My father-in-law has had one of those splitters for almost 25 years, and has split 300-400 cords of wood with his. ....They were originally manufactured by FXG(?)Corp of Massachusetts. .....His came with a 3hp B&S engine, and small 10x2.75 wheels.I fabricated a wider axle with 16x6.50-8 tires for better stability. ....He did wear out one engine, the pinion gear shaft, one centrifugal clutch, and a couple springs in all those years. These splitters are NOT a toy, despite their size and appearance. ....They are VERY effective in splitting! .....For gnarly and twisted grain, the wedge end of the log can be lifted slightly, and the wedge will split it easily. The rapid extension of the ram is more like the action of a splitting maul, compared to the slow pushing action of a hydraulic splitter. We ran a 9hp, 16gpm, 2-stage hydraulic splitter side-by-side with my f-i-l's splitter, and his machine split the same wood as the hydraulic, but his production was much greater due to the quick cycle time.
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