How to create a rack-and-pinion wood splitter with your own hands, drawing and instructions

For those who live in rural areas, and often in dachas, the main method of heating remains a conventional stove or solid fuel boiler. There is nothing surprising about this - this is one of the most energy-independent and inexpensive types of heating, which does not require special large investments and equipment that is difficult to operate and maintain. However, preparing firewood for the winter involves a lot of physical activity, which can easily be avoided if you use a wood chopping machine. We will look at one of the designs right now.

DIY manufacturing technology

Drawing of a wood splitter (click to enlarge)
As can be seen from the description of the design and principle of operation, a wood splitter of this type can be assembled with your own hands.

But in order to perform high-quality work, the result of which will be an effective unit, first of all, you must adhere to the following series of recommendations:

1. Select a drawing. Today, there are many design schemes for a rack and pinion unit. Thanks to a source such as the Internet, you can choose a drawing that will best suit you.

2. Preparation of materials. After a detailed study of the wood splitter diagram, you need to prepare all the necessary materials. To do this, you need to inspect everything that is available in the household, and the missing materials need to be purchased.

3. Assembling the rack-and-pinion wood splitter frame. An important structural element of a rack-and-pinion unit is the supporting frame, so its installation must be treated with sufficient care and responsibility.

The most optimal materials for the frame are the following types of metal products:

• I-beam;
• channel;
• corner of the required thickness;
• profile pipe.

Advice: if you expect that the wood splitter should be mobile, then you need to make sure that the design includes wheels, as well as their reliable fixation.

Rack and pinion

4. Installation of structural elements of the wood splitter. The next stage of installation is the installation of the log pushing mechanism

It is important to understand that its installation must occur strictly in accordance with the selected drawing

For ease of use of the rack log splitter, you can install the following additional elements:

• thermal relay for units driven by an electric motor;
• protective coupling for increased safety;
• It is better to choose a four-cut cleaver, so the log can be immediately divided into four logs.

Advice: it is advisable to equip a rack-and-pinion wood splitter with a horizontal stacking mechanism, which is presented in the form of a chute. Thanks to this, it is possible to achieve optimal movement of the log to the splitter, or vice versa, depending on the chosen design.

And in conclusion, I would like to note one more important point: when working with a rack-and-pinion wood splitter, you must always follow safety precautions, otherwise you can harm yourself and seriously damage the newly created unit. In this article, we tried to outline the maximum number of recommendations and tips so that the firewood chopping unit you create will greatly facilitate your work. We hope that the information presented in the article will be quite useful for you.

Below, we invite you to watch a video on how to make a rack wood splitter with your own hands:

Operating rules

Before starting work, you need to prepare the logs and the wood splitter itself. The unit is installed on a flat, hard surface, and if the tool is equipped with transport wheels, they must first be removed.

Make sure that the device does not have any defective parts or hydraulic damage. If you find any integrity problems, you should contact a service center or, if you are working with a homemade tool, replace the part with a new one. Logs should be used dry; in this case, splitting them is easier and faster. It is important that the chocks are free of any nails, bolts or staples that could damage the cutting panel.

The log is placed in such a way that it is held as securely as possible by the guides, after which you should press the start button and wait a few seconds - a soft switch is needed so that the engine reaches the maximum number of revolutions, only after that you can press the second lever, which activates a piston that pushes the log towards the cutter. Pay particular attention to the fact that the start button, like the control lever, must be held down during splitting. If any one of these is released, the piston immediately returns to its original position. This is a kind of protective system - if during operation the installation operator needs to correct something, he cannot do this without turning off the entire mechanism.

If you cannot split the log, you should try turning it over and performing manipulations on the other side. If the log does not cut, put the log aside, as the engine will begin to overheat, which can lead to serious damage to the system.

When working with a rack splitter, regardless of its type and manufacturing method, you should follow the safety instructions. Keep in mind that if the piston moves too quickly or does not work correctly, you may be injured when splitting wooden workpieces. When the lump is fed quickly to the cutting blade, the tool may jam, which leads to its breakage.

When installing a moving knife, you should take care of its proper location even at the equipment design stage. The place must be protected from the working person, otherwise injury cannot be avoided. If the workpiece is jammed, there is no need to knock on it; your hands should be as far away from the piston and cutting blade as possible while the unit is operating.

In the next video you will find the first test of a rack log splitter.

Archaeologists claim that the first stone ax appeared more than half a million years ago. During this time, humanity has made a giant leap in technological development, inventing a wide variety of devices for chopping wood. One of these devices is a rack wood splitter , which splits the workpiece due to the translational movement of the rack.

Peculiarities

Rack splitters are very reliable and efficient; they are characterized by high speed of operation and simplicity of the mechanism. The principle of operation is generally elementary - the lumps are placed on the work surface, after which the pusher is activated using a lever. It moves along the slats and with force pushes the workpiece onto a rather sharp knife, which is located at the very end of the unit.

All manipulations take a matter of seconds, and as a result the log splits into several parts.

The operating principle of such a wood splitter is based on the use of a rack and pinion gear:

• the gear rack is mobile, it is driven by a gear pressed onto the reduction gear shaft or belt drive pulley;
• the lath is fixed on the frame where the block is laid;
• the gear meshes with the rack using a special control handle;
• all these parts are mounted on a strong stationary frame, with a cleaver attached to one of its ends;
• there are guides on the frame along which the rack moves;
• With the help of a return spring, the rack returns to its original position.

The design can be driven by any type of engine - gasoline, diesel or electric; in addition, it is often driven by the power shaft of an agricultural tractor or a car wheel, that is, by any motor that produces torque. At home, some craftsmen even install a washing machine motor or a chainsaw motor.

Operating principle

Hydraulic wood splitter

The engine rotates the gear using a belt drive. When the control handle is turned, the gear sets the rack in motion. The rack, moving along the guides fixed to the frame, moves the pusher forward. The workpiece is located on the frame between the cleaver and the pusher; as the pusher moves, it splits the workpiece against the cleaver.

