Loader-Mounted Log Splitter

Loader-Mounted Log Splitter WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Wood Splitters 34-1-19 After checking prices on a new log splitter Ken Yettaw, St. Paul, Alta., came up with the idea for a loader-mounted splitter for his Ford 9N tractor. "I needed a splitter for wood larger than 10 in. dia. A new splitter cost about $1,200 and to build one would've cost $600 to $750, whereas I built my splitter using existing parts and salvaged material," says Yettaw. "Another advantage is I don't have an extra piece of equipment to maintain." He pinned a 6-ft. length of 10-in. wide channel iron to one side of the loader frame, welding a -in. bolt to the frame and drilling a hole in the channel iron. The loader was originally equipped with two bucket tilt cylinders, one on each side. He moved one cylinder over beside the other one and anchored both cylinders inside the channel iron. To attach the cylinder he welded on a -in. piece of steel with a 1-in. hole in it, and used the same pin that held the cylinder to the frame when it was on the other side. An 8-in. long, 4 by 6 angle iron is bolted onto both cylinders to serve as a push plate. He made his own wedge and welded it onto the channel iron, about 3 in. back from the fully extended cylinders. The bucket hangs freely upside down and is used to support the channel iron. The 12-in. long, 3-in. wide wedge is made from -in. thick mild steel that Yettaw sharpened with an angle grinder. A vertical steel pipe welded to the back side of the wedge reinforces the wedge and also helps push off the split logs. "It took only an hour of welding and three hours to put it all together. I couldn't be happier with it," says Yettaw. "I didn't have to spend any money on cylinders, hoses, pumps, or motor controls. It works fast, too, because loader bucket cylinders move faster than the cylinders on most commercial log splitters, even when the tractor is just idling. "To split the log I just lower the loader to the ground and let the bucket hang freely. I connected an 8-ft. length of -in. sq. tubing back to the hydraulic lever on the tractor that operates the bucket's tilt cylinders. That way I can operate the cylinders right from where I'm splitting the wood. "To use the loader again I just remove the channel iron by removing two pins, then put the cylinder back where it was originally located." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Yettaw, P.O. Box 917, St. Paul, Alta., Canada T0A 3A0 (ph 780 645-2291; kyettaw@mcsnet.ca).

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