I've split 5 cords through it so far. Does what I need it to. ru-vid.comUgkxUyQswtttSffRMblGbrhCvZn7JkhtG1-7 I scrounge all my firewood and am not equipped to handle big wood, but for logs up to 24 inch diameter or so, it works great. I've been amazed by some of the gnarly bur oak and elm crotches it has split. For the tougher stuff within it's size range, you might have to study the piece a bit to decide the best attack, but if you split smart it's up to the job. It did arrive low on oil, and I was would have nicked it half a star for that, but it has regained my full confidence. UPDATE NOVEMBER 2021: Still going strong after all these years. I love the one-handed operation. Hope it's still in production if I ever need to replace it
I've always invisioned a splitter on my backhoe or mini and never had a chance to make something. This has given me the inspiration to get the drawing board out. Thanks so much!!
Good luck Travis! I sure was glad to have taken the plunge to try this. I went through several different variations along the way to arrive at what you see here. Let me know when you get it done!
So true Mark. And other than needing someone to help me jockey my truck and the backhoe to the sight, I can split and load all by myself while I sit in the heated cab. I really enjoy just taking my time and splitting up a load on a random Sunday. Thanks for watching!
This opens a persons world up to accepting huge tree service wood etc and not having to sell your health and time to break it down to manageable size PCs even if you took it to your traditional splitter to finish up. Thanks for sharing!
that is one of the nicest ways of splitting wood I've seen, imagine spending a nice sunny day, in where it's warm, listening to the radio getting your groove on.
That is exactly how I like spending those cold, windy days for sure! This thing is the best when the weather is the worst, cause I get to be thankful I'm not out there in it but I can still get some work done. Thanks rv!
Congrats on your idea, building it, and using it. I'm 54 this December and my new motto is work smarter not harder and by the looks of your back and joint saver it's your motto to 👊👊🤙🤙👍👍✌✌
I’ve been thinking about something like this for a while. Since I have some 1/2” plate kicking around I thought I’d give it a try. I bought a cheap plasma cutter, created a cardboard template then cut the steel. I used a snow plow cutting edge as the splitting edge and the rod from a plow cylinder to use where the bucket attached. I welded it all up, attached it to the back hoe, grabbed a log and Bam! All my welds popped like a joke. After cleaning things up and re-welding a few more times I discovered my little 110v MIG welder didn’t have the sack to penetrate the 1/2” steel. So a new (cheap) 200 amp stick welder was ordered. After some practice, I got the welds looking pretty good. Attached everything again and grabbed a log. Presto! Split my 26” dia oak logs like a dream. I was so psyched! For those who want to try this.. it can be done and does work. You’ll need the right tools and lots of patience. Don’t give up when it falls apart the first few times.
I have a JD 1025r with an adjustable thumb and a root ripper attachment. Never thought of using that for wood splitting, until NOW! Thanks for the great idea!
I like the prototype made out of wood idea. I’m prone to jumping right into the fabrication and the end up wasting metal when I have to remake or modify part of whatever I’m making. Thanks for sharing!
Thats a really sweet setup for cracking down boilerwood. The real secret to firewood is the biggest volumes of firewood come from the biggest logs so to work the big wood effectively is the real key to efficiency
Hi Not Sure - it's Big Rodders in Ireland. I live in hope to see a long video of your super log processor in operation. It certainly is a unique design.
@@rodneysweetnam8653 I have some more videos uploaded Big Rod. Maybe this year I will make some more effort to film but usually I'm focused on running the machine
@@NotSureJoeBauers - Big Rodders again. I'm subscribed to your channel and have viewed the various short videos you've uploaded. They have whet my appetite for more.
Boy, you are right about that one! I always drool over the big ones cause I can make so much wood so fast. Lots of folks avoid them though cause they're hard to work up. This splitter is the nuts for the big ones!
Thank you Neil for taking the time to do this. I know everyone is looking for measurements. Here is what I get from looking at the picture. Picture starts at 3:39 Looking at the diagram. Make out of wood first. A lot cheaper to get your prototype that way. 2 Back plates. 3/4 inch thick. L shape. For John Deere 2 inch pins. Hole diameter 2 1/8 inch would give a 1/16th gap all around. Guessing it would be enough room to freely rotate. Top portion as shown in the picture. Length is 17 inches. Width is 5 inches. Measure in 2 1/2 inches and 2 1/2 inches down would be the hole center. The hole centers are 12 inches apart. From the left top hole center down 8 inches is the pusher bar center. Pusher bar is 4 inch diameter. How far apart the 2 plates need to be, I don't know. Hope this help a little.
