Box splitter vs 4/6 way

[Homemade]

Tossing around the idea is cutting my wedge off and adding a new design. I like the way the a box wedge cuts consistent sized splits. The 4 way or 6 way is good for one and done but you need to have the right sized wood. It also seems like a box wedge would handle knots and crotches better. They say box wedges produce more trash. I like the way the eastonmade box wedge is designed. Looks like it has little to no binding. I would see if it could be built a bit bigger for my wood furnace. I don’t need 2x4’s like the wood stove guys need. Back to eastonmade. I should ask the guy how much for just his hydraulic wedge set up. I could add it to mine without all that fab work. It would be a big time saver. He makes a 4,6,8 way and a box that all interchange on his hydraulic adjustable wedge set up.

 

[komatsu]

If you do go with a box wedge, Id definitely go with the Eastonmade from what Ive seen in the videos.

A friend of mine had a processor for a few years, I dont remember the name but it was a 60k $ setup. It had a "flat" box wedge setup and it wasn't very impressive. It was picky about wood, and it took a lot of power to push it through the flat design. You could tell it was in a jam just by watching it and listening to the motor load. It did make a lot of trash too. I dont think the eastonmade would be like that, but i haven't seen it in person.

 

[jehinten]

Tossing around the idea is cutting my wedge off and adding a new design. I like the way the a box wedge cuts consistent sized splits. The 4 way or 6 way is good for one and done but you need to have the right sized wood. It also seems like a box wedge would handle knots and crotches better. They say box wedges produce more trash. I like the way the eastonmade box wedge is designed. Looks like it has little to no binding. I would see if it could be built a bit bigger for my wood furnace. I don’t need 2x4’s like the wood stove guys need. Back to eastonmade. I should ask the guy how much for just his hydraulic wedge set up. I could add it to mine without all that fab work. It would be a big time saver. He makes a 4,6,8 way and a box that all interchange on his hydraulic adjustable wedge set up.

I've wondered about the eastonmade wedge design as well. Being able to swap out wedges easily could be helpful for certain pieces. And easy enough to add to any other splitter, especially if you can get the rocker piece that adjust the wedges height as well. If you happen to find any info and cost on selling those pieces independently will you share them here? As you've seen from my thread I have a while before I'm ready to go this route myself.

 

[Homemade]

I just dont like how a 4 way or 6 way is almost designed for a specific sized round. And when you need to do re-splits, if you wedge doesn’t lift out of the way, you end up working around it.

Whether I split 10” or 24” rounds. The splits are roughly the same size every time, with the exception of where the end pieces end up.

 

[Homemade]

If you happen to find any info and cost on selling those pieces independently will you share them here? As you've seen from my thread I have a while before I'm ready to go this route myself.

I probably won’t post custom pricing. You can pm Andrew. As soon as I say “he did it for $500” and he next guy he quotes $1000, then he’s the *a-hole for charging more then before. I don’t want to put him in that position. One off custom jobs should always be priced individually.

Sorry.

 

[Ryan Browne]

I think a 4-way with a hydraulic means of going up and down is a very good setup. I've never run a box wedge, but they seem like they'd take a lot of tonnage, and not be as versatile for bigger crotchy pieces.

 

[jehinten]

I probably won’t post custom pricing. You can pm Andrew. As soon as I say “he did it for $500” and he next guy he quotes $1000, then he’s the *a-hole for charging more then before. I don’t want to put him in that position. One off custom jobs should always be priced individually.

Sorry.

That makes sense and most likely by the time I'm ready to move forward there would be a price difference

 

[angelo c]

Tossing around the idea is cutting my wedge off and adding a new design. I like the way the a box wedge cuts consistent sized splits. The 4 way or 6 way is good for one and done but you need to have the right sized wood. It also seems like a box wedge would handle knots and crotches better. They say box wedges produce more trash. I like the way the eastonmade box wedge is designed. Looks like it has little to no binding. I would see if it could be built a bit bigger for my wood furnace. I don’t need 2x4’s like the wood stove guys need. Back to eastonmade. I should ask the guy how much for just his hydraulic wedge set up. I could add it to mine without all that fab work. It would be a big time saver. He makes a 4,6,8 way and a box that all interchange on his hydraulic adjustable wedge set up.

what are you splitting and with what machine. Ive seen a few designs that work and Ive worked a few that don't depending on the supply and species of wood. splitter trash does pile up quick with a 6 way or a box.

TW-7 was a "boxwood" designed machine....they don't make it anymore.

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Andrew's open box design was a great start but it has been frustrating how long since then without taking steps towards a truly great solution.

Too thick, too mild, too few knives, no back drag, all of which are needed just to catch up with competition let alone get to what is an obvious destination for many keen observers of such a design. A place at least one maker has already reached and which a few are openly musing how to reach, yet for a long time now I see little significant improvement in the Eastonmade box wedge concept from inception.

I don't see the merit in non-fixed box wedges unless you are dealing with multiple markets requiring multiple split sizes. A well designed and engineered 4 or 5 way box wedge leaves only the very ugly and big rounds needing noodled before splitting, and even then some could be easily handled whole if the splitter had a winch to help rotate the round to nibble it down to size.

For a few ideas Google
ABS autosplit (note they bought TW recently and are keeping TW going, built out of their facility)
Wolf ridge
Binderberger splitfix
Japa perfectsplit
Steel and wood ltd raptor 2019

Some are getting very close to what I've considered, for a long time now, a fantastic and somewhat obvious box wedge utopia. One is almost there, two are very, very close behind. I'd say 2019 is the year they catch up to what's been in my head for a few years but I've not had the time, money nor skills to make it happen. It won't be long before every man and his dog is wanting a box wedge if they are chasing cheap production.

Good luck.

 

[Homemade]

Good to know.

 

[Homemade]

here’s a pic of the splitter. This year I was fortunate to get a few loads of oak and ash and beech. But I can foresee a fair amount on box elder in my future.

 

[Homemade]

I put a Honda gx160 (5hp) and a 11gpm pump I had laying around. Just to get the project together. I do have gx390 in the shop. Just gotta get a 22gpm for it. It has a 4x24” ram and a small wedge designed wedge. Not exactly knife like and not exactly a super flair wedge either. I did build/modify a 4 way to slip on. It not being adjustable, works better with two people. One to hold and square up the rounds, and one to pull the leaver.

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

Wireedm on 'Another Site' made his own:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LvSvEMXw67c?wmode=opaque

 

[angelo c]

Wireedm on 'Another Site' made his own:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LvSvEMXw67c?wmode=opaque

That was difficult to watch...

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

DIY is about making do with what you've got or can afford. Might have also been a test run at under full throttle.

 

[angelo c]

DIY is about making do with what you've got or can afford. Might have also been a test run at under full throttle.

I'm a bit of a snob...I run a tw6 with a 4way and my wood supply is this. So I do my share of wood wrestling.
..

 

[KiwiBro (deleted)]

A winch mounted above the splitter with a set of tongs on the end of the cable helps to safely spin the bigger rounds to nibble them down to size until what's left of the round will drop by itself into the box wedge splitting chamber. Also helps drag the ugly rounds that wont roll to the ramp and onto the splitter.

But noodling is fun too.

I've tried cable and tongs suspended below tractor forks positioned over the splitter but it's not the best solution.