Post Pounder Doubles As Heavy-Duty Log Splitter
If Carmen Mawson of Ardmore, Alberta, had gone out to buy a log splitter, he would've had to spend about $2,500 to buy what he wanted from a manufacturer. Instead, he converted his post pounder for less than $100 and it will split logs of almost any length.
"It took about two hours to build and about $30 worth of scrap metal. It works like a charm," says Mawson.
A splitting wedge simply bolts to the base of the post pounder's hammer.
He used a 2-ft. length of angle iron to make a bracket that fastens to the bottom of the hammer. It attaches with two bolts to both sides of the hammer housing. The wedge - an old axe head - welds onto the bracket. The splitter is reinforced by a pair of steel rods that extend from the bracket to both corners at the top of the hammer housing. The rods simply wedge up into the corners of the hammer housing and absorb the shock as the hammer drops down.
To use the splitter, Mawson positions the hammer housing straight up and down and places a railroad tie under it so that the hammer never reaches the bottom of its stroke. He uses the original controls located at the back of the post pounder to operate as a splitter.
"It has enough power to split logs up to 20 inches in diameter, in almost any length," says Mawson. "I raise cattle so I needed a post pounder anyway. The bracket that supports the wedge is held on by only two bolts so I can quickly convert the machine to its original use as a post pounder. I think the same idea would work with any pull-type post pounder.
"It works faster than most commercial splitters because most of the time I have to lift the hammer only about 6 to 12 in. above the wood before hitting it. The hammer weighs about 500 lbs. so it usually splits the log on the first hit. If the wedge ever gets stuck in the wood I just raise the hammer up and drop it again. I use a wood burning stove to heat the water in my cattle tank and it takes logs up to 30 in. in length."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carmen Mawson, Box 45, Ardmore, Alberta, Canada T0A 0B0 (ph 780 826-3886; E-mail: lmawson@incentre.net).
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Post Pounder Doubles As Heavy-Duty Log Splitter WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Wood Splitters 25-5-18 If Carmen Mawson of Ardmore, Alberta, had gone out to buy a log splitter, he would've had to spend about $2,500 to buy what he wanted from a manufacturer. Instead, he converted his post pounder for less than $100 and it will split logs of almost any length.
"It took about two hours to build and about $30 worth of scrap metal. It works like a charm," says Mawson.
A splitting wedge simply bolts to the base of the post pounder's hammer.
He used a 2-ft. length of angle iron to make a bracket that fastens to the bottom of the hammer. It attaches with two bolts to both sides of the hammer housing. The wedge - an old axe head - welds onto the bracket. The splitter is reinforced by a pair of steel rods that extend from the bracket to both corners at the top of the hammer housing. The rods simply wedge up into the corners of the hammer housing and absorb the shock as the hammer drops down.
To use the splitter, Mawson positions the hammer housing straight up and down and places a railroad tie under it so that the hammer never reaches the bottom of its stroke. He uses the original controls located at the back of the post pounder to operate as a splitter.
"It has enough power to split logs up to 20 inches in diameter, in almost any length," says Mawson. "I raise cattle so I needed a post pounder anyway. The bracket that supports the wedge is held on by only two bolts so I can quickly convert the machine to its original use as a post pounder. I think the same idea would work with any pull-type post pounder.
"It works faster than most commercial splitters because most of the time I have to lift the hammer only about 6 to 12 in. above the wood before hitting it. The hammer weighs about 500 lbs. so it usually splits the log on the first hit. If the wedge ever gets stuck in the wood I just raise the hammer up and drop it again. I use a wood burning stove to heat the water in my cattle tank and it takes logs up to 30 in. in length."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carmen Mawson, Box 45, Ardmore, Alberta, Canada T0A 0B0 (ph 780 826-3886; E-mail: lmawson@incentre.net).
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