How to make a wood splitter for your cottage or home with your own hands

In the old days, people used firewood, which they cut by hand, to heat their homes. The main tool for this was a special ax - a cleaver. Today, a large number of mechanical, electrical and hydraulic human assistants have appeared, with the help of which you can easily cope with the preparation of firewood for the winter. The devices have different types, but the principle of their operation is the same - they immediately split the log into several parts. But not every private home owner can afford to buy such a device. However, for home use, the simplest models of cleavers can be made with your own hands.

Classification by position in space

Depending on the method of laying logs, vertical and horizontal devices are distinguished.

Let's look at their differences and features.

Horizontal

This type of household use is used for chopping firewood at home, on wheels, so it is convenient to move it around the site.

The vertical type is much safer, since the woodcutter is out of the reach of the split parts of the log.

More suitable for DIY.

Vertical

They are used more often for industrial purposes. It is recommended to entrust work on it to professional ringers.

It features high performance and power.

It is a heavy stationary installation that will split even meter-long logs without any problems. But for crooked stumps with knots, it is better to take the horizontal type.

Most electric models require a three-phase 380 volt network.

In terms of safety, the equipment is several times inferior to horizontal equipment, since the split zone is circular. To avoid injury, the worker must wear thick protective gloves, glasses, and clothing.

When firewood is sometimes needed

That is, for heating a decorative fireplace or temporary heating with improvised waste fuel; eg in the country. Abroad, logs of low-value soft wood are sold specifically for fuel for fireplaces: poplar, aspen, willow, etc. And they are accompanied by wood splitters like the one in pos. 1 pic. below. The core of marketing promotion is that the ridges on the knife immediately provide a kindling light. But in general the idea is strange: a block of wood that can be split with a light blow of an ax is placed in a clip and hit it hard several times with a sledgehammer. True, chopping wood, on the contrary, is safer. Maybe this is relevant there. There is a saying in America (translated into Russian): “If the average American, rushing to get to work, doesn’t slip and break his neck in the shower, he will cut his own throat while shaving.”

Simple wood splitters for preparing small amounts of firewood

A reciprocating wood splitter (item 2) is much more convenient and not at all more dangerous. He acts according to a well-known saying: a lazy man was asked why he chops wood while sitting? “I tried lying down - it’s uncomfortable.” The reciprocating wood splitter can be attached to both the wall and the floor. Cutting lever arm from 0.8 m for soft straight-grained wood; for birch and pine from 1.2 m.

Split oak, etc. with a reciprocating wood splitter. or wood from fruit trees is already difficult and does not always work out. Therefore, at a dacha visited in the cold season, a foot-operated lever wood splitter (item 3) will not hurt: it copes with the wood of any tree with a diameter of up to 25-30 cm; however, productivity is low. In this log splitter, a sliding stop pulls the shackle (shown by the arrow) when you press the pedal. The swinging cradle is raised until the block fits in it, then released and pressed on the pedal until the wood splits.

Which factory models are suitable for your home or cottage?

To simplify the process of preparing firewood for the winter, manual mini-wood splitters are available for sale.

Everyone's device is similar. A wide steel blade is fixed to the frame, along the edges of which there are plates for easy separation of chocks. In basic models, the log is placed inside the frame and hit from above with a hammer.

It is worth highlighting several wood splitters that are purchased most often:

1. Greenween. It has a light weight - 5.7 kg. Height - 35 cm. Ergonomic. It is easy to chop wood with it, so even women can handle it. Average price - 5680 rubles.
2. "Arrow". A universal tool, something between a jack (crowbar) and a cleaver, so the owners have learned to find other uses for it. Consists of a long rod with rubber handles and a sharp cone at the bottom. The device rises above the log and plunges into it, splitting it into pieces. The sizes are small. Disadvantages - load on the lower back, shoulder and risk of injury if the tool slips from the log. With constant use, calluses may appear on your hands. Average price - 1600 rubles.
3. Kolundrov. It is considered a safe alternative to Strela. Has high performance. When split, the lumps do not scatter to the sides, but remain inside. There are holes for floor mounting. Average price - 5800 rub.

For safe operation, it is better to take Kolundrov or Greenween. And productivity will be higher.

Theoretical foundations of heat engineering - solid fuel combustion

To make it easier to set fire to wood, it needs to be split into relatively small fragments. After splitting the logs into separate logs, the surface of contact of the combustible material with the air is increased. As a result, instantaneous heat transfer inside the firebox increases in proportion to the combustion area. Therefore, the procedure of chopping wood is a technique that allows you to increase the efficiency of fuel use.

