Horizontal or vertical and I’m whipped.

[Bassmantweed]

Had a pretty productive day today after a stupid move with my brand new ms261.

I was pulling a tree out of the woods and had hooked up a chain. i put a little tension on it before I was going to make the cut. When I did it must have raised some brush. As I was walking towards the tree to cut I went to remove the “brush” only to find the chain was hidden behind a limb. Dammit. Brand new chain.

anyway. I was able to make the cut (crooked) and get the tree out and then used my old husky to buck and the countyline 30 ton to split.

i had some pretty big rounds that I just couldn’t lift. I found using the splitter on big rounds in the vertical position a huge pain in the neck.
What do you guys prefer. Horizontal or vertical?

 

[ericm979]

I tried vertical once and hated it. It'd be easier if you made a platform around the "stop" on the end of the beam for the round to sit on so its square to the splitter without being held up. Even so I think it takes more upper body strength to move rounds around on their cut ends. Working on the ground sucks too. Lifting on to a vertical splitter is all legs and back. Mine are stronger than my upper body, so that's what I do. I noodle and use a splitting maul to halve or quarter the big rounds into pieces small enough to lift onto the splitter.

 

[turnkey4099]

I tried vertical once and hated it. It'd be easier if you made a platform around the "stop" on the end of the beam for the round to sit on so its square to the splitter without being held up. Even so I think it takes more upper body strength to move rounds around on their cut ends. Working on the ground sucks too. Lifting on to a vertical splitter is all legs and back. Mine are stronger than my upper body, so that's what I do. I noodle and use a splitting maul to halve or quarter the big rounds into pieces small enough to lift onto the splitter.

Same here. Trying to wrestle a big round laying flat on the ground gives one almost no leverage on it. Hookeroon to stand a roundon edge and then noodle takes less time than horsing it around on the ground to get it positioned to split in verticle.

 

[trains]

if the round is too large to get on the bed of the splitter when its horizontal, then its vertical and moved with a crow bar to the splitter.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

A small electric winch can raise a a huge round on a splitter easy. I bought a brand new 2500 LB winch on CL for $50. I let the splitter charge the battery. Put some smaller rounds next to the splitter to act like a ramp then have the winch roll the rounds onto the horizontal splitter. Thanks

 

[Sandhill Crane]

This might help move vertical round, although I've never used a vertical splitter.
Just a thought...

 

[esshup]

Roll cut piece into FEL on tractor, raise it up to roll it onto the horizontal splitter. Let half fall back into FEL bucket, then move the other split half around on the horizontal splitter, throwing the splits into the bucket of the FEL. Roll 2nd half out of the FEL bucket, split that throwing the splits into the bucket. Move splits to pile, repeat.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I used this for years, and years for re-splitting. If you make one the table should run well past the wedge to catch the larger splits, and be wide enough for multiple pieces. This table can be used on either side of the beam. Or design it large enough to protect the engine, hoses, filter and pump on wedge on cylinder models.

 

[ning]

I risk hernias to avoid vertical splitting, but occasionally I've got a monster round and I wobble it to the splitter. As soon as I've split enough off of it that I can lift it, I go back horizontal.

 

[Dennisthemenace]

I just rip big rounds, hardly ever use the splitter. 12 inch and under stuff, easy to lift, go through the splitter, horizontal

 

[kjw58]

I can’t understand why so many people want these vertical splitters, in my experience they are way harder on your back, if you don’t have much help you are constantly having to stoop down to split and /or to move the rounds with your back bent over. It is way harder on my old body to split wood on a vertical splitter than a horizontal.

 

[old CB]

Just the opposite here--I can't understand why anyone wants to lift rounds onto the horizontal beam of a splitter. I do all my splitting sitting down on a short round. My back is bent less in that position. I can roll some giant rounds into position and split them keeping my body upright. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Moving large rounds without equipment. I would move and split the big stuff in the winter, using a plastic sled to move rounds and place the splitter on a slight down hill slope from the cutting area. Modified four-way wedge on TW-6 kept from dumping large


pieces to be re-split from dumping on the ground. Pull near piece to log lift with pulp hook, and far piece to beam.

 

[NSMaple1]

Horizontal unless they're too big to lift up there without my back complaining. Then its vertical to make them small enough to lift. Never found it very hard to split big stuff vertical. Just roll the rounds to in front of the foot, put a stick on the ground in front of the plate for a fulcrum, and tip the round over on that. If it didn't land on the foot right, it's pretty easy to move the round around on the stick a little bit to get it right.

 

[WoodyGuy]

I suppose the vertical Vs horizontal debate will go on forever 'cause in many ways
it's about personal preference, and what positions are comfortable for a given person.

I do best working at waist height, and modified my splitter to use the stroke of the
splitting ram to operate a lifting table arrangement. The splitter is a 3 point setup, but the
concept could easily be adapted to a self contained splitter. I had some fun and made an
infomercial vid of it in action:

 

[Circle B MN]

Vertical at waste height.....easy to mod cheaper splitters to the same concept as opposed to spending more.

 

[Tiewire]

Personally, I will never split vertically again. Was too hard on my back and knees.

 

[ericm979]

That looks like a highly modified splitter! Is there a build thread? Video of it in action?

 

[bbxlr8]

Just the opposite here--I can't understand why anyone wants to lift rounds onto the horizontal beam of a splitter. I do all my splitting sitting down on a short round. My back is bent less in that position. I can roll some giant rounds into position and split them keeping my body upright. Different strokes for different folks.

I'm in this camp too. Especially with the big ones. may change as I get older...

 

[Ted Jenkins]

My smallest splitter is 34 1/2 tons which is set up to operate horizontally. Since it has its own charging system running a small electric winch is very easy. I have rolled many 5' diameter rounds on it by my self with the help of a winch. I can drag rounds from fifty feet away in a snap and load them for splitting with out any extra equipment. No BS lifts or other devices needed. Why would some one go to the trouble of setting some thing else up. Thanks