1994 - Volume #18, Issue #4, Page #11
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Giant Log Splitter Makes Up To 70 Cords A Day
The log is first cut with a chain saw into 16-in. lengths. Then the pieces are thrown by hand onto a conveyor that leads to the splitter. The machine has four hydraulic controls - one for the conveyor, one for the 6-in. dia. cylinder on the splitter, one that moves the splitting head up or down, and one that operates an elevator that delivers split logs into a truck.
"I built it because I felt there had to be a way to split wood without having to handle it so much," says Watt, who put the giant log splitter together 10 years ago. "The only time wood is handled manually is when you throw it on the conveyor. The splitting head is designed so you can split 2, 4, 6, or 8 ways, depending on how you position the blades. The machine is powered by a Perkins 100 hp diesel engine and has two hydraulic pumps. One 45 gpm pump operates the cylinder that splits the logs while a 33 gpm pump operates the conveyor and elevator and raises the splitting head. "With 5 people we can easily average 50 cords of wood a day. One person cuts and trims the tree, one person operates a log skidder, two people cut the log apart and throw the pieces onto the conveyor, and one person operates the splitter.
"I made the conveyor out of a stable cleaner gutter chain and welded lengths of angle iron onto it for paddles. The elevator is a belt type with angle iron paddles."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Watt, Rt. 3, Waterford, Ontario, Canada N0E 1Y0 (ph 519 426-5516).
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