Wood Splitter Add-On Gives Cleaner Splits

Wood Splitter Add-On Gives Cleaner Splits Gerry Hawkes had trouble getting a clean split with the four-way wedge on his heavy-duty Timberwolf wood splitter. The leading edge of the horizontal blades was set back slightly from the leading edge of the vertical wedge. “I use the four-way wedge most of the time, and often the upper and lower pieces are still attached by wood fibers after splitting,” says Hawkes. “I end up tugging at the pieces or reversing them and splitting from the other end. To solve this, I made blocks from scrap steel and added them to the pusher block.” Hawkes used 3 by 3-in., 1/4-in. sq. steel tubing for the 11-in. long blocks, which he hung to either side of the pusher block. The 2-in. gap left between them accommodated the vertical wedge while eliminating most of the difference with the horizontal wedge. “I welded an 8-in. long section of 3 by 3-in., 1/4-in. thick angle iron to the top of the blocks so one leg of the angle iron would lay flat on top of the pusher plate,” says Hawkes. “The other leg of the angle iron keeps the blocks from spreading as the wood pushes into them.” To help keep the blocks from spreading, Hawkes welded two 1-in. wide, 8-in. long strips of 1/4-in. thick steel to the lower part of the blocks. A length of angle iron welded to the horizontal leg’s back side slips over the pusher block’s back to secure the add-on blocks in place. “It’s easy to slip the blocks on and off the pusher block,” says Hawkes. “I’ve used the add-on for five to six hours. Even though the tubes are fairly thick, they still show some deformation from the pressure of splitting wood. I just used whatever scrap I had lying around. If needed, I can always replace them with solid steel.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gerry Hawkes, 796 Wayside Road Ext., Woodstock, Vt. 05091 (ph toll-free 866-638-7337; gerryhawkes@gmail.com).

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