Do any of you have problems with knotty pieces "launching" off your splitter when they finally break free? If so, what kind of setup do you have (push wedge, push through, kinetic)?
A little history behind the question:
I'm at a point where I want to add a splitter to my collection of tools. I've been looking at them for nearly a decade now and I'm surprised by how much the prices have come down in that time. I've run a splitter a few times, but probably only split 2 cords of wood on them total. I cut mostly shagbark hickory with some black locust, oak, and ash. Most of my rounds are in the 10"-20" range (but the locust is more like 24"-30"), and are about 22" long with an occasional long piece up to 24". My wood furnace has a 10" square door, and I don't generally split anything smaller than 8" unless I'm splitting stuff to take camping or to feed one of my rocket stoves. My firewood stays log length and gets moved in bulk until I'm ready to bring it into the house. I cut it to length about 10' from the house, split it by hand, and drop it down an old coal chute into the basement where it gets stacked near my furnace. I often do this of an evening after work when daylight is fading fast, and I generally cut and split about 1/4 of a cord at a time. The splitter would primarily be used very close to the house for short periods of time to split 12 to 16 large rounds into firewood before going into my basement. I've been discussing this topic with an older friend (local farmer) who has been splitting with a (25 hp) tractor mounted splitter since the late 70s. He runs his off a single stage PTO pump and has a double detented valve that allows him to spend his free time getting the next piece ready instead of fiddling with the splitter controls. His splitter has the wedge mounted to the ram, and he has added a table to it so that the wood stays right where it is until its split small enough to go in the fire box. He really likes his setup, and I can understand why. It will out run him and his 30 yo son combined and requires minimal effort on their part. He has mentioned that when he has a really nasty piece, occasionally, it will launch off of the splitter with some noticeable force when it finally splits. This caught my attention as a potential concern that I would like to avoid. I have some thoughts as to why his splitter does this, but I want to hear about others experience before I draw a conclusion. When I mentioned a kinetic splitter, he was not familiar with them. After a few pictures and videos, he was adamantly against the idea because of the concern of "launching" firewood off the splitter and hitting someone. If this is actually possible, it is a big concern for me since I have kids that I will be enlisting for slave labor in the coming years.
For anyone who has endured my ramblings thus far and is willing to go a little further, I'm also curious to know if you think a kinetic splitter would be a good option for what I'm splitting. I like the simplicity of the design (no hydraulics), but I'm concerned about the ability to split some of the larger stuff that I deal with. I plan on building some sort of lift or crane to get large rounds onto the splitter. I don't mind noodling the occasional large crotch (already doing that now) but I'd rather not make a regular habit of it. I'd like to keep the budget under $1,000, but for a 30 year tool, I'd be willing to go higher for a kinetic splitter due to the simplicity of the design, and I'm a big fan of buying good heavy duty USED tools and equipment.
Thanks,
Mark
A little history behind the question:
I'm at a point where I want to add a splitter to my collection of tools. I've been looking at them for nearly a decade now and I'm surprised by how much the prices have come down in that time. I've run a splitter a few times, but probably only split 2 cords of wood on them total. I cut mostly shagbark hickory with some black locust, oak, and ash. Most of my rounds are in the 10"-20" range (but the locust is more like 24"-30"), and are about 22" long with an occasional long piece up to 24". My wood furnace has a 10" square door, and I don't generally split anything smaller than 8" unless I'm splitting stuff to take camping or to feed one of my rocket stoves. My firewood stays log length and gets moved in bulk until I'm ready to bring it into the house. I cut it to length about 10' from the house, split it by hand, and drop it down an old coal chute into the basement where it gets stacked near my furnace. I often do this of an evening after work when daylight is fading fast, and I generally cut and split about 1/4 of a cord at a time. The splitter would primarily be used very close to the house for short periods of time to split 12 to 16 large rounds into firewood before going into my basement. I've been discussing this topic with an older friend (local farmer) who has been splitting with a (25 hp) tractor mounted splitter since the late 70s. He runs his off a single stage PTO pump and has a double detented valve that allows him to spend his free time getting the next piece ready instead of fiddling with the splitter controls. His splitter has the wedge mounted to the ram, and he has added a table to it so that the wood stays right where it is until its split small enough to go in the fire box. He really likes his setup, and I can understand why. It will out run him and his 30 yo son combined and requires minimal effort on their part. He has mentioned that when he has a really nasty piece, occasionally, it will launch off of the splitter with some noticeable force when it finally splits. This caught my attention as a potential concern that I would like to avoid. I have some thoughts as to why his splitter does this, but I want to hear about others experience before I draw a conclusion. When I mentioned a kinetic splitter, he was not familiar with them. After a few pictures and videos, he was adamantly against the idea because of the concern of "launching" firewood off the splitter and hitting someone. If this is actually possible, it is a big concern for me since I have kids that I will be enlisting for slave labor in the coming years.
For anyone who has endured my ramblings thus far and is willing to go a little further, I'm also curious to know if you think a kinetic splitter would be a good option for what I'm splitting. I like the simplicity of the design (no hydraulics), but I'm concerned about the ability to split some of the larger stuff that I deal with. I plan on building some sort of lift or crane to get large rounds onto the splitter. I don't mind noodling the occasional large crotch (already doing that now) but I'd rather not make a regular habit of it. I'd like to keep the budget under $1,000, but for a 30 year tool, I'd be willing to go higher for a kinetic splitter due to the simplicity of the design, and I'm a big fan of buying good heavy duty USED tools and equipment.
Thanks,
Mark
, we piggy back our's to the woods in the big trailer, I set up the splitter, buck up and roll her a bunch of rounds, then while she splits those, I buck and roll her more rounds, load splits, buck and roll, load splits, Repeat, Repeat, repeat.
