The BEST Way to Split Big Firewood Pieces - Backhoe Digger Mounted Wood Splitter 

Plus a good day of getting outside to exercise...er, I mean sit in the backhoe :)

Kleeman!! Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate the feedback. That splitter has proven to be one of the best tools I have. Thanks for checkin' out my channel and be well.

Thanks Chas! Yeah, a little grease wouldn't hurt a darn thing! Appreciate the kind words and thanks so much for watching and commenting. Good luck with your splitter build!

Very true. I'm thankful to be able to split this way with heavy equipment. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks Bob, I appreciate the nice compliment. Thankful to have you watching!

Appreciate that John. Gotta take care of the back!

Thanks Donald. I may try to draw up some plans. When I get some spare time... Thanks for watching!

@@digdrivediy did u ever draw up the plan

Thanks Gus!

It has been great to have.

Thanks! It is a handy unit for sure. Use it all the time.

Thanks John! It really is the best at dealing with those big rounds. Currently I don't have any plans made up but if I do get some I'll try to circle back to the folks that have asked. Appreciate you checking it out. There is another video of this splitter more up close that is much more recent in case you didn't catch it.

@@digdrivediy cool I'll check it out forsure. Thanks

Thanks

Thanks for the kind words. This thing has been awesome to have for sure. I'll bet your backhoe would be able to split like this. It all depends on the wood that you're trying to split. If it is straight grained, it would likely do it without issue. If you have the means to build one it could be worth the effort if you are faced with large diameter rounds like this very often. The only time I have trouble is trying to split something that isn't straight or has a knot in it from a branch. Other than the patience and learning curve it takes to get decent at running it, I have had no regrets.

That is a truly great idea 💡

Thank you so much Francis. I think that the excavator is capable of it, but those are some long pieces! The way mine is built I cannot split much over 24" long. Thanks for checking out the video!

We heat our garage with in floor heat, but my shop is heated with a heat exchanger and fan. I had the water lines bored over from my stove to the shop. Sounds like that could be a good video topic! I have a 36'X56' shop and the heat exchanger coil or radiator is only about a 24" square. Keeps the shop about 50-60F all winter depending on how cold outside.

Thanks, I appreciate the comment. This was an original idea I thought I had that someone else thought of first! I modeled mine after a few versions I found online of what I wanted to do. This is the first version of this splitter although I did attempt to have a 4 way wedge on it at first and it didn't work very well so I cut the wings off. I built the entire thing out of 3/4" plywood first and I did make a couple different versions before I got the geometry just right. I used a piece of 3" PVC in place of the round tubing that is on the real version. I had a complete working model made of plywood so I could get it all just right before working with the steel. The side plates are all 3/4" and if I built another one I would likely just go with 1". I have slightly bent this but it is hardly noticeable. If you get into a piece of wood with a knot or a piece isn't cut square on both ends it can put side pressure on the moving portion of the splitter and can really tweak it if you're not careful. Basically you want to always be sure that the pushing portion of the splitter is against a square surface and any angled pieces go against the wedge. Hard to explain here it seems but mostly you just don't want to put the splitter in a situation that causes the load on the moving portion to be uneven as that's how you would bend it. Good luck if you decide to build one. I have been using this one probably 5 years now and it has been great. I have a regular splitter and find myself using this one more often cause I can go out and split by myself.

@@digdrivediy Thanks for taking the time for such a detailed come-back Neil. Good luck and much success in future. H

Hi Neil! What an awesome piece of fabrication..I have a JD 310 backhoe I would like to outfit the same.. Would you consider selling a pattern? Thanks! , your channel is great

Do you think this would work with a terramite T9 32 horsepower turbo Kubota diesel

That's a great idea! I always day dream about having a hopper with an elevator attached that I can just drop the pieces into! Maybe that could be a future project. Thanks for watching!

@@digdrivediy You could just have the stack of rounds a platform with a shallow vee to keep them from falling out, and nudge them onto a conveyor after splitting I wonder if the attachment could be made adjustable to accomodate varying thicknesses of rounds? Yours looks like it could be. I liked what you said about a ply wood mock up. When I used to get tools hand forged I would make a pattern from the plastic that signmakers use. Easily heat formed, and easy for the smith to see thedesired form in 3D!

Or make big split piles and scoop up with loader,

Have tried before. It struggled. May try again with a different design some day.

@@digdrivediy yeah those are pretty good side logs still better then a ax lol

Boy, that's on the small side for this. I think it would be tough but I'm not too sure I guess.

Thanks, I don't know too much about tractors, will look at a pto option

No, afraid I don't.

Thanks Arni!