After the pusher reaches the end, the rack and pinion are disengaged, and the entire mechanism is restored to its original state. In some wood splitters, the rack is returned to its place manually - by moving the control handle back. After discarding the resulting firewood and replacing the workpiece, the entire process is repeated again.

Classification of homemade wood splitters

Before you make a wood splitter with your own hands to provide a bathhouse with firewood, you need to choose the best option for specific conditions. Equipment of this type is classified according to the following criteria:

• presence of an engine - non-volatile spring splitters, hydraulic, electric, gasoline wood splitters
• design – vertical, horizontal, combined, rack, cone
• operating principle – “screw”, screw pair, hydraulics/pneumatics

A budget version of the cleaver is a mechanical model, consisting of a support table, a stand, and a console.

The simplest option is a mechanical wood splitter.

A do-it-yourself cone log splitter will require, at a minimum, an engine, equipment, and a chain or belt drive from the drive shaft to the working element.

This is what a conical screw log splitter looks like, it literally drills a log into firewood

A do-it-yourself rack-and-pinion wood splitter is a complex design that requires the conversion of torque in the engine shaft into translational motion of the working body. Therefore, for assembly you will need a rack and gear.

A rack-and-pinion wood splitter cuts a log using the forward movement of the rack

There are homemade products with a crank mechanism that solves the same problem.

For small volumes of firewood harvesting, the simplest mechanical devices discussed below are sufficient. They are easier to store, there is no need to look for an engine, build a massive frame, order or make complex equipment yourself. However, the scope of application of such cleavers is limited by the needs for firewood for a garden bathhouse and a country fireplace. For regular large volumes of firewood (greenhouse stoves, home heating), wood splitters with gasoline or electric drives or pneumatic models powered by a compressor are more suitable.

The wood splitter can be powered by a gasoline engine

Professional equipment is used for large volumes of wood splitting.

For convenience, the wood splitter can be vertical

Advantages of a wood splitter

Buying this expensive unit will hit your pocket hard, because you will have to shell out at least 100 thousand rubles. A homemade wood splitter is much more affordable. In terms of functionality, it is no different from an industrial device. A wood splitter, no matter which one - purchased or made by yourself - has certain advantages:

• ease of use;
• durability;
• double degree of protection;
• consumes a small amount of energy;
• low gasoline consumption;
• works in any conditions.

The wood splitter is not difficult to use and is easy to maintain. If you decide to make it yourself, you can get a design that is ideal for you.

Precautionary measures

Working on electric wood splitter models requires special attention and increased caution:

• The wood splitter may only be used for its intended purpose;
• Before use, you must carefully read the instructions;
• Do not operate the wood splitter if there are third parties, especially children or animals, in the operating area;
• When working, special gloves and personal hearing and vision protection are used;
• Do not leave a running machine unattended;
• hands must be kept at a sufficient distance from the cutting mechanism;
• before work, you need to make sure that all components are securely fixed;
• The wood splitter must be serviced, repaired or transported when it is turned off.

It is forbidden to split logs or logs that are too large or contain nails or other foreign objects that could cause damage to the device. Before operation, you need to check the hydraulic system and make sure there are no oil leaks.

Scope of application

A rack-and-pinion wood splitter can be considered as machine tool equipment. In everyday life, such a unit will simplify the preparation of firewood for the winter when heating with a stove or if there is a frequently used wood-burning bathhouse or sauna on the site.

If you use firewood primarily to light a fireplace or barbecue, a manual wood splitter will be a more convenient alternative. It is much simpler and safer to use, and in addition, it has an aesthetic appearance (especially if it is a wood splitter with artistic forging or patina). With its help, you can quickly and easily prepare firewood and chips, surprise your guests with an interesting device, and turn routine physical work into entertainment.

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Purpose of wood splitters

If you are the proud owner of your own country house, then you probably know well how hard it is to chop wood while swinging a heavy, heavy axe. However, progress does not stand still, so these days the work of collecting firewood can be significantly simplified. For this purpose, special machines called “wood splitters” are used.

Of course, not everyone has a need for such technology. If you split firewood once a month, then a regular splitting splitter is quite enough for you, but there are categories of homeowners who cannot do without a mechanical device. First of all, these are people who permanently live in houses with stove heating, fireplaces or solid fuel boilers. Such equipment is necessary in wood-burning boiler houses, and, of course, we should not forget about lovers of Russian baths - after all, before they take a good steam, they will certainly need to stock up on firewood to kindle the fireplace.

Thus, the wood splitter is suitable for anyone who, for one reason or another, is forced to periodically prepare firewood. The device will be useful if the owners of a private house are women, elderly people or physically weak men. One of the most popular models of wood splitters is the rack-and-pinion one.

Step-by-step instructions: assembly features

At home, you can assemble any wood splitter with your own hands: drawings, photos, instructions will help you do it correctly. Each model requires a separate approach.

From the description it is clear that the rack structure can be mounted with your own hands. To do this, you should adhere to certain recommendations and sequence of work:

It is better to equip the rack unit with a horizontal laying device, which is made in the form of a gutter.

Assembly of the hydraulic model is difficult due to the mechanism. You will need to find an oil tank, a special cylinder, a control unit for fluid flows and pumping equipment.

First of all, the frame is made. It is better to mount it on wheels or a chassis to move the device to the desired location. The main hydraulic part is attached to the frame. Instead of a knife, a conical wedge is fitted, which is moved towards the log using a central screw.

Cleavers with motors are characterized by greater productivity. Their installation requires a hydraulic cylinder, an oil tank, a control unit and an electric motor. Such a device works faster than a mechanism with a jack. This requires less effort.

Using the control button, a command is transmitted to the distribution device to supply liquid into the cylinder cavity. As a result of this, the persistent heel moves in the desired direction.

This design does not have a high speed of operation, but is distinguished by a certain convenience.

