Latest toy (tool) log splitter

[Lil Foot]

My wife's uncle in Indiana insisted we have this log splitter, designed & built by one of his friends from the steel mill. (now passed)
It sat in the elements for years, so the engine (5hp Tecumseh) was pretty rusty, and needed a new throttle, air cleaner, spark plug, carb rebuild, fuel tank cleaned, new muffler, and the engine & hydraulic oil changed. It also had no filter or even a screen in the hydraulic circuit, so I added a spin-on filter setup. Holds 5 gal oil, (weird tank, huh?) and started on the 2nd pull. Runs great, and splits 12" oak like balsa wood.
Wheels & tires are from a '57 Caddy, as were the wheel covers, which I sold for $99.
Rear legs clip on, and also clip on the main rail upside down for transport. 4" cylinder, 1 1/2" ram, stroke about 20", and it is very heavy. (lots of steel)

Kind of an odd duck, but I like odd stuff, and the price was right.

 

[Lil Foot]

Forgot to mention- it has a 1 7/8" ball hitch, (heavily welded) and everything else I own is 2" ball.
It looks like the easiest remedy would be to just cut the front half of the 1 7/8" coupler off & weld or bolt on a new 2" coupler.

 

[mdhughes]

Look a lot like one that my brother-in-law built in the 80's. His didn't have the extra support leg. He had taken an I-beam and milled the top of it flat. Then built everything from there. Like his, I don't think you need to worry about breaking anything.

 

[skeets]

Oh boy I can see a 4 way wedge coming,, now where did I put that cutting edge off the old bucket

 

[Yooper]

Nice score! Got to admit I would have kept the Caddy wheel covers though.

 

[johnjk]

Dress it up with some pin striping too. Nice to see cleaned up and put back to use

 

[D2Cat]

Nice! How did you get it from Indiana to Arizona?

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Bill... That is an awesome machine. And, it went to the right person. Good for you. Sent you a PM...

 

[RCW]

Gosh Bill, I really like it!

My Dad and I built one many years ago. That puppy looked odd, in part because it was made with stuff on hand or bartered for. Split hundreds of cords of wood, but we did have to “re-engineer” it a couple times early on...[emoji15] Once we got it right, darned thing was a beast.

Enjoy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[twomany]

I really like that it pulls from the "right" end.

I have a Timberwolf splitter, and really dislike the way the split wood piles in front of the splitter, and I can't just drive it back with the tractor to get clear. This might be a modification worth doing! Right along with a run off table ;-)

 

[Lil Foot]

Nice! How did you get it from Indiana to Arizona?

We visit her aunt & uncle every 2 or 3 years, so we took the toy hauler just to pick the splitter up. Worked great, except the straps kept coming loose. Finally figured out that the tongue jack was backing off, which let the straps slacken. Once we tied the jack handle, no more problems.

 

[Lil Foot]

Oh boy I can see a 4 way wedge coming,, now where did I put that cutting edge off the old bucket

Right along with a run off table ;-)

Those are the two mods I was planning on at some later date. And getting rid of that 1 7/8 hitch.

 

[Lil Foot]

I also forgot to mention that those snazzy white walls are recaps, and have date codes of 1938 & 1941- and they still hold air.
Don't think I'll take it on any high speed highway runs till I replace those.

 

[bearbait]

Congrats Bill! Why is it that every time I look at one of them I get a sore back? I agree with twomany, just may have to redesign mine.

 

[Lil Foot]

At current cabin visitation rates, (sigh) I probably only use a cord or so over the winter, so I usually don't have to split enough to completely destroy my back.

 

[skeets]

Was rooting through youtube a while back. And came across a guy that built a lift table for his splitter using the ram with a hook and cable to lift the table. He ran the ram full forward had a hook on it and as the ram retracted it pulled the table up to the splitter. If I knew how to weld I would make something like that my self

https://youtu.be/fezL0XhG4vo?t=334

 

[m.t.hands]

very nice

 

[RCW]

Hey skeets, old dogs can learn new tricks![emoji41]

I really like welding. I’m not good at it, but I get better all the time. As bad as some of my welds look, I’ve never had one fail.

These new MIG’s are neat. Gonna try the stick on my Lincoln one of days, but so tickled with mig.

Guys here like Daren, D2Cat, and Yooper (and many others here) are great teachers and coaches....lord knows I’ve needed all the help I can get....[emoji15]

 

[Lil Foot]

That is clever!

 

[CaveCreekRay]

I found Chucky's welding instruction excellent. He has lessons on all kinds of welding, stick/MIG/TIG. The manufacturers think so much of him that they have been sending him equipment for reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgGG-ifphkA