Thanks so much for all that! I need to get it documented. I've had so many people ask and I can keep up with everything at the moment. Getting behind on the comments too. I appreciate you taking the time t write it out here. I will point people to this comment. Thanks for watching!
Enjoy people who think out side the box and have the courage to bring their ideas to a working concept / product. Great video and bloody well presented too. I got to subscribe now.
I wanted to thank you for posting this video. I just finished making one of these for my Deere 110 TLB. It was more in depth in the design with the quick change bucket that Deere had developed. I also felt it necessary to "beef up" the attachment point on the crowd. But with all the design, figuring, head scratching and fabrication done I am loving every minute of this attachment. The learning curve was quick for me. The third day I could see my production dramatically increasing. So far 22" diameter is handled with ease from my seat. I just love saying that! I do have a bad back from years of construction and ultimately having a disc removed. But with this attachment my back is in good shape. Thanks again for this share.
I bumped into the 8 hour rental of the wood processor and I was hooked. You make what is already interesting, more interesting. God, Family, and Work is what it is all about. I know I don't have to tell you that. Your living it. David and Archer my German Shepherd service Dog.
Hey thanks much David! I'm Glad I caught this comment and even more glad that you found the channel and are enjoying it. Thanks for dropping a line and give Archer a "good boy" for me!
First time I caught one of your videos man. That was cool to see you do that. I’m an ole backhoe man myself. Anything to make life easier is a plus in my book. You gained a new subscriber today. Thanks for sharing.
Always thought that would be a great idea if nothing else with using the hydraulic thumb if available. Great way to get er done on the cheap. Really no maintenance required. Awesome job!
Thanks so much! Yeah, it is pretty cheap compared to the price of any decent sized splitter out there. Appreciate you watching and thanks for the kind words.
Here I thought we really had something when my brother built our first wood splitter 😁 It did do about 25 years worth of wood splitting for 3 of us, and is still in use 35 years later.
Sounds like you really do have something there Charles. Any piece of homemade equipment that can put in that many years and hours of reliable service is a truly great machine! My Dad built a homemade splitter as well and we still use it once in a while. Thanks for watching!
@@digdrivediy Originally, that home made one ran off a used up worn out 5or6 hp engine my brother got from his neighbor. It ran about 5 years with that, then we collectively bought a new 5 hp BRIGGS. That engine is till on it, but has been experiencing difficulty of late. 😉
Those claws are awesome!!! You aren’t bending...your back has to be feeling a little better in the morning...😂😂😂. Coffee and the yoga balance ball has changed my life at 51... I never usta stretch myself out before I’d go kick butt... stretching is really really good for how your body feels! Awesome videos...thanks! God Bless you and your’s!!! Southern Pa!!!
They do help a bunch. My father in law does a lot of stretching and I think It would do me a lot of good as well. Seems like the older I get the slower the mornings get! Appreciate the comments David!
You are most welcome sir I have been watching your videos for a very long time. I don't even know how long Neal I'm pretty sure since the first time you made one because I found your little gravel grader to be very interesting oh, and we appreciate all the hard work you do and making entertainment for us. God bless you and your family, and God bless your back brother. Absolutely I would make an old pickaroon out of an old axe or just an old pick. I do believe wranglerstar on RU-vid, has the best pickaroon that he made out of an old axe I've ever seen.
Well I truly do appreciate your viewership Marsh Monster. You're one of my top commenters and you even have a little icon next to your name when it shows up for me to tell me. There are only three of you that have that show up so I really appreciate it. I need to look into that pickaroon deal too. You know, the funny thing is I left all that wood on the ground just to pick it up with those log tongs! I have been waiting for someone to ask why I didn't just put them in the trailer when I split them! That was my workout for the day... other than swinging that maul for no reason. 😃
@@digdrivediy I have a Deere 210c, a bit older but she runs beautifully. The heat still works as well as everything else although I have a few hydraulic cylinders that leak and pins to replace. I can see one of your inventions in the future.