How to build a model of a screw wood splitter with your own hands: drawings

The easiest way is to assemble the screw unit yourself. To do this, you need to buy a screw cone for a wood splitter. You will also need a powerful engine, a strong frame, a reduction gearbox and a shaft.

First of all, the motor and gearbox are mounted to the frame. A cone is attached to the shaft, and the mechanism itself is connected to the reduction gearbox using a motor. Important points to consider during assembly:

• the nozzle cannot be directly mounted to the motor;
• if you do not have the skills of an electrician, then electrical mechanisms should be made by a highly qualified specialist;
• Belt and chain drives are protected by a special casing;
• The minimum rotation speed of the cleaver is 250-300 rpm.

This type of wood splitter works using a rotating metal cone that splits logs using a special thread. When assembling a screw model with a cone-shaped splitter, it is necessary to select the correct cone depending on the logs used. The base for the device has the form of a working platform with a fixed splitting shaft. A keel is welded to the table to prevent particles from falling under the rotating mechanism. The power supports are mounted, and the cleaver is installed in the working position. Then the motor is connected.

A popular model of a wood splitter with a washing machine engine is popular. Three types of motors can be used: asynchronous, commutator or electronically controlled. The most common option is asynchronous motors. Older models have a separate winding for starting.

Design of a rack wood splitter

If you want to save money and at the same time get a fully functional device, you can build a rack-and-pinion wood splitter with your own hands; drawings and photo instructions will help you understand its design. And it's not just about saving. A branded unit will not specifically take into account our requirements for the dimensions and power of the device, but a homemade device can always fit into certain dimensions, set the desired performance and proceed from the available budget.

What is needed for making

Making an “iron lumberjack” does not require the use of scarce parts, so most components and blanks can be found at home or in the garages of friends and acquaintances. Here's what you'll need during the process:

• cone (you can grind the screw yourself or purchase it on the construction market);
• shaft (if you make your own threaded wedge, you can use a suitable hub from agricultural machinery);
• pulleys or sprockets;
• drive belt or chain from automobile or motorcycle equipment;
• bearings with housings (supports for car driveshafts are an excellent option);
• steel profile pipes or angles for the frame;
• metal sheet with a thickness of at least 4 mm for the desktop;
• electric motor;
• wiring;
• switch or magnetic starter;
• bolts and nuts M8 or M10.

Most parts can be used from old automobile or agricultural equipment

. The only thing that may be difficult is making a cone screw. However, you should not even try to cut this part using a grinder, as some “authoritative” sources advise. The time spent is not worth the resulting misunderstanding, which can only indirectly be called a screw. Moreover, in operation this “carrot” will not even come one iota close to the efficiency that a cone made by turning will give.

Main components of a cone log splitter

When making a machine, you will need tools that any “handy” owner will have:

• welding machine;
• electric drill with a set of drills;
• Bulgarian;
• hammer;
• set of wrenches;
• tape measure, marker.

Any enamel for exterior use is suitable for protection against corrosion.

It is only important to prepare the metal surface well for painting, so if necessary, prepare a metal brush (manual, as well as in the form of an attachment for a drill or grinder), a primer and a rust converter

Preparatory work: approximate dimensions and drawings

Before taking up the tool, it is important to draw up at least a simple sketch diagram with the location of the main components and parts of the machine and indicating its main dimensions. In addition, you will need an electrical connection diagram, which you can use a familiar electrician to work on.

The diagrams and drawings of finished structures presented to your attention will help you correctly configure the wood splitter and avoid mistakes in its manufacture.

Layout of a log splitting machine

The most important step in the process of creating a mechanical cleaver is making a wedge, so let’s look at this in more detail.

The best material for a cone is tool steel, but not every turner will undertake to make a part from it - the metal has increased hardness and requires special handling. Most likely, the screw will be made of the most popular grade of structural steel - St 45. In this case, it is better to strengthen its threaded part by any available method - hardening, nitriding or carburization.

Long-term and efficient operation of the cone is ensured only if it is manufactured correctly. When placing an order with a turner, be sure to specify that you need a screw with a 1:2 taper and a persistent double-start thread with a pitch of 5 - 6 mm. Regular metric threads will not work due to rapid wear. In addition, the standard screw thread fits into the wood much worse.

The size of the screw wedge and the value of its taper are directly related to the maximum size of the logs to be split, therefore, when determining the parameters of the drill, you can use the table.

Table for calculating cone sizes

The approximate dimensions of the bed depend on the operator’s build and can be:

• height - up to 80 cm;
• width - up to 60 cm (with folding table 100 cm);
• length - up to 85 cm.

The most commonly used scheme is with a bottom-mounted electric motor. This will protect its rotating parts from chips and chips. If an internal combustion engine is used as the power unit, then it is installed at the same level as the wedge. This arrangement is more convenient both during startup and during operation, when it is necessary to adjust the rotation speed of the wedge, fill the tank with fuel, etc.

In the process of designing a cone log splitter, they must provide a method for tensioning the chain or belt - using an additional sprocket or roller, slide, etc. A protective casing mounted on a chain or belt drive would also be useful. It can be bent from sheet metal and secured to the frame with screws.

Pay attention to how well the flexible transmission protection is designed.

Step-by-step instructions for making your own tool

Of course, the easiest and fastest to make yourself is a mechanical type of tool, which does not require the use of special components or any professional equipment. However, an electric wood splitter has a wider application; it is practical and very easy to use.

Mechanical option

The most popular and easiest to manufacture independently is the standard rack design.

The rack wood splitter is the easiest to manufacture

1. Selecting a ready-made diagram or independently preparing the optimal version of the drawing for the wood splitter design being manufactured.
2. Acquisition and preparation of all materials necessary for the manufacture of a wood splitter.
3. Assembly of a bed and a stable supporting frame, made using a reliable channel, profile pipe or I-beam.
4. Carrying out the installation of all structural parts with the installation of a pusher mechanism and, if necessary, various additional parts, represented by a thermal relay and a protective coupling.
5. It is strongly recommended to use a four-cut element as a cleaver in this type of device.

