New Log Splitter Build Help...

[ACFerguson]

I originally posted this as a reply in someone else's thread from 2 years ago and only after did I realize I should have posted it here...sorry about that.


I'm about to embark on the foolish journey of building a log splitter. I've read a number of forums and watched a ton of youtube videos of many DIY splitters. I have some ideas from all of this and of course, many more unresolved considerations in all this. I live in Ontario and have Maple, Oak, Birch, Cedar, and Pine on my property. I did have one 36" diameter walnut come down in a storm several years ago, but I've very few and I'm unlikely to cut them down. So, that's the type of wood species that I'll mostly be splitting.

I have a new Honda 11Hp engine. I also have an 8hp Briggs and Stratton engine.
I also have a kick off valve with the following features:
- Detented return position allows hands-free operation while the cylinder is retracting and automatically shifts the spool to the neutral position at the end of the stroke
- Type - 3-Position, 4-Way, Open Center
- Max. Continuous Pressure - 3,265 PSI
- Max. Continuous Flow - 30 GPM
- Relief Valve Setting - 2,250 PSI
- Relief Valve Range - 1,000 to 3,265 PSI
- Inlet Port(s) - 3/4 ORBF
- Outlet Port(s) - 3/4 ORBF
- Work Ports - 1/2 ORBF

I have several tons of steel, but nothing large enough for the main "body" of the splitter yet.
I have hub assemblies and wheels

What I'd like to have as features on the splitter:
- Hydraulic log lift.
- Hydraulic (i.e., height adjustable) 6-way splitter wedge/knife (I was thinking that offsetting the knives would reduce the initial load on the cylinder if they were like this. Initial contact would be the vertical knife)
- Oil reservoir would be in the "axle"-like assembly
- double cutting to speed up the process

Having read previous posts, I know that I need to somehow reduce the flow to the hydraulics responsible for the log lift and the knife height adjustments and I'll need a two-spool valve to run these. But, I've no idea what's required to accomplish this.

I would like to be able to cut anything I put on the splitter. But, at the same time I would like to realize fast cycle times. I don't know if a 22gpm 2-stage pump or a 28gpm 2-stage pump would serve best here; or if the engine (8 or 11) is capable of running these pumps. Bigger pump even?

I was thinking that hose ID might prove to be a limiting factor in flow. But, this is compounded by the size of the fittings on the cylinders and pumps. So, I'm assuming that an ID the size of the smallest fitting in this chain will work just as well as a larger hose?

Once the cylinder size has been figured out and the pump too, how big would I need to make the oil reservoir?

I've read to make the "table" height as high as your knuckles when you make a fist and let it hang down. Is this correct?

I've watched some DIY videos and the units are very unstable as I can see that their stance isn't wide enough. How wide should the wheels be apart to provide adequate stability?

I have pretty solid welding skills. I've built about 50 trailers from small 4x5 units to large 8'-6" x 24' units. As well as large stands up to 10' tall for commercial equipment. So, I've no worries about the physical construction and welding of this project at all. It's all of the other stuff that I know very little about, even after all the reading I've done online. I certainly know much more than when I began this and this forum has been by far the best one I've run across.

I looking for any advice on all of these thoughts and ideas. If I'm dreaming in technicolor, please tell me so! I'm willing to modify my ideas to fit reality if they're not there.

Thanks and looking forward to your feedback on this.

Tony

Ontario, Canada

 

[blades]

8 hp marginal for either pump. The higher the flow the faster the system. Therefore if you were to acquire a cylinder and valve with 3/4" ( SAE 8, i think) work ports you would see a sizeable speed improvement over the 1/2" (using the same pump) with the additional benny of less friction in the system =less heat build up. fittings of the hi flow variety are highly recommended as well as 45 deg couplings vs 90 deg.

 

[Firewood Dave]

The only difficulty I can see is to get probably 3 hydraulic circuits working properly. The issue is power beyond. You need spool valves with "power Beyond" capability. Most of the detent valves I have seen lack this. It just makes things more interesting . You will have to source your hydraulic power for the log lift and 6 way blade before it goes to the detent valve for the cylinder. An adjustable flow control may be the way to achieve that.
For the reservoir 5 gallons or more, I would go with 10. I would also use the 11 hp honda
What pressure are you thinking of running. I would set it up for 2500 so I had a bit of room to bump it up a bit if required. (wow its been like 30 years since I had to design a splitter for a tractors course)
HTH good luck
Dave

 

[ACFerguson]

Thanks for the replies. I guess it will be the 11hp Honda engine I use. The splitter control valve I already bought. It was on sale at Princess Auto for 1/2 price. I couldn't say no to it. It has a higher flow rate (30GPM) than any of the other valves I've looked at and it's working pressure seemed to be inline with what I'd need. The 1/2" work port may be an issue as you suggest in terms of speed of operation. Do you know of a specific valve that would meet the requirements that you suggest?

