Marketing 101
Logbutcher, I have had amazingly good reaction to this machine from many quarters. I also have all the drawings as I never make anything without drawing it first. However I think this project is way beyond most people’s ability to make at home from scratch.
I don’t think it is a huge stretch to start a business around this machine except for the marketing part. As with any business, the marketing part is the hardest. I retired 10 months ago but I am not one to retire anyway. Stay tuned and maybe you can buy one someday.
Nobody retires until the end anyhow...not to worry.
From the experience of starting software businesses, here goes.
1. Look at your market: what are you really selling? Who is your end-user ? DR (Vermont Country Products) has found the niche for them. Quality products and service at premium prices for people with land to work part time. The DR catalogs are a marketer's dream.
2. Can you patent or copyright your design ? Check it out with a good patent attorney.
3. Is the design unique enough. Any others come close ?
4. Sell the design (and idea) to a company that's has the savvy, like DR, Bailey's, etc..... Do you really want to peddle your stuff ? Ain't a picnic dealing with buyers.
5. Make a chee-whiz prototype to bring to prospective resellers. Or, outsource the build to a shop that does finish machinery.
6. If you want to stay small and at-home, how about making a "kit" for sale?
The above is just the tip of a huge iceberg. Others here will chime in with much more.
Remember however, there just are not that many serious wood burners, or many wood burners that process their own wood. Think of 1000's rather than 10's of thousands. On this kind of site you'd think the whole world was online. As an example, the DR Electric splitters are small, marketed mostly to those splitting for fun, or only a couple of cords. I got one to try out since I was sick of the maintenance, noise, fumes, moving around, and weight of our gas splitter. We've pushed that little DR splitter well beyond its design capacity for about 6 years now, splitting 5-7 cords/year. But the price point is set so that the 10's of thousands would buy one "for fun".
Great concept. Don't let it slide.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way ( NOT Iacocca's motto ! )
. Some are more pro than some of the self annointed "pros" called by Mrs. Macho. :fart: 
. Power comes from a simple motor (think vacuum cleaner, but bigger) that drives hydraulics (think front end loader). That's where the power derives. So: 6 years, no problems. Plug it in, split, sing, hear birds, smell flowers. What a life.