Attention! Firewood chopped into logs is placed in woodpiles. They dry out

The moisture inside the wood evaporates rapidly. The apparent heat of combustion increases, since there is no need to waste energy on evaporating the liquid located in the intercellular space.

In thermal engineering, the following concepts have been introduced to characterize fuel:

• The highest calorific value, implying the total heat released during the combustion of a specific type of combustible substance.
• The lower calorific value is the actual amount of heat, which takes into account the energy costs for heating the fuel and the removal of ingredients from it during the combustion process that are not involved in the process itself.

Therefore, drying firewood is a technique that improves the performance of a fuel cell. Pre-grinding increases the efficiency of drying firewood, and subsequently burning it in a stove or other device for burning solid fuel.

Which wood splitter is easier to make yourself?

The following points should be taken into account:

1. The lever design will be cheaper. Manual wood splitters are more suitable for regions where there is a problem with the power supply.
2. You can also assemble a screw device with your own hands. For it you will need to order a cone and buy an electric motor with a power of 1.5 to 3 kW.
3. The hydraulic type is suitable for older people. Will show good performance without human physical effort. The only difficulty is finding a suitable cylinder, distributor and pump.
4. Assembling a spring tool requires good preparation and a supply of parts.

Without experience, it is not recommended to try to assemble a rack structure. Here you need to make the gear rack and guides with high precision, and calculate the rotation speed.

The more convenient it is to carry logs

Carrying logs in your hands is uncomfortable. Especially if they are wet, dirty or covered in ice and snow. The “third” and “fourth” steel hand comes to the rescue - a pincer (grab) grip.

152247User FORUMHOUSE

I was wondering if anyone has used a manual log gripper? Is it worth paying 3,000 rubles for a branded one? I want to order some for myself so I can load the logs. Is it convenient to use?

Russlanych FORUMHOUSE user

I've been using a pincer gripper for 5 years. I have never regretted buying it. I took them for 1500 rubles. My friends told me that he threw away the money, but now I don’t go to the forest for firewood without it.

When purchasing grab pliers, keep in mind that there are models with different grip widths. For example, under logs with a diameter of 20 and 30 cm. With pliers with a large grip, you can grab both large and small logs.

By the way, there is a cheaper option - single-jointed log pliers. Is it worth taking them?

wind1windSuper-Moderator FORUMHOUSE

With a single-joint grip, to prevent the log from slipping out, you will have to squeeze the handles, i.e. make additional physical efforts. On soft wood the force is less, on hard or frozen wood more. In double-jointed grips, compression occurs automatically due to the weight of the lifted log.

Well, for all home-made people, a user with the nickname 152247 offers to make a hand made version of branded pliers with a grip width for a log with a diameter of 30 cm.

In the background is a piece of paper with a 5x5 mm square.

Step-by-step instructions for making a mechanical wood splitter with your own hands

Let us analyze in detail the assembly of the spring mechanism with a description of each stage.

Materials, tools

To work you will need:

• tape measure, level, pencil;
• grinder with cutting discs;
• welding machine, electrodes, mask;
• rail (30-40 cm is enough);
• profile pipe measuring 3*6 cm or 4*6 cm;
• channels;
• metal corner;
• shock absorber from a passenger car;
• bushing from a car suspension (not necessarily new);
• steel pipes (diameter from 4 to 7 cm);
• I-beam (12‒16).

During cutting and welding, it is recommended to wear safety glasses or a mask and gloves.

Blueprints

Careful planning will help avoid manufacturing errors.

Therefore, it is worthwhile to sketch out the future design on paper first. To speed up the creation of a sketch, it is allowed to use computer engineering design programs or take a ready-made diagram of a wood splitter as a basis.

Connection of elements, assembly

The wood splitter is assembled like this:

1. The support is made from a channel. The stand is made of an I-beam, since even under prolonged loads such metal is difficult to bend. To prevent the device from falling during operation, pipe supports are welded. The jibs are attached to the base.
2. Supports for the spring are cut from the channel using a grinder. A square-shaped hole is made for secure attachment to the rack.
3. The height of the structure depends not only on the length of the spring, but also on ease of use. It is better to lift the load when it is located at waist height.
4. Jib bars are cut from metal corners. Increase the stability of the support. This way the product will not move during operation.
5. A retainer is created from a small piece of pipe, which is selected taking into account the diameter of the spring.
6. A hole is cut at the top of the rack, a sleeve is inserted and welded. The perpendicularity of the fasteners is checked. The axis of the bushing must be parallel to the ground.
7. The shaft is inserted into the sleeve. A piece of channel in the form of a rocker arm is welded to the shaft, and a retainer (from a pipe) for the spring is attached to the bottom.

