Old Baler Turned Into Log Splitter

Old Baler Turned Into Log Splitter HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Balers (6) 18-1-7 "It can split a lot of wood fast," says Norm Nickels, McClure, Ohio, who converted an old International 50T engine-powered baler into a portable, high-powered log splitter. Nickels stripped the sheet metal off the baler, removed the hay pickup, and narrowed up the axle to about 5 ft. apart. He removed the knotter and bale chamber from the back of the baler and made a V-shaped channel that holds the logs. The bale-forming plunger pushes logs into the splitter blade and is belt-driven by the engine. Nickels made the splitter blade by cutting a moldboard plow share in half and welding one half on top of the other, then welding the unit to the baler frame. "It works good. I built it for less than $100 15 years ago after the baler wore out," says Nickels. "A commercial log splitter of comparable capacity would have cost $1,000 or more. I use the engine to control plunger speed. I can time it so I can split a log every time the plunger makes a revolution. The original plunger was built from cast iron and wood. I removed the wood and welded a section of 4-in. sq. steel on the plunger to beef it up. "I also use it to cut wood by bolting an old International buzz saw on the back end." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Norm Nickels, I-249 Rd. M., McClure, Ohio 43534 (ph 419 748-8247).

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