Firewood splitter - video

[Jon]

Firewood splitter. By Dr.Hacker. 17:04 video:

Previously:

Kindling splitting tool - video
Giant cone log splitter - GIF
Homemade mechanical log splitter - video
Kindling Splitting Machine
Rotating firewood splitter - GIF
Tractor PTO firewood cutter - GIF
Horse-powered log splitter
Homemade wood chipper/log splitter - video
Slow rotary wood splitter - GIF
1890s log splitter powered by hit-and-miss engine - video

[Isambard]

I don't see much longevity in that machine, only a matter of days at best, before it destroys itself. :-(

[NortonDommi]

Hard to beat old school:

[Isambard]

Yeah, but all these guys are splitting popular, birch and the like, all straight grained.
I'd like to see them take on a 3' round piece granddaddy gum that's been down 10 years!

[IntheGroove]

I have two of these Lickity Log Splitters. Automatic two speed with spring return. It will shift between high flow high speed or high pressure low speed automatically. It only has hydraulic power in one direction with a large dump valve and three garage door type springs for the return. It's fast and can handle the biggest and hardest logs you have up to 36 inches long...

[BuffaloJohn]

This one is slightly improved over that other recent one, but this is still a dangerous device.

Rather than using momentum to drive a wedge into the wood (the classic way to split wood), it uses a blade forced through the wood at slow speed. The video shows the block jumping back toward the cross brace (0:08 .. 0:10) and as pointed out, it was nice straight grained wood.

How about splitting a fir 2x4 with a knot in it? How about what happens when it gets stuck? How do you unstick that blade? I'd like to see that on the video!!! I'd venture to say it wouldn't take much to stall the motor. The roller chain looks strong, so I'd bet that part would survive, so would the gearbox grenade itself? Would the motor stall burn out the motor? Would the welds in the frame come apart? Would the shaft bend?

Or, looking at how the bottom of the wood jumps back toward the guy's crotch (13:50), would the failure be of the operator (14:38 - he jumped back when it came for him)?

[Moldyjim]

I see a lot of flex in the framing and floor of the machine, fatigue cracks in the future.

Properly designed for the stresses, some safety features for the operator and it "Might" be worth trying out.

Any of the log splitters are going to have stored kinetic energy release when the log splits, so safety needs to be top of the list.

[Isambard]

That Lickety-Split splitter would be hard pressed to split some of our local wood. Also it's real back breaker with all that lifting.
We split rounds that would take two men to lift, so fit lifters. An improvement to that splitter would a pedal operate the valve.
Free up a valuable hand.

[Isambard]

Look at the original chain drive @ 10.41, very optimistic! :-)