I didn't have any problem at all getting in touch with Ramsplitter....Within a day at the longest Doug would always answer my emails or return my phone calls. I'm sure at any given time, any company might make fiolks mad I supose. I'm sure how quick they get back to you depends alot on how busy they are, how much they're being puished by current customers etc. I've been in business for myself in one form or another the last 25 years, so I usually give a company the benefit of the doubt. But I did find this purchase of mine to be an easy one.
Far as what I'd do different, Mike is 100% right, I should have added on a grate to catch the "halves" as they fell off, after lifting a heavy log with the log lift I'd set the lift down level for a place to put whatever isn't split yet--that area is perfect, I was thinking a log lift on each side would be really great, overkill I know but eventually I'll weld up some type of hunged "table extention" and incorporate that with a grate like Mike suggested.
Tom Tree's--I see where Ramsplitter took down the prices on their site--they must have just did that. That's actually part of the reason I liked dealing with Doug so much, because I could rule out or add on what I did & didn't want before I bothered him about it. He did mention he has alot of stuff to add to the site, hopefully he'll put that back on. This splitter cost me $2100, that included a Honda 5.5 commercial engine which seems to be just right, and I'm putting some rounds thru it that are upwards of 26-28" in diameter. It also included an hourmeter so I know when to service it, also a 4 way wedge, 2" ball hitch, front roller wheel (not on yet) and the log lift. I've done many fabrication projects and I'll bet if you priced everything out, & even not figuring your time involved, I don't think it would make sense to build one yourself purely from a finacial standpoint. (That's assuming you're buying all new parts) Plus I should add, I picked this up because I'm only little over an hour west of Rockford.
I think the working height of this one is 19". I used it approximately 5 hours yesterday. It's funny, no matter how well you plan something, I think you'll always find things you'd do different or watch out for & have done different. I found a couple--like Mike suggested, this needs a grate after the wedge to catch the pieces. One other thing that I would do--and will do myself--where the 4 way hooks over the existing wedge, when a log starts to push on the 4 way wedge, it "slips up" about an inch, it does that because the weld bead at the bottom of the permanent wedge pushes it up. 99.9% of the time this didn't affect anything, but a couple times I had logs I most likely didn't cut straight or just a couple tough one's, and when the 4 way wedge had pressure put against it the log kept pushing the 4 way wedge up and off. Out of probably a couple hundred rounds it only did this probably twice and will be a very easy fix. I'll simply grind the weld off in the very front of the wedge to make it flat with the "table", then "V" it out where the wedge meets the table so I can reweld and have the wedge welded to the table with no weld bead sticking up--that way the 4 way wedge won't ever push up any more. Minor fix! Other than that I sure haven't found anything that I'd change. (well, except to add that Harley Davidson engine so I can drive my logsplitter up to visit the neighbor
If anyone ever has any specific questions about these that I can help you with, feel free to email me. If you're close by feel free to come look at it. I know I looked at a ton of splitters before I bought this, and every one that I looked at, or folks sent me a picture of I learned something about. And like I told Doug when I bought this, I've purchased excavators and construction equipment before that were easier to buy than this was, because I knew I'd be the one using this full time and wanted to get it right. I'll keep you posted on the good and the bad as I see it, thanks again for helping me make an informed decision!
