34 ton Brave with 4 way wedge

[Gui272]

I have a 34 ton brave right now that i want to convert over to a 4 way wedge. i plan on taking the splitter to my local metal shop and having them fabricate either a 12" tall wedge with a 4 way at 6" or a 14" tall wedge with a 4 way at 7".

i'm also looking at having the foot of the splitter cut off and a new one welded on to match the wedge height. I find the factory foot just isn't tall enough.

Has anyone had any experience with this and how did it work?

The factory wedge im going to take off and have a totally different wedge made that mounts exactly the same as the factory one, just a 4 way just to explain what i'm planning a little better.


Any opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

thanks!

 

[jrider]

Go with the taller and wider option.

 

[Gui272]

has anyone done anything like this and how did it work? i'm not worried about the splitters power. it's a 34 ton with an 8hp motor so i'm sure i have enough power to do it. i'm looking to get the job done quicker without breaking the bank in getting a new splitter that better fits my needs.

i think if i do this it will really speed me up and allow me to spend less time splitting wood each year.

 

[Gui272]

Does anyone have any design suggestions? i'm leaning towards the 14" tall with the 4 way at 7" up and the 14" tall foot plate. i'm thinking that will give me a better size peice of wood vs. the 12" tall with 6" 4 way.

any help is appreciated. I want to do this one time and done. I'm guessing someing has to be done with the angle of the 4 way of it'll pinch the wood all the time. Maybe angled up very slightly.

 

[cnice_37]

If you are proposing a fixed 4-way I would reconsider. A nasty crotch is very likely to bust a weld or twist a beam or wedge. Then again, nasty crotches are a whole other subject for the OT forum :msp_razz:

I have a slip on 4-way, the factory option from Timberwolf. Slips on and off in seconds, and if you drop on one way it is shorter, the other way taller, just by offsetting the horizontal wedge location on the sleeve. Of course the wings are fixed.

So you could have let's say a 5" or 7" height with nice wide wings, plus be able to handle the nasties by taking it off with this approach.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Gui272]

yeah, that make sense. i'm actually looking at the brand mighty ox splitters. These guys are local to me and i'm going to contact them to see if they can do this work for me. They have a fairly tall wedge design that has a drop on 4 way.

so, i'm going to try them and hopefully they can use what they have or make something like theirs that will work on my splitter and also put the lager foot on there too.

There splitters looks prety massive and look to be good units for sure.