I have a Dirty Hand tools 35T splitter. I have a friend who is going to take down 16 fir trees from 30" to 14" at the base. About half are 16" or less at the base. We are going to split them up for sale and I was thinking a 4-way would speed things along with the smaller trees and some of the smaller halves. Are these wedges worthwhile or just a gimmick? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
I've got the 4 way on my 37 ton rugged built splitter, & use it a fair amount. Really does a nice job between 12 to 18" stuff. Bigger & you end up having to re split minus the 4 way to get a consistent size. It'll definitely speed up the process in the wood you're talking about.
Also, if you want more rectangular pieces, take it off. But for those who have to split many, many cords per year, they can certainly save a bit of time. Yet, it would be interesting to time someone splitting the same type and size of wood, say, for 1/2 hour or even an hour and see what the difference is in the amount of wood split. After all, it still takes time to throw off the splits; in this case, 4 vs 2. Anyway, it would be an interesting experiment. It would have to be done more than once though to be fair and then perhaps take an average.
Thanks for that info. I think I may just spring for the 4-way. I tend to leave any wood that I split for myself a little larger. I can always split again as I load my wheelbarrow (I enjoy it). Folks around here buying wood seem to want smaller splits. Seems as though they don't want to do any splitting at all. Which is reasonable, I suppose, as they are paying for the splitting. A 4-way could speed the process along. Thanks again!
amateur cutter and Backwoods Savage: Further research on the 4-way. I looked up your splitter (Rugged Made, a nice looking splitter by the way) and it is a "push the wood" through model, is that correct? Apparently the 4-ways are more effective on this type of splitter because the splits are free to fan out and drop away. On a "push the wedge" type of splitter (mine), The bottom 2 splits can be pinched between the slide cradle and the horizontal wedge wings. Probably still splits ok with that much power and the smaller round size but if you have a pinched split every 3 or 4 cycles that has to hit the unloader brackets, it would be a pain. I hope some more users perhaps with my type of machine will chime in. I find myself wavering again!
Hmmmm, yea, never thought about the cylinder end with the 4 way. Not sure how much that would save in time. My splitter just rams it all through. I'd bet it would work fine in decent splitting wood. Have never tried a 4 way on the moving end of a splitter.
My splitter came with a 4 way head and after a couple cord I took it off. The wedge is on the rod end and I found it harder to get the size and shape splits I want, and it does have a tendency to jam up and tear up the wood instead of splitting. I do much better and just as fast without it. The only time I liked it is with perfectly straight rounds with no knots up to maybe 10-12”. Anything larger and it’s a detriment imho.
I've got a four way wedge for my DHT that I'd be happy to part with. It doesn't work well on hardwood's that aren't perfectly straight and knot free, which I apparently have none of. I blended, tapered and sharpened the factory single wedge and helped speed things up some.
Maina and deranged Thanks for the info. This jibes with what I have found out about the "push the wedge through the wood" style of machine!
