When i say bigger foot print i mean i need a larger base for my splitter when i split vertically other wise the splitter wants to set back or lay back down, when i start to split bigger rounds. I'll try and take a picture or 2 and show you
Little rounds that you can lift OR if you have a helper or if you can back your truck up to the splitter then you go horizontal Rounds that are too big or if you are solo then you go vertical
Well there's no push through vertical splitters. That's a big negative. We've got a h/v splitter just like Dennis has at our cottage. I've used it but horizontal and vertical. If the old didier push through horizontal only splitter was faster, it would be a lot better, but the thing is 40+ yrs old. Walt's splitter is the toe of vertical splitter that I really like. Log lift, standing ( or sitting) height, and a nice sized table to work on, with room for rounds and chunks that need more splitting. I still can't find that one that was similar to Walt's, but red and not really much wider than an ATV, towed begging the ATV into the woods. Homebrew unit that I saw in YouTube once. It was simply awesome. I looked the idea of leaving splitter chaff in the woods, and only handling the round 1 time. Then it's all split after that. Otherwise, the box type horizontal splitters like the tempest, or the Easton made or Wolfe ridge all look great.
I have used the vertical orientation perhaps twice. The problem I had was up and down to move rounds within arms reach. Over reaching to grab a round. I did not have Hook-A-Roo which would of made it go better. Ad Yes I was using a milk crate. It really does put you at the correct height. I do horizontal using my Mini. Roll several rounds into the bucket at a time and raise the bucket to boom height. Pull the round onto the splitter and half them putting one half back in the bucket leaving the other half on the beam. I begin to whittle down the other half, putting the splits back in the bucket to take to the stack. Works pretty well for me and I have lower back problems.
That powersplit is almost perfect. Just needs a log lift. I'm sure they makes one, or one could be added.
Definitely an option on the buggy. I’m sure it is on the larger models as well. If I split commercially, I think I’d get the dual head model with a conveyor.
Yeah, just not on the tow behind one. Commercially, yeah, you'd need a conveyor, or at least a slide to keep from handling the wood.
I'll throw my 2 cents in that I split with my Ariens splitter horizontally about 90% of the time. If I absolutely have to go vertical its because the rounds are way too big to lift. I'd need one of the veteran vertical splitters here to show me the most effective way to split vertically because no matter what I do, it seems like all I ever do is strain myself trying to position the rounds just right, while keeping them in the right spot as I lower the wedge. If it's horizontal, I just get the log onto the splitter and the ram does the rest. All the weight is being held by the splitter, not by me trying to keep the log on the (vertical) footprint.
That is interesting Woody. You have a problem and strain yourself positioning logs splitting vertical? That is much easier to do vertically than horizontally. In addition, it is easier to see exactly where that wedge is when splitting vertically. Now that does not make a big difference for some but when you are trying to get an exact size split and, for me and many others, we do not want all triangular splits but would rather have squares or rectangles. Much easier to make vertically. And why would you have a problem keeping them in the right spot? Gravity helps a lot with that.
It certainly could be interesting having some get together to show their different methods of splitting. I've done some splitting in front of people who never thought of splitting vertically. Yet, that is how they split if they do it by hand! Also, 99% agreed they had tried to do it differently but had never seen it done the way we do it. Many did change, but that does not make it right or wrong.
We split both ways, depending on the size of the wood. Usually vertical though. The video is long, but gives an idea of using both splitters when we are at the big shed. The other pics are of the platforms we use, the metal one works best for bigger rounds. When my hunny splitting, she doesn't have to pick the rounds up. Set up with older splitter Set-up with wooden platform and new splitter Set-up on sideways incline. Dig a little hole on uphill side for tire, use board under low side, also use chock blocks in front of tires, keeps splitter from moving. And the hookaroon I got for Christmas from my SS is probably my #1 go to tool for moving rounds and cleaning dirty bark off at the cut mark. My hunny even uses it I moved all these rounds and cleaned off loose bark with it.
Interestingly enough, I find the opposite to be true for me. Perhaps it's due to the base design of my DHT splitter. Instead of a flat plate, you'll notice it has these raised ribs. I find rounds will wobble or tilt on these, essentially requiring constant "help" from my hands when splitting. I addition, when I m splitting vertically, it's because I have rounds that are too big to lift. Perhaps only 1/4 of the round is actually on the foot plate. The rest is trying to tilt/fall off of the foot, so you have to manually support the rest of the round. Sometimes I'll have an adequately sized split or branch to put under it. Sometimes I just put a shoulder into it, and push it into place while someone else runs the ram. Either way, I end up on my knees a lot more, which sucks. I'm guessing the thickness of the foot + the thickness of the ribs to be 3" or so. Try supporting the very edge of a 24" round on the skinny side of a 2x4, and see how much support you have to provide on the opposite side to keep it level. For anything small enough to lift, I simply find horizontal splitting to be much easier. I buck to a 20" size. If the buck is cut anything short of square, it has to be supported (by hand) when vertical, or it will try to fall over. That's not a problem when splitting horizontal. When splitting horizontal, the nongsplit portion of the round falls to the table. I split, slide, rotate, split. Minimal effort, minimal movement and reach. When splitting vertically, the pieces usually fall over, and have to be picked up and repositioned. At the very least, a squeezing grip has to be applied to them, which doesn't apply to horizontal splits. With horizontal splits, you can often just nudge the piece. Gripping, IMO, is more tiresome than nudging. I work with steel each day, so I have a pretty strong ability to grasp/grip. In addition, I usually drop the tree, limb, drag limbs, buck the log, and split. The bucks are usually where they dropped from the trunk (in a line). This means I'm traveling from the splitter to get a buck, traveling back to the splitter, splitting, tossing splits in a pile/stack, and repeating. It's relatively fliud when standing/splitting horizontal. For vertical splitting, each round is going to require getting up down to retrieve and place it. I suppose if all my rounds were smallish, and positioned within an arms-reach semicircle of me, then sitting on a crate and splitting would make more sense. However, it makes no sense to me to handle the rounds multiple times. I don't see the point in taking the round where it dropped, moving it to a semi-circle, arms-length stack around the base of the splitter for vertical splitting. Then sitting and handling the round again, to split. If I'm grabbing the round, I d just as soon chuck it on the horizontal beam, split, and be done with it. In addition, moving rounds from an arm-length distance stack (because arm-length is the only way you're staying sitting down between rounds) to the foot would be MUCH harder on the upper body/back, for the size of rounds I split. Maybe not such a big deal for short buck of 8" wood, but it's a different animal for a 20" buck of 12" oak. Leaning over and trying to lift that with your back is a recipe for disaster. I'd MUCH rather let my legs do that work, even with arthritis in my ankle, a weak knee, and lower back pain. See above. Gravity usually works against me when splitting vertically. Perhaps due to the raised ribs on my splitter foot. Perhaps due to tall bucks not cut perfectly square. I find the wedge is much more likely to kick/move a round out of position when splitting vertically, as well.
I like your metal rack/platform. That would make it much easier for me to split big rounds in a vertical orientation. I need to make something like that.
