Upside Down Splitter Rotates 360 Degrees
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“I’m 83 years old and can’t lift big, heavy chunks of wood any more. So I designed and built a ‘rotating’ log splitter that lets me split logs right on the ground without ever having to move the wood at all,” says Larry Zenz, Parks, Ark.
His 3-pt. mounted splitter runs off tractor hydraulics and can handle logs up to 3 ft. long and 2 ft. in dia. The splitter itself works much like a conventional model. It consists of a 5-ft. long, 6-in. I-beam equipped with a wedge attached to a 2-ft. long, 4-in. dia. hydraulic cylinder. A 3/4-in. thick, high tensile steel plate is welded to the far end of the splitter.
What makes the splitter unique is that it’s free to swivel 360 degrees underneath a 7-ft. long, 3-in. I-beam arm. It allows Zenz to split logs no matter what direction they’re laying. The swivel mechanism is attached to a pair of rollers mounted on the arm, allowing the splitter to be moved anywhere along the beam.
A homemade, 3-pt. mounting bracket supports both the splitter and the arm. A short length of pipe on the arm fits over a vertical pipe on the 3-pt. bracket. By pulling a pin from the two pipes, Zenz can manually swing the splitter up to 180 degrees from side to side.
To split a log, he uses the tractor’s 3-pt. to lower the splitter down over the log. A remote control can be used to operate the splitter hydraulics from behind the tractor.
“No matter where the chunk of wood is laying, or what position it’s in, I can split it without having to move it,“ says Zenz. “I came up with the idea because I have some old pine, oak, cedar and oak logs that are almost 3 ft. in diameter. I usually cut them into 2-ft. lengths. If I have a bunch of these 2-ft. long wood chunks scattered out behind the tractor I don’t have to move them at all. Instead, I can swing the arm over to the wood and then roll the splitter along the arm until it’s over the log. Then I can use the swivel mechanism to rotate the splitter and line it up with the wood.
“I built a mechanism on the arm to balance the splitter so it always stays horizontal to the ground.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Larry Zenz, 5779 E. Hwy. 28, Parks, Ark. 72950 (ph 479 577-2677; larryzenz@gmail.com).
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Upside Down Splitter Rotates 360 Degrees WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous “I’m 83 years old and can’t lift big heavy chunks of wood any more So I designed and built a ‘rotating’ log splitter that lets me split logs right on the ground without ever having to move the wood at all ” says Larry Zenz Parks Ark His 3-pt mounted splitter runs off tractor hydraulics and can handle logs up to 3 ft long and 2 ft in dia The splitter itself works much like a conventional model It consists of a 5-ft long 6-in I-beam equipped with a wedge attached to a 2-ft long 4-in dia hydraulic cylinder A 3/4-in thick high tensile steel plate is welded to the far end of the splitter What makes the splitter unique is that it’s free to swivel 360 degrees underneath a 7-ft long 3-in I-beam arm It allows Zenz to split logs no matter what direction they’re laying The swivel mechanism is attached to a pair of rollers mounted on the arm allowing the splitter to be moved anywhere along the beam A homemade 3-pt mounting bracket supports both the splitter and the arm A short length of pipe on the arm fits over a vertical pipe on the 3-pt bracket By pulling a pin from the two pipes Zenz can manually swing the splitter up to 180 degrees from side to side To split a log he uses the tractor’s 3-pt to lower the splitter down over the log A remote control can be used to operate the splitter hydraulics from behind the tractor “No matter where the chunk of wood is laying or what position it’s in I can split it without having to move it “ says Zenz “I came up with the idea because I have some old pine oak cedar and oak logs that are almost 3 ft in diameter I usually cut them into 2-ft lengths If I have a bunch of these 2-ft long wood chunks scattered out behind the tractor I don’t have to move them at all Instead I can swing the arm over to the wood and then roll the splitter along the arm until it’s over the log Then I can use the swivel mechanism to rotate the splitter and line it up with the wood “I built a mechanism on the arm to balance the splitter so it always stays horizontal to the ground ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Larry Zenz 5779 E Hwy 28 Parks Ark 72950 ph 479 577-2677; larryzenz@gmail com
