Page 1 of 9 123456 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 125
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default Hydraulic Log Splitter WIP

    Hi all,

    Some may be aware that I have been building a log splitter over the last year or two. I haven't put any pics of it on here yet as I wanted it to evolve into something that remotely looked like a log splitter before showing. I like showing what I have DONE, not what I'm doing or what I'm GUNNA do.

    Anyway, It's starting to look like a log splitter now and figured it may be of some interest to people so here I go.

    My initial design inspiration came from a video on youtube of a homemade log splitter. Here it is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3ksd3Rrx0

    Now, other than that basic design I really had nothing to work with so I started looking for stuff in the usual locations such as ebay and gumtree. I was initially after a 5" ram with around the 500 - 600mm stoke for pretty cheap. These were not easily to come by. I ended up chancing on a 6" ram with about 830mm stoke for $250. It looked like it had been reconditioned at some stage and never used. Needless to say it was way too big in both bore and stroke although I successfully reduced it's stroke to 500mm by turning down the all the components. I also changed it's flange mounting to a clevis mount.


    Of course it occurred to me afterwards that if I wanted a log splitter that was not painfully slow, I would need large hydraulic pump to feed it. A large hydraulic pump would also need HP to drive it. So one thing lead to another and the next thing you know I'm complicating the crap out of this thing, simply because I bought an oversized ram because it was cheap!

    A long story short, I chanced apon a corolla motor for cheap, about $280 from the wrecker. It had been years since I tinkered with a car engine and so sounded like a fun idea. It come out of a 1983 corolla and so still had a carburettor which kept things simple. I can also go to the local Supacheap and buy all the parts for it, it's electric start and has a 12V charging system which means I can also run auxiliary items from it such as lighting etc.

    The corolla motor produces about 78 HP at 5800 rpm, or just over half that at 3000 rpm which is a good match for the pump I bought.

    MY loose plan was to fit everything onto the footprint of a 5x3 trailer. So I started by welding up the outer frame and working out the location of the radiator (from a 45 series landcruiser. donated from my neighbour), the engine, the hydraulic reservoir and the work table.


    Pictures to follow....
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by simonl View Post
    Hi all,

    Some may be aware that I have been building a log splitter over the last year or two. I haven't put any pics of it on here yet as I wanted it to evolve into something that remotely looked like a log splitter before showing. I like showing what I have DONE, not what I'm doing or what I'm GUNNA do.

    Anyway, It's starting to look like a log splitter now and figured it may be of some interest to people so here I go.

    My initial design inspiration came from a video on youtube of a homemade log splitter. Here it is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3ksd3Rrx0

    Now, other than that basic design I really had nothing to work with so I started looking for stuff in the usual locations such as ebay and gumtree. I was initially after a 5" ram with around the 500 - 600mm stoke for pretty cheap. These were not easily to come by. I ended up chancing on a 6" ram with about 830mm stoke for $250. It looked like it had been reconditioned at some stage and never used. Needless to say it was way too big in both bore and stroke although I successfully reduced it's stroke to 500mm by turning down the all the components. I also changed it's flange mounting to a clevis mount.


    Of course it occurred to me afterwards that if I wanted a log splitter that was not painfully slow, I would need large hydraulic pump to feed it. A large hydraulic pump would also need HP to drive it. So one thing lead to another and the next thing you know I'm complicating the crap out of this thing, simply because I bought an oversized ram because it was cheap!

    A long story short, I chanced apon a corolla motor for cheap, about $280 from the wrecker. It had been years since I tinkered with a car engine and so sounded like a fun idea. It come out of a 1983 corolla and so still had a carburettor which kept things simple. I can also go to the local Supacheap and buy all the parts for it, it's electric start and has a 12V charging system which means I can also run auxiliary items from it such as lighting etc.

    The corolla motor produces about 78 HP at 5800 rpm, or just over half that at 3000 rpm which is a good match for the pump I bought.

    MY loose plan was to fit everything onto the footprint of a 5x3 trailer. So I started by welding up the outer frame and working out the location of the radiator (from a 45 series landcruiser. donated from my neighbour), the engine, the hydraulic reservoir and the work table.


    Pictures to follow....
    Early stages builing the frame including angle iron to hold the radiator.

    I decided to directly mount the pump to the engine. This meant machining an adapter plate that holds the starter motor and holds other mounting hardwar for the pump. Being directly mounted, it meant i had to be pretty good with the pump alignment. All the mounting hardware was finished on the SG.


    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    The pump has a parallel shaft with a keyway. I made the mating female part that bolts directly to the crankshaft bolt pattern. You can see it has teeth. It used to be a toothed pulley that i turned down to suite.

    I kept some of the teeth as these run past an induction pickup that is the speed sensor for the engine speed governor.

    In the last photo you can see the hydraulic resevoir.

    In order to ensure concentricity of the pump connection, I removed the spigot bearing and used that seat as a register for the mating part I made.
    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    I then extended the frame upwards at the rear to create a work platform so that all splitting would be done at waist height.

    The splitter beam that houses the ram and all the blade were fabricated separately and slide into place once all the welding was finished. Originally this beam was to be lowered into place and welded, never to be removed but last week i changed my mind.

    It is now held in place with 10 M12 bolts and can be removed with an engine crane to aid in servicing of the ram etc.

    When i finally lowered it into place it was a relief to see everything fit and line up!

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Healesville
    Posts
    2,129

    Default

    gr8 stuff m8

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,102

    Default

    Very nicely done Simon!
    May I recommend that you weld some plates on the splitter to form a wider wedge near the top, rather than having just the thickness of the sharp blade.
    Our splitter occasionally gets stuck in a split and is a bugger to get the log off again.
    Letting the hydraulics push a split further apart should prevent the stuck log problem.