Thanks again for your replies,

Tony

 

[farmboss45]

The 11 hp honda would be my choice, as for pump vs valve, remember, your pump cannot exede the gpm cap. of the valve. I just finished a splitter myself and the bigggest flow on a valve I could find was 25 gpm, which made the 22 gpm pump the choice. The log lift is the next task, you can use an inline needle valve to slow the flow both ways, most cylinders for that app. are 3/8 ports. I went through a company called "Burden sales, surplus center, was a recemondation from a guy on this site, they have a tech named Conrad who is pretty sharp with the ways of hydraulics and very helpful. Good Luck on your splitterbuild, when it all works out its mighty satisfying useing a piece of equipment designed and build yourself, make sure you post pics on the splitter pic thread when your done....Ps, they have plenty of dual, splitter, lifter valvesView attachment 238203View attachment 238204

 

[Henry and Wanda]

Hello,
Just go for it....sounds like you have the ideas and the welding skills (very important) !!!!! I have never regretted making mine and I really get a good feeling when I split wood with it !!!! Good luck !!!!!




Henery and Wanda

 

[ACFerguson]

Changes...

Hello,
Just go for it....sounds like you have the ideas and the welding skills (very important) !!!!! I have never regretted making mine and I really get a good feeling when I split wood with it !!!! Good luck !!!!!
Henery and Wanda

Thanks! I'm definitely going to "go for it" with this.

I have made some serious changes, however. I just bought a new Honda 690GX engine and I'm planning on using this to power the pump. This will allow me to use a 28GPM pump and a 6" cylinder and still have very respectable cycle times (I've used an online calculator for this).

Of course, I've a couple more questions...

1. There is a huge difference in price between the haldex pump and a comparable import. I will use this for personal use only. Will the import pump do the job?

2. The wedge will be mounted on the end of the beam and it will have a hydraulic 6/8-way wedge. The push plate will be mounted on the cylinder shaft. Is there a height to length ration that seems to work best for this? How long should the "slide" part be?

3. Working height? I've seen a number of splitters at a wide variety of heights. Is there a height from the ground to the top of the beam that "works" best? I know the old rule for a workbench top sitting under your closed fist when your arm is straight down. But, this is likely much too high for a splitter! Thoughts on height?

4. I've yet to see a splitter with leaf springs. They all seem to have the axle attached directly to the frame or oil tank. Why would this be?

Thanks again! This site is proving to be very helpful and friendly!

Cheers

Tony

 

[farmboss45]

I can tell you this on the height, I built mine, see above, so that I never have to bend over while running it, don't know your age or what kind of shape your in, but it only gets worse! I have used mine a lot already, and the planning on that worked out just right. As for the 28gpm pump, have you been able to find a compatible valve? I was going to go 28 but the biggest valve I could find was 25 gpm, your pump cannot excede your valve gpm, only the other way around. Also, if you are going to run a lift, consider your flow, I had to install an inline needle vavle in a work port to slow it down, the 22 gpm made it a catapult. The 3000 psi still makes it a little "jerky" but does not throw blocks at me. As I mentioned before, Burden sales was a great help both on priceing and tech help when I was building mine.Burden Surplus Center. Good luck on your build!

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Sounds like you've thought it through fairly well. Being that you said you've done a fair amount of reading, I'm sure you've learned that the hydraulic fittings will cost a fair amount. Another thing that's been stated in a few splitter build threads is that you really don't save any money building your own, unless you don't have to buy a lot of the major components and don't count your time.

I have a few thoughts.

What about using air psi for cylinder return? I believe it would be faster.

Has anyone used the splitting ram to power a log lift with cables and pulleys? Thoughts? Use the return stroke with a cable to lift the log lift.

I would suggest having the wedge on the opposite end of the coupler so if you leave it coupled to a tow vehicle you're not pushing wood into it.

Anyone use a wedge shaped like this? : Do you see any advantages? I drew it up. I call it a "two stage wedge" I think I'm going to try it on my splitter as I don't have a two stage pump.

 

[farmboss45]

Sounds like you've thought it through fairly well. Being that you said you've done a fair amount of reading, I'm sure you've learned that the hydraulic fittings will cost a fair amount. Another thing that's been stated in a few splitter build threads is that you really don't save any money building your own, unless you don't have to buy a lot of the major components and don't count your time.

