Splitter Design

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jthornton

jthornton

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they are "designed" for only vertical use but they work fine on their side too. just make sure you set it up so the pump side is down in the horizontal position. or maybe just make it hook into the splitter hyd system. not really a big deal to have to start the motor to raise up your beam.

lookin great so far. keep up the good work. im really interested to see how it works. never seen a splitter built like it before

The detent valve said to no have pressure on the outlet side so I assume if you plumb an open center valve in front of the detent valve that would work.

I'm going to try an keep the angle to 45° or less if I can. The long stroke jacks are very cost effective at ~$60 or so.

I've never seen one like that before either and can't wait to see it work.

Thanks for the support
John
 
Rudolf73

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Are you going to have more than one hydraulic circuit in you system? If you are, you could just put in a small lift cylinder seeing as you already have hydraulic power on the splitter. Even easier on the back ;)
 
jthornton

jthornton

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Are you going to have more than one hydraulic circuit in you system? If you are, you could just put in a small lift cylinder seeing as you already have hydraulic power on the splitter. Even easier on the back ;)

For now I'm going to try and fit a long stroke jack or a bottle jack in there as it is cheaper than a valve.

John
 
jthornton

jthornton

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So far I've not hatched the proper idea to raise the beam up with a jack... not enough stroke on bottle jacks and long stroke jacks like used on engine hoists are too long. Here it is mounted up on the trailer minus the tongue part.

View attachment 282881

Edit: I did a test with an 8 ton bottle jack at 10" from the pivot and it lifts it up easy.

View attachment 282888

John
 
Last edited:
nathon918

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So far I've not hatched the proper idea to raise the beam up with a jack... not enough stroke on bottle jacks and long stroke jacks like used on engine hoists are too long. Here it is mounted up on the trailer minus the tongue part.

View attachment 282881

Edit: I did a test with an 8 ton bottle jack at 10" from the pivot and it lifts it up easy.

View attachment 282888

John

nice bessey's:msp_thumbup:
 
brenndatomu

brenndatomu

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Just throwing out an idea here. Could you come up with an arrangement to use the splitter cyl. itself to raise and lower the beam?
My first thought was using a chain pinned to the wedge and the trailer, but after studying the pics maybe not?
 
jthornton

jthornton

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Just throwing out an idea here. Could you come up with an arrangement to use the splitter cyl. itself to raise and lower the beam?
My first thought was using a chain pinned to the wedge and the trailer, but after studying the pics maybe not?

I just came back from a mind clearing hike in the woods with my trusty side kick Cocoa and had the same sort of idea. I plan on having a log lift so if I make the log lift stand alone then the cable attached to the wedge can go over a sheave on the unstucker thing that the wedge retracts into and attach to the log lift. Lower the wedge to raise up the beam...

View attachment 282901

Edit: that photo is not from today!

John
 
jthornton

jthornton

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A friend from England came up with the mechanics on his lunch break that puts the bottle jack back in the picture :msp_thumbup:

[video=youtube;5vmdg-XXLYc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vmdg-XXLYc&feature=youtu.be[/video]

John
 
Jakers

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So this is what I came up with after looking at my friends model he sent me. I'll have to play with the geometry some to tweak it so I can reach the pump handle. The pump would be down and the vent would be up when the beam is down so that should work ok.

283042d1362590681-wood-splitter-mk4-assb-jack-up-jpg


John

kinda like a backhoe uses

thumbnail
 
jthornton

jthornton

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Before committing to making the pieces I'd try the bottle jack at that angle under load. I've seen them get "moody" when you do that. Not all of them will work as intended so it's better to be safe than sorry. Don't ask me how I know ;)

I share the same concern as you for the angle of the bottle jack. I did some experiments with one and if the pump side is down it seems to work better but I didn't test it under load. A cylinder and a pump would be much better. I've even had thoughts of tearing a bottle jack apart to remove the pump...

John
 
jthornton

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I say avoid the bottle jack and get a cylinder, even a single acting cyl with a hand pump or tap into your hydraulics. Does the bottle jack have enough throw?
Keep up the good work.

Actually the mechanics reduce the throw needed to about 4", I may end up with a simple cylinder I'm unsure at this point. If I can steal the pump from a bottle jack and use that on a single acting cylinder that would be the best of both worlds I think.

John
 
jthornton

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I'm having a Kiss idea floating around in my head... put tee's in the hydraulic lines to the split cylinder and put needle valves with some small hoses going to a cylinder to raise the beam. So open the needle valves and bottom out the split cylinder and after that the flow goes to the cylinder to raise the beam... any thoughts on this idea?

Thanks
John
 
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