Eric Modell
ArboristSite Operative
I split one or two rounds vertical, never again.
Horizontal vs. Vertical Log Splitter Use?
- Thread starter Rckymtnhigh
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Why Not?
Why not? Eric, please explain. Otherwise, how can I believe you, especially when it's been four years since I mashed my fingers splitting horizontally and have split 30 cords of wood vertically since then?
Why not? Eric, please explain. Otherwise, how can I believe you, especially when it's been four years since I mashed my fingers splitting horizontally and have split 30 cords of wood vertically since then?
WidowMaker
Addicted to ArboristSite
Because my ol' back and knees won't take it. It's been about seven years since our splitter was last used verticle and we split something between thirty to 50 cords a year. All with eihter a maul or two 6" handlles...Hydraulics forever
...
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and some noodling
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and some noodling
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Because of my back I split most of my wood in the Vertical. Sit on a big round and pull the wood over to where I'm sitting with a three pronged clam rake! Been doing it so long am used to it!! Just split about 12 cords that way! Pics in " Good Morning Thread" a while back.
Help is on the Way!
Go ahead, guys. Get your wife or grandson to help you lift those big rounds up to the horizontal splitter beam. They just can't wait to help you. Show a Pic of all parties in action.
Finally, another guy on the same page. Let the other beasts lift the 24" dia., 200-Lb rounds that I can handle by myself sitting down with the splitter standing up. This thread is finally starting to get interesting.
Go ahead, guys. Get your wife or grandson to help you lift those big rounds up to the horizontal splitter beam. They just can't wait to help you. Show a Pic of all parties in action.
fin460
Ham Fisted
We do everything with the Fiskars, in the timber, just a load or two at a time, but were farmers and stubborn, and until this year while cutting with a friend who had a splitter, we didn't know any better. We cut as a family around 30cords a year maybe more. We noodle some of the big knotted pieces, but usually there is a way to split it with an axe, if you are stubborn enough. Since were in the timber some of those bad knots just get rolled back into the brush pile.
I'm not stupid and I now know splitters are nice, we will probably build one this fall, but since we don't cut all our wood ahead of time, and only a few loads a week during the winter when we need it, the big rush isn't usually a problem.
There's a sort of pride when splitting a whole load of split wood with just a light fiskars axe.
I'm not stupid and I now know splitters are nice, we will probably build one this fall, but since we don't cut all our wood ahead of time, and only a few loads a week during the winter when we need it, the big rush isn't usually a problem.
There's a sort of pride when splitting a whole load of split wood with just a light fiskars axe.
AIM
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have a bad disc between L4 and L5. Crawling around on my knees shoving wood around seems to not scare me like trying to lift heavy pieces.
Of course the stupid thing is that anytime I hurt my back is when I sneeze, cough, crawl out of the truck, or something silly like that. Never seem to do anything to it while doing hard heavy work:confused2:
Of course the stupid thing is that anytime I hurt my back is when I sneeze, cough, crawl out of the truck, or something silly like that. Never seem to do anything to it while doing hard heavy work:confused2:
apn73
ArboristSite Operative
I don't know Spidey, the Kubota is pretty darn fast, and the hand truck is pretty good on level ground. It just sounds like you're working too hard!:hmm3grin2orange: I think also depends somewhat on your situation. You sound like you're cutting in a big wood lot. I'm cutting up grapple load at a time set out on three or four forebearers in my backyard. Things are tight and I really can't spread wood all over the place, that and there is a steep hill. The other thing is that I generally am not splitting anything over 20" in diameter, but the Kubota is still pretty fast.
I'll bet if you used a real hookeroon once you'd never go back to a rake, hoe or other substitutes. I know I didn't.
Harry K
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Same here. I've run about 75 cords on the splitter so far this month and all was horizontal.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
I have employees and equipment to do the heavy lifting. 
Finally, another guy on the same page. Let the other beasts lift the 24" dia., 200-Lb rounds that I can handle by myself sitting down with the splitter standing up. This thread is finally starting to get interesting.
Go ahead, guys. Get your wife or grandson to help you lift those big rounds up to the horizontal splitter beam. They just can't wait to help you. Show a Pic of all parties in action.
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
This debate is silly.
I've got a tip-up, sometimes I go horizontal, sometimes I go vertical - mostly depending how my back feels at the time.
Different strokes - do it the way you want to & don't worry about it.
I've got a tip-up, sometimes I go horizontal, sometimes I go vertical - mostly depending how my back feels at the time.
Different strokes - do it the way you want to & don't worry about it.
