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car axle wood splitter???

Started by shinnlinger, May 12, 2014, 09:18:51 PM

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shinnlinger

 Ok,

Why wouldn't this work?  weld this all together, Gear the engine down enough to pull the wedge thru the wood or vv.  wrap some cable around an old tire rim and and have a spring or two to return it.  Apply the opposite brake on an open differential axle.

Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

beenthere

Gonna try it?

Seems a cable would lack some "umph" to pull a wedge through a block of wood.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

shinnlinger

I might try it if you guys don't talk me out of it.  I figure I can gain power to split either in gear reducing  the engine/pto to the axle or using a transmission or rigging the cable block and tackle  style back and forth a few times or all three.  The springs would return it pretty quickly I would think.
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

Al_Smith

My father ,may he rest it peace built a screw spitter from the axle  and transmission of a Jeep using a power take off from a tractor .14 HP Allis Chalmers model B could split anything you stuck on the screw .

shinnlinger

I actually have a PTO screw splitter from back in the day, but that is a trip to the emergency room.  What I am envisioning would function much like a supersplit or DR rapid split.  As soon as you release the brake handle the wedge would quickly retract.

What I could use some help with is is should the ram or the wedge be powered? Could a 7-8-or 9 horse briggs get it done thru a transmission or some other gear down?  flywheel?  is there a recommended gear ratio for the axle?  Would I just shred the cable by running it at 90 degrees around a pulley?  Am I wasting my time and should I just buy a supersplit?


Dave
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

Hilltop366

I seen one on you tube once, looked but I could not find it again.

Al_Smith

Well a super  split is fast .Now if a person were 20 years old you just might be able to keep up with it--for 15 minutes.

Too much hoopla about cycle time .Regular splitter ,old dude,2-3 cords a day .How much you want unless you try to make a million selling firewood .Never happen .

shinnlinger

It could potentially be faster, but I hear ya on hyrdraulic being fast enough for a person only looking to put up wood for themselves. 

The most intriguing aspect of this idea to me is cost over all else.   

I have a few old Briggs laying around and axles, H beams, transmissions, etc.   I do not have hydro pumps and pistons.   
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

pineywoods

Might work, just a couple of observations..You gonna need some some cable rated at 30-40 tons. Anchoring the parts down gonna require some serious metal work. Definitely be very short lived, car axle and rim nowhere near capable of withstanding 20 tons of force. Just bite the bullet and go look at surplus center
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Joe Hillmann

I have seen a video on youtube of a set up kind of like you describe.   On that set up he had the cable running through a couple sets of pulleys to reduce the strain on the rear end and the cable.  I tried searching for it but couldn't find it.

petefrom bearswamp

this type of things  were sold about 30 years ago maybe longer to be attached to a car axle.
Just a spiral wedge.
Put the stick on and stand back IMO.
Dangerous and gas guzzlers even in the 70"s.
A good but somewhat slow hydraulic is better IMO
My home built is still functioning which I built in 1979 altho with the second engine.
Has split may KS  of cords.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

shinnlinger

As previously mentioned, I am not interested in a screw type splitter as I already have one and their safety concerns are obvious.   Although mounting it on my post hole digger and splitting log length has crossed my mind from time to time.  If I had a skid steer and a hydro motor this would be a no brainer. 

I could see running the axle at 90 degrees to the beam as that would remove one 90 and snaking the cable to both sides and back block and tackle style would lower speed/reduce strain/increase power.  I could also use the other wheel as a shear/chunker.   
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

Brucer

Quote from: pineywoods on May 13, 2014, 10:13:18 AM
... You gonna need some some cable rated at 30-40 tons...

Or you could use a much lighter cable and a multiple-line block and tackle arrangement. You would end up running the axle much faster.

Quote
... Anchoring the parts down gonna require some serious metal work....

With the block and tackle arrangement the key is to have the block and tackle mounted on the I-beam and just the single cable going to the axle.

Quote
... Definitely be very short lived, car axle and rim nowhere near capable of withstanding 20 tons of force...

Which would be a lot less with the block and tackle  ;D.

