I want to start using my splitter more in the vertical position. But it is very difficult to get the rounds to stay on the small base plate. Any good solutions? My splitter is a dirty hands 22 ton.
When I had mine I just built up saw dust or 2*4s around the baseplate to tip the chunk in better. Hated it even with the simple fix, lots of pinched fingers trying to get pieces lined up right. Bought a splitter with a log lift that pushes everything through a wedge vs the other way around. TOTAL GAME CHANGER. No more sore back, no more pinched fingers, no more splitting stringy elm 8 times to get it to rip. The list goes on.
My dad bought that splitter from my FIL in '98. We used it for 20 years until we got the Countyline 30 ton in 2018. We did 8-10 cords a year with it, pump is probably worn, but still works. Only use it for really big rounds now. It is slow, but beats sledge and wedge...
Welcome to the club. Lots of great folks here, sharing knowledge and humor. Maybe this is some better pictures of the platform... It works great for breaking down large rounds. It is made with 1 1/2" handrail pipe and 2x2x5/16 angle iron, I think... Just measure the thickness of your splitter foot plus the tabs, make it a bit higher than that. We have split some big rounds on it, 46" is the largest so far. Idea of setup
Illustrates well why I don't like vertical orientation. Look at all the time bent over. That kills my back more than using proper lifting techniques w/ horizontal.
yeah, I was thinking that same thing. I can't do vertical for that same reason. It's also why I need a splitter with a tall beam, so I'm not slouching while running it, being 6'5". My back can't handle being bent over for extended periods of time. I can bend over and lift wood onto the beam in the horizontal position all day without my back hurting, but it won't last 30 minutes being bent over like that before hurting. Goes to show how everybody is different in terms of what their body can deal with. One would think with me being taller (and all legs with a 36" inseam) that my back wouldn't handle that constant repetitive motion of bending over and picking up pieces....but's it's the constant bent over position which gets me.
Absolutely agree. I can lift heavy things all day, but if I stay in a bent over position for any "length" of time (over a few minutes really), my back aches for quite some time. Standing back up into a straight position feels awful and tight. Probably from all those damm years of roofing.
I don't get it. The video man splitting in vertical mode being bent over is an anomaly. In vertical mode, 99% of the time I am sitting. That was his method of dealing with a huge round.
True, that is the way we handle big rounds when we have a lot of them. I can kneel down, but that hurts my knees more. When we used to split vertical all the time, we used a chair. And we have handled some big rounds. These averaged about 975# each... Anything up to 28-30" dia we roll up the ramps. Or if crazy shaped, use the tractor...
I suffered a spinal fracture close to 30 years ago and have steel rods in my back and 4 vertebrae fused together. I get along quite well really, but if I have to wrestle rounds big enough to have to split them vertically I get down on my knees after I get them rolled & staged close to the splitter. I have some big green hackberry rounds to get home soon, and a big elm log to deal with also. I have a plan to make a splitter for the skid steer to break down the big stuff to manageable size so I can stay horizontal. (I’ll do a build thread on it when the time comes)
