I had to split a couple buckets of night wood yesterday so I took the camera with me.
The wood lift and the movable wedge.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0355.JPG)
The lift loaded and ready to split.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0359.JPG)
The big stuff i load like this. This piece is not BIG but was handy for the pic.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0360.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0361.JPG)
A rear view.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0358.JPG)
A front view.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0357.JPG)
The drivers seat.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0356.JPG)
The forward / reverse and power steering controls.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24436/DSCF0354.JPG)
I have a few changes to make to the front steering wheel arrangement so I can mount the wood lift on either side, then I'll strip it, sand blast and paint it.
UN
UN Hooker, I love it ;) Tim
Thats neat! I'd like to see more of your operation(knuckleboom). Is that a 3400 Ford? Looks like mine.
Well I'm going to have to say there are some rather ingenious splitters in the world of home builts .
That is an interesting design to say the least and it works. I like that. 8)
Excellent 8) 8) I want one ;D
Love it as well. Any way you can provide us a video of it in action?
Buck
The tractor is a 4400 industrial ex-backhoe.
blackfoot griz
I'll have to talk with my grandson and see if he can make a video of it in action, still pictures are my limit.
UN
A bit spendy for the average guy..... Typically I just get a hernia lifting heavy pieces, if i am lucky ehough to be using a splitter at all.
I like the whole set up,loader and all.
I don't have that many coins into it. Most everything (except the Honda motor and the pulp hook) came from the re-cycle/scrap yards. I'm very lucky to have several good ones not far from me. They always seem to need something fixed or made that they cannot buy, sooo.
UN
For those of us that are prone to tinkering and puttsing it pays to learn the fine art of dumpster diving .This subject is not taught at any university I'm aware of .To be a master of said craft it takes years of OJT . ;D
Al_Smith
Right on!
Those trailers you see in the background - there full of " boy I could make sumpin out of that someday" stuff.
UN
:D It's been said that the true success of a self appointed inventer is measured by how many days it takes to hold the auction after he's passed on .
It's amazing the amount of "possibilies " a person can amass in a lifetime of dumpster diving .
You never know though .It was two oil field workers that welded together a bunch of junk and came up with the skid loader so anything is possible . ;)
A fella need a dumpster hook as some metal dumpsters can be a bear to climb out of.Usally diving is a covert operation and stuck in the bottom when the owner comes out is embarassing you feel like a trapped coon.I have seen splitters with a V8 engine you could have saved the gas money and bought the wood.Really a self propelled splitter is a good idea as you have the hydraulics and are almost there. Frank C.
Oh you can see some dandy homebuilds .I've never seen a V8 but I did see a Chevy 6 with a big high volume pump from a dozer or something .That engine didn't have to run much above idle speed .
That was 30 years ago and a monstrosity it was but it did split wood .
On the other end of the spectrum was a 5 HP Briggs with a Chevy power steering pump .Slow as a snail but it split about anything you put in it although by having only what reserve oil that was in the pump housing it ran rather hot after a while .
That thing is awesome! smiley_clapping
Any log splitter you can drive is pretty impressive in my book ;D
Al_Smith
The closest I've got to a dumpster is hooking a plate clamp to a 10' piece of I-beam sticking out the end and yanking it out with the loader!! Most stuff I get is from pieces that come in for scrap. When I see something interesting, I have them set it aside. JLG boom lifts, street sweepers, packers etc all have great hydraulics.
DeerMeadowFarm
That decking the wood is stacked on is heavy duty pallet racking. I bought a trailer load and that was some of the odd pieces I had left. It works well, keeps the wood off the dirt and is easy to walk on, not like pallets.
Someone asked how much the grapple will lift - I don't know how many pounds but straight out the back A LOT, to the side at full extension you can lift a good sized stick but its easy to lift a wheel if your not paying attention. When I rebuild the second rear rim I'll load the tires, that will help.
I used the backhoe base and built the boom using the BH cylinders. The grapple is the smallest Valby.
UN
The more I look at this, the more I like it! What did you use for the rear axle? I'd love to see the steering linkage as well. Just an awesome machine! I agree with Piston's comment!!!
DeerMeadowFarm
The "axle assembly" - the hydraulic motor driven planetarys, wheels, tires and beam came from a large JLG boom lift. I had to narrow the beam to fit.
The steering linkage is what I have to change. There is an arm attached to the spindle and this is where the steering cylinder attaches. In this configuration the cylinder is in the way of the log lift when I want to move it to the left side. When I change it I will be able to use the lift on either side.
UN
So then you either have a scrap yard or have connections with one ? Golly gee that would be like kid in a candy store for me . 8)
A couple connections! My wife says grrrr our back yard looks like a junk yard. I tell her its all good "junk".
UN
Well it's kind of like the tree that falls in the woods and nobody hears it. If you stash all the goodys in the woods and nobody sees it nobody is the wiser .Works for me . :D
My wife calls it "farm art"
Un Hooker...any luck with getting your grandkid to take a video?
We'd love to see that machine in action ;D
+1 on a video, or even more pictures! Awesome.
UN Hooker
I'm impressed. I am not much of a fabricator but certainly respect those who are.
Absolutely love it. Do you have a trailer hitch on the back so you can pull a small trailer to load up the split wood?
That is a great rig and just what most people would need. For the ones who want to get even more elaborate there is this.
http://www.farmshow.com/view_articles.php?a_id=125
Quote from: UN Hooker on February 24, 2012, 08:58:30 PM
DeerMeadowFarm
The "axle assembly" - the hydraulic motor driven planetarys, wheels, tires and beam came from a large JLG boom lift. I had to narrow the beam to fit.
The steering linkage is what I have to change. There is an arm attached to the spindle and this is where the steering cylinder attaches. In this configuration the cylinder is in the way of the log lift when I want to move it to the left side. When I change it I will be able to use the lift on either side.
UN
If you have drive motors on both wheels do you need a steering system? Think zero turn lawn mowers.
Looks a little wimpy to me.