Modified my Huskee splitter wedge, pics inside

[TheLazyBFarm]

I really like my Huskee/Speedco 22 ton log splitter. One thing I don't like about it was the height and width of the wedge. So I decided to change it.

Before pic:

After pic:

I added four inches to the height and about an inch and a quarter to the maximum width (3" to 4 1/4"). The top blade is 3/4" thick regular steel, about four inches wide. The "wings" are 3/8" x 3" steel flat bar.

The wider stance has really worked out well, especially in splitting stringy wood like walnut. The split occurs both faster/sooner and with much more authority. I've had no problem splitting 21" x 20" walnut rounds, although I have to use the splitter in the vertical mode since they weigh so much.

I'm very pleased with this mod.

The next mod I plan to make is to add a 2" thick plate to the foot that will both widen it and bring the height up to the same as the blade.

 

[John R]

Looks good, but do you think it will put more strain on your cylinder? Your going to be pushing off center with it now.

 

[cat-face timber]

I would be worried about "tweaking" your I beam.
I have a Uncle that added height to his splitter wedge and it tweaked his I Beam, I would get that added height on your foot ASAP.

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

Doesn't seem to be doing anything different on most normal 10"-15" round or wedges. Now +20" walnut rounds, it really starts to grunt. I did heavily grease the wedge foot so that it won't stick or hang up in the beam channel, that appeared to help as well.

The "foot" job appears to be my after lunch project today.

Thanks,

 

[cantoo]

I redid mine abit too.

 

[066blaster]

I just want to ask, is it necessary to grease a splitter? I have seen some new ones that are greased. Mine wasn't and i never have greased it. I wish my wedge was taller. In the vertical position with big rounds that tilt back it only goes in a inch.

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

Mine wasn't greased when I got it, but it seems to work better greased. It only stands to reason that anything that is supposed to slide back and forth will work better at whatever it's supposed to if the surfaces are greased and it can slide easier without binding. I want the work to go into the wood, not overcome sticktion in the wedge/beam interface.

 

[John R]

I keep mine lubed with silicone spray, it lubes well, prevents rust, and doesn't attract dirt.
Grease is going to cause wood chips and all kinds of dirt to stick in the channel.

 

[hupte]

so cantoo, why did you reverse the push block and split wedge? you have eliminated the ability to split in the vertical position. also it makes it harder to split cause after you split a 20 inch round you have to pick up the 2 halves and lift them back up on the splitter. the extra log cradles you added wont really help to keep the splits on the splitter, cause you push all the splits off the back... please correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[ttyR2]

I would think the traditional I-beam style splitter with a moving wedge would be more conducive to being greased with grease zerks on the wedge base than these newer ones with the ram running in slots. Not saying that either style is better.

 

[cantoo]

hupte, I never use my splitter in vertical anyway. I have a conveyor at the end of my splitter so this modification saves me from handling each piece onto the conveyor. When I split big stuff I usually split it in half and half stays on the far side cradle, it's bigger than it looks and the half split doesn't slide off the end. I then split the half on my side into small splits then do the far half. Or I will split 1/3 off the round and let it fall onto the conveyor as an overnight block then split the remaining 2/3s into small splits. I have 2 splitters. Up until now all I have ever had for firewood is tops so never had much big stuff anyway. I bought the Speeco with the plan to cut it up and finally got around to doing it. I could buy the complete unit for less money than buying the pieces and building my own. Picture shows my other splitter before I cut it up and redid it too.

 

[hupte]

oh ok... makes sense with the conveyer... nice set up

 

[cantoo]

Yeah, I finally got things the way I wanted then I bought a OWB so really don't have much use for the conveyor setup. I might do some campfire wood though so it might get used. Now I get to buy stuff to use for the owb.

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

Added the 2" steel plate to the foot. This plate is right around 12"x12" and weighed around 80 lbs on the hoof!!! Rounding the corners cut it a bit but not much.

