# 4-way splitting wedge.



## Billster (Oct 13, 2009)

Does anyone use a "4-way splitting wedge" on your splitter ??

I know one wouldn't be good for small logs, because it would split the wood too small.

I've never used one, and thought one would save some time for splitting large wood... But on large wood the wedge doesn't go in the center of the wood, and I was wondering how good of a job it would do because of that.

I would like some opinions on this if you have used one, (OR if you have thought about using one.)

_A 4-way wedge would be easy to make._

http://www.freewebs.com/logsplitter/

Thanks.


----------



## Wildman_fab (Oct 13, 2009)

I just got one for the Northern splitter that my father and I own, it didnt fit and ill be doing the necessary changes to make it fit. I think it would split the smaller logs into nice kindling for sure!  I think it will be a time saver because you only have to pickup the larger logs once instead for 2-3 times. The only thing that concerns me is the increased force on the back stop of the splitter, large possibility of bendage with a smaller splitter.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 13, 2009)

If you have a wedge on the end of the beam, a slipover is a pretty low risk experiment.  You should be able to find someone else with a MTD to sell it to if you don't like it.


----------



## 'bert (Oct 13, 2009)

Might be OK if all your logs are the same size, I would think your splitter would stall out before you had to worry about your endplate bending


----------



## SWI Don (Oct 14, 2009)

If you are permanently mounting the 4-way to the wedge, you may run into issues on tough wood (crotches etc.)  I run a four way that is hydraulically adjusted ala Timberwolf TW5.  I do need to slip it out of the way from time to time even with 30 ton of splitting force. 

Unless you are running strictly nice straight "pole wood",  I would want the four way easily removable.  I have never run one of the newer Northern Tool splitters with the 4 way V/H wedge design.  Maybe they do great.  

Don


----------



## mybowtie (Oct 14, 2009)

Ill split my pile of smaller stuff and leave the larger rounds for the 4 way. I have a OWB, so dont really care if some of the 1/4's are
bigger. I have gotten rounds stuck or splitter was unable to pop the round with the 4 way on.
I dont use it as often as I would have hoped, but I just had 3 large ash trees given to me that were asking for the 4 way.


----------



## Billster (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks for the replies!

I've never used one.  I'm always trying to think of a way to make it quicker to work on wood.

If I used one, I would only use it on straight grained wood, and the rest of the wood could be moved to the side and use a "one-way wedge."

What I was planning to do was,  Get another wedge and weld the extra wedges to it. (like in the link I posted)

I haven't really looked at my splitter to see if I could make a slip on wedge for it.


----------



## gpcollen1 (Oct 14, 2009)

Those 4-ways should not come to a A-point on the horizontal portion, should they.  Shouldn't that blade have the point on the flat bottom of the blade and taper to the top.  Seems to make more sense when splitting or that splitter is going to be jumping all around.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 14, 2009)

For what its worth, Timberwolf's 4 way does the same thing.  On their 6 way, the lower blade is tapered on the bottom and the upper blade is tapered on the top.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 14, 2009)

Here's a guy that does a good job making them; http://www.freewebs.com/logsplitter/

The six-way is one he made for me.  It was his first-six way so I got it cheap.
Not the best but it works fine for me.

I think he's got them four-ways down pretty good.


----------



## Billster (Oct 15, 2009)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> Here's a guy that does a good job making them; http://www.freewebs.com/logsplitter/
> 
> The six-way is one he made for me.  It was his first-six way so I got it cheap.
> Not the best but it works fine for me.
> ...



That's the link I posted in the beginning of the thread.

He does a good job.. I was going to make a 4-way.

How does your 6-way work on large wood, since the wedge doesn't get in the center of the wood ??


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

It does hit the center or it wouldn't work.


----------



## Billster (Oct 15, 2009)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> It does hit the center or it wouldn't work.



Thanks for the reply.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

With enough power a multiple wedge doesn't need to hit center.  
My 6-way is mounted so it hits close to center.

I have 16hp driving 22gpm 2stage pump pushing a 4"ram and I usually only put the six way on when doing poplar.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 15, 2009)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> I have 16hp driving 22gpm 2stage pump pushing a 4"ram and I usually only put the six way on when doing poplar.



What happens when you use it on denser wood?


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> kenny chaos said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What happens?  It just won't push through.
On straight grain denser wood, it works up to about a 12" diameter but it's a heavy son-of-a-gun 
so when I start having problems, I just leave it off.  I want a 4-way for the other stuff.

I have a lot of poplar that I sell and I buy good seasoned hardwood to supplement the little harwood I do every year.
I pay a little more for the harwood than I make selling the poplar but I get double the btu's.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 15, 2009)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> What happens?  It just won't push through.
> On straight grain denser wood, it works up to about a 12" diameter but it's a heavy son-of-a-gun
> so when I start having problems, I just leave it off.  I want a 4-way for the other stuff.



Cool...thanks.  I have been trying to decide between the 4 and the 6.  Sounds like I should start with the 4.  Are you happy with his work?


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> kenny chaos said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...





The 6-way was made at my request.  It was my design for my situation and works great.
I've been told by some wanna-be engineers that the angles are all wrong but people love to help me when I got the 6-way going.  That's how it got it's name, "The Angry Beaver."  It devours wood.

