding my situation.

The fact we use about eight cords to heat our place is another reason.
Wood furnace, 25ton log splitter, 76cc saw were more than paid for by the end of the second season.

You splitting for profit should have it paid for rather quickly, depending on your situation. Even if you dislike what you purchase it will likely resell for a good dollar.

Another option, if it's convenient, is to stage your rounds, rent a splitter and split like the devil for two days.
 
Ductape

Ductape

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I bought a splitter BEFORE I installed our wood stove. When I was a teenager, my family heated with wood, and I had to split ALL our firewood. By hand. No way I was doing that again.
 
bass_on_tap

bass_on_tap

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As a young buck with an already hurting back I found myself with a dozen rounds of oak each about 24-28" in diameter. My elderly neighbor was watching me swing a maul when he mentioned he had a log splitter and offered it to me. I couldn't have been more delighted to accept his offer. I quickly found that trying to lift each round onto the splitter was equally difficult and then having to pick up the resulting halves, finally convinced me to get a vertical log splitter. I never regretted it. Now I have that vertical and a Super Splitter. Time is too short. If you can afford a splitter, get it!
 
indiansprings

indiansprings

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At about 30, lol. We built the first one to run off tractor hydraulics. Here's my two cents for what it's worth, been selling firewood a long time. The amount your doing prolly doesn't justify one as far as getting a return on the investment in a years time. If you plan on going and selling a hundred for several hundred cord, there is prolly no better option than a super split, 2500-3000.00, but what I would recommend for someone in your position is to go out and buy a 22 ton Swisher, made in Missouri, 8hp I/C engine and 16 gpm pump, decent speed, you can buy them all day new for around 950.00, I've got one I use in our commercial operation, it has never failed to split what we put on it, has been a very reliable machine. If you decide it's not for you it will be easy for you to get the majority of your money back on the splitter. If you do well and like selling wood and create a customer base you can always upgrade to a super split. I've also got a troy-bilt 27 ton and the swisher has been twice the machine as the troy-bilt for 500.00 less.
The troy bilt has split in excess of 700 cord, but it has went thru the pos Honda GC china engines, covered under warranty, we just put a 11 hp on it with a 16 gpm pump to get it where it needs to be.
As you know splitting is the bottle neck of wood cutting, if you can swing it a splitter is never a bad investment if you buy one that fits your needs and performance needs. For the hydraulics I'm really impressed with the Swisher's, like the fact they use a belt vs a lovejoy set up, we'll wear out two sets of love hoy couplers a year. The belt has a tension release so you can start the engine in cold weather without the pump being engaged, at 950.00 they are a fantastic value imho, if they'll stand up to our kind of useage they have to be a pretty hardy machine.
 
Ironworker

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Same time I decided to heat my house with wood, went out and bought and installed stove , got chainsaw and splitter, and a load of logs, all for the price of 1 winter's worth of heating oil, best investment I ever made.
 
Fifelaker

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I am almost 52 Borrowed a friends splitter this year. My wife said it don't cry at night because it's back is sore, it don't eat motrin like candy,dosen't lay on the couch for a day or two,Does not pizz and moan that this dirty bastage won't split. I'm talking "Santa" into it. I hope.
 
sunfish

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I had a splitter many years ago when I sold wood, 30-50 cords a year. Sold it and split wood with a maul for myself and parents for 20 years. At 49 I figured it was time for a very good splitter...:msp_wink:
 
TreePointer

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As the old saying goes, time is money. The physical toll from high volume manual splitting was taking a toll on my body. The necessary recovery time meant even less time cutting and splitting. At that point, it was a no-brainer to get a motorized splitter.
 
electiccottage

electiccottage

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Bought it before we even officially closed on our cottage. DH has a herniated discs on his back and I spent enough time with my grandpa when he would buy log loads and buck and split them to know I wasn't messing around with a maul. Got a horizontal/vertical and it will pay for itself as we get free wood to split with it.
 
Genius.
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Genius.

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I bought a saw and built a splitter around the same time. I had some issues with my home made jobber but after about 3 years I got the kinks worked out of it, sold it and about a month ago got a 22 ton Huskee. I should have done that right away.


One question, how in the world can you make any money on splitting by hand and selling???

If I didn't have a splitter and was looking into selling wood I would have gotten a spllitter yesterday.
 
groundup

groundup

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One question, how in the world can you make any money on splitting by hand and selling???

If I didn't have a splitter and was looking into selling wood I would have gotten a spllitter yesterday.

I sell mostly oak, cherry and locust which aren't really all that tough to split with a maul. I'm also 28 and use splitting wood as an excuse not to go to the gym. Also, the 12 cords of wood I split annually is not too tough. I am sure with a splitter I could prob split twice as much and have never had trouble selling out. 180\cord and 100/half. I would come close to making up the amount in extra wood sold after 1 year.

I guess I should turn this thread into what kind of splitter should I get?

Thanks for all your help.
 
sbowman871

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I bought one after I was given some big shag bark hickroy rounds last year. Darn near killed a 20 ton rented hydraulic splitter. Now I can loan mine out to a FEW close friends and they hook me up with some free rounds to keep my pile topped off. Having the flexiability to use it when I want made it worth my while. But we all have different reasons.
 
1project2many

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Had the splitter up n running two years after back surgery. Working the saw and swinging the maul was bearable, but bending over to stand up rounds and pick up pieces on top of it all was too much.

'Splain to me the "Buy new, sell used, get most money back" logic I keep seeing here. Why not "Buy used from someone hoping to get most money back and save a few bucks?"
 
Encore

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Splitting by hand just seems to really mess up my shoulders. Not sure why, but it does. I've found that although splitting by hand I can get 5-10 rounds done much faster, with a hydraulic splitter I can go all day and get much much more done.

It was funny, when I bought mine a lot of my buddies gave me a hard time because they split by hand, but soon after I got a lot of requests to borrow it.
 
msvold

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Until I borrowed a splitter

I was splitting by hand - during fall would try to get an hour a night when I got home from work. Although "good for me" and I enjoyed it, I wasn't making near the progress I wanted to. Neighbor offered his over a long weekend, easily finished the seasons worth of wood requiring to be split (approx 4 cords). I cleaned it up, returned to the neighbor and said "I gotta get me one of these".

Very happy ever since.
 
wdchuck

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I sell mostly oak, cherry and locust which aren't really all that tough to split with a maul. I'm also 28 and use splitting wood as an excuse not to go to the gym. Also, the 12 cords of wood I split annually is not too tough. I am sure with a splitter I could prob split twice as much and have never had trouble selling out. 180\cord and 100/half. I would come close to making up the amount in extra wood sold after 1 year.

I guess I should turn this thread into what kind of splitter should I get?

Thanks for all your help.

Do a search on that and you will find quite a bit of information. There are quite a few threads on the topic.
 

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