Agreed. For example, changing a toilet out in the house can throw your back out for over a week. BTDT.
Thousands of people suffer from spondylolisthesis (spondo for short) and many don't even know it. Whenever you lift a heavy round onto a splitter beam or the truck tailgate for that matter, you can suddenly increase the cost of your firewood.
I do about 90% vertical. Between my brother and I we probably split about 10 to 15 cords a year. It is usually bigger oak and we have a history of back problems. We also usually have plenty of helpers so there are two people at the splitter, one person sitting at the splitter (operator) and one making sure the rounds are within reach of the operator and also loading/stacking the splits. If my splitter was a little taller (I am 6'1" and my brother is 6'4"),had a lift and a real work table (it just has a cradle) I think I would do horizontal more. I have had to split pieces so big there was no way to move them. In those cases we used a digging bar to pry under the round and lift it up a few inches, then slid the splitter under the round and start a crack in the round. Then move the splitter over a foot or so and do it again until we got enough chunks out of the wood to be able to move it rather then the splitter. Doing that really made you appreciate a nice straight 12" round tree!!
Brian.
Brian.
apn73
ArboristSite Operative
It may be silly in your mind, but I have learned a lot by what others with more experience are saying. I still prefer vertical, but that's just me. Silly, maybe, lots of good information for people to pick up on if they're paying attention, absolutely! Becaus of this I don't think this dabate is the least bit silly.
spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
You are right in that both sides of a debate like this make valid points, and there is certainly some valuable info there.
But if these things go on long enough, they begin to take on the tone of an argument, and that is where it starts to get silly. It's cool to say "I prefer it this way because..........". But you can start to detect a lot of comments from one side suggesting the other side is "wrong" and doesn't know what they are doing. Then they in turn will naturally defend their position and say that the other guys have it all wrong, and off we go. It's like the outdoor vs. indoor stove debate that takes place 8 or 9 times every year. (Or the inboard clutch vs outboard clutch debate that takes place every other week over on the saw forum. :msp_razz
NSmaple is right in his main point, which we probably all agree with: Do it which ever way you find works best for you. Doesn't matter if someone else has a different idea.
cat-face timber
Knot Bumper
Are you sure you are not my Dad?
Silly?? No.
Resolvable?? No.
Everybody is gonna' make what they have work... and it's what you get used to, as well a physical limits. If you have bad knees or hemorrhoids then a vertical that puts the plate on the ground ain't gonna' be worth sour-owl-crap for you, but a table-top vertical might be. If you have a broken ankle or gout then standing at a horizontal would be miserable.
I split at the cutting site, so all the wood is laying on the ground. Even though I prefer a horizontal, I'd positively hate one that required lifting rounds to waist level... mine only requires I lift the wood a few inches. The larger/heavier stuff isn't really lifted, it's more like rolled onto the splitter... meaning I use a comparatively small amount of effort to put a 200 lb round on the beam. And, worst case, I just loosen one wing nut and the wedge, beam, push-plate and cylinder tilt over on their side to get the really, really big rounds. See... I never lift any "heavy" wood, ever, 'cause I don't load it until I'm splitting it. If I was splitting wood from the back of a pickup, well then... my low-to-the-ground splitter would be a huge PITA (but I never do that, 'cause I don't want to lift the heavy pieces into the truck).
OK, so some of these guys say they'd rather work a vertical while sitting on a stump then work bent over a low horizontal. Well guess what guys?? My low-to-the-ground horizontal is "low enough" you could sit on a stump while operating it (if sitting is your thing). Really though, I've never noticed a sore back issue; the operating lever is tall enough to manipulate while standing straight up, and I have to bend over to reach the wood anyway... I mean really guys, no matter how you slice it, you have to bend over and pick the wood up at some point, I just do it (and the loading) during the splitting operation rather than 2, 3 or 4 separate, more time consuming operations. It's called streamlining... I have nothing to gain, and everything to lose by having a "taller" horizontal, and even more to lose using a vertical. Besides, with the 100% hands-free auto-cycle, it ain't like I have to be bent over holding a lever anyway... my hands are free to be doing something else.
Which brings me to my next point... the hand-free auto-cycle and adjustable return stop. Man, I just can't imagine having a splitter without those. Really, that's something I'd pay double, even triple the price for... and you couldn't give my one without it. You can talk about how fast your splitter is all you want... but if you're standing still holding levers you're wasting massive amounts of time. More often than not I have the next round ready to drop on the beam before the ram returns enough... as soon as the ram returns enough I drop the round and slap the lever before it even hits the stop. In other words, I'm splitting rounds just as fast as I can turn and grab them! If I'm a bit slow grabbing the next round the ram only returns as far as I've preset it... I ain't wasting time with the push-plate floating through dead air.
