electric wood splitter modifications

Hi all;
As most of you know, I tipped over on a  ladder a few weeks ago and broke my wrist. :(
I have a long load of logs waiting to be cut, split, and stacked.
Our number 2 son came by one weekend and cut  3 cords worth for me.
I can stack one-handed, but not split!  I had to break down and buy a small 6.5-ton Wen electric splitter.

In our modern world where companies must protect themselves from liability claims, safety is a top priority!
To operate this splitter it takes two hands... I currently only have one.
A spring-loaded lever must be held closed and at the same time, an inconvenient button has to be pushed...

I have hillbilly engineered my new splitter to be one hand user-friendly.
First, I have a temporary bungee cord to hold the lever in the closed position.
I will improve that with a spring as soon as I can.
Next, I purchased a Wen 15 amp foot pedal control.
Using two heavy-duty zip ties with a chunk of wood, I can keep the button depressed all the time.
Now I just step on the pedal (no bending down involved!) and my splitter does its job!
Next, I will have one of the boys build a nice 2x6 table to bring it up to a better height.
It is still slow but at least I can split and stack my own wood!













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Thomas, I looked up your splitter, and that taller stand looks fine on hard, level ground such as a floor or pavement; but I bet that was designed to pack tightly in a box and not weigh anymore than it needed to to save material cost and on shipping.
How about adding ballast? As if you need a heavier thing to move one-handed!
I bet it would make it more stable/ less prone to tipping though.

Or you could dig a pit to stand in to operate it.

Get well soon.

Update;   spring added bungee removed.
It works much smoother this way and the spring can not slide off like the bungee could.

Nice!

You call it hillbilly engineering, but I call it a practical solution.  Maybe it is slow, but if it gets the job done, then who cares?

Sorry to hear about your wrist.  How long before you are back and recovered?

Eric

Update;
The new spring works awesome and the foot pedal does as well!
Anyone with this style of splitter should have these modifications.
Lifting up against the spring is much easier than the bungee.
Easy to return the ram to exactly where you want it for the next piece.
The foot pedal is always ready when you are to spin up the pump.

My hillbilly-engineered, practical solution has no safety system at all... OH MY!
But it sure works kick ass now without them!

Hillbilly Engineering at its finest!
Introducing, this year's safety violation/ improvement on my splitter.
You don't need to bend all the way to reach that orange handle.
I removed the lever, drilled it, and tapped it for a 6mm bolt.
A slice of steel plate smoothed up and painted, with an electrical tape handle.
Much easier now to release the RAM pressure without bending over nearly as much.
Perhaps next I will build an angle iron frame to raise the whole splitter about a foot, even less bending that way

Edit)  It has been eleven months and two surgeries since my fall.
Despite two steel plates and months in a high tech brace, my wrist will have limited movement for the rest of my days.  
I have Perhaps 10% upward movement and currently 30% downward.  The ball and socket are no longer in alignment.
The muscles, ligaments, and tendons were all severely traumatized and they are what is taking so long to recover.
Homeopathic remedies and exercises with the Gripmaster are how I am treating this.
It is a little better each day, I can do things now I could not do two months ago.
Perhaps another year and it will be as good as it can get.
Amazing how well I can function using my left hand now compared to before!
 
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Fine piece of re-engineering there Hillbilly.

Having split dozens of cords with our similar splitter over the years I discovered that by removing the wheels, mounting it on a table at waist height and engineering a homemade foot petal made the chore so much more delightful.

Yes, this means you have to lift all your logs up to that level, but to me, it far outweighed all the bending over or kneeling on the ground.

The table it was mounted to was big enough to stack a bunch on all at once so a log was always within reach until a reload was necessary.

Gerry Parent wrote:Fine piece of re-engineering there Hillbilly.

Having split dozens of cords with our similar splitter over the years I discovered that by removing the wheels, mounting it on a table at waist height and engineering a homemade foot petal made the chore so much more delightful.

Yes, this means you have to lift all your logs up to that level, but to me, it far outweighed all the bending over or kneeling on the ground.

The table it was mounted to was big enough to stack a bunch on all at once so a log was always within reach until a reload was necessary.

Time to engineer a lift on wheels, to place them? Or maybe a conveyor belt, to move them from the truck bed onto the splitter, with another behind the splitter, to shoot them over to the pile by the stack?


Thomas, I'm sorry to hear just how much your wrist has been damaged. Hopefully you'll gain the vast majority of your movement!

These are the best modifications I have ever seen in my life

How is the foot pedal wired to spliter

Hi Mark;
The splitter is plugged into the foot switch and the foot switch is plugged into the extension cord.

On the Splitter itself, I used a heavy-duty zip tie and a small piece of wood to constantly press the run button down.

With that button depressed as soon as you step on the foot switch power goes to the motor.