Electric wood splitter

To independently manufacture a unit for chopping wood with an electric drive, you should prepare the materials presented:

• steel frame for fixing all elements of the installation;
• an engine whose power is selected according to individual needs;
• shaft mechanism;
• reduction gearbox;
• conical nozzle with thread.

Three types of motors can be used: commutator, electronically controlled or asynchronous, but the latter option is the most popular and widespread.

A simple but functional mechanism under the simple name “Carrot” is easily made independently and does not require the use of high-tech or too expensive parts. Self-production involves preparing a drive, a simple gearbox with a belt drive, a pair of bearings and a shaft, as well as a threaded cone and a frame table.

Before making a wood splitter, familiarize yourself with the diagram of its structure

A drive with a power rating of about 2 kW or more can be removed from any old washing machine, and the most complex part of such a system is represented by a cone, which is purchased ready-made or made to order. Quick and easy splitting of wooden blocks occurs due to the process of screwing the cone into the wood fibers.

The rack and pinion design is less popular, due to the increased level of danger when operating this device. In this case, the rack and pusher plate must be placed on a carriage moved along the frame

Maximum attention will need to be paid to the stability of the frame, as well as the quality characteristics of the installed rail

The operation of such a homemade design requires a very careful calculation of the rotation speed of the gear, which transmits force to the rack. Most often, splitting logs using such a wood splitter is done easily and quickly. The operator sets the device in motion by pressing the rack against the gear. As a result of releasing the handle, the contact with the operating gear decreases, which is due to the presence of a spring and the operation of the return mechanism.

Video

When you need less wood

For splitting logs into firewood in milder climates or for heating a small building, a screw splitter is most suitable. Its productivity is low; using it requires a certain skill and fairly strong hands. But, contrary to popular belief, a screw wood splitter is not very sensitive to block defects, because its working body splits the tree, screwing into it and sawing. As a result, a screw wood splitter is also economical: with a 2.5-3 kW motor it can chop logs up to 40 cm in diameter and 60 cm in height; with a motor from a washing machine - more or less straight-layered with a diameter of up to 20-25 cm.

Note: many people make screw wood splitters with motors from washing machines, especially since the rotation speed is suitable, see below. But in this case there is no need to place the cleaver directly on the motor shaft - from lateral forces the motor housing, which is not designed for them, will soon move or, if it is silumin, it will crack. The cleaver must be placed on the drive shaft in supports, and it must be connected to the engine shaft with a damping transmission or coupling, for example. from a piece of durite hose.

The device of a screw wood splitter is shown on the left in Fig. The working body is a conical screw with a shaped persistent left-hand thread; rotation speed 150-1500 rpm (optimally 250-400). Why is the thread left-handed? Mainly because most people are right-handed and their right hand is stronger; If you are left-handed, then it will be much more convenient and safer for you to work with a right-handed screw cleaver.

Design and principle of operation of a screw wood splitter

The churak is fed vertically onto the screw cleaver, otherwise the situation shown below on the right in Fig. Churak must be held with his hands (above right), so a screw-type wood splitter is a potentially dangerous device. The right hand, which is stronger and more dexterous (for left-handed people, the left hand) keeps the rest of the block from being pulled under by the cleaver (the wedge stop is also important in this regard, see below), which inevitably causes irreparable damage to the mechanism and almost always injury to the operator. Therefore, you need to chop off the logs from the part of the log that is under your left hand (right for left-handers), and make sure that there is not too little left under your right (left). If a cleaver encounters a viscous place in the mass of wood (a knot, a twist), it can, as it were, wrap a block around itself from above and bend downward; a wedge stop under the cleaver prevents this situation.

Design Features

Safety, productivity and ease of use of a screw wood splitter with the same motor strongly depend on the rational design and its correct execution of such structural components as the wedge stop, the drive mechanism, the drive shaft and its support. The efficiency of a screw log splitter is more influenced by the configuration of the splitter.

Emphasis

The wedge stop is a critical element of the entire structure. Its absence or incorrect implementation not only makes the wood splitter dangerous, but also reduces its performance, reliability and capabilities: a wood splitter with an incorrect stop takes smaller ones, slower, and itself wears out faster and breaks down more often.

Leaving the cleaver hanging high without a lower stop, and even with the drive shaft supported only by bearings (on the left in the figure) is a gross mistake. There are more than enough opportunities to pull a piece of wood under yourself and tear yourself out of the weak supports along with the bent shaft here, but it is difficult to split a block of wood by gnawing into it high above the lower cut. But a simple steel plate instead of a stop (in the center) is no better: with the lateral forces that arise when chopping, it doesn’t matter whether it’s 4 mm steel or cardboard.

Incorrect and correct design of the wedge stop of a screw wood splitter

The correct wedge stop for a screw wood splitter is a massive all-metal one, securely attached to a strong frame, on the right. The length of the stop is such that the nose of the cleaver is free by 1/3-1/2 of the length of the threaded part. The width of the stop along its entire length is equal to the diameter of the splitting ax in this section minus 3-4 thread heights, see below. The gap between the stop and the shank of the cleaver is no more than 1.2-2 mm; It’s better if you can make a gap of 0.5-0.7 mm; Let the cleaver rub a little against the stop while working, no big deal, but it will last a long time and reliably. Stop height approx. 2/3 of the diameter of the cleaver shank; for 75 mm within 50-60 mm.

The essence of the action of such a stop is that the grabbing and pulling of the block at the beginning of the working stroke is easily countered with your hands. When the cleaver is sufficiently screwed into the tree, you can no longer hold the grabbed block with your hand. But in this case, the bottom of the pulled-up part will hit the side of the stop; Perhaps it will break off and fly off. Grabbing the part of the block under the right hand will weaken and will not turn the cleaver upward, and grabbing the left part will press it against the stop. If the drive and drive shaft holder are made correctly, the mechanism will stop and the situation will not develop into a threatening situation.

Drive unit

The external characteristics of a screw-type log splitter have an unpleasant feature, similar to that of a rack-and-pinion splitter - zero thread travel with zero rotation. Only here it is not the lath that is pushed away by the tribe, but the cleaver that pulls the block under itself. At the same time, if a cleaver encounters a sticky obstacle in a tree, in most cases it is enough for him to break through first, then he will go to saw a branch or strand, although more slowly. In this case, the inertia of the drive can help: for a moment, the wood splitter turns into a mechanical impact one.

Variants of the screw wood splitter drive

Inertia for rotation is provided by a belt drive with a fairly massive driven pulley, on the left in the figure, but without additional safety elements (see below), this solution is questionable: if the “plug” is not torn off, and the flywheel pulley is heavy, then the entire mechanism may break and a dangerous situation will arise. Much better in this regard is the chain drive, on the right in Fig. The chain itself is heavy, and because of the play in the joints of its links, one strong, fairly long jerk is broken into a series of sharp, frequent ones, and the cleaver overcomes the “plug” more easily. Compare: what is the best way to drive a nail into a wall without bending it - hit it once with a backhand or with frequent small blows?

Drive shaft support

The inertia of the chain is still low, and if you have to chop clumsy logs, it is still advisable to equip the wood splitter with a mechanical energy storage device in the form of a massive driven belt pulley. The safety of the device is then ensured by introducing a known weak link into the supporting structure of the shaft.

Assembly drawing of the supporting structure of the drive shaft of a screw wood splitter

An example of such a solution is given in Fig. on right. The weak link here is the pair of cotter pins - cotter pins and nuts (items 1 and 2). Additionally - friction clutch of pulley 5 through a thick washer 3. The drive shaft 10 is of a simple configuration, and ordinary ball bearings 4 (preferably self-aligning) are fixed with spacer cups 6 and 8 between the bearing journals and the rear journal and pulley. The covers 7 are pressed into the body 8, and the entire support assembly is attached to the frame in any convenient way.

The cotter pin nut is not completely pinned; 1-2 cotter pins are enough (selected by experience). The nut is normal right. If the jerk of the flywheel does not help the cleaver overcome the blockage, the cotter pin is cut off, the nut is unscrewed and the cleaver stops. The operator expresses himself as best he can, but nothing terrible happened, and the breakdown is easily repairable.

Carrot screw

This is the name given to the working body of a screw wood splitter due to its external resemblance to a root crop. A carrot wood splitter also cuts wood at work, so chopping wood with a screw produces quite a lot of sawdust, see figure. If the barn or poultry house is heated with a sawdust stove (bubafoney, etc.), this may come in handy. But in general, let Over the course of a season, up to 10-12% of the fuel goes to waste is undesirable. Changing the thread profile of the screw splitting ax can help in this case.

Formation of sawdust when chopping firewood with a screw splitter

Drawings of 2 variants of a carrot splitter for a screw wood splitter are given on the following. rice; the landing dimensions are the same, for the drive shaft shank in the drawing above.

Drawings of screw axes for a screw log splitter

On the left is a conventional design with a sawtooth profile thread: it produces quite a lot of sawdust and small chips, it does not overcome wood defects well, and it often gets stuck in dense, fine-grained wood. On the right is a screw cleaver with a specially profiled thread, which cuts little wood, but overcomes its defects well. In addition, special thread profiling made it possible to increase the angle at the apex of the cone from 19.85 to 26 degrees. The working body has become shorter; therefore, the same block of wood will split faster. In addition, the special thread clings to the wood more weakly and it is safer to work with such a cleaver. To cut special threads, you will need a shaped cutter, but both screw cleavers can be turned with your own hands on a desktop lathe, see video:

Video: making a “carrot” for a wood splitter in the garage

Requirements for a cone splitter

The design of the screw splitter should ensure not only high reliability and performance, but also safety during operation

Therefore, when choosing a unit layout and its manufacture, it is important to adhere to the requirements for equipment of this type and the recommendations of the craftsmen who have tested the machine in action.

Flexible transmission is a simple and affordable way to change the speed of rotation of the propeller when using high-speed electric motors

• the electric motor power should be in the range from 2 to 4 kW;
• to reduce the number of revolutions, it is recommended to use a gearbox or flexible transmission;
• cone screw rotation speed - no more than 500 rpm;
• the machine must be equipped with an on/off button (magnetic starter) and a residual current device (RCD);
• the cone shaft is mounted on bearing supports;
• the cone must have a persistent thread;
• when driving with a belt, it is better to use double-ribbed pulleys and a pair of V-belts;
• During operation, the supply of logs must be carried out with their vertical orientation, otherwise the screw may jam and damage the installation.

You should not follow the lead of the “craftsmen” who offer the simplest design of a wood splitter, in which a shaft with a wedge-shaped screw is clamped into the chuck of a powerful electric drill or hammer drill. Such a device not only has low efficiency, but is also very dangerous, since it will not be easy to hold it in your hands with the increased resistance of the wood. If you still decide to use this scheme, then try to secure the tool on a solid base in order to use it in the traditional way.

To obtain a mobile design, an internal combustion engine is used to drive the machine

A type of wood splitter

To date, several variations of devices have been created for chopping wood. Depending on the type of their drive, there are several types:

• A variant of autonomous wood splitters equipped with a gasoline or diesel engine.
• Models that work when connected to the mains.
• Mechanical wood splitters, suitable for small volumes of work.

Experts also identify other classification characteristics of wood splitters. Depending on how exactly they will chop wood, they are divided into:

• rack wood splitters;
• hydraulic wood splitters;
• electric models, where the log is positioned vertically;
• the most powerful screw units.

Each of them has its own characteristics and areas of practical use. For domestic use, screw ones remain the most preferred. You can also consider the option of hydraulic wood splitters.