8. A hole is made in the rocker arm in accordance with the dimensions of the rack. This is necessary for the free movement of the rocker arm.
9. Now the profile pipe is welded to the rocker arm. A chisel is fixed to one of the ends. The raw material of the chisel is carbon steel grade U9 or U10. To sharpen a chisel, use a grinder with a special wheel.
10. Above the chisel, a rail element is attached by welding, which will serve as a load.
11. For ease of operation, the handle is welded. To avoid vibrations, it is better to put rubber pads on top.
12. The product is ready. All that's left is to do a test run. The tree should split into several pieces.

It is better to place logs for splitting on top of a thick piece of log. When the spring cleaver splits the log, the blade will press into the wood, and therefore will become less dull.

Operating principle

The principle of operation of this mechanism is simple. The car spring holds the beam of the wood splitter in its original position. A block of wood is placed under the wedge of the wood splitter, which needs to be split. The “operator” of the wood splitter sharply presses the handle, moving it down. Under the action of a person’s muscular force, multiplied by the mass of the weighting agent, the wedge splits the block in half. After this, the handle is released, and the beam returns to its original position under the action of the spring.

Simple manually driven wood splitters using one human power are much more effective than a regular ax or even a cleaver, but they are still not productive enough.

Safety precautions when chopping wood

You should adhere to the following recommendations:

1. You only need to work in closed shoes so that a bounced piece of log does not injure your foot.
2. Logs must be fed vertically to the cone mechanism.
3. Chopping firewood should be carried out away from houses, people, animals, and recreation areas, so as not to harm the estate or others.
4. The ringer's position should be stable, with feet shoulder-width apart.
5. Gloves are not used when working with a screw splitter. The rotating screw can catch the glove and pull the hand along with it. The same applies to hanging parts of clothing.
6. In a homemade screw unit, it is important to provide an emergency stop. To do this, it is equipped with a pedal or emergency button. Moreover, simply disconnecting it from the network is not enough, because the shaft will continue to spin for some time. A special electromagnetic brake is required in the closed state.

When choosing a product for splitting firewood for the dacha, preference should be given to mechanical types or hydraulic ones that run on gasoline. They will be inexpensive, and the performance will be high. The alternative is to make one of these types yourself.

Installation of hydraulic device

For splitting firewood, a design with a hydraulic mechanism is often used, which makes it possible to process a large volume of wood in a short period of time. If desired, you can make it yourself. For this you will need:

• cylinder;
• oil tank;
• Control block.

A hydraulic wood splitter will help you save your time and effort.
Installation of a hydraulic wood splitter should begin with a frame, which is best made from a profile pipe, I-beam or channel. For ease of movement, it can be mounted on a chassis or wheels. Hydraulic equipment must be secured to the frame. The splitting knife can be replaced with a conical wedge, which can be easily made from the following elements:

• motor with a speed of no more than 400 and a power of 1500 W;
• gearbox that controls engine speed;
• beds - surfaces for laying logs.

This wedge splits wood thanks to a moving threaded tip. In order for the tip to move, it must be attached with a central screw. The design of hydraulic equipment with an electric motor is more efficient and convenient to operate, but it operates slower than mechanical equipment.

A simple and effective way to split wood:

When independently assembling a device that operates using a hydraulic mechanism, you should first calculate the dimensions of the cylinder and the technical characteristics of the engine. It is also necessary to decide in advance on the size of the wood splitter and the method of laying logs in it.

Using an ax

First of all, you should prepare your workplace and tools. As a pedestal for logs, they usually use the so-called log, a larger log, about half a meter high. Such a stand will stand stably on the ground, and a suitable log of similar or smaller diameter can easily be placed on it.

Carrying out logging work

There are some recommendations from experts on choosing a stand:

• You should select a piece of log from a large tree with dense wood, such as oak. Dense wood will not allow it to immediately split when hit by an ax, which will inevitably happen.
• It is desirable that the deck has a large number of knots. Knots make the wood inside the tree even denser.
• Long and strong branches do not need to be cut down; it will be convenient to hold the deck-stand by them when moving from place to place.

