Another homemade splitter

[YarraValleyDude]

Hi All, heres a short video of her in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cobS1I7xcOk&feature=channel_page

 

[gink595]

Looks really good. I like the way the adj. 4-way moves so easily. I might have to copy something like that!! Good job and very inventive on your ideas.

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Thanks Frank, Iv'e just about got her sorted now, only slight prob i still have is i need to grind the wings further to remove the slight angle on the bottom.
The bottom needs to be dead flat or the wood starts to drive downwards into the table, another 1/2hr on the 9" and i should be done.In her present state its not really much of a prob but I'd like to get it perfect all the same.

Rob

 

[gink595]

Thanks Frank, Iv'e just about got her sorted now, only slight prob i still have is i need to grind the wings further to remove the slight angle on the bottom.
The bottom needs to be dead flat or the wood starts to drive downwards into the table, another 1/2hr on the 9" and i should be done.In her present state its not really much of a prob but I'd like to get it perfect all the same.

Rob

I found that same thing to be true on my 4-way also, when I revamp it AGAIN (maybe tommorow) I'm just going make sure the angle on them is only going up.

Here is the new system I'm going to try now, really similiar to yours in a way. It worked in the model I made so hopefully it works in the real world:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[YarraValleyDude]

I found that same thing to be true on my 4-way also, when I revamp it AGAIN (maybe tommorow) I'm just going make sure the angle on them is only going up.

Thats spot on Frank, i guess it wouldn't matter if one didn't have a table but for those who do will want a flat bottom edge.

Excellent drawings there Frank, very impressive! Design looks good too,
are you going manual lift or hydraulic?
What did you use to do those drawings if you don't mind me asking?

Rob

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Gave the splitter a bit of a workout this afternoon, heres what i achieved in about 2 hrs, 11/4 splittting 3/4 stacking.
That pile is single row, 6'tall and 16' long, how did i do in comparison?
Before, that would of taken me all day, so that means I've increased my beer drinking time 3 fold atleast.( Yup i love my splitter)

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Gave the splitter a bit of a workout this afternoon, heres what i achieved in about 2 hrs, 11/4 splittting 3/4 stacking.
That pile is single row, 6'tall and 16' long, how did i do in comparison?
Before, that would of taken me all day, so that means I've increased my beer drinking time 3 fold atleast.( Yup i love my splitter)BURP!

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Oops sorry for the double post, dunno how it happend, perhaps Mr Miller had something to do with it.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Fast cycle time! I agree with the rest that the wing setup is super smooth. I'm a bit jealous of those with welding and fabrication skills.

I had planned on adding a table to mine out beyond the knife, but seeing how you use your log lift for a table has me thinking of putting something on the off side instead of solely beyond the knife.

Nice Job.
Ian

 

[triptester]

Yarra Valley Dude,

Another solution to the wood jamming under the 4-way would be allowing the wedge to rise. It looks like the height adjuster has a pin that fits in a hole locking the adjustment in place. If you had short pieces of square stock welded where the holes are the pin could rest against them to keep the wedge from lowering but allow it to rise slightly.

 

[gink595]

Thats spot on Frank, i guess it wouldn't matter if one didn't have a table but for those who do will want a flat bottom edge.

Excellent drawings there Frank, very impressive! Design looks good too,
are you going manual lift or hydraulic?
What did you use to do those drawings if you don't mind me asking?

Rob

After seeing how well you manual 4-way worked I might just do something like that. Yours looked effortless and fast!!! I have a cylinder for mine but I never added it last year becasue I really didn't like how it worked, it does okay but I want something better!!

The drawing package I used is one from my work that I'm testing out right now. It's called SketchUp and Google offers a free version of it. Just look up google sketch up, the pro version has a lot more verstility to it than the free version, but you should be able to do stuff like that on it. If you download it and have any questions on how to use it shoot me a PM, I'll try to help you but there is a lot of online tutorials for them that helps.

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Made some mods to my splitter

Hi all, heres a bit of an update on my splitter.
After using it for a couple of weeks now i and getting to know it better i felt it was necessary to make the following mods to it.

First one is a guard to protect the winch which was starting to cop a battering with 3' rounds, as you can appreciate these large rounds arn't
easy to handle at the best of time let alone when one is tired from splitting all day.
Its only a piece of 3/8" angle which i had lying around and seemed to fit the bill perfectly so i welded it on.

Second one is a new knife lifting lever.
The old one was just to flimsy even though it was 3/8 by 2", the new one is
2" x 1/4" square tube and is rock solid now.
I also adapted a handle on to it from a hammer drill which looks much better now, also has a spring loaded pin to lock it in place incorperated into the handle.

Third and final mod is an alternater driven of the existing engine shaft to charge the battery for the winch.
I got sick of having to swap batteries during the day, one would only last 1/2 the day which was a real PITA not to mention the log lift slowing down as the battery drained.
I had a spare 120A alternator one a BBC i have sitting in a corner of the shed, even though its prolly overkill on the splitter it will allow me run just about anything off it now.I may add some lights down the track as time permits. Hell, i could prolly weld with it now...lol
It was very easy to adapt, one 6" alloy pulley and couple of home made mounts made from scrap.

Rob.

 

[super3]

Great addition with the alternator, even a small winch will use up a battery real quick.

Great job on all the rest of the build also.

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Great addition with the alternator, even a small winch will use up a battery real quick.

Great job on all the rest of the build also.

Thanks Super3, Can't wait to try it out now, got two booking for next week so should be a good test.

Rob