    Cheers, Joe
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Thanks Shed thanks Joe.

    Yes the blade is not quite finished. I have 2 holes in the blade that will facilitate the fitting of a 3 bladed wedge. Removal of this blade will allow for the occasional touch up on the grinder as well.

    I forgot to mention, in the last pic you can see 3 holes. This allows for a pin to be located which effectively reduces the length of the return stroke. For example, the splitter will split 550mm long logs but if you are only splitting logs that are 400mm or so (my wood heater takes a max log length of 460mm) then having the blade auto return to the top is a PITA. Sliding in the pin in the appropriate hole will reduce the return stroke.

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    The engine cowl is also easily removed.

    PS i couldnt resist the inclusion of a toyota badge on the front!

    PS ignor the engine electrics. It will all be redone soon.

    Today i made a start on the log lifting frame.

    The hydraulic ram for this came from a Bobcat. Its in excellent condition and i got it for $18!

    What a bargain.

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    South of Adelaide
    Posts
    1,225

    Default

    Great job Simon. I might steal a few ideas for the log splitter I have to build. One bit of constructive criticism: Standard industry practice is to have a flexible coupling between the pump and motor (eg. a Lovejoy or similar coupling). This arrangement has some give to allow for the clearance in the engine bearings and allows for greater missalignment. Your setup will work ok for the low hours you will use it, but something to keep in mind for future projects.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Thanks Snap.

    There were a couple of reasons for the direct coupling without the use of a Lovejoy style coupling. Firstly it was to save space, a coupling would add about another 200mm in length. Also, I was under the impression (rightly or perhaps wrongly) that if I took the time to align the mating hardware and ensure that the mating surfaces were flat and aligned and the rotating part on the crank was concentric, that such a coupling would not be needed. There is not a lovejoy coupling between the engine and the auto transmission normally.

    My pressure washer has a pump mounted directly to a 13HP Honda motor, so I figured why not?

    You maybe correct though. So who knows, the design may bite me on the , I may find that the pump wears prematurely because of my design flaws. Not sure, time will tell I suppose. One thing is for sure, it would require a fair bit of cutting, welding and retro-fitting in order to make the room for such a coupling now as there is not a huge amount of extra room in the setup.

    Cheers,

    Simon
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    201

    Default

    Simon,

    Great job, thanks for putting up the pictures.

    What size and gauge RHS did you use for the bottom frame? It looks like you've got an axle rigidly attached to the frame, with no springs. Did you beef up the RHS where the axle attaches?

    I'm asking because I'm building something not to different at the moment, a trailer mounted sawmill, and am choosing steel dimensions at the moment. I'll be posting some progress photos soon.

    Graham.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Hi Graham,

    Sorry about the late reply, I've been away on a course for last 5 days with work.

    For all the frame I used 100x50x3mm RHS. Given the construction and design of the supporting frame, it's massive overkill. I have a set of trailer plans that I plan on building. They are engineered plans I bought and are for a 6x4 trailer up to a 1600Kg ATM and it uses 100x50x3mm so I know my (roughly) 650 700Kg log splitter will be fine on a frame that is roughly a 5x3 size trailer.

    No special re-enforcing of the frame at the axles, although initially I had the axels directly under the front vertical frame of the splitter which would have been nice as it directly transfers the load onto the axle. However, once I checked the weights, I was not entirely happy with the ball weight. I was aiming for about 60 - 65Kg ball weight, nice and heavy to ensure the thing never tipped, even if a keen person lifted a 150Kg log onto the back to split.

    So, I had to move the axle rearward by 75mm (a massive PITA). This puts the axle not directly under the load transfer of the vertical part of the frame but like I said, it's so over engineered that it is of little consequence. The axles themselves are re-enforced which does help to direct the load to the axle in part anyway.

    You are correct, there are no springs. Adding springs would have made the trailer sit higher, complicating the frame required in order to keep the splitting deck at waist height. I have no real need to tow it anywhere but I can if I have to. If I were to hire a splitter from a local hire place, it would not have springs either, I have looked at quite a few.

    I'll send a couple of pics from my phone in the next post. Can't wait to see your sawmill!

    Simon
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    Heres a pic of the frame as best i can.

    The second pic shows the location of the axle. Clearly rearward and not quite directly under the vertical frame elements.

    You can see the top frame terminates into the bottom frame at a roughly 45 degree angle. This was to reduce stress on the drawbar end of the frame.


    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    4,779

    Default

    I also added strengthening plates where the frame was welded together.

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    201

    Default

    Thanks for your detailed reply and the pics Simon. They are very useful for me at this stage of the design. I was settling on either 100 x 50 x 3 or 150 x 50 x 3 RHS for the sawmill main frame. It doesn't have a top and bottom frame like your log splitter, so I'm erring on the 150.

    Nice welds! Do you want to come and do mine?

    Graham.

Page 1 of 9 123456 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Log splitter Advice needed
    By simonl in forum METALWORK GENERAL
    Replies: 45
    Last Post: 1st May 2018, 07:46 PM
  2. Extraordinary Hydraulic Wood Splitter
    By Oldneweng in forum GENERAL DISCUSSION / OFF TOPIC
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 28th Aug 2017, 10:51 PM
  3. Firewood Splitter Modifications
    By Oldneweng in forum TRAILERS & OTHER FABRICATED STUFF
    Replies: 45
    Last Post: 1st Aug 2017, 05:56 PM
  4. Hydraulic ram
    By GSRocket in forum METALWORK GENERAL
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 6th Oct 2012, 10:19 AM
  5. Hydraulic Log Splitter
    By Geoff Dean in forum METALWORK GENERAL
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 15th Apr 2008, 12:01 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •