Started my splitter build

[Eric K]

Towing it over to the hydraulic shop tomorrow to have all the hoses made. When they are done off to the sand blaster then to the paint shop.

 

[Jakers]

i can hardly wait to see the finished product. of course we will need a good walk around video of it not running and then a few good splits and action shots ;-)

 

[Eric K]

For sure Jakers! I am getting very excited. I have a 30 acre woods that had 40 mature oak, hickory cut this spring so there is a ton of wood in the tops that need to be cut and split. Plus there are a couple hundred dead ash that need cutting. This new splitter will help speed production up I hope.

 

[Eric K]

Well all the hoses are done. I need to put a couple hose hangers on. I also need to put a couple mounts on for my flow control valves.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Looking good bud!

 

[nathon918]

Well all the hoses are done. I need to put a couple hose hangers on. I also need to put a couple mounts on for my flow control valves.

are you able to take the return hose off of the auto cycle valve with out having to remove the other valve body?
when I was building mine I was going to run my two valve bodies like yours, but I use Parker hoses/fittings, and they didn't allow enough room to remove the return without having to remove the second valve body, just wondering if your fittings allow enough room?

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

Do be aware that the one weak link I see is the hard line between the 2 valve bodies. Vibration can fatigue fittings to the point of cracking over time and you don't want a bath with that much flow and pressure. I purposely wanted a rubber line cushion between mine and although it may even be too short for some, it will help. The guys at the Parkerstore reaffirmed this to me as a good thing to do.

Are the valve bodies mounted on a 3/16 or 1/4 plate? If it's 1/8 that would allow too much flex for me. Working the valves, the snapping of the autocycle and vibration adds up. I've worked on way to many pieces with hard lines over the years that cracked.

 

[Eric K]

Nathon,
There is an 1/8" inch clearance to take the 90 off the auto cycle. Close but it does come apart easily.

Kevin,
The plate is 3/16". My thoughts were that the heavier plate would not let the valves move separately. I would have liked to have a cushion like yours but I didn't have enough space.

Thanks for the replies. They are appreciated.

 

[Eric K]

Flow control valves mounted. I like how they are down and out of the way.

 

[jthornton]

That is some awesome workmanship.

JT

 

[Eric K]

Thanks Jt

 

[Eric K]

It has been a busy weekend. I blasted and painted the splitter body and all the bolt on components.

All ready for final assembly.

 

[Eric K]

Oil level and temp.

Final assembly complete. Going to put hydraulic oil and fuel in tomorrow. I'm excited to go give it a try.

If all goes well I'll put some video up tomorrow. Thanks to all for the suggestions and help along the way. Thanks for all the compliments.

 

[zogger]

Oil level and temp.

Final assembly complete. Going to put hydraulic oil and fuel in tomorrow. I'm excited to go give it a try.

If all goes well I'll put some video up tomorrow. Thanks to all for the suggestions and help along the way. Thanks for all the compliments.

Man, that looks better than storebought! I bet you feel like a kid on Christmas eve now!

 

[Eric K]

Thanks zogger! I am ready to go give it a try.

 

[Eric K]

I ran the splitter today. Everything functioned well. I have 3 fittings that are seeping hydraulic fluid. I tightened them up when I got back to the shop. Hopefully that will take care of them. The cycle time is right at 10 seconds. The auto cycle valve is great. Not sure I could go back to a regular valve. Three of us fell, cut and split 7 face cord in a little over 3 hrs. So far real happy with my new toy. Lol

 

[Eric K]

How do I post a video?

 

[zogger]

How do I post a video?

Cool build man!

You have to upload it to any vid hosting place like youtube or photobucket, etc, then drop the link here

 

[Eric K]

Thanks zogger I'll give it a go

 

[Jakers]

it almost looks like a timberwolf. at first glance i thought someone had actually posted a picture of one but then i noticed the differences and looked closer. im super glad everything is working well. hows the balance on the tongue weight? balance using the lift? did you stress the lifting capabilities at all? how about the 6 way?

dont mind me, i just love these builds. im eating it all up