Pics:

Several advantages to the foot mod include:
- Much easier to quarter and sub-quarter rounds now since they no longer ride over the top of the very short OEM foot
- Much easier to stack wood to split it all at once rather than having to use multiple cycles
- More aggressive cleats keep the wood in place rather than sliding out under pressure - there is a downside to this, see below


Some disadvantages:
- I created a debris trap at the bottom of the foot. Once it got jammed, it was very difficult to clear up. Here, prevention is worth a pund of cure and I found myself clearing the track much more.
- You lose about 2" of log length, not a biggie for me since I like to keep my wood to around 18" or so.
- The cleats were a little too aggressive, some wood got jammed on them, requiring me to unstick them. Not a biggie, but I might have to grind them down a bit.

Let me know what you think, thanks!

Overall, a very well worth mod, I really like the fact that I now can split more wood in one cycle than I could with the old wedge and foot.

 

[Oliver1655]

I have a 21" high 4-way wedge & love being able to stack wood up to split 2 or more pieces at the same time.

 

[Joesell]

I have a 21" high 4-way wedge & love being able to stack wood up to split 2 or more pieces at the same time.

View attachment 337701

I really like your bucking trailer! Did you do a build post on it? If not, take some pic's and show that thing off!

 

[cantoo]

oliver1655, that's almost exactly the setup I have been planning to build. I was planning on making the whole thing trailer mounted including the splitter on the back and the floor sloping to the back instead of the side.

 

[Vermonster]

Added the 2" steel plate to the foot. This plate is right around 12"x12" and weighed around 80 lbs on the hoof!!! Rounding the corners cut it a bit but not much.

Pics:

Several advantages to the foot mod include:
- Much easier to quarter and sub-quarter rounds now since they no longer ride over the top of the very short OEM foot
- Much easier to stack wood to split it all at once rather than having to use multiple cycles
- More aggressive cleats keep the wood in place rather than sliding out under pressure - there is a downside to this, see below


Some disadvantages:
- I created a debris trap at the bottom of the foot. Once it got jammed, it was very difficult to clear up. Here, prevention is worth a pund of cure and I found myself clearing the track much more.
- You lose about 2" of log length, not a biggie for me since I like to keep my wood to around 18" or so.
- The cleats were a little too aggressive, some wood got jammed on them, requiring me to unstick them. Not a biggie, but I might have to grind them down a bit.

Let me know what you think, thanks!

Overall, a very well worth mod, I really like the fact that I now can split more wood in one cycle than I could with the old wedge and goot.

Nice job, looks great. Remember that your ram travel will exceed the modified increased foot height. Hence, you'll bend the new foot if you're not careful. Been there done that.

Those horizontal wings have been cut off. Too much twisting for the design to deal with, even with the beefed up guides. 6 years ago, wise men here on AS told me not to put on a permanent 4-way. Foolishly, I did it anyway.


It's sad how tiny they make the foot/base. It's a real problem when trying to deal with big rounds in the vertical mode, which is how I operate it 80% of the time.

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

Nice job, looks great. Remember that your ram travel will exceed the modified increased foot height. Hence, you'll bend the new foot if you're not careful. Been there done that.

Those horizontal wings have been cut off. Too much twisting for the design to deal with, even with the beefed up guides. 6 years ago, wise men here on AS told me not to put on a permanent 4-way. Foolishly, I did it anyway.
View attachment 337840 View attachment 337841

It's sad how tiny they make the foot/base. It's a real problem when trying to deal with big rounds in the vertical mode, which is how I operate it 80% of the time.

What do you mean by that? That the ram/wedge will now contact the [extended] foot? If so, it doesn't. I have about a 3/8" - 1/2" or so clearance between the fully extended ram/wedge and my new foot. That's one thing I didn't like about the OEM design also, the excessive clearance +2" or so between the wedge and the foot. I hated trying to finish splitting stringy wood like walnut and hickory.

Thanks,

 

[Vermonster]

What do you mean by that? That the ram/wedge will now contact the [extended] foot? If so, it doesn't. I have about a 3/8" - 1/2" or so clearance between the fully extended ram/wedge and my new foot. That's one thing I didn't like about the OEM design also, the excessive clearance +2" or so between the wedge and the foot. I hated trying to finish splitting stringy wood like walnut and hickory.

Thanks,

Yes, contact with the higher foot by the wedge was what I trying to convey. If you look at the pic on my modified foot/base you will see distinct markings from the wedge contacting the center of the foot. Needed to do a bit of wedge grinding and shaping then. It just barely makes contact now.

Good luck.