Box Wedge Splitter - Fast and Safe 

Okay your just making all us DIY guys look bad now haha! Very impressive what do you do for a living? How did you learn all this stuff?

I was a bit worried with a large number of fake reviews but I am very pleased with the results. Bit of background, ru-vid.comUgkxmKn8dCAXovWn8_cLYoosGLVrVrpwlIMc I need to split approximately 1.5 cords of wood and didn't feel like destroying my back. I purchased this anticipating to have a few issues splitting wood but have only come across a few logs of elm where the stringy nature of elm made it more difficult to split. Overall its not a necessarily fast process but it also isn't a very arduous one either. I came and went fairly often to do different tasks but once I stayed and got into a system I could easily split my pieces in a fairly timely manner.

I am impressed with the fact that you value your back, not to be used as a forklift. Those log tongs really make it a pleasure to work with. Great job of engineering. Thanks and take care.

The amount of ingenuity and work you put into this is impressive. Another benefit of the crane is that the entire unit can sit higher. You need to bend down to roll logs onto even high end splitters. Well done!

I'm planning to build a very similar splitter, but with a two-way box design and auto-cycle valve. This should effectively run nearly fully automated except for the log loading. Great job Joe !

I have watched this at least 20 times, and still marvel at the workmanship, the thought process, and the sheer value of the machine, , I have looked at some of the commercial units available, and so far not the first one I have seen come close to a compare

Very nice. My splitter is the same height as my dump trailer. You will love this. Splitter pushes each piece into trailer. No bending over. Just like you mine was a after thought. Very good job sir. Thanks for video

out of all the homebuilt designs I have watched, your build is the one that makes the most sense to me. great job!

That's really nice. Fairly simple but very functional. I like the jib crane too.

Wow!! I've looked at a lot of boughten and home built splitters. And yours is by far the best!!! Absolutely love that simple but completely user friendly crane. Now I know how I'm going to build mine!!! I've gathered a lot of new no longer used parts from the assembly line from the place we're I work at. Hydraulic tank level/ temp gauge, single spool valve, a huge amount of hydraulic hose they were going to throw ECT ECT.

Now that, Sir, is one impressive piece of engineering, fabrication and planning. You thought of everything and made it work fantastically.

You could make a ton of money selling these. Amazing work. Wether you learned this from yourself, your father in law or the neighbor, be proud. That's an amazing piece of machinery.

VGad you let it warm up. That got the thumbs up from me. That's a nice rig but I'd have to build another house to keep it in the dry because if I had one that nice it'd NEVER be out in the rain. Thanks for a fine job!

Cool build! Good job Joe. I especially like the articulating crane. Very clever design!

without a doubt one of the BEST shop built log splitters I have seen yet...and the welding is really Good. Can see anything I would change. Great Job,,you sir are an engineer. thanks for showing us.

I had to come back and watch this again. That is an amazing wood splitter.

Great job on this splitter, not over built at all. Its properly built! I love the articulating crane/hoist and the electric start

Every time I get close to finishing a job I find a new one for next project. Very well done.

I like the way it slices up the wood into small pieces and by the looks of it, can handle very large rounds. Cool design.

first time ive seen a splitter like this , well done , the stabilisers , the crane and the tongs , the box and the blades and the whole set up , fucken amazing and once you get that chute made like you say it will push the wood right up and into your trailer or truck and in the background you have the tractor there to gather or your rounds up closer to within reach of your machine ...seriously i am impressed

What you have built is something I have thought about a couple of times but there is now way I could ever build it. Kudos on a damn fine job.

Wow - that is pretty impressive Joe. Really like the idea of the job crane- it looks so much easier to swing it around and drop the tongs to grab the big pieces. Nice!! well done.

Lots of engineering and work that went into your splitter paid off for you. Must give you great pleasure to use it. Thanks for posting.

Awesome job. I’m gathering parts to build a new splitter. I like a lot of ideas you have here. I also like that it is much safer to use. I can have family members run the splitter while I cut.

I like your style smart design and not begging for subscribing. This is the best hoist I've seen on a log splitter

Really nice and well thought out. I made a similar one but the blade box was just welded to a piece of 1/4" plate on an I-beam. The first pass with some really knotty twisted grained oak tore the box right off the splitter. Your design is far better and heavier duty. Good job!!!

great splitter.....almost identical splitting wedge like I have.....I built mine about 3 years ago......so much better than the store bought ones. There are features you have that I have been planning on adding to mine......but your outrigger system is much better than what I have.......I like your crane system that I may try to incorporate on another project......already have a hydraulic log lift for mine........awesome spliter

That is one heck of a setup man. I like to drop drawer and you can have a consistent wood split. Even provide you with some kindling to get things started. My hats off to your idea great job

Very nice. Save your back. Quick. One hell of a machine. Congratulations!

