Project #1, from Haywire, a firewood splitter.

Figured I better get another ticket in the hat. This is the only welding related project I've got that I've not already posted, and this one is 2 years old. No in-progress pics.

This was originally a Speeco 3 point hitch splitter. I traded a black powder rifle for it. I scavenged an 18hp engine off a junk lawn mower for the power. Found a 28gpm 2 stage pump for a good price on Ebay to mate to the engine. The wheels are mounted to torsion axles donated to the cause by a friend of mine. The tank I had welded up at a local shop to my measurements. Figured out later that I should have made it bigger with better baffles. There's so much turbulence in there that I can't run a vented tank cap. It spews hydraulic fluid out the vents with much gusto. LOL. It only holds 15 gallons, and it should really have 25. To split the pressure difference in the tank, I ran the cylinder about halfway out and loosened the cap to let the pressure equalize, then tightened it back. That way there's not too much vacuum when it's fully extended and not too much pressure when it's retracted. The beam working height is about 32". Comes up on me about mid-thigh. The filter is on the return side and is rated for 35gpm.

The cycle time with the 4x24 cylinder is right at 8 seconds. That's fully retracted to fully extended and back. It would be 6ish but the engine I have on there is an older one that only runs at 3000rpm. The pump is rated for 4k rpm and is intended to be run with a standard 3600rpm small engine. Even so, it takes two or three guys working hard to keep it fed. There's no waiting on it if you are splitting something like oak or hickory that pops. I have stalled it out on a big oak crotch, but it flies through normal sized firewood.

The muffler on the donor engine was rusted out so I put a muffler from a 1600 Kawasaki on it in an attempt to quieten it down. What I figured out was that this particular B&S engine has a lot of the noise it produces coming from the block itself and toning down the exhaust note only did so much good. Still looks cool though.

A buddy of mine and I did all the welding except for the tank, which had to be pressurized after welding to check for leaks.

on to the pics.

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