Design with a cone-shaped cleaver

Many diesel units and electric units are equipped with a special cone-shaped cleaver. They may or may not have threads. The peculiarity of this machine is that it breaks apart the block of wood using mechanical pressure combined with rotation of the working tip. As a result, the unit makes minimal effort to obtain the result, which explains its efficiency in operation.

There are several basic components of the machine.

Cone drawing

The bed is a kind of table mounted on legs. Firewood is placed on it. This is the supporting element to which the engine and gearbox are attached.

The engine can be of various types. For full operation per minute, it must perform more than 400 revolutions at a voltage of 380 W and a power of 1.5 kW.

A gearbox is a device through which the required number of engine revolutions is set.

When assembling the unit yourself, you should pay attention to what type of structure is needed. Parts for it are inexpensive

It is suitable for home use, as it does not provide high productivity at work. This is due to the manual supply of firewood.

Hydraulic wood splitter

If you plan to work with significant volumes of firewood, the best option would be a hydraulic wood splitter. Its operation is ensured by an engine in conjunction with a hydraulic pump. The cleaver itself in these units is installed on the rod or at the stop itself. Moreover, in the first case it is more powerful, and in the second it is reliable.

There are a number of main characteristics for this wood splitter, namely:

• Maximum log dimensions.
• Engine power.
• Horizontal or vertical position of the log in the machine.
• The force of splitting logs, which is determined by the power of the motor and its cylinders.

Drawing for assembling a hydraulic log splitter with your own hands
Assembling a wood splitter of this type involves a number of difficulties. But the time and effort spent is worth the high productivity. This option is relevant for both home and commercial use.

The principle of its operation is similar to a jack. This can be seen when examining the drawings of the machine in detail.

When assembling it yourself, it is especially important to correctly calculate the dimensions of the future installation, depending on what logs you intend to work with further

Rack splitter

The device of a rack wood splitter

The third popular option for equipment in this category is rack-and-pinion splitters. The logs for splitting are placed between the protective stop and the splitter itself, which is located in the area of ​​the gearbox housing. The name of rack wood splitters is explained by the option of attaching the working element to the rack. And its movement is determined by a gear transmission.

When examining the drawings of this type of wood splitter in detail, it is noticeable that the working elements begin to move after pressing a certain handle on the unit. The movement of the rack with the cleaver attached to it begins against the background of the clutch of the gears, as a result, the firewood is divided into small parts. After this, during the reverse movement, the working body returns to its original position.

Rack splitters are good units for home use. Their advantage is the lack of special maintenance. In most cases, they are powered by an electric motor.

The main parameters of these machines are as follows:

• the shape of the cleaver, which determines how many parts the log is divided into;
• maximum log dimensions;
• the force used to split the log being processed.

If you wish, you can assemble a rack-and-pinion wood splitter with your own hands - purchasing a ready-made version is much more expensive.

Drawing of a rack cleaver

Drawings of a rack wood splitter and its advantages

The first advantage of a homemade rack-and-pinion wood splitter is its minimal price and flexibility of parameters. Indeed, why pay 100 rubles or more for a professional model if you can assemble a completely functional device with your own hands from scrap materials. Yes, we may have to fine-tune it and redo it, but as a result we will get exactly the kind of blanking machine that suits us.

By the way, if we talk about personalizing the device, then you can make the wood splitter not only stationary, but also mobile. Here are some drawings and diagrams of such structures. Its mobility will allow you to reduce the time for collecting firewood and optimize the process itself, that is, chop firewood directly near the place where it is stored, rather than wasting time moving it. The very design of the rack-and-pinion wood splitter can give this:

• a rack made of good metal paired with a gear can create a force of up to 10-12 tons, and this is quite enough to split not only a log;
• if you use a gasoline engine, fuel consumption will be about a glass per hour, depending on the model, and splitting a half-meter log will take no more than a minute, and no axes;
• In terms of performance, a rack-and-pinion wood splitter will not be inferior to an industrial hydraulic device at a significantly lower price;
• The device is durable, easy to maintain and operate, and completely different engines can be used.

Instructions for making a rack wood splitter

For obvious reasons, no one can give any exact dimensions. We only show dimensions in the drawings of devices that have been tested and built for the conditions in which they are used. Nevertheless, there are general principles for assembling a wood splitter:

A competent drawing is half the work. It is necessary to provide not only the type of wood with which the wood splitter will primarily work, but also the installation location and the desired performance

The choice of engine will depend on this. A stationary or mobile frame is welded from a metal profile, an angle, and if the device is stationary, then a heavier and more massive channel or I-beam will do. When welding a frame, it is necessary to clearly check the dimensions, horizontal and vertical; all this affects not only productivity, but also the safety of the worker. Particular attention is paid to the stability of the structure; it should not sway during operation, and in the case of building a mobile device, the wheels should support the weight of the device with a small margin. The speed at which the log is fed to the knife can only be calculated experimentally. If the speed is high, chips from the log can injure the worker, and if it is too low, you can fall asleep near the wood splitter.

Actually, this is all that can guide you when building a rack-and-pinion wood splitter. Good luck to everyone and keep your homes warm during the coldest winter!

Wood splitters are considered a rather convenient device, which greatly facilitates the work of collecting firewood in private homes and summer cottages. Wood splitters come in a variety of designs, with rack and pinion splitters being the simplest. Let's give a brief overview of the main characteristics of this device.

How to make a device

1. When manufacturing a structure, first of all, one cannot do without competent drawing up of a drawing and project.
2. You need to decide on the material, calculate the required quantity, and purchase the appropriate parts.

3. Let's start by making the frame using:
   professional pipe;
4. channel;
5. I-beam;
6. metal corners.
7. It is required to assemble all the elements into a single structure.
8. In order for the device to stand stably on the support and not swing or move during operation, you need to take care of purchasing an additional chassis or wheels mounted on the block.
9. An important component in the design is the piston, which ensures that the log is pushed when the unit is connected to the engine. To do this, you need to calculate the required pushing force so as not to catch the log halves at the exit, and also not to harm yourself with a large force of the pushing mechanism. A similar design can be borrowed from a tractor or searched for in finished form on the market.

