Log splitters and stroke limiters

I understand now. Take the bolt to a farm store and get a pin the same size as the bolt and try that.

 

That's a good solution for the bolt shear but if the detent pressure isn't lowered he'll bugger the wedge.

 

On some (most?) splitters a pin would stick out too far and hit the log stripper.

 

Could always just weld it.

 

Some valves do not have an adjustable detent & will require a different cap to change the amount of pressure needed to release the detent. I agree if OP were to drop the detent release pressure the stop collars will work.

I believe when the OP said 1-7/8" cylinder they were referring to the ram diameter.

 

I just came in from splitting some 2017-18 btu's. Oliver is correct I meant the ram not cylinder. If I had access to a welder then beefing up the wedge would work but I don't know anyone personally and I'm not going to spend what guys around here want to fire up a welding machine, no one worth while is cheap and I understand that. Also it would take more then beefing up the plates because I was watching what was going on today and the splits just miss the bolt and nut the way it is set up now. It would be real close if I added another 1/4" of thickness (which would only be 1/8" on each side) unless I widened the wedge also. You can see some of the engineering that goes into these things better when you try to mess with things like I did. I may just sell the sleeves on fleaBay and buy a table from tractor supply which would make things a little easier.

After paying attention to what my procedure today was compared to working with the sleeves I believe I loose 4-5 seconds every time I go for a round without them. Tossing the split and just hitting the return and coming back to an 18" setting was nice as opposed to either standing there and stopping the return at my mark or laying a round on the beam and waiting for it to open up enough. It might not seem like a lot but it does add up when you are looking at 3-1/2 cords of rounds.

Anyone work with one of these tables on a splitter that goes vertical?

 

An auto cycle valve could gain you some time.

 

Hey Joey,

My post about a "trip" bar was kinda vague wasn't it? Have you seen the mouse trap games, that have all kinds of levers and crazy things that happen? Well, there's a pretty good and easy way to trip your control handle back to center off, using the movement of the ram to do it. Think Erector Set. A 1/4" push rod could move a lever that pushes a second 1/4" push rod that "bumps" your control handle to center off, when the ram is at the travel point you want it to stop. Eye bolts can be used as rod guides that allow the 1/4" rod to slide back and forth inside the eye, and the eye bolts are easy to attach by just drilling holes where they're needed… they act like a stand-off guide, keeping the push rod away from any obstructions too. End result would be when you hit the lever to retract the ram, it would stop where ever your "trip system" told it to.

 

I love the table it does not get in the way of vertical and makes life much better for horizontal. I made thing on the foot so it slips off and the ram stops about 1/4" from it.

 

Here is what I have so far on my project.
I still have to make a bracket and a trip rod to mount on the valve.
I used cpvc fittings and hose clamps to mount the push rod.

 

Cool Bill. Are you going to make the push rod adjustable too, so you can have different ram travel lengths?

 

Yes, the collar with the wing nut is adjustable and will set the stroke length.

 

It works!!!!!!
I'm not an engineer or a machinist so my projects are trial and error.
I have welders, a torch, and a home/farm shop but I decided to try to make a no welding stroke limiter.
I know not everyone has a welder.
All the parts except the hose clamps came from my accumulated materials resource aka junk pile.


max setting

16" wood

20" wood

 

A few more details;
The push rod is a support rod from a washing machine.
The trip lever is from a recliner chair.
My bolts that mount the angle bracket bottomed out in the threaded holes in the valve so I added nuts to them to avoid damaging the valve.
I inverted the wing nut on the collar so it wouldn't catch on the edge of the cylinder if it should slide down that far.
I mounted a small spring from the bottom of the collar to the first cpvc tee fitting to hold the push rod up when using the splitter vertical.
Any other questions I will be happy to answer.

 

That's pretty neat, I'm saving the photos and may try and copy your idea, most likely after this years wood is split.

Thanks for posting.

 

Nice Bill. Horizontal or vertical. Simple and easy. And, using stuff outa the junk drawer makes it even better. Good job…

 

Billin, that is/was a great idea. Love it.

But, to all you guys.... does it REALLY make that much difference to have the ram stop a couple of inches short of a full retraction?? I find most of my time splitting is NOT spent waiting for the splitter, it's retrieving another round and/or placing the splits into a cart or stack. I find the fastest part of the entire splitting process, is the actual splitting and return of the ram.

Sure, every now and then I have some shorties, like 12" long. For those, just hit the handle to stop it when it has retracted enough...

 

Was thinking of splitting a 6" piece of 2" heavy wall PVC pipe & a couple hose clamps to hold it on the shaft.
Not sure how well it will work, may give it a try this year.
(Maybe 2 layers, if it need to be thicker walled.)

 

If you have a consistent length of cuts, yes it can make a difference. I have mentioned before, a couple of pieces of angle iron cradling the ram makes a simple stop/limiter. They can be hinged like I use or held in place with zip ties, wire, velcro, ...

If your rounds have a lot of variance in length then no.

What really helps though in my situation is to have a staging table, in my case the log lift which is loaded with rounds to be split before even starting the splitter. This way I can roll another round in place as soon as the ram is retracted versus having to run & pick one up. If you have a helper, they can keep the staging table loaded & help with the out-feed as well.