Which brings me to my next point... the push-plate on the ram and the wedge on the beam (impossible with a H/V convertible). That setup puts the axle, engine, pump, operating controls and everything else well back and out of the way... no way for anything to fall on them. And with the splits being pushed off the end of the beam there ain't any chance of squashed feet either. My push-plate is a small round affair that tilts, swivels and rotates to grab angle cut rounds without problem. And it keeps all the force directly in line with the ram... rarely any bind on the slide, often rattling loose during the split.
And lastly, all of the above, plus the 8000 PSI working pressures, make for a small, light weight, compact and powerful machine that stores in less space than a riding lawn mower.
I may not be able to convert you with words, but I'll guarantee that running my splitter for an hour would permanently convert you away from those other monstrosities.
Resolvable?? No.
Everybody is gonna' make what they have work... and it's what you get used to, as well a physical limits. If you have bad knees or hemorrhoids then a vertical that puts the plate on the ground ain't gonna' be worth sour-owl-crap for you, but a table-top vertical might be. If you have a broken ankle or gout then standing at a horizontal would be miserable.
I split at the cutting site, so all the wood is laying on the ground. Even though I prefer a horizontal, I'd positively hate one that required lifting rounds to waist level... mine only requires I lift the wood a few inches. The larger/heavier stuff isn't really lifted, it's more like rolled onto the splitter... meaning I use a comparatively small amount of effort to put a 200 lb round on the beam. And, worst case, I just loosen one wing nut and the wedge, beam, push-plate and cylinder tilt over on their side to get the really, really big rounds. See... I never lift any "heavy" wood, ever, 'cause I don't load it until I'm splitting it. If I was splitting wood from the back of a pickup, well then... my low-to-the-ground splitter would be a huge PITA (but I never do that, 'cause I don't want to lift the heavy pieces into the truck).
OK, so some of these guys say they'd rather work a vertical while sitting on a stump then work bent over a low horizontal. Well guess what guys?? My low-to-the-ground horizontal is "low enough" you could sit on a stump while operating it (if sitting is your thing). Really though, I've never noticed a sore back issue; the operating lever is tall enough to manipulate while standing straight up, and I have to bend over to reach the wood anyway... I mean really guys, no matter how you slice it, you have to bend over and pick the wood up at some point, I just do it (and the loading) during the splitting operation rather than 2, 3 or 4 separate, more time consuming operations. It's called streamlining... I have nothing to gain, and everything to lose by having a "taller" horizontal, and even more to lose using a vertical. Besides, with the 100% hands-free auto-cycle, it ain't like I have to be bent over holding a lever anyway... my hands are free to be doing something else.
Which brings me to my next point... the hand-free auto-cycle and adjustable return stop. Man, I just can't imagine having a splitter without those. Really, that's something I'd pay double, even triple the price for... and you couldn't give my one without it. You can talk about how fast your splitter is all you want... but if you're standing still holding levers you're wasting massive amounts of time. More often than not I have the next round ready to drop on the beam before the ram returns enough... as soon as the ram returns enough I drop the round and slap the lever before it even hits the stop. In other words, I'm splitting rounds just as fast as I can turn and grab them! If I'm a bit slow grabbing the next round the ram only returns as far as I've preset it... I ain't wasting time with the push-plate floating through dead air.
Which brings me to my next point... the push-plate on the ram and the wedge on the beam (impossible with a H/V convertible). That setup puts the axle, engine, pump, operating controls and everything else well back and out of the way... no way for anything to fall on them. And with the splits being pushed off the end of the beam there ain't any chance of squashed feet either. My push-plate is a small round affair that tilts, swivels and rotates to grab angle cut rounds without problem. And it keeps all the force directly in line with the ram... rarely any bind on the slide, often rattling loose during the split.
And lastly, all of the above, plus the 8000 PSI working pressures, make for a small, light weight, compact and powerful machine that stores in less space than a riding lawn mower.
I may not be able to convert you with words, but I'll guarantee that running my splitter for an hour would permanently convert you away from those other monstrosities.
cmsmoke
ArboristSite Operative
I like that little splitter. I've seen it before. It could be put up on blocks if it is too low for some of us. The capability of laying the cylinder and beam on its side makes it as usefull as a combination splitter. I see one drawback when using it on the side...if the log is close to or heavier than the splitter, the splitter is going to walk away from log as it is splitting. Make sure you don't run anything over!
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