A successful deck will allow you to chop the entire forest into neat, small logs. Small logs dry better, they burn well and fit comfortably in the stove, and when burned they do not leave large coals. That is why logs are split into small pieces.

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A small block of wood placed on a stand splits when struck by a special cleaving axe. You will also need a regular ax to remove knots from logs. It is believed that forged cleavers work best, although they are not so much inferior in their characteristics to cast versions. Good cleavers must be hardened. Checking this is quite simple, you just need to click on it and listen to the sound. A voiced instrument indicates that the instrument is good, while a dull instrument indicates insufficient quality.

The length of the splitting ax and its weight, as well as the shape of the handle, are selected individually. The criterion is very simple, it should be comfortable to hold the tool in your hands, a confident grip will allow you to work efficiently for a long time, because we have to chop a huge number of logs of various sizes.

Options for cleavers with wooden and plastic handles

A log with a diameter of 12-15 centimeters is considered optimal for splitting, since it will make 4 excellent logs. Large and strong logs are also broken with a cleaver, and stakes made of wood or iron are used to split the wood. Experienced woodcutters can chop wood with one simple ax, without resorting to various tricks.

For beginners, they can give the following recommendations:

To get ready for the blow, you should move away from the block to the distance of outstretched straight arms. From here it will be easier to get to the required place in the block of wood without breaking the ax handle or causing injury to yourself. Feet should be set shoulder-width apart, and knees should be relaxed so that you can spring, increasing the force of the ax blow

Then you lift the cleaver in front of you and with a sharp movement lower it down onto the block of wood. Pay attention to the end cracks of smooth logs without branches; they should be used to simplify the work by hitting them with an ax. If a piece of log has branches, try to chop past them

If it is impossible to ignore the knots, choose the thickest ones and chop along them. If after a blow the ax gets stuck, you can hit its butt with a sledgehammer, or lift the cleaver along with the block of wood, turn it over and hit the block with the butt. Moreover, the second option requires some physical training, since even swinging an ax is not so easy, but here you need to lift it along with a piece of log. Large logs are inconvenient to split in half, so it is worth splitting logs of the required size from their edges. Once you have trimmed the log sufficiently, chop it in half. Chopping wood is quite a difficult task, so if the volume of wood is large, distribute the work over several days. You shouldn’t continue to wield an ax when your hands are already filled with lead and you can’t really control its movements. By the way, systematic physical work over a period of time will allow you to improve your shape and overall body tone. The wood splits perfectly on a frosty day.

An original way to split a large block of wood

As you split wood, you will certainly gain the necessary experience by splitting logs into blocks and smaller parts. After you have split all the wood, it should be placed in a prepared woodshed for drying.

General points

To ensure normal storage of firewood in the woodshed, it should be properly prepared. Wood is stored in the form of logs, which are obtained from split logs. If you purchased timber in the form of long logs, which is very profitable, then in order to be able to store the wood, they should be cleared of branches and twigs, sawn into logs, and then split into more or less uniform logs.

At the same time, it is necessary to cut the logs into logs of the same length so that they not only fit in the barn, oven, but also stacked in a neat stack. In a well-assembled woodpile, the wood dries better because it is well ventilated.

During cutting, the easiest way is to prepare a wooden stick, a branch and use it to check the size of the next log, or use a chainsaw to prepare firewood to mark the entire log using a tape measure at once, and then start cutting. For the convenience of cutting logs, you should prepare trestles and stands of the original type, since sawing wood on the ground is inconvenient.

Previously, two-handed saws were used to cut logs on trestles.

After the logs of approximately the same size are prepared, you can start chopping them. Classical splitting of firewood involves the use of an ax or cleaver, but there is also an alternative, mechanical option, when firewood is split by a special machine, a wood splitter. It is worth noting that working with an ax is very labor-intensive, so using a special machine not only speeds up, but also makes the work easier.

If you live in a house that is heated exclusively with wood, if you have a bathhouse, then to simplify and facilitate the process of collecting firewood, you should definitely consider purchasing a wood splitter. This device will facilitate the annual winter wood harvesting activities for the following year. By the way, the system is so simple that you can easily do it yourself.

If there is no wood splitter, you will have to chop the wood into logs using an ax. If you also don’t have experience and skill in this matter, then this activity will be very dangerous for you, so we decided to give some recommendations for such work.