Split-Fire Splitters

[chaikwa]

I was wondering if anyone here has a 'Split-Fire' wood splitter? (They're the ones that split in both directions) I like to build 'stuff' and I think something along the lines of this splitter will be my next project, but with a few modifications.

What I'd like to see is the interior of the square tube and how they make it slide easily without wearing out the interior of the tube.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[ericjeeper]

Hautions11 has a gravely

splitter that I believe uses the same design.
As for the inside slides there are all sorts of Teflon type plastics made for wear reducing sliders.

 

[chaikwa]

As for the inside slides there are all sorts of Teflon type plastics made for wear reducing sliders.

That's true, but I have no idea of what, exactly, to use. I assume there are different grades of 'hardness' in these plastics and I'd rather have some idea of what they are instead of using the trial and error approach to find the correct one. More importantly, how are the wear strips attached? And how many are used; just one large strip on the bottom of the tubes interior or 2 or 3 smaller strips? Are they also applied to the sides and top of the tubes interior? Like I said, I'd rather have at least a vague idea of how it's done before I forge ahead!

Thanx!

 

[drmiller100]

UHMW. that is the standard wear plastic.

can't really weld it. can't glue it.

drill a hole and bolt it, or trap it somehow. leave some space cuz on a hot summer day it expands a lot more then steel and will buckle and jam.

 

[redprospector]

I used wear strips in places when I built my bandmill.
I drilled counter sunk holes, then ground the heads flat on carrage bolts.

Andy

 

[chaikwa]

UHMW. that is the standard wear plastic.

can't really weld it. can't glue it.

drill a hole and bolt it, or trap it somehow. leave some space cuz on a hot summer day it expands a lot more then steel and will buckle and jam.

Thanks, that's really good info. If I bolt it, I'll need to keep the bolt below the wear surface quite a bit I would imagine so that when the plastic wears down, the bolt won't hit the steel surface as it slides by. Am I right in this line of thinking?

I used wear strips in places when I built my bandmill.
I drilled counter sunk holes, then ground the heads flat on carrage bolts.

Andy

And you used the standard wear UHMW that drmiller100 referred to? Also, do you have any pics of that bandmill you made? That's also on the project list!

chaikwa.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

UHMW..

+1 for UHMW!



You would want 3/8' UHMW and use flat head cap screws and countersink your holes so the head of the screw is 1/16th to 1/8" below the surface.



Best bet is to set all the parts in the sun for a few hours before marking/drilling your holes.



Use twice as many screws as you think necessary to eliminate warping.



.
.

 

[drmiller100]

or use only one bolt to let it generally hold in place, and let the buckles move out towards teh ends freely.

i put uhmw on a snowbucket floor so teh snow wouldn't stick. eventually learned to use less bolts and more strips to let the edges slide around.

and, the buckles don't really hurt much except tehy look ugly and annoy me.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

My good friend has one, it's rated at an honest 24 tons, and will split almost anything lightning fast. We can easily split large blocks 18 in diameter and fill a full size pickup bed heaping full with 5" dia. firewood in 45 minutes. No conventional splitter comes close. Only a huge 4 way wedge or a firewood processor can outperform a Splitfire.

They're not cheap but if you split more than 4 cords a year it will be worth it.

 

[chaikwa]

My good friend has one, it's rated at an honest 24 tons...

Could I possibly convince you to get some pics of it for me? Anything decent commands a hefty price and I certainly wouldn't mind spending 5 or 6 grand for something like this. But I also like to build things and add my own little touches to it, hence my need for pics.

Thanks RaisedByWolves and drmiller100 for the help on the uhmw. I'll definitely put that info to good use!

chaikwa.

 

[FarmerSid]

I built a split fire last fall. Here is some pictures.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[FarmerSid]

Some more.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[chaikwa]

I built a split fire last fall. Here is some pictures. Cheers! Sid

THANK YOU! The pics will be extremely helpful! I just might hafta PM you at some point with a few questions if that's ok.

chaikwa.

 

[FarmerSid]

Your very welcome! The red splitter is the one I copied. A buddy rented one and I took some pictures and measurements. The unpainted one is the one I made. I made it out of larger material than the one I copied it from. 7" .250 wall tubing for the outside and 6" .250 wall for the inside slide. The tank is made out 7" tubing. I ordered a 10' piece of the 7" tubing and used the cut off piece for the tank.