I've got a 4 ton electric log splitter that I use for splitting wide slabs. I've used it on some 20" plus Douglas-Fir rounds and it rarely gets bogged down. The only downside is, it's slow.

The point is, you could get away with a smaller cable and put less strain on your axle & wheel assembly if you were to sacrifice some speed. The trick is to have something that's weaker than the cable in the system. Stalling out the motor before the cable breaks would work.

Quote from: petefrom bearswamp on May 13, 2014, 05:56:57 PM
this type of things  were sold about 30 years ago maybe longer to be attached to a car axle. ...

Still being sold, too. It's called "the Stickler". You can Google it on the web.


Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

petefrom bearswamp

Oops, well shut my mouth.
Shinnliger, I Looked at the pic too quickly.
your design is nothing like the "stickler" that brucer posted.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Brucer

Actually, you reminded me about it. I remembered reading about it years ago in Mother Earth News. Couldn't for the life of me remember the name. I just did a search on spiral cone logsplitters and there it was ;D.

If they're still making and selling them after all these years, there must be something to them. Personally I think it would kill my back.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

LeeB

'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

711ac

Quote from: shinnlinger on May 13, 2014, 06:50:54 PM
As previously mentioned, I am not interested in a screw type splitter as I already have one and their safety concerns are obvious.   Although mounting it on my post hole digger and splitting log length has crossed my mind from time to time.  If I had a skid steer and a hydro motor this would be a no brainer. 
I've been looking for one of those screw splitter for exactly that, to put on my hyd. p.h.d on my skid steer. I have a few hyd. pumps, trade? BTW, I've been wanting to build a small skidding winch with an axle. Your idea made me think of it again.

shinnlinger

I'm heading to Maine in 2 weeks, maybe we should trade some stuff.  I actually drew up a plan for a farmi style 3pt winch first when this splitter idea came to me.  There was a guy on farm show who had a wood processing trailer he hooked to his tractor pto that had a splitter that was axle and cable powered but with other stuff like an unloading feature and winch to load big hunks, it worked well for him so I know it can be done.   

I will probably try it and if it doesn't work out use the axle for the winch idea.  I went out back to check on my axle collection the other day and it aint what it used to be.  I will try to get a heavy duty low gear unit with intact brake system to make life easier.  My current inventory is  pretty hammered however a few have offset pumpkins.   If I took a short side axle shaft from one unit and cut the long side tube on another to match I would have a narrower unit that would sneak thru the woods better.   
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

shinnlinger

I like the idea of letting it slip via the other drum in lieu of using a transmission.  I wonder how the diff will hold up continually slipping but think the wear will be on the brake pads vs the oil bathed ring and pinion....
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

711ac

I'm thinking that a small industrial forklift axle might just be the ticket. Narrow and I would imagine, very stout.
Shinn, I sent you a PM about a swap if interested.

shinnlinger

Forklift axle is pre narrowed I suppose, I wonder if open diff, but probably yes.  Of course if I go to a junk forklift place ill probably end up with the piston and if I swap you for a pump this is a mute thread at this point, but I am intrigued.

I also don't imagine it needs to be more than a car axle.  27 PTO horses going thru a setup designed for 120 plus and it should be fine.  Having seen how a differential works and is constructed, I don't see any problem running one side consistently more than the other if it is a decent axle in the first place and the fact they live in 90 wt oil makes me feel even better.  I am debating wether I want to deal with drum brakes or disc.  the drum gives the option of a simpler cable emergency brake operation were the disc would require a master cylinder and do any cars today have unboosted units?  Would a clutch slave cylinder work?
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

SwampDonkey

If you can build that contraption, might as well build a proper one with a hydraulic pump. We had one built home made locally including the old snow blower engine for around $500, has a hitch and wheels and back leg to. Heavier and cheaper than ones in the box stores. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

r.man

Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

beenthere

rman
That vid sure answers a lot of questions about the potential for the OP's idea.

Looks like a nice setup, and think he mentioned it uses a 1/2" cable. But running slower than the OP plan, or not?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

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