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Log Splitter Mounts On Front Of Tractor
Gary Gradek, Ukiah, Calif., can split logs without tying up the back of his tractor, thanks to the front-mounted splitter he built for it.

    The splitter attaches to a 3-pt. mounting bracket that bolts onto the tractor’s frame and operates off the loader’s hydraulics. It’s built on an 8 by 6-in. I-beam that folds up vertically out of the way when not in use.

    “I use it on my Ford New Holland 4630 4-WD 60 hp. tractor with a 3-pt. mounted, 9-in. Valby wood chipper on back,” says Gradek. “I go into the woods and back up to a felled tree to grind up the limbs. Then I cut it into chunks and use the splitter to make firewood. It can split up to 24-in. long wood. The end of the splitter beam can rest on a log chunk for support, or I can lay the beam on the ground if the log is really heavy.”

    When folded vertically, the splitter locks in place at the top of the 3-pt. hitch. “It weighs about the same as the tractor’s factory counterweights so I can leave the splitter on the tractor permanently,” says Gradek. “After working in the woods I can replace the wood chipper with a rototiller and till our garden, and then go back and split wood again.”

    A 2-in. hydraulic cylinder is used to raise or lower the I-beam, and a diverter valve is used to activate the splitting cylinder. “The entire unit has just 2 hydraulic lines that connect to the tractor’s rear ports,” says Gradek.

    The splitter is equipped with 2 removable wedges. “One is a standard wedge for halving larger logs, and the other is a 4-way wedge for quartering smaller logs,” says Gradek. “The top of the 4-way wedge has serrations ground into the knife, in order to keep the wood from sliding up when I only want to split it in half.”

    Gradek says he spent about $400 to build the splitter.

    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Gradek, Ukiah, Calif. (ph 707 695-6040; Gradekconcepts@gmail.com).




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2019 - Volume #43, Issue #1