You are correct about the speed, it moves quite fast but not so fast as to be dangerous. The cylinder stroke is 24" with a 4" bore and the 540 rpm of the pto is increased by the use of a jack shaft and gears. Being built so many years ago I cannot remember the calculated rpm. If I wasn't so lazy I could measure and figure it out, but pictures will have to do.
Please bear in mind that this was built in 1978 when there weren't two extra nickels to rub together after groceries, property and house payments, so virtually everything on this project is salvaged farm machinery or heavy equipment parts. By many standards this is a god-awful looking contraption but it is anything but that in performance. Since '78 only the love-joy coupling and the control valve have been replaced. Whoops, I just put a new rub block on the chain tensioner last year....
Jay...I apologize for hy-jacking your post...it wasn't intentional sir !!!!!
When the love-joy was replaced we went with one rated at 50 hp which necessitated a rework of the splined input shaft of the pump by means of a fabricated adapter (thanks to a buddy's machine shop). And the old Massey 44 sure sounds good with a straight pipe while turning the pump on a knurly piece. If not careful, occasionally it can be stalled out before the relief valve kicks open...."Occasionally" is the optimal word....you gotta be doing something wrong for it to happen.
The beam is 4" x 8" with 3/8" gussets (welded in 6"-8" spacing on both sides) then additionally reinforced with 3/8" plates between the gussets increasing the beams thickness from 3/8" to 1 1/8". It doesn't even hint at deflection or twist. It started out with just a 6" pushblock and 6" wedge but slowly added height and width to ease in splitting large diameter pieces. Notice the arm attached from the push block to the "A" frame axle ? In splitting mode, the arm is detached and dropped to the ground with the beam sitting on a block....or if you so desire, kneel the beam completely to the ground to roll huge pieces on to bust in halves or quarters. Then raise the beam back up to working height. The reservoir is just a piece of salvaged steel casing from a jobsite trash hopper.
Here you can better see the "A" frame axle...3" black iron pipe inserted through a short 4" pipe welded to the beam. Also the gussets and additional plates for thickening the beam. Eventually the lifting arm setup will be changed entirely to an additional cylinder attached directly to the beam and will be nothing like this at all. I'm just putting it off until it breaks down.....
The wheels are front hubs and spindles from an old '50's Ford F-100 that has long been turned into Nissans and Mitsubishis. Again, all salvaged parts were used to build this splitter, even the pump and cylinder from an old backhoe. The cylinder, cut off and rewelded shorter, is the dipper cylinder off of a Ford 4500 (if memory serves correctly). A cylinder repacking kit was purchased and installed.
This one no longer travels between my brothers woodpile and here because he recently completed a much more modern, larger, heavier, updated version that puts this one to shame. The subtle changes to this splitter over the years provided invaluable insight towards those improvements. About ten years ago my brother wanted to torch this one apart and redesign it, but I traded him another hydraulic pump and an old Oliver 77 to let this one live with me for permanent.....Again Jay, sorry for the post hyjacking !!!
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Today's Featured Article - Talk of the Town: Winterizing Engines - To Drain or Not to Drain? - by Russ Berry. What is this strange attraction I have to equipment and machinery? How did I get this way? I came from the suburbs and own a small horse farm in rural Loudoun County, Virginia. You can call me a "weekend farmer." The local farmers do. Does it bother me? No. I am just happy to have their friendship. At least the word "farmer" is in my title. But what is the attraction? How can I explain the sensation and exhilaration I feel when I turn the key and hear the engine come to life (most
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