my new log splitter

hey all,

i just wanted to share my new log splitter.  just finished it last weekend.  this was sunday morning at 15 degrees.  i was warm in the cab.  the log was red oak 24" at the small end and 30" on the big end.

thanks for watching.

Derek Wekenborg in Mo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Ehu_H62Zw

I have been thinking about building the same thing. Except  I want to make it flip over  also so you can still do some smaller pices by hand If need be.

   I like that set-up big time!

thanks.  Dad and i burn about 14 - 16 cord of wood a year and i had been doing most of the work.  it does lift high enough to drop the pieces in a dump trailer.  this was just the trial run on some really big stuff and my buddy took a video.  we had talked about making it flip over but we have another splitter that we will use for the smaller stuff that mounts on the 3 point.  i also made the wedge removable so that i can change from a 4 way to a straight blade and I'm planning on making an 8 way. 

I will tell you that we built our own I beam.  A regular W flange beam will twist on an uneven load like you get splitting wood and when the wood splits it will send pieces flying.  So we made the web out of 2x6 rectangle 1/4" wall to resist twisting and the flanges are 4" x 3/4" plate and i wish i had used 3"x8" and 3/4"x5".  4" cylinder had around 39,000# of force at 3000 PSI.  i could see it flex when i tried to shear a 8" hickory limb.  i probably won't try that again.

I thought about that Dave but i didn't have a backhoe.  Seemed like a large investment just to split wood.