I believe I have more power than the average splitter so do go with the 4-way unless you're sure otherwise.  I see he gets a lot for the 6-way now.
The 4-ways have been sold on e-bay for quite awhile.
I'm sure I could make a 4-way that worked but his are better and affordable.  He's invested in machines and welders especially for making wedges.
He can make one for any splitter.  I wouldn't hesitate to get a 4-way from him and I probably will.
Call him, he's a good guy and easy to work with.  Tell him the 6-way wedge guy says Hi.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 15, 2009)

I assume when you are using The Angry Beaver on stuff up to 12", that it is single pass?  No resplits?  Would you change anything on the wedge if you did it again?  Do the splits in the middle ever get wedged between the blades?  Maybe have the bottom blade just push down and the top just push up?  It may not matter for me as my really fat wedge may push them to the side before they get in far enough to jam.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> I assume when you are using The Angry Beaver on stuff up to 12", that it is single pass?  No resplits?  Would you change anything on the wedge if you did it again?  Do the splits in the middle ever get wedged between the blades?  Maybe have the bottom blade just push down and the top just push up?  It may not matter for me as my really fat wedge may push them to the side before they get in far enough to jam.




If I did it again, I'd have the wings made of thinner stock and have them back a smidgeon more so it wasn't trying to split so much at the same time.
The center wedge pushes the center splits out so there's no jamming.  They may hang a little but the next piece keeps things moving.
I hope to be feeding the Beaver in the next week or so if you want to experience it.
I'm just west of Brockport.
We seem to be dominating this thread.  PM me if you want to discuss it more.


----------



## Billster (Oct 15, 2009)

Billster said:
			
		

> What I was planning to do was,  Get another wedge and weld the extra wedges to it. (like in the link I posted)



Kenny, 

I have 2 welders, and when I worked in the coalmines I was a welder underground..I was planning on making my own, and 
do it like I said in my post above... (but I guess I need to call them wings.)

Since I started this thread, I haven't really looked at mine to see what I could do, or come up with.

I've got some thick flat-bar, and it looks like that's what the guy used in the link.. So that's what I was planning to use.

For me, The hardest part would be to use a grinder and make the "flat-bar _sharp_ for a wedge," since it's thick.

Kenny, Do you have any pictures of your "6-way in use" ??


----------



## Billster (Oct 15, 2009)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> SolarAndWood said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



If the "wings" was made with _"thinner metal,"_ I would think they would bend...(especially "IF" the wings got "hot" while splitting)

Don't worry about dominating this thread. :cheese: ... I started this thread to see if anyone was using a 4-way.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

I welded a couple of wings on my Huskee splitter but they were too thin.
They wouldn't always split and logs were a bear to get back off.
The deck where the wedge rode was getting scarred up also as
different forces were being applied than what the splitter was designed for sooo,
I made the Beaver.
Now if my Huskee had a taller wedge and the ram was higher on the wedge, it would've worked fine with
thicker wings.  I couldn't see doing so much fabricating on a fairly new splitter.

Remember, I split mostly poplar which is real tough to split from one edge.  It needs a tall wedge.
Mine was trying to push up too much with the low mounted ram. 

I understand your concerns about proper width material and grinding cutting edges. 
That is why I passed on making my own.
A 4-way looks simple enough until......
Many guys have made their own though.
Maybe I can get some pics this afternoon.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 15, 2009)

Timberwolf uses thinner stock

http://www.timberwolfcorp.com/log_splitters/default.asp?id=12

Kenny, thanks for the offer.  I am in Rochester often and would like to see the Beaver in action.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> Timberwolf uses thinner stock
> 
> .




Note the little nubs on the outside of the wings to facilitate splitting.

I'm going out to pull the Beaver out of the weeds.
I got some old maple rounds laying around and will see if I can get some pics.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

I took some pictures but they're too big and I don't know how to make them little.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 15, 2009)

Open them with Microsoft Photo Editor
Under Image menu, select resize
In the dialog that pops up, change from inches to pixels
Set the width to 1200 and save

Check the file size to make sure it is less than 450k...if still bigger, go back and set the width smaller.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

I went to the webmasters notes and downloaded Picasa and let's see...


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

more pictures.....


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

and again.....

I think I got it so I'll add that it was a three year old piece of maple, 13" at the small end.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

The whole Beaver shot.


----------



## Work Less Play More (Oct 15, 2009)

I am interested in building a wedge myself. It seems easy, but the impression I am getting is the are some 'gotchas' I am not seeing. Any idea what the main design concerns are?

Was the gentleman that built your wedge able to take the details of your design over the phone? Or can I throw something together with Google Sketchup or something?


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 15, 2009)

Work Less Play More said:
			
		

> Was the gentleman that built your wedge able to take the details of your design over the phone? Or can I throw something together with Google Sketchup or something?



He asked what he needed to know and I gave it to him.
Real easy.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 15, 2009)

kenny chaos said:
			
		

> The whole Beaver shot.



Sweet.  How does the log get cut?  The 6 way made quick work of that round.


----------



## Work Less Play More (Oct 16, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> kenny chaos said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I have it nice. I actually don't have to cut my wood with a saw, only pick it up and split it. My wife is a marathon runner, and with her obsessive mileage, sooner or later she runs across a tree service cutting a tree. Since she has no shame, she makes the contact for me; I simply just show up as ordered and pick up wood.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 16, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> kenny chaos said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




You can see the hydraulic lines and the mount for my frugal attempt at the saw.
I'm using a chain saw now until the money opens up for the proper set-up
lest I come up with something in the mean time.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 16, 2009)

Gotcha.  Splitting has always been where my process gets stuck.  I always seem to have 4 or 5 cord of rounds waiting to be split.  Hoping the 6 way will fix that.


----------



## kenny chaos (Oct 16, 2009)

Don't say you weren't warned about the power needed for a 6-way in hardwoods.
Let me know how things work out or if you want to stop by, pm me.


----------



## SolarAndWood (Oct 16, 2009)

No guts, no glory  Thanks for sharing your experience, you probably saved me at least one round of failure.


----------

