While I can't argue with the "buy quality once & buy the right tool" concepts, I have to take issue with the OP. Heating with wood is a lifestyle, & I'm pretty sure it's also an economic decision (or necessity) for a fair number of AS members.
If you have the cash, (or the credit line) for new Gators, etc. & spending the money makes sense to you--- then enjoy your toys.
BUT, to suggest that anybody who builds their own splitter or "makes do" with equipment they already own has flawed thinking???
I have very little invested in my firewood equipment, but have managed to put 40 cords out back in the last year, in my spare time.
Some of us know how to scrounge--- whether it's free wood, a saw, a splitter, or whatever... & we can fix it or modify it to suit our needs... don't knock "our thing" just because it's not "your thing".
True, good points. If you make do with equipment, or build your own for whatever reason, I'm not saying that you have flawed thinking assuming the equipment does the job correctly and efficiently.
Case in point, here's the story of a friend and co-worker.
He got his house in about 2006 or so, and it had a chimney ready for a wood burner but no wood burner. He found a cheap one on CL and picked it up. The sides and door were (are) warped, so no chance of a good seal or long burns. The blower was long since gone, he built some ductwork and just used a box fan as a pusher. For probably 5 or 6 years he used this, all the while looking for a good deal on a better one. The entire time he was looking for the 'deal' he was burning fuel oil, as the fire wouldn't stay lit enough to heat while he was at work or sleeping. Eventually he found one, and now has a good working Hotblast, the kind Tractor Supply sells. Not the best brand or model, but it does the job. My point to him, which he realized eventually, is that the money he spent on fuel oil during the time he was looking for a 'deal' could have easily paid for just about any wood furnace he wanted.
Lets talk also about the house I moved into, and the way my Great-Aunt and Great-uncles heated it. There is an old potbelly stove downstairs. I use it occasionally still, and will admit that it does a good job heating the room that it's in. However, it must be fed at a minimum every 2 hours. For the most even burn I feed it every 45 minutes or so. My Great-Aunt was 'married' to that stove, and earlier my Great-Grandmother. All day in the winter you have to throw a few small logs on every hour or so. All logs must be cut to about a 10" length, and split to fit in an 8" square door. The time and effort to keep that thing running easily could have been put into a bigger more efficient unit, which would have meant less overall work and better heat output. Less work because the logs could have been bigger, meaning less cutting and splitting. Better heat because a better unit would have been more airtight and easy to regulate, rather than the heat just going up the chimney.
My point being, if you have a set-up that works for you and keeps you warm, by all means keep doing what you are doing. My point is the people that fight junk or obsolete equipment in the name of saving money. There comes a point where you will be much better off spending the money and time to have the newer stuff. Even if you think you don't have the money, or can't afford it, you probably can.
I'm not saying everyone needs to go out and buy a brand new gator like I did. I could have got by quite well without that. The reason the gator made sense for me is because I travel a lot for work, and my girlfriend sometimes has to do everything while I'm gone. Occasionally I'm gone for a month or two at a time. When I'm away she needs to be able to get wood from the pile to the house, and when I'm home sometimes I'm in a hurry and know I'll be leaving again very soon. Two years ago I was gone for a 2 1/2 month stretch. I had the wood cut and ready, and my dad came down about once a week and hauled it close to the house for her. I'm thankful that he was able to do it, but I can't always rely on that and don't want to put her in that situation if I can help it.
Sorry for the long post.
As it is, I can make what I have work pretty good. 