Awesome job on the splitter I built one onto a kubota years ago and works great. I had to make the pin a giant bolt as the sideways pressure will keep breaking the pin retainer
@@digdrivediy oduševljen sam vašim izumom, imam MF 50HX i možda nekad kopiram vaš cjepač, nadam se da se nećete ljutiti!!? Zasad imam cjepač koji cijepa promjer 140cm i visinu 120cm sa vitlom i klještima za prihvat drveta- UNIFOREST TITANIUM 20!!
Okay so I've only been subscribed to your channel for about 3 hours now and I have to say your videos are amazing. Your editing style and the way that you do everything it makes it very enjoyable. I like the commentary and camera angles. You got a good thing here. This is a pretty sweet utensil you've made for yourself. I've had many ideas that I thought I would was the first person to come up with until you use the old Google machine and find out it already exists. Very disappointing
Thanks for the very kind and supporting words. It's always very rewarding to hear from a new viewer that enjoys the channel. Thanks for the comments and hope you find enough to continue watching. Take care!
Dude... your wicked good with your little wrist spin...spinning those around to grab those too load them up... awesome coordination... I bet that is a blast to run!!!
Neil you are a fine Gentalman and great enginere-fabricater. My fire wood endeviours have rewarded me @ 80cents an hour to heat my 4 different houses with firewood ; all things considered. On the otherhand selling the product has yeilded 15.oo$ an hour selling the product. I would us a 6 pound splitting maul for fantastic results in 95% of logs succesfully achiving this at a half of cord per hour. (Cord =4'×4'×8' tight stacked wood). Home heating using this amount typicaly lasts 4 days. So mathamaticly speeking ,8 cords = one month of heating VS. Paying a 120.oo$ gas bill & a no touch effort. Selling 8 cords will yield aprox. 1200.oo$ with loading,delivering and restacking to costomers. So the margine of the resourse is EIGHT × more proffetable ( incluiding delivery&handling expeditures).With a total time to process a cord = to 4 hours total time, including the harvasting, gathering ,splitting,stacking,loading( note:many times over repeated in many facites of the total aplication) ==== lots&lots of WORK. Not to mention I am payed to haul raw wood away. And further more I would never burn a drop of fuel in my tractors or loaders once the raw wood is payed for (costomers lot clearing or tree removal jobs). By the way Mr.Niel upon observing your fine mechcanised ways I believe I'm 2× faster & more efficiant. I have prossesed aproximatly 250 cords with my time tested & provened methods over the years. The time studied ways (and many at that) have yield me a minor wage & lots of fun in the firewood monky-bussinuse. The exercise & fresh air are the best beniffits. Burning up fuel and expensive eqipment (trucks, tractors,trailers) hardly, HARDLY ever-EVER pays more than 5.oo$ an hour. My 30 year old (wheelburro-6 pound maul splitting way) was & still is the best for the last 40 years. Maybe when I am old & decrepped I might find a more efficiant way.! I enjoyed your vidio immencly & out of the 50 or so firewood processing vidios I have seen,l have laughed all the way to the bank--- with your exception. Realy nice rig for your 150,000$ back-hoe to split a 10 cent piece of firewood. My equipment == 225,000$ put that ends when l have been paid to haul it (raw wood) away initially. I have learned a lot over the years, kindness,respect,generosity, learned&shared,plus hard work,produtivity have given me much joy to serve my fellowman. Likewise l consider my tallents & endeviours a Great Blessing. Once again thank you for your inspirational vidio Neil.
Thanks so much Donald! That's a good bit of info to process but it sounds like you've got your firewood endeavors figured to a fine science. I have a much more pragmatic approach where I usually just try to solve my firewood needs with the most sensible means possible. Often times that should involve more manual labor options but I always seem to opt for the mechanical solution whenever available! I usually only use the backhoe to split wood when the pieces are too heavy to lift. I hardly ever use a maul although I probably should try more often. I can completely agree with your statement of fresh air and exercise being some of the best benefits. I really appreciate you watching and for leaving a great comment.
