We had our property logged this summer, and now we have a 15 cord pile of butt ends of red oak, ash, and maple on the landing that range from 14" up to 45" diameter. We also have 5 cord of 4' red oak stacked, that needs to be cut, split, and stacked this winter. So we are looking at 20 cords of mostly red oak before I cut a single tree this winter. We currently have a Troy Built 25 ton splitter that we paid $600 for when we purchased our farm. It works well, but its not fast or efficient for the volume of wood we split. With full time jobs, and a hobby farm started time is everything, and a slow splitter is not going to cut it. Going forward I plan on doing 25 cord or so a year for us and to sell some. So we are in the market for a new splitter, and I know there is a wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum. I have been looking at the Eastonmade 12-22 with box wedge, and 6-way wedge. It looks like a heavy duty built machine, has the auto cycle function, and should be faster than this one man loading operation can keep up with. The other one is the Wolf-Ridge High Output 28 ton splitter, its spec'd roughly the same (no box wedge), and by the time you add auto cycle its slightly more. The lead time on the Eastonmade is 12 months, and the lead time on the Wolfe Ridge for a nearby dealer is 5-6 weeks. My first thought was buy the Eastonmade, but the lead time mean no splitting until next spring at the earliest. They did just move into a shop 3 times the size of the old one this week, and said production would increase with more room. Do I hold out for the Eastonmade, or buy the Wolf Ridge, or something else completely. Who has good or bad experiences with either of them?
Full disclosure - I neither own or have ever used either model. If you can get the Wolfe Ridge in 6 weeks, I wouldn't think any longer. I don't care for box wedges. 4 and 6 way do most everything you need. With 45" logs, I imagine you'll still need to do some noodling. I've seen comparable models (used) lately on some Facebook groups. That might be another option for you. Good luck!
I have run the Wolfe Ridge, it's what they say it is for sure! Member Armbru84 has one & it's a very good machine. I'd buy either, so it comes down to the lead time. No to the box wedge imo.
I think I remember the a difference between them, is maybe the Wolfridge does not have the ability for the four way to go all the way to the bottom or out of the way.. on nasty ends that might be a factor.. agree with no to box wedge
Considering the machines, it doesn't sound as though price is a concern. I don't own either machine, but I've heard great things about both. The Eastonmade's seem to have a long wait time to get one. I'd look at the Axis as well.
As amateur cutter mentioned I have a wolf ridge and have been very happy with it. It has a lot of grunt and has always performed flawlessly for me. I have had 3 people come over to try it that were interested in one also and all bought one and have been happy. Chris from Wolf Ridge actually delivered it to me which was cool.
Price is not much of a concern for the splitter, though I don't really want to spend much more than either of these machines cost. I did look at the Axis, and watched some videos on it, with the short conveyor its the same price as these two other options. I would probably want to demo one before committing to it with its different design. Yes as far as I have been told that is correct on both companies engines.
When you get a splitter host a get-together. Many hands (many chainsaws) make light work. I'd come but I'm 3,000 miles away!
I've run both. No box wedge for me. The four way wedge must drop down out of the way. My only other concern is, if you're a one man operation, you wont be able to use that style of a machine to it's full potential. You'll almost certainly need to noodle those bigguns becuse once you split one 300# log, now you have (2) 150# halves to try to handle at one time. I've run Armbru84 's wolf ridge along with leoht , walt and jtstromsburg . Its an awesome machine but you need some beef to handle those bigguns!
I am seeing that a lot of people don't like the box wedges, they do make more waste. I am usually a one man operation, some help shows up from time to time and things move much faster. Noodling the big rounds isn't an issue, and using the mini excavator with thumb to lift them onto the splitting table goes quick. I had an old dump trailer with all of my rounds in it backed up next to the edge of the splitter so I could pull one onto the splitter and split it. The other half would lay on the edge of the trailer until I was ready for it. Its probably not the most efficient way, but it worked for what I had. Regardless of which splitter we end up with, it will take some time to get a table made for rounds, that way I can use the dump trailer to split into and not have to pick up splits off the ground.
One other point to consider I guess from my side…at home I almost never noodle anything. If it’s a 36” pc of oak maybe or some of the bigger stuff I might. For me it’s part of the fun getting out and working the muscles. I normally move the splitter to them and just roll them on. I am not going for all out speed…more all out enjoyment.