That's all! You made a rack cleaver with your own hands. How to work with it? Logs can be stacked in three directions: horizontal, vertical and mixed. When positioned horizontally, you do not need to make any special efforts, therefore, when constructing a homemade unit, it is better to use this method.

The cutting process is simple if you have a horizontal strip. A groove is formed, the log moves towards the knife, after which it automatically returns to its place. For ease of use, increasing cutting productivity, splitting logs into four pieces at once, it is recommended to equip the unit with a nozzle with 4 cutters and install an adjustable stop at a height, which will allow the tool to be used by people of any height, that is, all family members.

Steel is considered the best cutting material, so it is advisable to first select a durable polished sheet.

Safety precautions at work

When working with a screw cleaver, you must be especially careful - high torque on the cone shaft can be unsafe. Therefore, you should only place the chocks on the screw with your bare hands. When working with gloves or mittens, there is a risk that they will get wrapped around the screw, which can seriously injure your hands or fingers.

The logs should be placed on the wedge in a vertical position. Otherwise, the screw may jam or break.

You should be careful when splitting logs with large knots, as well as logs from the butt part of the round timber. The process in this case can go unpredictably - with jamming of the shaft, sharp turning of the log, throwing large chips to the side, etc. An increased speed of rotation of the cone is also fraught with danger - too high speeds will not make it possible to control the work, so it is better if the number driven shaft revolutions will be within the recommended limits.

To make a cone log splitter with your own hands, you will need minimal skills in working with plumbing tools. One day spent on its manufacture will pay off in the future by saving time and effort.

It is only important to follow safety rules when chopping wood, and then this simple activity will not bring surprises

It couldn't be simpler

The simplest non-volatile manual wood splitter is nothing more than a splitting axe. If you use it little by little, but regularly, so that you develop skill and eye, then it is even safer than mechanical and mechanized ones and more productive than the former. Provided that the configuration of the cleaver and the ax is optimal and consistent.

The splitting ax has undergone a long evolution and continues to improve. On the right in Fig. a drawing of the Strela cleaver, adapted for manual splitting of knotty and twisted ridges, is given; on the left are axes for it (the cleaver is attached to it with a wedge). With the ax handle as you wish, whether you like to swing the ax or not, but the cleaver itself will still be very useful to us, see below.

Drawings of a wood splitting cleaver Arrow and axes for it

But what not to do

A dangerous way to manually split wood

For several years now, a Finnish farmer’s discovery has been circulating on the Internet: chopping logs for firewood in a tire, see fig. on right. It is not clear why it is good that the split lump will not fall apart, but will remain sticking out in the shell. But something else is clear. If, when chopping wood normally, you smear a cleaver instead of a block on the block, the ax handle will hurt in your hands. You might not even be able to stand on your feet and hurt yourself. But if you miss the rubber with the same cleaver, you can get hit on the forehead with the butt. So don't. The wood splitter tire is a curiosity, but not at all useful.

Advantages and disadvantages

There are quite a few advantages of a wood splitter, regardless of whether a factory-made model is used or the device is made in a home-made environment. Advantages include:

• ease of operation;
• long service life;
• ability to work with 220 and 380 V drives;
• the tool works in any weather conditions, except, of course, in open areas when it rains (the electric motor can burn out);
• the efficiency of the wood splitter is unchanged regardless of the type of wood;
• high splitting power;
• the tool is equipped with double protection, as well as a safety clutch and a special thermal relay;
• low energy consumption - no more than 1.5 kW per hour (gasoline consumption is only 500 grams);
• high speed of work - a log about 70 cm long splits in 1-1.5 minutes;
• performance comparable to that of hydraulic equipment.

Among the shortcomings, one can note only non-compliance with European safety standards, but with proper use and compliance with all operating standards, the risk of injury is no higher than when purchasing more expensive imported units. And certainly working with an inertial rack and pinion wood splitter is fraught with much less danger than chopping wood with an ax by hand

Types of wood splitters

The drawings of this tool are quite simple and can be found on the World Wide Web, for example. From them you can understand that creating such equipment with your own hands is not so difficult. Especially in relation to other technical tools of our time. Moreover, the “equipment” required to create a cleaver is not so rare, and in general its scheme itself is simple .
In particular, it will be interesting to note that wood splitters come in different variations and types. You can find conical ones, screw ones, hydraulic ones, and rack and pinion ones too. Cleavers are quite a useful thing, and many of them can combine the necessary elements and parts of different types. Hydraulic models are good and effective.

A screw splitter, for example, consists of a conical drill bit, which is excellent and allows you to cut (split, so to speak) firewood quite easily. Let's say that you did not understand from the previous description how simple this activity is - chopping wood - today. Well, that’s why we present here a video of how to process firewood using a wood splitter.

Of course, for such an activity as wood processing, people have come up with many different methods . Some echo the use of a wood splitter. Let's look at them in more detail. This :

1. chainsaw and working with its ability to cut logs.
2. a hammer (heavy), as a rule, and a series of wedges (thickly processed) are also used with it.

Mechanical spring cleaver

Recommendations on how to make a mechanical wood splitter with your own hands come down to the assembly technology of the following design:

• concreting a vertical post
• hanging a horizontal beam on it (hinged upper unit in combination with a lower shock absorber)
• fastening at the free end of the beam of a short post with equipment for splitting at the bottom, weighting material at the top
• installation of a working log on which a log is placed for splitting

Diagram of a mechanical wood splitter with a spring mechanism

Another option for a mechanical cleaver is the design in the bottom photo.