Great idea. If my math is right. It took you 12 seconds to get back in the cab after setting the timer. Then almost 15 to get back to stop the timer. Not a bad time. My son and I have stood our splitter up and rolled big rounds to split. We thought we were high society. Your method sure beats a maul and wedges. Before we got our splitter we would score the rounds with a saw then use a sledge and wedges to split them. Needless to say using that method we had a pickup load of big rounds that sat till this year when we got our splitter. Now I wanna go buy a backhoe lol. Thanks for sharing I enjoyed it
Thanks Kory. Those vertical splitters can be really handy too. I actually have a 35ton TSC splitter as well that I've tried to stand vertical and it can get the job done for sure. We used it that way several times before I built this. I think I proved I'm pretty useless with a maul too! You go get that backhoe! lol. Thanks again buddy.
That is absolutely genius and very fascinating! It looks like you have enough hydraulic power, to run a blade horizontal to the one that you have and have it T midway across the existing one, then you could split a log in fourths in 1 bite.
@@digdrivediy I swear some of those trees I used to hit when it was freezing cold we're made of rubber :-) I love the way your backhoe does it. That's the way I like it sitting in comfort and splitting wood :-)
You've got some skill with that backhoe! I will say, that oak pops nicely and I find it really pleasing to split by hand with a good Fiskars maul. Really would like to see this awesome contraption on wood I hate to split: Boxelder crotch or Elm.
Thanks, takes a bunch of practice. There is certainly wood that it doesn't like, like heavy crotch wood but I can usually break down most stuff. Thanks for watching!
Would have been interesting to see how many whacks it would take to have chopped that big round in half with the ax. Easy to ask, but very physically hard to do. Great video as always. I like to stop commenting long enough as well to thank content providers for providing us viewers with great content. You are one of the channels I watch every video from. They are always fun and interesting to see. Thank you.
Wow, that's great to hear Joel. I'm so thankful to have you watching and I appreciate the kind words and taking the time to comment. Truth be told, I whacked that big round about 50X more than what you see in the video too to get all the shots. I had worked up a sweat and it never did crack. I would freeze this winter if I had to do that to make wood! Take care!
I need a little bit more information how can I get in touch with you I tried looking you up on Facebook and couldn't find you interested in this project have a few questions to ask and need some still photos
Really like the content. It was hard to bare the Volvo sitting right there the whole time. The excavator has so many advantages. It sure is an awesome way to split wood. Thanks man.
Thanks a bunch Joe. Yeah, I need to make one for the Volvo, but it belongs to my Father-in-law and we don't move it around too much. Biggest advantage of the backhoe is driving it around the country neighborhood to find firewood! Thanks for watching!
Id love a set of plans and a materials list. I use an older JD 310 so id imagine the pins and everything would be close enough, but then again backhoes all have to be somewhat universal
Thanks Joel. What is a set of plans worth? I've had several ask but don't know what I'm looking at in terms of what people would be willing to pay in comparison to the time to have something drawn up.
@@digdrivediy People say they are interested until time comes to put their money where thier mouth is lol. I personally wouldn't be bothered selling the plans. Its a simple design. The plans really only have value if someone has the cnc burn table to cut the plate out... Kick ass wood spitter tho! I just got a Case 580 backhoe and I was thinking of some sort of auxillary hydralic line or something for splitting wood. Your design is way easier to implement. I can def. see how it may take some skill operating that over to each log, but this is easier than loading each heavy ass log up onto a wood splitter. So my opinion is its even better than a regular wood spitter since it saves your back!
We have had plans close to this for awhile now for our JD50G ... have a cardboard type working model as well like your plywood. Now when the shop gets a little slower to start waterjet cutting everything out. Nice video with just down to earth explanation and detail to show the ease and simplicity of a farm using the machinery to its fullest potential. Thank you for pushing me to get my project back on track.
For your shearing bolt on the pin problem maybe you could weld two pieces of 3/8 thick stock to the face the pin bolts to. This would “trap” the outside of the pin where the bolt goes through then the bolt wouldn’t have any shearing force applied to it.
Man, isn't that the truth. Every year I think I have an idea that will strike gold and I'm always too late. Maybe one of these times for you and me both. Thanks for watching Dirt Brute!
Thanks a ton Ed. Yeah, I might spend too much time on them. I often wonder. I've stopped in on your channel a couple times and appreciate your production value as well. Thanks for checking in and saying Hi. Appreciate you watching.