Very nice design I really like the lift a bit slow but that maybe a good thing for safety purposes again well done I'm impressed......

Thanks for taking the extra time to document and share. Very nice!

nice I like it great project. some tweaks and you will have it made. I say a solid plate in the back so you don't have any hang ups. and for that 1/2 inch I think you can get that fixed were it comes all the way back to rest the log for splitting. over all I like it. Now to but a canveory at the end to make a nice pile or to load it in the back of a truck or wagon.

I've been a Millwright for over 30 years , good job I'm impressed .

Good work. Really like the crane\grapple attachment the best. Saves your back!

I like the thought you put into that! I have a bad back so I especially appreciate the crane to lift the logs!!!! Looks awesome, thanks for the video!

Very cool! Love how the return sets up the log for the next split.

very cool. Defintely not in my skillset but maybe one day! I ended up purchasing a vertical wood splitter and it's really great. Probably cost me 10 times as much as yours did though! That crane is a really good idea! Well done!

what a beautiful machine....great design, couple of design adjustments to let the log fall into place on the return..............you should be proud...

Good job! I'm loving the crane.

Good Work!!!, I have been thinking of a way to install a winch on my splitter, I like the way you made yours from start to finish,,,, I may have to redo my splitter to use Your enhanced enginnering. best idea I have seen yet,, I am sure you have that problem fixed on how to get it to drop into the drawer again, as I saw it, I was saying, just bolt a short piece of 2x4 to that pusher, problem fixed, at least for today

Tremendous job! I wish I had the thought process to build one like that. I use a timber wolf, put about 10 cord per year through it. It's a great machine, NOT as great as yours!

Most things are a journey. Not perfect, but look forward to the tweaks and improvements.

The design I have been looking for. I am using Hydraulics from a CAT excavator for higher pressures and speeds and improved power density. With slight modification and limit switches I think the stroke could be automated so you can keep loading while the machine makes the movements. Very nicely done. Thank you very much for sharing.

i like ur design a bit better over my hydraulic quite a lot. good job.

Impressive! Well done.

Very cool build. I really like the sled and the hoist. Great ideas.

That log is so close to falling in there on its own! Maybe a little bigger opening on your next build. Looks like a good design, that's for sure. Now you're gonna need a chute like you said. Or a conveyer to load the truck/trailer. Thanks for posting this vid!

Lots of cool features. I have been wanting to build a log lifter something like yours.

Joe have to admit this is very impressive you do good work. I’m lucky if I can build a birdhouse by myself lol.

hi there nice looking splitter made mine around 1972 still going john

Nice work! There's some neat engineering in your design!

Best splitter on youtube Joe, and I think I've seen them all! I'm going to build one too. I really like many of your features. The crane and removable axles, are great ideas. Thanks for sharing!

I built one and went back to a normal splinter with a different wedge head. Have to remember these work great if your wood is round with no knots or butts sticking out. If you have those then the piece sits up and doesn’t give you the desired size piece. Also you are pushing the piece through a die and not having it split naturally this leaves lots of small pieces that allot but are inside the box so you basically end up with two pieces. You’re build is very nice though

this would be really cool if you could make it so that the hydraulic cylinder activates 6 times in a row (3 push sequences and 3 pull sequences) but also be used manually with the hand lever. So that when you get big pieces of wood like that you can activate it and you are able to move the log back into place for it to go again, might increase productivity that way too. Of course the manual level that is already used can be used for log pieces that are a bit smaller. Great idea!

Like the drawer style splitters. Nicely done!

He's spitting out 4 sticks of wood with each stroke. That's not slow if you think about it. Mr. McNeil should look up the old saying about better to have someone think you a fool than open your mouth and confirm.

not bad at all. surely has a bit of room for improvement, but its really really super nice

Well done , I am constantly amazed as I watch these you tube videos . I got a lot of my ideas off these channels also .

If you add a plate with springs attached to the pull back bar it will eliminate pushing the block back into the box every time it returns the block.

Nice machine and well designed too. Congratulations on your first operation!!!

Well done. A few interesting design concepts. I made something similar probably about 7 or 8 years ago. One day Ill get a decent video of it and post it for people to get ideas off. Mine has a hydraulic log lift, so no winch is required. and has a table grate with chute attached. It has been a work in progress and does a good job of all the hardwoods we have in Australia

Your biceps overshadowed the splitter💪

Lots of good ideas there. Looks like good wood for one of those Jotul 118 wood stoves. They need long fine split wood

Very good, just a bit of a packer to nudge the wood back on the return stroke,,,

One of the best designs ive seen. Great job.

Nice little setup.

