Is it Worth it to Build an Upside Down Woodsplitter?

I am seriously thinking about spending the time and money to build an upside down wood splitter, and was wondering if it is worth the time and money to do so?

At a Christian Children's Camp I volunteer a lot for, they do a firewood weekend and process 80 cords of firewood. That is all well and good, but last year two hours into the bliz, this old chap was getting quite winded! I know on YouTube a lot of people give the operators grief for it being slow, but the biggest thing that killed me was picking up the blocks of wood and putting them on the wood splitter, then cracking them and throwing the big pieces up on the truck. They kept saying, "this is for an outside wood boiler, split the pieces bigger", and I was like, "then you throw them up front on the truck then.". An upside down wood splitter mounted to my Wallenstein would eliminate both problems by picking up the blocks of wood, and them splitting them over my dump body. The people that give upside down wood splitters grief, kind of goes back to the old days when the old duffers said splitting by maul was faster then a woodsplitter...and it is...for short bursts of time, but I like the idea of sitting on my rump running levers even if it is a touch slower rate. 80 cord in 2-1/2 days is a lot of wood (about 40 guys).

I started some testing today on an exploratory type, but did not get far. Just curious if other upside down wood splitter owners think I am heading in the right direction on this?

 

Upside down wood splitter? Huh? Do you mean one that goes vertical?

 

I looked it up on youtube as I had never heard of one until today.

 

You are talking about something like this....I think that would be good if you have the equipment. A friend used to say "if you got 'chinery, use 'chinery"

Ramsplitter SSUD20 20-Ton Horizontal Upside Down Skid Steer Log Splitter 24-Inch

 

pic of your wallenstein please they make splitter and attachments.. seems easier to get escalator to go on end of splitter to get in dump truck!, if got a skid steer get cutter and splitter combo..

 

I have a friend who uses a splitter hooked up to his Bobcat. He splits rounds right into a number of different trailers he has. If a round needs to be split more than in half, he splits the round and then picks up each half and has it over the trailer and completes the split. He drags the trailer up to his OWB and feeds the OWB right from the trailer.

 

True, but it would be fun to play with that thing for a day or two if someone wants to lend me one!

 

Boy, where to start...I guess I don't quite understand your operation completely either...
You are gonna put it on the Wallenstein?
For one, sounds like your buddys need some wood burner edjumacation. Outdoor boilers need dry wood too...just cause you can burn wet crap in 'em, don't mean you should. Sounds like you were on the right track to begin with...even if it was for a different reason.
My brother built a monster "upside down" splitter for the skidsteer...it works good and is VERY useful when it is needed. He is feeding a large boiler and he has kind of a limited schedule to be able to make firewood, he has many opportunity's for "free" wood, but many times this is small enough trees that the general firewood hoarding population can scarf it up, so it is gone before he can get to it. That leaves the monster stuff that nobody else wants or can handle. So what he does is to buck it to length, and then bust it up into "manageable" size pieces using the "USDS", they are then processed into more normal sized firewood size by hand using the regular splitter...mainly because it is much faster that way...splitting with the skidsteer is kinda slow. You can pick up and split over a truck/trailer as you mentioned, but, it is not foolproof, sometimes you pinch a log and it falls off, sometimes you pinch a log a bit too much and it splits and falls...either way you are grabbing it again...or maybe it falls on the truck/trailer and dents the heck out of it. Also, the skidsteer "skooching" around doing this tears the ground up BIG TIME!
The whole process is lil cumbersome, so it is reserved for only the big stuff that has to be dealt with this way.

 

Looks like a lotta work to process wood. You've got two machines working to split wood in what seems to be an inefficient manner. If you just want to hit levers and split wood, then that could be an advantage.

Yesterday I used Backwoods Savage's vertical method on some big rounds, and I have to say, it can't be beat. A lot less bending and moving around. Less chance of throwing out the back too. Unlike Dennis, I get wiped out easily and don't really split much anymore. Our sons come over and help a lot with the wood chores. Don't get old, and don't get sick. Although, the alternative isn't too appealing either.