I have a few thoughts.

What about using air psi for cylinder return? I believe it would be faster.

Has anyone used the splitting ram to power a log lift with cables and pulleys? Thoughts? Use the return stroke with a cable to lift the log lift.

I would suggest having the wedge on the opposite end of the coupler so if you leave it coupled to a tow vehicle you're not pushing wood into it.

Anyone use a wedge shaped like this? : Do you see any advantages? I drew it up. I call it a "two stage wedge" I think I'm going to try it on my splitter as I don't have a two stage pump.

I have seen the log lift with cables on the splitter pic thread, not sure if it was powered by the main ram or not. My splitter does have the hitch on the oppisite end from the wegde, but I sometimes wish I had flipped it around so I couldt throw splits right into the truck, but I built a fold down rear leg on mine so I can work without being hitched to anything. Not sure I agree with the thought of not saving anything by building your own though. I know of some splitters being over 5000.00 with the log lift and the high gpm output I have, I have about 1500.00 into mine and it is built to my specs. I guess it depends on your needs vs wants. I wanted more to do less wear on my old fat frame while keeping the house warm.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

I have seen the log lift with cables on the splitter pic thread, not sure if it was powered by the main ram or not. My splitter does have the hitch on the oppisite end from the wegde, but I sometimes wish I had flipped it around so I couldt throw splits right into the truck, but I built a fold down rear leg on mine so I can work without being hitched to anything. Not sure I agree with the thought of not saving anything by building your own though. I know of some splitters being over 5000.00 with the log lift and the high gpm output I have, I have about 1500.00 into mine and it is built to my specs. I guess it depends on your needs vs wants. I wanted more to do less wear on my old fat frame while keeping the house warm.:hmm3grin2orange:

I guess another option would be to put a longer tongue on it so there's enough clearance beyond the wedge.

I believe did I mention the cost depended on what you buy and what you scrounge and that your time is a factor. Do you count it or not.

Your $1500.00 did that include buying everything?

 

[farmboss45]

I guess another option would be to put a longer tongue on it so there's enough clearance beyond the wedge.

I believe did I mention the cost depended on what you buy and what you scrounge and that your time is a factor. Do you count it or not.

Your $1500.00 did that include buying everything?

I traded an older snowmobile for the foundation, ei... beam, on a ford 9 inch cut down, a backhoe cylinder and a 15.5 hp electric start engine, paid 400.00 for the old sled 5 years earlier. Paid approx 800.00 for all my hydraulics, 250.00 to 300.00 in steel, 150.00 for hydraulic oil, a 15 pack of bud light to get it painted, a fith of captain morgan to have the tank welded up as my welder is not good for thin material. A little money here and there for odds and ends. as far as my time, it kept me busy all winter when I was not cutting wood, so I'm good with that. The most important thing to me was the fact it is tailored to me and what I thought a splitter should be. I do admit, there was a little scrouging involved as well:msp_tongue:

 

[ACFerguson]

I have seen the log lift with cables on the splitter pic thread, not sure if it was powered by the main ram or not. My splitter does have the hitch on the oppisite end from the wegde, but I sometimes wish I had flipped it around so I couldt throw splits right into the truck, but I built a fold down rear leg on mine so I can work without being hitched to anything. Not sure I agree with the thought of not saving anything by building your own though. I know of some splitters being over 5000.00 with the log lift and the high gpm output I have, I have about 1500.00 into mine and it is built to my specs. I guess it depends on your needs vs wants. I wanted more to do less wear on my old fat frame while keeping the house warm.:hmm3grin2orange:

I have seen that wedge design on a number of splitters. I've a serries of CAD sketches that I'm playing with to try and come up with something I will ultimately make.

View attachment 239293

I see what you're saying about the tongue issue. However, I've seen several splitters that work by the ram moving in the opposite direction to the tongue. But, to do this, they all seem to have the stuff (i.e., engine, pump, controls, tank, etc.) all ahead of the axle (to keep tongue weight up for towing) and this stuff just looks like it will be in the way of the operator. It is, however, a good consideration if the splitter will be kept on the hitch to move it around. I'll revisit this consideration.

I was thinking about having the wedge on the tongue end and pushing towards the tongue end. But, building an outfeed table for the split logs that could also overhang an old 8'x12' trailer I built years ago. This could be handy! Although, even if the splitter pushed away from the tongue, I could have an outfeed table drop split logs into my trailer too. I'll have to look a lot closer at some of the splitters and how efficient they will be to operate.

