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Need help for a 4-way wedge to improve splitter efficiency

Started by DeerMeadowFarm, September 30, 2022, 09:30:13 AM

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DeerMeadowFarm

I have a home-made splitter that I built a few years back. I'd like to make a slip-on horizontal/Y/? wedge onto the fixed vertical wedge without giving up any/much room in front of my current wedge. I can split a 24" piece right now which is perfect for my OWB so I hate to give up any of that length capacity. Most of the slip on wedges I've seen take up space where I'd rather not. 

Picture below is the splitter in question:


 

Crusarius

I hate to say it but if you want a slip on I would expect to lose at least 1.5" if you try to go any less than that the wedge will probably fail in short order.

I think I would try to move the current wedge or just replace it with the 3 way. What stroke is the ram? do you have any left to move the wedge?

DeerMeadowFarm

It's a 24" stroke cylinder. I kind of figured I'd lose quite a bit by adding an slip on wedge....  :-\ Thanks!

Hilltop366

Cut a couple inches off the front of your wedge and build a couple of slip-on wedges, one for multi cut and one for single. 

If making a T or Y shaped wedge I would think you want to top wedge to split first otherwise you might as well build a 4 way.

moodnacreek

Adding those 2 wings may work ok but I can tell you it takes alot more force compared to a single knife. In hard to split wood in may not work. Over time it could break your wedge off as is a common thing on production machines. The only way to know is to do it.

thecfarm

I had an add on wedge. 
Then I did something different with it. I added on to the wedge.
Someone suggested that I should have set the add on blade back a few inches, so it does not hit the wood at the same time. Would have made it easier to split wood if the add on would have been back a few inches.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Big_eddy

I can envision a way to do what you want without losing depth.
I would make two vertical cuts to the current wedge backstop, the first one about 1 1/2" -2" behind the front edge, second another 1 1/2-2" further back, and remove the section. Then weld on 4" x1/4" plates to both sides of the removed piece to make a H shaped insert that drops back in for two way splitting.  Bevel the front edges of the 1/4" . Essentially you just increased the width of the regular wedge by 1/2" but did not reduce its strength. You don't need to cut to the bottom, only as low as the lowest wing position.
Now you can make a second similar insert with wings. Use 6 or 8" by 1/4 or 3/8 plates for the sides and add a vertical spine behind the back of the current wedge. That should give enough weld area to support the wings. If you tie the top of the front and back spines together, you can drill a hole and weld a nut on to the tie strap. Insert a long bolt and you could adjust wing height.

If a picture would help, I can sketch and try to attach.  

barbender

Offsetting the 4 way wedges definitely helps, except when it doesn't. What I mean by that is when you have decent wood it pops open so fast the splitter doesn't much notice. I had a MTD hotizontal/vertical splitter before I got the processor, it just had a single wedge and never had anything it wouldn't go through. However, I've had the experience on my processor several times where a piece (elm😬) is pushed into the vertical wedge, and is so nasty that it doesn't really have any notion of splitting by the time it hits the 4 way wedges. So then the machine is trying to essentially push all of it through the 4 way at once. I've stopped it dead several times and it's not a lack of power (I believe my machine has a 5" cylinder). Not fun. 

 The moral of the story I guess would be to choose your battles carefully when the 4 way is slipped on. 
Too many irons in the fire

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