Show Your Home built Log Splitter

[Battle Cross 2]

Dont know much about ares but its 25 or so years old and my FIL made it from left overs when he worked at Ambec in maryland.

 

[Deets066]

For the way big rounds.
5” bore cylinder hooked to high flow

 

[Deets066]

 

[Dustin4185]

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Have you posted that beast on another thread? I was thinking of building one using a 4 cylinder Yanmar diesel. I was going to build it stationary and leave it in the shed where we split on wet days.

 

[jjdlc]

So my dad has been wanting a splitter for years, but is too cheap to buy a new one, and doesn't have the skills necessary to build one, so when he hit me up one afternoon about going to look at one a friend of his had for sale, I didn't really think about it. I figured it was just a store bought one that had been sitting a while. Boy was I wrong. This was the monstrosity we hauled home after finding a tractor to help load it. I'll give the guy who built it this, it is remarkably well balanced, the rope that held the i-beam in the down position broke while we were loading it, and to my surprise it swung up slowly and gently instead of with the bang I expected.



The hydraulic cylinder is a blade ram off a D8 Cat dozer, and the pump I believe is from the same dozer. It had been powered by a 50's era 9hp Briggs, that had siezed from neglect. We got it freed easy enough, but it had no spark. Dad wanted to get it running, but we were at an auction the next weekend, and stumbled upon a 9hp single cylinder diesel. Sure it's a Chinese Yanmar clone, but we picked it up for $60 and it runs perfectly. Replaced the hoses, and flushed the system, and away it went. It's not the fastest thing in the world, nor is it pretty, but I'm pretty certain it will split anything. Dad has always like to burn some hard to split stuff mixed in with his good wood.

 

[Deets066]

Have you posted that beast on another thread? I was thinking of building one using a 4 cylinder Yanmar diesel. I was going to build it stationary and leave it in the shed where we split on wet days.

Sorry, missed this post.

 

[Dustin4185]

Sorry, missed this post.

No big deal. I miss stuff all the time!

 

[krag]

A friend has a homemade unit, Tecumsah engine and a beer keg as an oil reservoir. Works great.

The problem with homemade units, and I had a couple, is that they can be mismatched with messed up hydraulic power dynamics. I have had units that leaked on the customer properties, high end properties too. Major disaster units that I was glad to get rid of.