Log splitter failure.. who'd a thunk it?
- Thread starter swyman
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builder1101
ArboristSite Operative
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
i have yet to bend my 14" H beam, which is re-enforced with 8" c channel full lenght both sides, and the ram is 1/2" plate steel, 30" long, boxes the entire H beam.... using a 6" bore @ 3500PSI. i have yet to twist/tweak the frame. and i've been squeezing semi tires, rim and all, pancake style......i got drunk one night and stuff got mixed up and ended up trying to crush one with 100PSI on it........#### blew apart and hit me in the head, woke up and the toyota 4 banger was still ideling!!!
i have yet to bend my 14" H beam, which is re-enforced with 8" c channel full lenght both sides, and the ram is 1/2" plate steel, 30" long, boxes the entire H beam.... using a 6" bore @ 3500PSI. i have yet to twist/tweak the frame. and i've been squeezing semi tires, rim and all, pancake style......i got drunk one night and stuff got mixed up and ended up trying to crush one with 100PSI on it........#### blew apart and hit me in the head, woke up and the toyota 4 banger was still ideling!!!
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Looks to me like your horizontal wedge angle is wrong. It should be angled away from your beam so that the wood splits away and doesn't jamb against the beam and bend it. I made this mistake on mine and bent mine. Because your beam is upside down then your angle should also be angled down.
swyman
ArboristSite Operative
[/I] I originally had it that way but as I split the wedge would force the wood down instead of go straight so I beveled both sides.
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swyman, I had the same problem, kept bending the wings or twisting the beam so bad I stopped before it broke. Darn pro videos make it look so easy on straight grain wood too. I still have my 4 way but don't use it much and especially not on the twisty stuff.
I guess weld the crap out of it and keep it as sharp as possible at edge then widen out to pop it.
I guess weld the crap out of it and keep it as sharp as possible at edge then widen out to pop it.
SWI Don
ArboristSite Guru
Here are a couple options:
Split with just the tip of the wedge on the gnarly stuff. It will put a larger bending moment on the wedge / beam but you are not dealing with the 4 way part. I am guessing you use the splitter inverted (wedge down).
Make your 4 way hydraulically movable so you can retract it out of the way for the ugly splits. That's what I do. Unfortunately it will probably be a big tear up of your wedge design.
Don
Split with just the tip of the wedge on the gnarly stuff. It will put a larger bending moment on the wedge / beam but you are not dealing with the 4 way part. I am guessing you use the splitter inverted (wedge down).
Make your 4 way hydraulically movable so you can retract it out of the way for the ugly splits. That's what I do. Unfortunately it will probably be a big tear up of your wedge design.
Don
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