Thinking of building a splitter

[MIspecial]

Well, Built rite and timberwolfs are out of my price range. I am thinking about building one. I want a heavy duty spliter and want to do it right. Honda 18 hp and a 28 gpm pump running a 5" cyl w/ 30" stroke sounds like a good place to start. Northern tool seems to be a good source for parts. Any good plans anyone knows of?

 

[sawinredneck]

If you have more time and money than you know what to do, go for it. If you don't mind it taking three times what you thought it would, an unlimeted supply of welding rod and grinding wheels, good acces to hyd. lines and couplers, go for it. If you don't care that it will cost four times what a decent splitter wil cost, not an awsome one, but a good one, go for it!! Steel is STUPID high priced right now, the I/H-beam will cost at least $100, the pump is around $300 and plan on around $500 for a motor, trust me on this!! The cylinder is around $400, then you have to find a gas tank and hyd. res., and th control lever will be around $175. Put on a set of wheels/axle and come up with enough steel to weld it all together, plumb it and fill it with fluid!
I got a lot of this stuff cheap/free and still have a boatload in it, and it's not done yet!!
This is not a project for the faint of heart or someone that works a lot of hours! Not meaning to be a nay sayer, but it's good to know what you are walking into ahead of time.

 

[MIspecial]

I hear you! My thought is I can pay as I go. And If I start now I hope by late summer to be done. I've looked for used ones but if you find a good one its almost as much as new. I really don't expect this to be too much cheaper but thought it would be a good project.

 

[Rspike]

more like $1000.00 - $1400.00 for an 18hp Honda engine.

 

[046]

looks like it's cheaper to buy complete, unless you've got a butt load of the stuff needed or can get for free.

 

[sawinredneck]

more like $1000.00 - $1400.00 for an 18hp Honda engine.

Well. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt for a used one.


Mid summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats funny!!!! I started mine this time last year!!

 

[mga]

depending on your sourcefullness, you can build one fairly cheap and yet make it good quality.

i built mine. the trailer: a small boat trailer given to me free.
the 8" H beam: free for some landscaping work
the engine: 18hp b&s i had laying around
the hydraulic tank: 18 gallon tank my son built for me at his shop
the cylinder: paid $125 for a 6 x 24 someone had
the control valve: a prince 3000 paid $79
the pump: barnes 2 stage paid $279 (11/22 i think..i'll have to check)
the hoses: $100
the steel: bought from onlinesteel.com for $125
the welding: all done for free
the wedge: bought for $22 from northern

many other parts i got from scrounging around. true, steel is expensive but there are also some great deals out there if you look for them. i have pictues of the progession of my splitter. sure, the time you spend designing and looking for parts and building it might outweigh walking into a store and just bringing one home, but for me it was the challenge and the fun of doing it.

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/mga_01/

 

[triptester]

I will have to agree that building a splitter with all new parts is a losing proposition. A $1000 store bought splitter will cost $1500 to build with new materials.

But as MGA has said with the right resources for materials you can make a machine that is cost effective. I have built 4 splitters in the last 5 years with mostly free steel ,tires , rims, axles , super deals on motors ,pumps ,and cylinders. Still I spent almost $700 on the least expensive splitter.

If you have the 18 hp. Honda already great ,use it . If you are buying a motor buy only as large a motor that is required to operate the pump. Bigger motors do not make splitters more powerful they just allow you to use bigger pumps that will flow more GPM's.

 

[mga]

if i had to buy everything i probably would have been in the $2,000 range....in that case, it sure would have made sense to go buy a new one.

and, i've seen some great deals on used splitters around here. somebody was selling a 30 ton for $800 !! naturally that was gone in an hour..lol

but, like i said, it was a challenge, i'm retired, and it gave me something to do in a field i enjoy doing, so i'm not complaining about it.

if i was still working and making that 150k per year...i'd have bought the top of the line.

 

[turnkey4099]

The 'it costs more to build it yourself' people are right. Even if you scrounge fee parts (I did) it will still run a goodly fraction of the cost of a new splitter. For sticker shock I had mine all built then went to purchase the hoses and fittings. OUCH!!

If cost is the problem, financing a new one will be far cheaper in the long run than building with new parts.

Harry K

 

[parrisw]

Agreed, I wanted to build one, but couldn't source cheap parts at the time when I wanted one, so I bought a new one with a friend, shared the cost.

 

[SmokinDodge]

FYI, I bult my splitter with a 19 horse I had already, free steel from my Father, $75 used 6" ram and a mobile home axle that was also free. 1st major expense was the 28 gpm pump that was 365 shipped. I got used 3/4 hydraulic hose and got lucky being able to use one end that was already on the hose just having to put one fitting on per hose. After hyd fluid and fenders I came up to about $750 in my splitter with about 80 hours in it plus welding wire, grinding disks and such.

How much is your time worth? Do you need it to do something a commercial splitter won't? Mine will split 38" wood for the FIL, only reason I built one.

I'm getting ready to redo mine and install a log lift, so the fun never ends!

It can be a very rewarding experince to build your own, but double the amount of $ you have budgeted and triple your time and you will be close.