I have more pictures of the inside of mine but have yet to find them.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[chaikwa]

Your very welcome! The red splitter is the one I copied. A buddy rented one and I took some pictures and measurements. The unpainted one is the one I made. I made it out of larger material than the one I copied it from. 7" .250 wall tubing for the outside and 6" .250 wall for the inside slide. The tank is made out 7" tubing. I ordered a 10' piece of the 7" tubing and used the cut off piece for the tank.

I have more pictures of the inside of mine but have yet to find them.

Cheers!

Sid

How did you make the slot in the top of the tube without the tube spreading apart? Did you use any of that UHMW plastic? It looks like the red one is just using it on the sides, but I assume there HAS to be a piece on the bottom side too.

Thanks again for the pics!

chaikwa.

 

[FarmerSid]

How did you make the slot in the top of the tube without the tube spreading apart? Did you use any of that UHMW plastic? It looks like the red one is just using it on the sides, but I assume there HAS to be a piece on the bottom side too.

Thanks again for the pics!

chaikwa.

I made the slot with a plasma cutter and then used a 4 1/2" grinder with a walter 40 grit flap disk to smooth it out. I used a piece of angle iron as a guide when I used the plasma. Before I did any cutting with the plasma, I tacked a piece of flat bar on the end of the tube to prevent it from warping or spreading apart. I left it on till everything was good and cool. I also drilled the 4 holes for the anvil before I cut the groove. I did use plastic as slides. I just used what I had on hand. I think it is HDPE but not sure. It is fastened on all four sides with SS 8-32 counter sunk screws.

The cylinders in the Split Fires are custom made for them. I had to modify my 4"X24" with 2" rod to fit inside the smaller tube. I had to rotate the cylinder 45 degrees so that the hydraulic fitting did not hit the inside slide as it retracted. One of the pictures shows the end of my splitter with the mounting plates welded at 45 degrees.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[FarmerSid]

My splitter is currently apart as I am going to paint it. I didn't paint at the beginning as I wanted to try it out and make sure I didn't need to make any modifications. If I were you, I'd paint it when you are done and before you use it. You WILL spill oil and might have a few leaks and that makes it hard to get it good and clean for paint. I am finding that out now. What I don't have on mine yet but are built are fenders. I found that when splitting by yourself, it's nice to have a spot to put a piece of wood while your splitting another. Saves huge on the back.

Cheers!

Sid

 

[Thekees]

Does anybody know what capacity the cylinder has built in the splitfire SS230? I need to find a proper hydr pump to get it to work.

 

[chaikwa]

Thanks for the additional info Sid! I'm thinking that if I use a 8" tube it might solve the problem of the cylinder not fitting inside the inner tube. And I'll definitely paint pieces of it as I progress... I have a 48" splitter that I built and I'm looking to sell, which means I should prob'ly paint it, but it's gonna be a pain to mask off all the stuff that shouldn't be painted!

chaikwa.

 

[FarmerSid]

8" tube will work fine but more $$$$. I had to cut off about half of the treaded standoffs off of the cylinder, modify 1/2" hydraulic 90's and weld them to the cylinder. I then welded 1/2" hydraulic tubing to the 90 and ran in out to the cap end of the cylinder. I had to do this for clearance so nothing would rub. You can see in one of the pictures where the bent hydraulic tubing looks like it about to enter the 7" tube. That's where those lines hook up to the cylinder.

I will take some more pictures of the setup this weekend and post them next week. I'm on dial up at home and I will end up drinking too much waiting for them to upload. LOL!

A little extra note. You can see in one of the pictures where I am using a 6.5 HP engine. It worked pretty good but did stall it out a couple times on some big elm. I have an 8 HP now and am going to get it hooked up. I am using a 16 GPM two stage pump with a prince valve. Everything is rated for 3000 PSI.

The tank I built has more to it than meets the eye. I have a magnetic drain on the bottom right below the suction line. The return line looks like it is real close to the suction but it is not. Inside the tank is a piece of 1 1/2" exhaust welded to a 90 that is welded to a weld on tank fitting. The exhaust pipe runs parallel to the tank about 1" off of the bottom and ends about 3" from the end of the tank over by the tank fill and vent cap. It is cut on a 45 deg angle facing downwards. I also welded a piece of flat bar over top of the suction outlet inside the tank to prevent creating a vortex (sp?).

Cheers!

Sid