 

If you are manually processing I think it would be worth building some kind of stepped stage where you can use use a loader to put the blocks up onto a upper shelf at the level of a splitter beam, then roll the blocks onto the splitter for splitting and then still be above the truck bed as the finished splits come off so you can then use gravity to shove and drop the splits into your hauler. Pallets and some 3/4 ply. Use gravity to your advantage.

 

Thinking about this more, I seen a video a while back of a guy using a USDS on a excavator...he was flying with it...much faster than on a SS

 

Yes, kind of like the upside down wood splitter on the Bobcat pictured, but placed on my Wallenstein instead.

I will post a link to a Mini-Excavator machine splitting with an upside down woodsplitter on Youtube which has better efficiency since it has more maneuverability over a skidsteer unit. However even then the guy is splitting into a big pile which just means he needs to move it yet again. He is also splitting with a single wedge, I would go with a 4 way wedge to gain some efficiency as well. With my Wallenstein I would split over my dump body too so I would save an additional step and can just haul it to where it needs to be stacked and just dump it. My Wallenstein can easily accommodate a woodsplitter and block of wood since it can lift entire logs despite its small size.

I can see some distinct advantages.

1. Because you can grab logs and "pinch" them with the upside down woodsplitter, you could lift logs off the ground and at waist height in order to cut them into 18 inch length for ease on your back, not pinching your saw, and never driving your saw into the dirt.

2. You never have to move blocks of wood out of the way as you are cutting. You move the log away from the pile as you go.

3. You never have to lift a block of firewood onto the splitter, you lower it onto the block and lift it mechanically.

4. You split over a dump wagon or dump truck so you never have to throw wood from splitter to truck (or trailer)

5. You only have to sit and move levers

Disadvantages and Unknowns:

1. It looks like a slow process

2. Will I ultimately need a hydraulic cooler since it will be moving all day?

Here is a link to the YouTube Upside down wood splitter on a mini excavator...

Here is a picture of what I have, a Wallenstein Log Trailer, but with my log grapple being used in conjunction with my dump box. (It comes with a back hoe and post hole driller too).

 

Okay, so what I envision is this. Weight wise, my Wallenstein can handle a splitter and any size block of wood I can split. What it may not have is the pressure and flow required to actually split the wood. (My powerpack was still on order when this photo was taken). So I envision running the log loader part with the power pack, but driving the upside down wood splitter by PTO pump, external hydraulic tank, a control lever by the operator and run hydraulic lines to the attached woodsplitter. In that way I can get my flow by throttling up or down my Kubota tractor while running a fairly big piston.

The wedge would be a 4 way one.

My dump body...it would have to have plywood sides on it so I can get more wood on it.

 

I know a couple of guys who like to lay down on the job, splitting upside down would be perfect for them.

 

I am DEFINITELY incorporating a seat into the design. Maybe with arm rests...and drink holders too. There may be 40 guys at that firewood bliz, but I'll be the coolest guy there.

(Oh wait, the good book says that "Pride Goes Before a Fall" doesn't it?)

 

How big of rounds are you dealing with? If you can roll them by hand or a hook a simple log lift would be the best option in my opinion. If they are larger then maybe what you are talking about would be an option but you have a lot of machine to maintain. I never liked how much gets tore up, ground wise, with skid steers and excavators for just doing wood.

i took a different approach when I built my splitter and have no regrets. It works great for my situation and how we work the wood. May not work for others.









I deal with a good bit of larger stuff that 2 people would strain working up. My splitter makes it possible for one person to do it but 2 people makes it go pretty fast. Cordless winch will drag them in and lift into position. Doubles as a "hanger" storage while splitting the first chunks so nothing hits the ground till it's to size. No extra leaning over or dragging large ones back in. Be honest with yourself, if you just want to play with a skid steer and such, by all means go for it. If money is an issue there are more economical ways to do it. Mine was a little of both. Wanted to build, wanted it easier, wanted the least site damage, and wanted the "alone" option. I can split an 8 hour day and not be wore out from bending over or straining and that is a nice thing to have happen.