Homemade mechanical splitter based on the principle of a pile driver

It uses the principle of a pile driving machine and uses a minimum number of parts:

• rod for moving equipment - installed in the working deck on which logs will be split
• equipment - a wedge welded to a sleeve sliding along the rod, an upper weighting material put on an additional rod extending from the top of the wedge

To work, it is enough to install the working rod into the hole in the log, place a log on it, lift the weighting agent, and give it acceleration. To increase the efficiency of chopping wood, the lower surface of the bridge connecting the sleeve to the wedge also has a cutting edge, helping to split the wood. The main advantage of the device is its low weight/size and mobility. Large volumes of firewood collection will require significant physical exertion. However, a wood splitter is quite suitable for a bathhouse in the garden or country house.

When you need a little wood

In southern regions and/or for heating utility rooms, little firewood is required. A normal guy could pin them by hand effortlessly, and then let the missus just try not to serve the stopar for dinner. But there is a problem: the correct swing. Without it, swinging a cleaver is exhausting and dangerous, and developing a swing for chopping wood is no easier than skills in using edged weapons; see, for example, how a fighter chops firewood in Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai.”

A manual mechanical wood splitter, again contrary to popular belief, saves little or no muscle effort when chopping wood, but allows you to do it quite safely without having to master the woodcutter's swing. Its additional advantage is that it can work both in gravitational-inertial and pressure modes. The latter allows you to little by little, but manage the most stubborn chumps of almost any diameter. The main thing is that their cuts are parallel and approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the log, otherwise the work will be much more dangerous.

Wood splitter device with a sliding ax

The structure of a manual mechanical wood splitter is shown in Fig. The lever arm is taken from 1.5 m; the bigger, the better. Load - depending on its strength, 10-50 kg. If the splitter is fixed motionless, this wood splitter works only as an inertial one: the lever is lifted by the handle and forcefully lowered onto the block. If the splitter can be moved along the lever, then the wood splitter can also be push-type; The lever arm is extended by a pipe placed on the handle.

There are a number of significant nuances in the design of a lever manual wood splitter (shown by arrows on the right in the figure). The first is the cleaver. A simple wedge made from a piece of rail is ineffective and gets stuck in the wood. Such a wood splitter works much better with the Strela cleaver (see above), especially since it can be inexpensively purchased ready-made. The second is the spring; it is the most traumatic element in this design. The spring force is needed such that the free lever with the cleaver in the farthest position is held approximately horizontally. The spring must be secured to the heels so that it does not come off them with the full swing of the lever; It’s better to pass a swinging guide into the spring.

Device of a manual mechanical wood splitter

And lastly, if the lever wood splitter is not rigidly attached to the supporting area, then its front legs must be made no less than the maximum length of the lever arm + double the diameter of the largest block. How to make your own lever wood splitter with improved kinematics, see next. video:

Video: firewood cleaver on a spring

Note: you should not make a mechanical wood splitter with a cleaver sliding along a support, see fig. higher right. You have to hit the butt of the cleaver with a sledgehammer, but it still jams every now and then.

Review of the best models of wood splitters

Over the past few years, many companies have launched the production of various models of household wood splitters of various types and modifications. Most often on sale you can find wood splitters produced by two companies: Artmash and SPRINT. Below is an overview of several models for solving various problems.

If you need to chop small workpieces and require a wood splitter with an electric drive, powered by a 220V network, then a wood splitter produced by the Artmash company with a 2.2 liter electric motor is perfect for this. With. and a generated force of 12 tons.

With a supply voltage of 380V and the need to chop larger workpieces, you should pay attention to SPRINT wood splitters with a 3 liter engine. pp., if engine power does not play a fundamental role, then it is better to consider the model of the Artmash company

Rack wood splitter Artmash 220 V

The same principle applies to gasoline and mixed drives. Almost all manufacturers use 6.5 liter gasoline engines. s., while SPRINT wood splitters are focused on splitting larger workpieces, and Artmash rack wood splitters are more suitable for simple household needs.

When firewood is sometimes needed

That is, for heating a decorative fireplace or temporary heating with improvised waste fuel; eg in the country. Abroad, logs of low-value soft wood are sold specifically for fuel for fireplaces: poplar, aspen, willow, etc. And they are accompanied by wood splitters like the one in pos. 1 pic. below. The core of marketing promotion is that the ridges on the knife immediately provide a kindling light. But in general the idea is strange: a block of wood that can be split with a light blow of an ax is placed in a clip and hit it hard several times with a sledgehammer. True, chopping wood, on the contrary, is safer. Maybe this is relevant there. There is a saying in America (translated into Russian): “If the average American, rushing to get to work, doesn’t slip and break his neck in the shower, he will cut his own throat while shaving.”

Simple wood splitters for preparing small amounts of firewood

A reciprocating wood splitter (item 2) is much more convenient and not at all more dangerous. He acts according to a well-known saying: a lazy man was asked why he chops wood while sitting? “I tried lying down - it’s uncomfortable.” The reciprocating wood splitter can be attached to both the wall and the floor. Cutting lever arm from 0.8 m for soft straight-grained wood; for birch and pine from 1.2 m.

Split oak, etc. with a reciprocating wood splitter. or wood from fruit trees is already difficult and does not always work out. Therefore, at a dacha visited in the cold season, a foot-operated lever wood splitter (item 3) will not hurt: it copes with the wood of any tree with a diameter of up to 25-30 cm; however, productivity is low. In this log splitter, a sliding stop pulls the shackle (shown by the arrow) when you press the pedal. The swinging cradle is raised until the block fits in it, then released and pressed on the pedal until the wood splits.

What it is

Equipment designed to split wood into logs is called a wood splitter.

For professional harvesting, wood splitting machines are produced in industrial quantities. These complexes are capable of trimming logs into pieces of the required length and splitting them into logs. Finished products are removed from the working area by a conveyor.

Log splitters are used in sawmills to split logs into logs of the required size.

A household wood splitter is intended only for splitting logs into logs, but the log must first be sawed into blanks. The performance and operating time of this equipment is limited. With the help of household wood splitters in the private sector, firewood is prepared for the bathhouse, fireplace and for the winter.

Logs after splitting can be used as fuel for a boiler, fireplace or stove