Either way… just using the 4-way wedge is a significant time safer. With this splitter, I’ve got over 6 hours invested… To make these 2 cord busted down from the rounds in the background above. The size of those rounds would have likely been perfect for a box wedge machine. Lots of single wedge work though busting up crotches and knotty wood. Most of it was taking 14-16 splitter cycles to bust it up to finished sized pieces. Even the smaller 8-14” pieces. I opted to get the county line 4-way wedge because it should make the smaller rounds or the quarters faster to split. Instead of 10-12 cycles, it was making 5-6 cycles out of a round. Adam’s not the only one that relies on spread sheets to tell him where to invest his money. The wedge is going to the welder to have larger wings put on making it as wide as it is tall. There’s a couple of smart ways to limit the stroke. Saves 6” one-way of travel time taking the full cycle from 11 seconds to about 7-8 seconds. Overall, that 12” of travel not moved is a lot of time. And time is king right now. I want to make this one. But this was much quicker to do and just as effective. the box store splitter looses out to so many of the larger splitters because of their 4-way, 6, 8, 12 or box wedge designs. Stroke count is stroke count. Making each stroke count and as much finished product is what it’s about. making the move to and from the splitter is just as important. Just getting a 4-way wedge has been the biggest time saver in the splitter part of the game. getting a functioning conveyor to help get the wood to a pallet pile is my next improvement long before I buy any new splitter.
Doesn't matter as much if you are just selling firewood, but I think most people here have found that a "drop on" 4 way is a real PITA for personal use wood...unless you get the perfect sized log, it makes wood too large/too small, and makes tons of "splitter trash" But for commercial use it's all about time, so...
We sell 15-20 cords a yr, not my source of income, just a hobby for extra $$. We get some tree service wood, but mostly cut/haul our wood. And usually get paid to take trees down. It all depends on what level you want to go. We got a good deal on a practically new Wolfe Ridge 28HO splitter. Made a big difference in the amount we can process. A FB friend, Phil Anderson, decided to go whole hog and make firewood his income. He buys truckloads of logs, uses a Halverson processor on skid steer and 32' conveyor to pile it. He's in Wisconsin... We started out with just cutting for ourselves, and 1 splitter, 4 wheeler. Now we have a couple splitters, tractor, dump trailer and several saws.
My wife runs the splitter for me at beer thirty almost everyday. So I can load the rounds and get multiple splits by keeping the rounds together and turning over. She limits the stroke so no time wasted there. I prefer the perfect pieces I get with the single wedge. I also purchase processed split firewood and find I have to re-split at least half of it to make the size pieces most of my customers prefer. Speed is never a big concern of mine in any step of firewood making. I love my professional Husky for attacking big trees and cutting through them fast, but my 460 rancher with a new sharp chain does the job. Quality seasoned firewood is the single most important factor in selling for big bucks and making a living from it.
and you see the same thing with any 4-way wedge really. Same complaints for any box wedge, 6-way, 8 way etc. so unless you only ever split with single wedge, slash is inevitable. even if I were just splitting for personal use. My limited time splitting wood is extremely valuable. I can’t afford the time it takes to just use a single wedge.
I never operated one but I thought those splitters with the adjustable up down wedge would eliminate/reduce the different sizes splits & waste. Like I said though I’ve never run one so I guess I don’t really know.
I learned you don’t want to split them dead center. What I learned is you want the top two quarters to be larger than the bottom two. Those should be the finished size you want. the top two quarters should be sized so that when you go to split them in the 4-way, they will be the finished size all four quarters, or the top two will be run through again. I wished I’d have saved a playlist of that video of the demo. and the practice holds true. constantly adjusting the wedge up or down is a time waster too.
I have one of the CountyLine wedges as well. I find it works on straight rounds, 6"-8" without having to resplit. Anything bigger just goes through the single wedge. I rarely use it but for the price, it's a handy accessory.
There was a thread here a while back discussing 4 way wedges, it turned out that in the end most people that have them don't use them much after the first couple times...
I don’t see them useful for large rounds, but definitely useful for 6-10”. similar to how a processor is only good for specific grades / sizes of logs.
On smaller rounds 6-8", 1 pass thru is great. On 10-14", doing the bottom quartes small might work. When we do this size, 16-24", I go center wedge, then run quarters thru the 4 way. Sometimes pieces will get the single wedge too. No, I'm not the fastest, but nobody complains about our wood. Some a little bigger, some a bit smaller
It is very useful for large rounds. Going down the center all the time doesnt make sense though when resplitting is needed. 10 pieces can be made with just 3 passes on a four way.
that’s the plan. Back to the original question of buy or cut… I buy because I’m never home to be able to cut. What I am cutting is on my own property for specific purposes. Namely clearing the foundation site for the house right now.
I'm ordering my first load of logs that will come next week. About 7.5-8 cords worth of logs. Sold my first 2 (1/2) cords this week for $140 each. What are y'all charging for stacking and mileage? I did free delivery on these as it was 8 miles away.
We do very small amounts. Works out to about 1/11 of a cord for $60. And Multiples of that, for up to 3 stacks…. Delivery in my town is $10. Neighboring towns is $20. Stacking is free. Some of the wood has been in the stacks and top covered for 5 years.
As for free vs log loads, I think ordering a log load to have on hand is good to start. If I had a nice day and had the flexibility I think I would go after the free wood when able. Assuming I could pick and choose the wood I want and make an extra $100ish per cord sold, I think would make it worth it. Having an inventory of wood to cut, split and stack is probably a good idea for times when you only have a short time to work on firewood. Pictures are always welcomed. So break out the camera when the log truck arrives next week!!
With a large cement pad driveway, I've been utilizing the pallet system. Each pallet holds 1/2 cord. I move everything around via a pallet jack and rearrange to give each time in sun/wind. It also reduces moving things by hand.
