Transverse Wood Splitter

[SkidRoe]

Here are a few pictures of the splitter that we built last winter. It is a bit dusty from sitting all summer. Splitting transversely gives you an excellent view of what you are splitting. It also allows the splitter to be used as tongs for moving blocks around.

To keep it compact, the cylinder lives inside the slide mechanism:

We have an outdoor furnace on the farm, so we typically are just splitting large blocks (up to 4' in diameter) into manageable chunks (less than 2' square) so that they will fit through the furnace door. For the most part, there is no reason to get out of the cab while you are splitting.

 

[Tazza]

I like the design. Does it have any issues with large/hard blocks of wood? Over here in Australia, we have some rather tough wood that i suspect would need more splitting power. I have thought about building one, i even have a ram with a 6" bore, it should split just about anything, but it would be slow.
What diameter ram are you using?

 

[SkidRoe]

I like the design. Does it have any issues with large/hard blocks of wood? Over here in Australia, we have some rather tough wood that i suspect would need more splitting power. I have thought about building one, i even have a ram with a 6" bore, it should split just about anything, but it would be slow.
What diameter ram are you using?

The unit uses a 4" x 24" cylinder, for about 16 tons of splitting force at 2500 psi.
You definitely can stall it in hardwood, but this can usually be overcome by repositioning the splitter and taking another "bite". When splitting big blocks with this unit, you tend to use it more like a demolition shear than a wood splitter.
Providing you have the structural strength to withstand the force, yes, you can never have a big enough cylinder diameter.

 

[Tazza]

The unit uses a 4" x 24" cylinder, for about 16 tons of splitting force at 2500 psi.
You definitely can stall it in hardwood, but this can usually be overcome by repositioning the splitter and taking another "bite". When splitting big blocks with this unit, you tend to use it more like a demolition shear than a wood splitter.
Providing you have the structural strength to withstand the force, yes, you can never have a big enough cylinder diameter.

This may involve investigation see if time and material allows, it sure would save a lot of back breaking. I like the compact design and the way the moving parts are supported in the housing.