Air? faster? Anyone who's reflected on what I'm trying to do has told me that I will need to slow down the hydraulics for the log lift. Otherwise, I'll be launching the logs up over my head and into the bush! Not sure that "faster" is the way I need to go with this. But, I may not have understood what you were getting at with using air. Plus, it introduces another system to build and control (and fail LOL).

As to my aging body and failng health...sigh. Well, once-upon a time, there was this young boy, who was born in 1961, who split wood with axes and mauls all-day long. But, over the years, his body let him down and he developed heart disease and now has 3 stents in his heart and isn't allowed to do anything too physical. So, he decided to build a log splitter. And, yes, I know it will get worse as time goes on. So, I better build the splitter now! When I still can. Otherwise, I may not even be able to do that!!! Health and aging is the primary reason I'm building the splitter. I quite enjoy splitting by hand, but my cardiologist doesn't want me doing it any more.

I just had another look at farmboss45's splitter pictures and it doesn't look like the wheels are in the way of the operator and it looks like it is set up to split towards the rear (from my thinking anyway) of the splitter. So, this might actually work out reversing my design.

As to cost of building vs cost of buying...

Anything that would be comparable to what I'm planning on building would be in the $7000-$10,000 price range to purchase (I've looked at several, most impressive were Rayco, Timberwolf, and Splitez).

Estimated Cost breakdown of my own build (which will be different from anyone elses' build):
New Honda 690GX $600 (great deal on this!)
6"x24"x3" cylinder $600 (unless I can find a used on somewhere)
14" deep W-flange Beam - free
1/4" plate to weld up tank - free
steel for misc fabrication - free
bypass valve - $120
Log Splitter Valve - $89
Two-spool Valve - $193
Suction Strainer - $40
Return lens filter - $120
Hydraulic pump - $198

This is just shy of $2000. Plus, I will need to buy some hydraulic fluid and the hoses, which won't be inexpensive, but all of this should be less than a third of the cost of purchasing a comparable splitter.

Now, I could go out and buy a $1200 splitter. But, I could also go and build one just like it too for a lot less than what I've got planned. But, this would be a far cry from what I've got in mind.

Do I "need" something this big and powerful? Nope.
But, I like the idea of splitting one big log into 6 or 8 pieces with a single stroke of the ram. Yes, this is important for commercial operators and not so much for the homeowner. However, nearly everything I own *is for commercial work and I'm used to the efficiencies that come hand-in-hand with that. So, big and powerful is what I'm planning to do.

Still looking for thoughts on the sliding push plate height to length ratio, or just how long the "grip" should be on the beam?


Cheers, and thanks for the thoughts! Keep em coming! They're making me think and re-think my ideas!

Tony

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

 

[blades]

Wedge design - for stringy wood ( hickory Elm ect ) I would give it a longer nose section with parallel sides before the flare helps to slice through rather than rip apart. reduces stress. Size of push plate assembly - figure what the largest dia. round you are going to split = height of push plate, 2/3 of that min. for the base equal is better. All the stress is at the top of the push plate when an round larger than it is split. There is enough force there to tear the flanges off the beam if the bolts do not give out first. Experience is a mean teacher. Log lift add a flow control valve to slow it down, poor man's flow control -braze or weld up end of coupling( cylinder extension circuit) and drill 1/16" hole to start, larger the hole faster it will lift.

 

[Tazfreak]

Sounds like you've thought it through fairly well. Being that you said you've done a fair amount of reading, I'm sure you've learned that the hydraulic fittings will cost a fair amount. Another thing that's been stated in a few splitter build threads is that you really don't save any money building your own, unless you don't have to buy a lot of the major components and don't count your time.

I have a few thoughts.

What about using air psi for cylinder return? I believe it would be faster.

Has anyone used the splitting ram to power a log lift with cables and pulleys? Thoughts? Use the return stroke with a cable to lift the log lift.

I would suggest having the wedge on the opposite end of the coupler so if you leave it coupled to a tow vehicle you're not pushing wood into it.

Anyone use a wedge shaped like this? : Do you see any advantages? I drew it up. I call it a "two stage wedge" I think I'm going to try it on my splitter as I don't have a two stage pump.

am using cable loglift on push stroke,lifts to level then gravity dropleg suports the lift,release hook on pushplate to continue splitting,just as quick hydro lift but cost about $12 to make.using this system for years on 3 other splitters.:msp_thumbup::hmm3grin2orange: