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Homemade Attachments for Forklifts Skidsteers and Other Equipment

Starting to daydream on my wood splitter build for my Skidsteer. Was going to pull power off the aux system and tap into a splitter valve for the cylinder. I don't currently have a large bore cylinder but do have a pair of matching smaller bore cylinders. I'll match out my estimated flow at intended operating RPM (prob 1/3rd throttle on the T190).

I've done some internet digging and see all the ones where you can just drive over top of the log and split it from the seat without picking it up... doesn't really seem all that useful and odds are I'll be splitting on site in the woods where it gets cut vs loading it and unloading it any extra times or having a bunch of maneuvering room over each loose piece. I also typically work solo so considerations there as well. I'm not processing a lot but my Grandmother uses it for extra heat in the winter so mainly I'll be processing it for her at the family farm. It would be cool of I could make it to where I could carry it with my Industrial Grapple bucket on the skid to wherever I am felling and cutting because I love having that thing to move logs and buck from up out of the dirt. But then I need room in the bucket to carry out the firewood and the splitter. The saws and gear all get strapped on the top of the cab / go behind the window on the radiator deck.

Any experiences regarding this application? Advice or avoidances.

Pic of grapple type; and yes, to answer the question that would follow based on contents; the safe had a torched hole in the back already and was trash so why not - golf ball caliber 1/4 scale Confederate infantry Cannon, muzzle load at 220 yds and then at 135 yds.

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Does your skid steer have constant flow hydraulics on the aux?

What size are the two cylinders you plan on using? You may actually get more force this way compared to one larger cylinder. Depends on the sizes of course.
 
I made a wood splitter back in the day that flipped over. You could use the handle and run it the normal way then flip it over 180 degrees to use it with the controls in the cab and bust the big shit.
 
665.0coupe said:
Does your skid steer have constant flow hydraulics on the aux?

What size are the two cylinders you plan on using? You may actually get more force this way compared to one larger cylinder. Depends on the sizes of course.
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Yes, I can switch on constant flow, my 709 backhoe attachment works that way, and its also how I run my Frankenstein brush mower posted a few posts ahead in this thread.

The pair of cylinders are these, 2 x 36" tie rods. Picked them up for $50 for a set of 3 of them brand new from a yard sale of all places.
2 bore x 36 stroke CROSS hydraulic cylinder, tie rod double acting cylinder | CROSS MANUFACTURING

At 2500 psi, thats only giving me 8 tons between the pair.

I was thinking to stack them over top of each other and have the wedge be pushed by the pair down a piece of Wide flange or even fabricate a T beam from large angle and thick flats.
 
AlxJ64 said:
I've done some internet digging and see all the ones where you can just drive over top of the log and split it from the seat without picking it up... doesn't really seem all that useful and odds are I'll be splitting on site in the woods where it gets cut vs loading it and unloading it any extra times or having a bunch of maneuvering room over each loose piece. I also typically work solo so considerations there as well.
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those seem like perfect reasons to use an inverted (cuts from the bottom) splitter. Otherwise, you're just adding hours to an expensive diesel engine instead of a cheap 12-26 horse chinezium.
Especially the working alone part... You should be able to pick up the log, lift over trailer (where ever you want to fell) and split/drop... lather rinse/repeat. Seems a lot easier than getting out of skid, lifting log onto splitter, picking pieces back up, getting into skid (to move if necessary)?

edit: now I"m watching this vid and my back is begging me to buy one.
 
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I'd think the best would just basically be a regular tow behind style that just used the machines hydraulics. I could never see one like in the video being efficient at all. Unless you're really old, feeble and have all the time in the world.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'd think the best would just basically be a regular tow behind style that just used the machines hydraulics. I could never see one like in the video being efficient at all. Unless you're really old, feeble and have all the time in the world.
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Dunno… may depend on the log diameter. I just did a bunch of 24”+ diameter oak alone and that sucked. I can’t imagine the inverted not being more efficient for a person working alone with that size?

I’m old and feeble, though
 
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rockota said:
those seem like perfect reasons to use an inverted (cuts from the bottom) splitter. Otherwise, you're just adding hours to an expensive diesel engine instead of a cheap 12-26 horse chinezium.
Especially the working alone part... You should be able to pick up the log, lift over trailer (where ever you want to fell) and split/drop... lather rinse/repeat. Seems a lot easier than getting out of skid, lifting log onto splitter, picking pieces back up, getting into skid (to move if necessary)?

edit: now I"m watching this vid and my back is begging me to buy one.
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I always thought the mafia blocks had some rebar in them.
 
rockota said:
Dunno… may depend on the log diameter. I just did a bunch of 24”+ diameter oak alone and that sucked. I can’t imagine the inverted not being more efficient for a person working alone with that size?

I’m old and Frank’s, though
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You're still going to have to line them all up, then probably mess with them again after they're split once, then load them up. I don't see how rolling them over to a stand up splitter and busting them up?

bgaidan said:
I feel like i'd rather burn up a 12hp predator engine every few years than put those hours on a skidsteer or tractor that costs a lot more to maintain.
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I've wondered that too, although, unless you're worried about racking the hour meter up for resale, I'm not sure a the machine would see almost any wear at a medium idle.

Also, you have a lot more power available obviously.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'd think the best would just basically be a regular tow behind style that just used the machines hydraulics. I could never see one like in the video being efficient at all. Unless you're really old, feeble and have all the time in the world.
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Work well for big stuff that are tough to move around by hand. Even if just to break down into quarters.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
You're still going to have to line them all up, then probably mess with them again after they're split once, then load them up. I don't see how rolling them over to a stand up splitter and busting them up?
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Couple hundred pounds of wet hardwoods sucks to move by hand into the vertical splitter.

But, you may be correct. Sounds like there’s an opportunity to apply for a government grant to study which option is more efficient. Should be $2-3m
 
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AKnate said:
Work well for big stuff that are tough to move around by hand. Even if just to break down into quarters.
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Ya, but hard to justify for just that, unless you have tons of large stuff.


rockota said:
Couple hundred points of wet hardwoods sucks to move by hand into the vertical splitter.

But, you may be correct. Sounds like there’s an opportunity to apply for a government grant to study which option is more efficient. Should be $2-3m
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I know, I grew up splitting black oak. It's got to be one of the heaviest woods when wet. :laughing:

But you still have to move it by hand either way....
 
bgaidan said:
I feel like i'd rather burn up a 12hp predator engine every few years than put those hours on a skidsteer or tractor that costs a lot more to maintain.
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Especially since a 12hp motor can run a big 2 stage pump, most "big box store" splitters run a 5-6HP motor IIRC.

Aaron Z
 
[486] said:
been posted here a million times

always deserving of a repost
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That thing needs a spring/shock at the bottom or something.

It's fuckin' perfect other than the big bang. How could you slow down the log drop that's simple and reliable? Tilting the cylinder would be really finnicky, it's be difficult finding the sweet spot between no movement and full bang.

A tooth wheel on a spring that digs into the log and has some kind of friction like connected to a hydraulic motor that moves fluid through a restriction?
 
"hehe log go bang"

which is to say, doesn't seem like it would matter all that much
 
Muckin_Slusher said:
That thing needs a spring/shock at the bottom or something.

It's fuckin' perfect other than the big bang. How could you slow down the log drop that's simple and reliable? Tilting the cylinder would be really finnicky, it's be difficult finding the sweet spot between no movement and full bang.

A tooth wheel on a spring that digs into the log and has some kind of friction like connected to a hydraulic motor that moves fluid through a restriction?
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That would probably be simplest, it would need to be setup sort of like the infeed roller on a wood chipper and likely be driven rather than just acting to slow gravity at least until the log is engaged (unless you tie it in with the cylinder that does the shearing and splitting, plumb it backwards so that when you retract the shear/split cylinder it tightens on the log and when you extend the cylinder to shear/split it retracts from the log).

Aaron Z
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Ya, but hard to justify for just that, unless you have tons of large stuff.




I know, I grew up splitting black oak. It's got to be one of the heaviest woods when wet. :laughing:

But you still have to move it by hand either way....
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It was on my list when I was doing firewood full time.

I'd usually throw the shit that was too big for the processor off to the side and deal with those logs when I had a slow day or felt extra motivated. Sometimes would be a few cords worth.

Buck by hand, roll to the vertical splitter, chunk it, then toss into the processor splitter.
Or sometimes has to cut into half or quarters with the saw as they were way too heavt/big for the splitter.

The one I had priced out was about $1800, though that was before times price. Probably 3k+ now.

Even tried running the big shit through the sawmill, LT40 Woodmizer, but it was often too big for that too.
 
My step dad cut trees growing up. Some times 5'+ diameter :laughing: so I get it it's a pain, and sometimes not worth the effort.

I knew a guy who got a bunch of 5-7' diameter oak buts from his son in laws job site. He got one of those old death sprial log splitter cone things that you could bolt in place of the tire on your truck and mounted it to the auger on his tractor. Then used it to bust those giant slabs into manageable pieces he could split with the hydraulic splitter. Wish I had pics or video of it.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
My step dad cut trees growing up. Some times 5'+ diameter :laughing: so I get it it's a pain, and sometimes not worth the effort.

I knew a guy who got a bunch of 5-7' diameter oak buts from his son in laws job site. He got one of those old death sprial log splitter cone things that you could bolt in place of the tire on your truck and mounted it to the auger on his tractor. Then used it to bust those giant slabs into manageable pieces he could split with the hydraulic splitter. Wish I had pics or video of it.
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They are apparently sometimes seen on excavators, Andrew Camerata got one a while back (about 15mins in):



Aaron Z
 
YotaAtieToo said:
My step dad cut trees growing up. Some times 5'+ diameter :laughing: so I get it it's a pain, and sometimes not worth the effort.

I knew a guy who got a bunch of 5-7' diameter oak buts from his son in laws job site. He got one of those old death sprial log splitter cone things that you could bolt in place of the tire on your truck and mounted it to the auger on his tractor. Then used it to bust those giant slabs into manageable pieces he could split with the hydraulic splitter. Wish I had pics or video of it.
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I have one. Works decent on splitting the big stuff up. It goes on my post hole drill.
 
aczlan said:
They are apparently sometimes seen on excavators, Andrew Camerata got one a while back (about 15mins in):



Aaron Z
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I've seen those before, used to bust up big chunks of wood for grinding. My old work (Gomez bros/mountain) wasn't a fan because they were so slow. They has 3 300 Komatsu's with big shear head looking deals that were kinda awesome in their own way.
 
So last night I was having a think and I know what to use to soften the bangs. That splitter needs a wedge at the bottom for the log to fall onto. As the log gets stabbed by the wedge it'll give up it's energy slower than hitting flat steel.

Obviously the wedge would be parallel to the cylinder stroke. Zero drawbacks to this and nothing to wear out, fail or be fucked with.

splitter wedge.png
 
bgaidan said:
I feel like i'd rather burn up a 12hp predator engine every few years than put those hours on a skidsteer or tractor that costs a lot more to maintain.
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My poor skid already has like 4600 hrs on it so doesn't really matter anymore. Also, I'd only be splitting firewood for a few hours every few weekends at best in my case.

rockota said:
Not if you have a mini-ex with a thumb… lift log, cut to appropriate lengths, split with skid… profit? :flipoff2:
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I do have a clapped out Mini... but its not really a fan of moving quite as heavy of stuff and it tracks SO slow compared to the skid.

YotaAtieToo said:
In that case I'd rather have the splitter attachment on the mini.
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I thought about this too... and may think on it further.

Ya'll have really sparked a lot of good thought process. Now for me to sit on the idea again for a few months before doing anything about it, in my true fashion.
 
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