Another homemade splitter...

If you can get the end of the rod straight enough to reuse, I'd highly suggest angling the contact point on the welded on collar with a 45 degree angle at least 1/2 the thickness. Turn up the heat and reweld. I'd put 3 passes on it and put 4 angle braces(triangles 1/4" thick) at 45, 135, 225.and 315 degrees so you can get your pin in. This is why it is so important to have your slide support out far. When it is mainly central you are compounding all the force to the center when pieces are on the edges. As my former boss used to tell me, "It's only steel".

 

To make you feel better, Dad was working his homemade and had the slide give way and until he could stop it, it snapped the end of the rod at the thread where the yoke was held on. It was the beginning of the day and a Saturday and everything was closed(holiday). I took it in the shop and fixed the slide. Took the rod and the threaded end and ground both to a pencil shape and started welding. We ran it those 2 days and Monday Dad got another cylinder ordered to change out when it broke. It NEVER did and is still going for him. You need some good heat when doing it and you need more than light surface welding. My concern would be bringing it back you may get stress rises there on the inside corner that will weaken it. Is the chromed part of the shaft tweaked or just the end?

 

The only thing is that when you heat it to straighten it you are going to take the temper out of the steel (losing the case hardness) it will make it soft.

The steel for hydraulic cylinders are usually made out of 1095 steel and is case hardened to about a depth of 0.060". It is just about impossible to drill unless you grind a flat spot that gets you trough the case hardness!

Would it be feasible just to cut off the bent end?

 

It's just the end as far as I can tell.
I think I'm going to widen the push plate so it goes to the edge of the beam. I picked up some 1/2" thick x 3" wide that I'll weld along both sides of the beam sticking up above the beam surface. That will keep the push plate from trying to rotate, no?

 

That's what I was afraid of. I could cut the end and weld on a new attachment....

 

I'd think so. Beef it up so it doesn't tweak as much, plus make it so it rides on the lip of the beam so it can't tweak. You could do that with some heavy flat stock and grade 8 bolts so it can be removable.

I hope I didn't step on anyone's toes on this post, maybe someone explained it in a different way and I didn't catch it. I hope not!

 

To bad that your cylinder wasn't set up so you could put a pin through it to attach it to the plate, similar to how a clevis works.

 

There is a hole in the end for the bolt...?

 

That would be the best option in my opinion. Keeps the twist out of it. It doesn't really matter if you change the hardness on the very end IF the push plate isn't moving around. Forward/ reverse motion will not tax it enough to break. Snapping, like when a split releases quick, would be the only way that stress rises and welding heat would come into play. If you weld or have someone weld. Cover the rod with a wet rag to keep the slag from pitting or sticking to the chrome. It'll wipe out the seals in a hurry.

 

This is what I was talking about in these pictures. These ends already forged as a part of the cylinder.

 

Thanks! I "weld" but not as good as you do!

 

Ah, I get what you're saying now!

 

If you're cylinder setup was like the ones in the pictures I think it would be more stable with a little more beef at the end!

 

Yah, but I have to work with what I have...

 

That's the style Dad had on his splitter. They'll snap off where the first thread is started as his were cut, not rolled in. With the amount of bend he has shown, in my opinion it would not have mattered. It's a bigger diameter but stress is stress. Any cylinder won't do well with side pressure.

The red cylinders end is what broke as it is just a thread on yoke with a bolt pincher on the bottom. I like the welded T's better but it takes a wide mount which some do not care for.

 

I understand. Thats the best part about redneck engineering, making do with what you've got. Nothing to be ashamed about that.

 

Is that a homemade splitter? If so we'd like to see some more pictures!

 

Right below where it says "Splitter Build" there is a clickable link.

 

I am not sure if I missed it but I done see where your talking about the link to click on? Are you talking about the main forum or a post that you made?

 

wood splitter

None of the links above or below??? Should be quite a few.