Thread: Looking for some sharp ideas

This one is good.
Super axe wood splitter - YouTube

Originally Posted by BobL

I agree.

Efficient chopping of firewood is almost a lost art these and it pains me to see the slow way people chop wood in places like camp grounds.

When I was 9 I was sent to pay the butchers monthly account with a 5 pound note. On losing the money my punishment was to chop 5 tons of firewood. Dad helped but I did most of it and he used it as a teaching opportunity to show me how to flip the wood over and get it to break itself on the axe with it's own weight. I also learned not to waste time trying to balance small pieces on the chopping block but to temporarily hold them with one hand and use the axe with the other - you quickly learn to get the holding hand out of the way. Fast cutting kindling using the flat fan method. None of these would get past first base with the OHS nazis these days. Eventually I could do my wood chop and delivery chores in just a few minutes whereas my sisters were stuck helping mum for hours.

Bob, when I was a kid me and my brother had to cut the firewood with a two boy saw, actually we had 2 of them, 6ft and 8ft, anyway we called them two boy saws coz we never seen a man use one, the firewood was left up to us kids and because I was the younger I always got the ###### end of the saw. I can remember cutting up logs with that 8 ft two boy saw and we could only move the saw 2 ft, these larger logs we would cut them down to about 1ft from the ground and split the wood as we went and deal with the bottom of the log after it had lost some weight. Tree's seem to be smaller these days ?
Anyway, stuff the firewood, I've had gas heating for 5 yrs now

Rob, I showed that 'screw type log splitter' to a mate who is a fire wood crazed fanatic and he reckons he is going to build one, IF it happens I'll post pickies of broken arms and stuff

I don't think they would be unsafe if you used them correctly.

Apparently they are widely used in Europe, Russia etc. Be very interested to hear how he gets on.

Pretty simple to build.

Cheers

Rob

How about this one, maybe without the heavy breathing though

Originally Posted by shedhappens

Bob, when I was a kid me and my brother had to cut the firewood with a two boy saw, actually we had 2 of them, 6ft and 8ft, anyway we called them two boy saws coz we never seen a man use one, . . . .

My dad had a 2 man saw with an 8ft bar
Oct58p.jpg

why not buy the stickler splitter and bolt it onto your harmonic balancer on the front of the 4x4 using the bullbar as a table no need to jack vehicle up leave it on all the time, good look driving through traffic

We're not being very helpful are we

Is this what you had in mind HARK Kaminofen Smart Splitter - YouTube
Don't know how well it would work on Aussie hardwood.

Good video.

I didn't actually notice the log splitter.

Rob

Originally Posted by BobL

My dad had a 2 man saw with an 8ft bar
Oct58p.jpg

jeez Bob, we never had engines on the saws we used ours were powered by vita-brits and vegemite sanga's

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Hi PC, I'm looking for a minimal cost solution. I do have a surplus hydraulic jack that I never use, maybe I could press that into action.

There are a couple of home made ideas on Youtube using a jack, this might be the go.

Thanks anyway,

Ken

Ken you could possibly make a small crankshaft and conrod to operate the jack, configure it like the super axe, (the stroke may be limiting ?) see DavidG @ post #17, I have used a super axe and they are a good functional unit, with the hydraulic jack you would need a spring or a weight to return the cylinder.
I know, the mind boggle's

Originally Posted by shedhappens

jeez Bob, we never had engines on the saws we used ours were powered by vita-brits and vegemite sanga's

Sometimes it would have been faster to take the motor off and use it manually. These saws used to spend half their working time being fixed up and sharpened.

Dad and his partner used to take on average one and a half days to bring down and break up the average Karri with axes and manual cross cut saws.
Then they got the Telesmith saw (the one in the photo) and they could then do 4 trees a day.
Then they got the one man McCullochs and one man could do 8 trees a day.

I'd agree with BobL in firewood chopping being a lost art. When I was a kid, we used 15-20 tonnes firewood a year and quickly became proficient with axes & saws. We'd also split logs with wedges because the saw bench couldn't handle large diameter logs (hated splitting). These days I won't let amateurs use my good axes. My grandfather used to call them "Lightning" i.e. never hit the same place twice. It's still enjoyable to occasionally swing an axe, work the grain and cut up timber that others think impossible to do with an axe.

Awhile ago, I found this video of a V8 powered chainsaw. Hate to see if the chain broke or jammed: WORLDS BIGGEST/FASTEST CHAIN SAW With V8 Engine/300 horsepower - YouTube

Peter

Can you believe that.........ho ho .......that's something else.

Only in America.

Rob

If I remember correctly there is some information on the forum about my hydraulic wood splitter but I don't think that is what you want. I thought about using a jack years ago but decided it would be too slow. It will take about the same amount of force but spread over a longer period of time.

A quick look on EvilBay and I saw one for $300 and another for $729. These are direct drive hydraulic units which makes them much cheaper than having all the hoses. The hoses cost me $500 for my splitter. I have seen one similar to the $729 in operation and it seemed to work pretty well. I would think either of these would suit your purpose if you want to spend this much money. If not your choices are limited.

The problem with most splitters is that you either have to lift the wood up on to the splitter or you have to bend down to manoeuvre it at ground level. Both are not good for old tired backs. My splitter has a table at working height and a lift to get the wood up to table height so it can be slid along under the blade. I can move the splitter along with the ride on mower to follow the wood pile. If I am splitting rounds I can roll them onto the lift which lifts up to level when I split another already lifted piece and the lift can be locked into this position.

Dean