"Firewood Machine" Splits, Loads, And Hauls Wood

"I've eliminated nearly all the back-breaking work involved with splitting logs up to 3 ft. in diameter," says Carroll Crum, Littlestown, Penn., who came up with a nifty firewood processing system that splits, loads, and hauls wood.

The two-wheeled machine consists of a splitter with a log loading ramp on front and a 15-ft. trailer on back that's dumped by a 5-ton wagon hoist.

Logs are lifted onto the splitting table by a side-mounted loading platform. A 4-way wedge, powered by two hydraulic cylinders, splits the log. The pieces fall back into the trailer. The wood is unloaded out the back by raising the splitter unit up out of the way, then opening the tailgate and raising the trailer.

Hydraulic power is provided by a 23 gpm, pto-operated pump that operates off Crum's 35 hp Case VAC tractor.

"My out-of-pocket expense was about minimal including new hydraulic cylinders, valves, and pump," says Crum. "I built it because I'm in the process of clearing about 10 acres of woods that have 80-ft. tall hickory trees up to 3 ft. in diameter. I got tired of always having to bend over to lift the big logs onto a splitting table. I looked at several commercial firewood processors, but couldn't find anything I liked. Most commercial models are stationary and can handle only straight logs, whereas the four-way wedge on my machine can handle crooked or knotty wood. The wedge mounts on a steel track and can be raised or lowered by a small hydraulic cylinder at the back. If the wood is crooked or has a lot of knots in it that are hard to split, I can raise the wedge above the knots.

"I drive my firewood handling machine right into the woods. I stack the logs in a pile and then use a chain saw to cut them into 30-in. lengths. Then I roll the logs onto the loading ramp.

"The tailgate on back of the trailer is fitted with a loading ramp that I use to load smaller chunks of wood into the trailer. It tilts back hydraulically to dump into the trailer box."