Hey Joe, still one of the best if not THE best box wedge splitter I've seen on RU-vid. How did you design your wedges, because in comparison to other splitters of this type you seem to have very little debris.

I like both the splitter and the hoist. It does need to adjust the part that returns the round back to the starting point so you don't have to reach up and pull it in. Other then that, that is a nice set up. No I see one more thing. The piece that got stuck in the grid of the output would have not gotten stuck if that was flat with no grid. I'm sure the thought was for derbies to fall through, but that would just pushed out the end with the wood. So ad some sheet metal so wood can't get stuck. Oh... and a conveyor to remove and pile the splits as they come out.

That's one Hell of a splitter you built. Pretty Damn coool.

Hi, sorry I responded to a different machine,, yours is great,, proper job,, looks like log splitting can be fun. Nice one

Really like that the wood comes out a consistent size. Now build a conveyor to dump into your pickup bed;0)

Outstanding idea for the return mechanism

A crane is lot better then log lift but wonder if trolley would be better then the swing at the end. Over all a very good splitter for home made!! Couple things like you said, the block dont come back quite far enough, probably fixed it by now, 2nd the ram needs to be 2 speed especially on return, 3rd that bring back arm should be QUICK detachable and or QUICK swing up out of way. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!

That's a darn ingenious idea, absolutely love it.. Thanks for showing us

Great job on this project (design, construction, and sharing). I love the articulating boom, too. Need to modify the return carriage so the wood drops in without reaching in each time - but you knew that and it will be an easy fix. I'm just jellious now.

Good design, well made and if you fit a piece of flat steel plate on the face of the pull back cross bar the logs will not sit on top and slide back in. my guess is that you have already done that, two thumbs up.

Outstanding! You might make the return arm adjustable, especially when you might be splitting for someone else who uses shorter logs. That'll also take care of it not quite returning far enough for the log to drop.

You built a splitter for your great grandchildren to use.

Very impressive, wish I had one like that when I was in the firewood business.

LOL with all the improvements you want to make, you might as well get the son to do it and you can spend time with the wife. At the least with all that noise the son won't hear anything. LOL, Great video Joe.

Some great ideas, thanks for the parts list, big help.

Love your crane. Would love the plans. I plan on building something similar for moving my honey super boxes around! Might be pausing this video a few times. Haha.

Excellent design.

best log splitter ive seen thank you for sharing

Nice work! I would suggest a hydraulic log lift rather than your overhead pulley system. Plus, put an auto-cycle value on your controls. That way, you can prepare the next piece of wood while it is spitting. It would be much faster.

Excellent design work and craftsmanship!

Great job. Looks like the output of wood would be great a deal once you worked out the bugs.

Add a lip to the top of the tube iron, and the logs should slide right in still really cool

Well heres my new project. Absolutely awesome!

Those splits are perfect, really like that. Not my cup of tea of the length of the rounds but that’s not the splitter. Ever figure out the return issue where it doesn’t come back fully on the beam?

Nice job on the splitter.

Do you by chance have drawn out plans and materials list? Wonderful splitter. Exactly what I need.

Nice Job! Mir gefällt insbesondere die Idee mit dem Schwenk Arm der Seilwinde. Es haben sehr viele Leute einen Kommentar abgegeben, denke mein Vorschlag wird dabei sein... Falls nicht, mir ist aufgefallen das das Holz beim einfachen des Spalt- Zylinders oben drauf liegen bleibt. Wenn dort eine gerade vertikale Platte angebracht wird die ebenfalls so dick ist das das Stück Holz keine Chance hat oben drauf liegen zu bleiben. Aber es ist schon etwas Zeit vergangen, bist sicherlich schon mit der Arbeit fertig. 😉 Stay tuned.

The splitter is awesome. Do you have a blueprint of just the splitter and material list. I've been trying to find something that has speed and efficiency. Truly one of a kind.

I've built lots of wood splitters. This is a clever design, good job. Is there anything you wish you did differently? Thanks for the great video.

love it,,,, no fighting the dam logs..... but if you can control the size of logs with a adjustment table would make it perfect ,,as in the thickness or did I miss that step ???

I like the folding crane idea 😊

Great craftsmanship, I’ve been contemplating retrofitting my speed o I purchased 10+ years ago, problem is I’m unsure if the 27 ton pressure is enough

Wow very impressive designing and execution of carry thru. Did you also make the log tongs? Seems that it doesn’t even think about losing the log load at all. I am certainly envious of your talent and ideas. Again well done.

Well done sir, it looks good, it works well, it saves a huge amount of effort in lifting logs, and I'm sure that you've had as much satisfaction from designing and building it as I've had from watching your video. Just one question. How does it cope with knotty logs?