New Timberwolf TW3-HD

[HillRat]

My apologies to Swamp Yankee for borrowing his thread title.

A few weeks back, I went to The Cutting Edge in Greenwich, NY, to pick up my new TW3-HD. I saw some cool stuff while I was there. The story and pics are in this thread: http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=150975.

I finally had a chance to do some splitting with my TW3-HD this weekend. Here are the pics.

The TW3-HD and my Ford 1520:

Some black walnut on the four-way wedge:

Back side of the four-way:

The splitter valve:

(continued in next post...)

 

[HillRat]

Hydraulic tank filler and filter gauge:

The PTO pump mounted to the tractor:

Gussets and welds at the hitch end:

Push plate, beam, and log cradle:

 

[HillRat]

A good look at the push plate:

The hitch end of things:

Table grate:

Business end of the six-way wedge:

Other end of the six-way.

 

[HillRat]

540 PTO rpm on my tractor is at 2,300 engine rpm. I was running at about 1,200 rpm and had no problem pushing anything through the four- or six-way wedges. I split about a cord of mixed ash, black walnut, oak, locust, and maple.

I really enjoy not standing next to a gas engine screaming along at 3,600 rpm while splitting. I also like being able to change the height of the entire splitter by raising or lowering the tractor's lift arms.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Don't sweat it.

Enjoy the machine and keep making those little pieces out of the big chunks.

Take Care

 

[HillRat]

Don't sweat it.

Thanks.

Enjoy the machine and keep making those little pieces out of the big chunks.

You too! That TW2-HD is a great looking machine and is probably what I would have bought if I didn't go for a PTO-powered model.

To the new T'wolves:

 

[rmihalek]

Great pictures. Congrats on the new splitter. Those welds (to my amateur eye) look beautiful, a work of art.

 

[HillRat]

Great pictures. Congrats on the new splitter. Those welds (to my amateur eye) look beautiful, a work of art.

Thanks.

The welds look pretty good to me, too. I took a welding course at the local vo-tech a few years back and can put down a fair bead with a stick machine, but I'm not a welder by any stretch. The welds on this machine look great and the build quality was a big part of the reason I chose a Timberwolf.

Also, the places where they chose to put gussets and reinforcements are very interesting. If I was going to build my own splitter, I would study Timberwolf's designs pretty closely.

 

[cowtipper]

Hydraulic tank filler and filter gauge:

Not sure I have seen something like that, does it show the pressure of the oil going out of the tank?

 

[nikocker]

Wow! Awesome looking splitter.

Al

 

[chris50ae]

Hydraulic tank filler and filter gauge:

Not sure I have seen something like that, does it show the pressure of the oil going out of the tank?

i have that setup on my forklifts. It is a low pressure guage that reads return pressure. the tank filter is a drop-in type right below the guage and when it starts to clog, the pressure will rise. When very cold, the guage will sometimes read well into the red until the oil thins and flows faster.

 

[HillRat]

i have that setup on my forklifts. It is a low pressure guage that reads return pressure. the tank filter is a drop-in type right below the guage and when it starts to clog, the pressure will rise. When very cold, the guage will sometimes read well into the red until the oil thins and flows faster.

Yep, chris50ae is correct. The gauge measures the return flow of hydro fluid through the filter into the tank. When the filter becomes clogged and the flow slows, the gauge will read in the yellow or red. Makes sense that it will do it if the fluid is very cold too, but in the last few weeks the weather hasn't been cold enough to see that.

Next time I'm running the splitter, I'll get a pic of the filter element.

 

[cowtipper]

Yep, chris50ae is correct. The gauge measures the return flow of hydro fluid through the filter into the tank. When the filter becomes clogged and the flow slows, the gauge will read in the yellow or red. Makes sense that it will do it if the fluid is very cold too, but in the last few weeks the weather hasn't been cold enough to see that.

Next time I'm running the splitter, I'll get a pic of the filter element.

Thanks HillRat and chris50ae.. Looking forward to the pic