i use an old axe head not wide enough but freeeeeeee
you could buy a lot of steel wedges for that price!
Been having a look at setting up a hydraulic car jack to pump up a blade into the timber block, via a cradle and back stop , this would replicate what I have now but instead of the motor hand cranked via the jack , slow ...but easy
Its a axe with a slide hammer fitted.
I prefer just an ordinary axe, they dont take as much effort to use
Having said that both these tools could well be good for people with bad backs, who cant swing an axe
(16 June 2013, 22:21)Highlander Wrote: [ -> ]I prefer just an ordinary axe, they dont take as much effort to use
Having said that both these tools could well be good for people with bad backs, who cant swing an axe
Like me !
Nice idea, but it wouldn't work with our wood I,m afraid. Ours is very sinewy with lots of knots. It takes multiple blows with a "grenade" wedge and a sledge hammer. Very rarely will the log "pop" apart. Normally have to drive the wedge right through it. That's why I use a hydraulic splitter most of the time. (The Rayburn has a voracious appetite!)
Basically, our kind of wood needs a continuous pressure rather than a firm blow to split it. I would like a non-powered solution that is quicker than the wedge and hammer. When I saw the picture on the website in NR's link, my first thought was; "hi-lift jack", and I got to thinking whether you could modify one for the purpose of splitting a log. I,ve also seen human-powered hydraulic ones (essentially a bottle jack) which I think would be better for us.
I have a log splitter blade I bought about 18 years ago to fit on a hi-lift jack. It clamps to the top of the rack and you put the log on the toe and jack it up. I do find you need longish logs to span the gap and intended to make a spacer to clamp on the toe but I have not found the time to make it yet.
Not seen the blade advertised for a long time now though.