Vertical or Horizontal

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Verticle or Horizontal

  • Verticle

    Votes: 4 12.1%
  • Horizontal

    Votes: 29 87.9%

  • Total voters
    33
I sometimes throw some U4.4 racing fuel in my saw. Reminds me of sitting on the starting line waiting for the gate to drop. It's a little pricey, but it sure make's it smell good.
i always wondered how klotz would smell in a chainsaw. loved that smell in my old SC500 yammie.
 
Also, noodling to render wood liftable means extra work. Why noodle something that is a wheel? I roll it in, tilt it on its side, and split.
Because vertical is awkward and too hard on the back and the the foot plate's on most splitters are too small and not designed for vertical use.
I noodle then use a hand truck to move the halves and quarters to the splitter. By using a hand truck it lifts the halve off the ground about a foot so you don't have to dead lift from the ground.
 
The foot of my beam has teeth welded onto it, to prevent the wood from slipping off--don't know if they all have that. (Mine's an Iron & Oak brand.)

The foot does mean that you have to balance big rounds on it, which is easier for me than lifting. But everyone has their own best method.
 
I generally work a pile of logs like this. I start working the pile by cutting to length then halving or quartering as needed till I get a few dozen worked up and spread out next to the pile i'm working from. Then I pull my splitter up next to the cut rounds. Then I park one of my trailers next to the splitter and start splitting and tossing the splits onto the trailer. After I split what I had worked up, I start cutting and noodeling again. I use the dolly to move the noodled pieces next to the splitter. That way I just have to lift from the dolly and not lift and carry the wood. Just lift strait up onto the splitter. When the trailer gets full, i pull it next to my stacking area and stack. Rinse lather and replete.
 
Because vertical is awkward and too hard on the back and the the foot plate's on most splitters are too small and not designed for vertical use.
I noodle then use a hand truck to move the halves and quarters to the splitter. By using a hand truck it lifts the halve off the ground about a foot so you don't have to dead lift from the ground.


That sounds like a decent plan to me---except for the noodle part,I don't like to noodle.But if noodling works for you and you don't mind doing it,good on you.As to the foot plate, little bigger would be better.The way I get around that is,I roll the block to the splitter 180* to the foot or parallel to the splitter and close to the foot,upend the block right on to the foot.I leave the ram down so that it's just 2 or 3 inches above the block so I don't have to hold the block in place too long.2 or 3 splits on the big blocks,kick them aside and when the time comes switch to horiz. mode and carry on.
 
That sounds like a decent plan to me---except for the noodle part,I don't like to noodle.But if noodling works for you and you don't mind doing it,good on you.As to the foot plate, little bigger would be better.The way I get around that is,I roll the block to the splitter 180* to the foot or parallel to the splitter and close to the foot,upend the block right on to the foot.I leave the ram down so that it's just 2 or 3 inches above the block so I don't have to hold the block in place too long.2 or 3 splits on the big blocks,kick them aside and when the time comes switch to horiz. mode and carry on.

I don't mind noodling, I found by grinding my rakers down a little more then recommended for noodling rounds. Works real good on cutting with the grain of the wood. It's a little aggressive for cross cutting as it can have too much grab in the wood so I've learned to not put so much pressure when cross cutting. When I get my chain right, it will cut noodles like butter.
 
As to splitting Vertical vs Horizontal, It DEPENDS ;):)

For rounds that are easily lifted onto the beam, I prefer Horizontal.

For some Silly reason that she can't explain, my Wife Prefers Vertical.
But hey, she Enjoys running the splitter, so I will set the machine up however she WANTS it ;):yes:

When it gets too heavy to lift comfortably, I will split Vertical.

It is Nice having the option, and I wouldn't buy a splitter that didn't work either way.

Doug :cheers:
 
That sounds like a decent plan to me---except for the noodle part,I don't like to noodle.But if noodling works for you and you don't mind doing it,good on you.As to the foot plate, little bigger would be better.The way I get around that is,I roll the block to the splitter 180* to the foot or parallel to the splitter and close to the foot,upend the block right on to the foot.I leave the ram down so that it's just 2 or 3 inches above the block so I don't have to hold the block in place too long.2 or 3 splits on the big blocks,kick them aside and when the time comes switch to horiz. mode and carry on.

I'm with you, all the way. I get everything into final (easy to handle) split size as early as possible. And I hate noodling - don't know why, just do. Seem like needless wear & tear on the saw, when a couple splitter strokes can do the same thing.

What is extra helpful, is laying a stick on the ground just in front of the foot. That is just wide enough in diameter to be just a little higher than the surface of the foot. Then when you flop the round up on the foot, it naturally leans in against the beam exactly where it needs to be, no holding required. Then once you start making pieces, it is really easy to swivel the round around on - nice & balanced.

Different strokes for different folks though - as with most things in life.
 
I guess something I take for granted and shouldn't, is that everyone has a bunch of saws like me. I've got at least 5 saws over 90CC's and 2 over 100CC's, so noodles fly easily. The other thing is the Harbor Freight lift I got. I can lower it almost flat, roll any size round up on it, then slice a four inch thick slab off the side, let the big piece roll back on the lift, split 3-4 small pieces, then repeat. Never have to lift anything over a couple pounds as I stack or throw in the trailer, Joe.
jhtOMPh.jpg

yptl6FR.jpg

lBqu02F.jpg
 
I guess something I take for granted and shouldn't, is that everyone has a bunch of saws like me. I've got at least 5 saws over 90CC's and 2 over 100CC's, so noodles fly easily. The other thing is the Harbor Freight lift I got. I can loser it almost flat, roll any size round up on it, then slice a four inch thick slab off the side, let the big piece roll back on the lift, split 3-4 small pieces, then repeat. Never have to lift anything over a couple pounds as I stack or throw in the trailer, Joe.
jhtOMPh.jpg

yptl6FR.jpg

lBqu02F.jpg


I LIKE the HF lift idea, except for US we try to split as much in the woods as we can, so it wouldn't be practical for us, but that is still a Great idea, that I would be stealing if we split more at home.

Just curious, what did that cost?
Money Well Spent, would be my guess ;)

Now, what I am REALLY Curious about is the boat in the background ;):)

Doug :cheers:
 
It's a motorcycle lift rated at 1000 pounds. It is regularly $799, and goes on sale frequently at $299, that's what I paid.

The boat is my neighbors, he paid $96,000 for it and can't afford to put it in the water. I think he's asking $40,000 for it. 28' Mako with twin Merc 200 HP two strokes, very low hours, maybe under 100 hours, Joe.
 
Back
Top