My New Toy

[Agrarian]

Well after almost 40 years swinging a 6lb maul every fall, I finally bought a wood splitter (the elbow and shoulders have seen their better days). I've read all the posts I could find and heard the pros and cons for the various models and configurations and I thank you all for that! In the end I bought the 3PT hitch style Timberwolf TW-3 with the 4-way wedge and table grates options. I would have liked the trailer type TW2 but could not justify the extra $1000 it would cost. There did not seem to be any deals to be made - everyone was list price or greater but the American quotes were all list price plus 10% to 20% so American's price advantage was being eaten up by the local dealers.

The American CLS AM-TMH was a close second place but it did not come with a hydraulic filter. So once the dealer custom rigged a filter on the American, it was just a $160 dollar savings over the Timberwolf. I could buy the Timberwolf off the shelf at a local dealer whereas the American would be 4-5 weeks delivery time.

I also considered SuperSplit, SplitFire, RamSplitter, Iron & Oak and Huskee but none had the combination of features that the Timberwolf had and their factory is less than 50 miles away. A 21 gpm PTO single stage pump attached to my Kubota L4400 should get me less than 7 second cycle times with no slowing down for the knots - eeeha.

BTW, I heard that the Timberwolf factory was hit by lightening last week and it took out their paint room. One dealer had assured me he could get one by the weekend but was quoted a 4 week delay and that was not guaranteed because of this. Fortunately another dealer had stock.

Sorry for the long post but I don't get a new toy like this very often!! I'll write my opinions of it when I get a chance to use it.

 

[kodiakattack]

You will love it! Nice cycle time , you should fly through wood with that!! Lets see them pics when you get her!!!!!

 

[sunfish]

I was in pretty much the same boat, was time for a splitter, and I spent a good bit of time reading here. Mine's a bit different (see sig line) and should be here today or tomorrow.

 

[Austin1]

Your body will say thanks what took you so long!

 

[Ductape]

Congratulations.................... and, we want pics !!

 

[Jredsjeep]

i put it off for years but after using one a log splitter is one of the best investments i have made!

pics when it comes in!

 

[savageactor7]

Congratulations...the worm has turned for you.

 

[Iska3]

Congrats on the splitter. Let us know how it works. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[giXXer]

Congratulations on the purchase! That's an investment you will enjoy for years and years to come.

 

[Agrarian]

Well, I'm a convert! This TW-3 actually makes splitting wood fun although I will miss using the 6 lb maul. Splitting by hand is an artform - you need to be accurate, swing after swing, and you have to truly understand the wood you are splitting - what you can do, what you can't. The Timberwolf doesn't care, - you want it split there, we'll split it there. I've traded finesse for power and my shoulder thanks me.

I had a couple of issues connecting the TW-3 to the Kubota. First I had to remove the protective shield from the PTO because the Prince pump wouldn't fit - no biggee just two bolts. Then it wouldn't fit on the PTO shaft because it bumped into my trailer hitch ball. Fortunately the drawbar has two positions so I simply moved it out to the further postion then everything was great.

I slid on the table grate option and then off to the chunk pile. I put the tractor at 1500 rpm and engaged the PTO. At that engine speed I found the cycle time to be about 5 or 6 seconds each way which is where I had hoped it would be.

Now for the emotional part. My god why didn't I get one of these earlier??? My wood is beech, red and sugar maple, red oak, yellow, paper and black birch, and cherry from 4" to 26" diameter cut at 18" to 22". None of it made the system load down one bit. With the single stage pump, the speed is constant regardless of the chunk you are splitting and to hear those twisted crotch pieces scream as they were being ripped apart was so much fun!

I had one tiny hydraulic leak at a pump fitting which was cured with a little extra tightening - to be expected on a new system. My only complaint is that the table grate (which everyone should have!) kept slipping out. It appears that it is too loosely fitted to the end of the I-beam. Every 5 or 6 chunks I would have to push it back in place before it fell out. Is it possible that I have the wrong grate for my model?

My wife took some pictures so I'll get them up soon.

 

[Iska3]

"to hear those twisted crotch pieces scream as they were being ripped apart was so much fun! "

Yep! Seems like if you find a crotch, those and the big knots seem to spilt the best. Sound like you had a good time with the splitter. Hope all works out well for you. Makes splitting a little more enjoyable.

 

[Agrarian]

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of me playing with the new toy. I haven't received the 4-way wedge yet so that will have to wait.

I went up to my mother's place today and split a small pile of miscellaneous chunks. I forgot to bring the table grate and that was a good lesson in how much it saves your back.

View attachment 145815

View attachment 145819

 

[Iska3]

By the looks on your face, you must be enjoying the splitter.. WWish you lived a lot closer, I'll let you try it out on some of my larger chunks.

Nice set up for sure..