Log Splitter

Overview

A log splitter turns rounds of firewood into burnable pieces by forcing them onto a steel wedge with hydraulic power, doing in seconds what an axe does in many swings. This model is a towable petrol unit that beams up to 25 tonnes of force through a single cylinder. The operator lays a round on the beam, works a lever, and the ram drives the wood onto the wedge until it cleaves.

The Petrol Engine is an air-cooled overhead-valve petrol unit started by a Recoil Starter and fed by a float-bowl Carburetor with the Spark Plug providing ignition. Its crankshaft turns the hydraulic pump directly rather than any cutting tool.

How it works

The Hydraulic System does the real work. The engine spins a Two-Stage Gear Pump, a two-stage gear pump that moves a lot of oil quickly while the ram travels unloaded, then automatically drops to low flow at high pressure the instant the wood resists, keeping force up without stalling the engine. Oil is drawn from the Oil Reservoir and routed by the Control Valve, a spring-centred spool the operator pushes to extend, hold or retract. That oil drives the Hydraulic Cylinder, whose rod pushes the log. Throughout the circuit Oil Seal seals keep the high-pressure oil contained.

Splitting happens at the Splitting Head. A heavy Reaction Beam reacts the load while the Splitting Wedge cleaves the fibres and the Push Plate on the rod drives the log forward.

Construction

The machine rides on a Towable Frame with a road Wheel Assembly and Tire pair and a ball hitch so it can be towed to the woodpile. A Log Cradle flanks the wedge to catch the split halves so they do not fall. The beam, pump and cylinder bolt together with a shared Fastener Set.