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screw/auger type log splitter

R

Rick Kr

Well-known Member
I don"t know why, but when I see one of these log splitters, I see the potential for someone getting hurt.

I haven"t seen one in a long time. My neighbor made one out of an old 3 speed trans. cobbled to the PTO. He would lean into that screw with a piece of wood against his thigh. I didn"t care to be within 50 foot of that screw.

Anyone still run one of these?
Rick
screw log splitter
 
Have one, I could split wood all day with it but if my wife gets near it she hurts herself, bought a hydraulic.
 
Rick, attitudes like yours is why I got mine so cheap (used) a decade ago. Couldn't be happier. The guys who lease hunting here wish that their hydraulic splitters were as fast. Especially with hickory.

Mine's direct PTO driven. Works great.
 
I got one, my wood burner cracked so haven't split wood for 3 years. They are dangerous you gotta think when you use one, but no worse than working with my cattle or doing some equipment repairs - you just gotta think. It's the fastest splitter around for sure!

Well, 2nd fastest - neighbors of a relative had a big wheel with a wedge sticking out of it, stick a log in it as the wheel spins, the wedge splits the chunk all to heck. Repeat. Now, that was interesting to be around.....

--->Paul
 
I think at the Albany, MN show they still have one with the wedge. Wicked looking machine, wouldn"t want either one. Outside burner that takes big logs is nicer.
 
Never seen such before.Neighbor made one out of a square baller.Now that thing looked dangerous if you didn't drop the log in in time and it only got half way OUCH.
 
It fastest to just use an axe on east to split wood.
I'll trade a bit of speed for something that try to crush or wrap the operator.
Wildest version I ever seen at the ploughing match was a screw wood splitter bolted to a truck's axle.One side of the axle was jacked off the ground.
 
VaTom,
You're welcome for me helping drive the price down.

Life is full of risk and rewards. More risk, usually more reward. Some times you lose, no reward. Maybe a finger, leg or some money.

I look at one of those and figure too much risk for me. I only split 8 face cord a year with a maul.

And speaking of safety. Yes, I did stick an axe in my leg just below the knee 25 years ago, so even a maul, wedges, and an axe have some risk.

Rick
 
I had one of those widow makers a long time ago but sold it as fast as I could. The one I had was mounted on a trailer sort of thing and hooked up to a PTO. The way it was made if a guy had a problem he could not have done any thing other then let it kill or hurt him
 
Rick, the danger is the same as working with anything PTO powered. You can't turn it off, better not get hung up in it.

The only person I know who has been hurt was stupid enough to be working on icy ground, poor footing. He'd have been hurt if it had been my PTO generator he had hooked up. There's no reason to have any part of you within 12" of the screw. It's stationary, won't reach out and grab you. You have to do something dumb. Risk? I know guys who got hurt operating a hydraulic splitter, stuck their hand in the wrong place. No good reason, they just did it. I don't.

I've got an axe, maul, and wedges. They don't get much use. Neither does the screw really, I built a house that never gets cold. Wasn't smart enough to do the same for my shop.
 
My brother knows a guy that had one bolted to the hind wheel of a pick up. The guy should have tied it to a tree for (just in case). It went down the hill through the trees like a old man with one wooden leg as the chunk of wood gave good traction. The little boy sitting in the truck got a wild ride, but wasn't hurt.

I know of a few of those PTO mounted ones that would be free to the taker, but the guys will not let anyone buy them, and they are to be cut up for scrap if the farmer dies. Things can go wrong, even for the safe minded guy.

I have one mounted to a 3/4" tric drill, and use it for tearing off boards. I will let no one but myuself run it, and never on a ladder.
 
Oddly, those are still made, search for Unicorn wood splitter, they have some sort of wire safety line I guess.

--->Paul
 
There are several manufacturers. Obviously a market, other than me and those who've experienced mine. Something that y'all have apparently missed is that you can slow down the PTO speed, slowing the screw to whatever you feel comfortable with. I don't run 540 'cause my compact tractor's too loud unless I set it for 1100 PTO speed, then it lacks torque.

I saw one that had a bar placed near the screw that I guess operated a clutch. Something that stopped the screw.

This subject always brings out people who seem scared out of their wits.
 
I used one for years that bolted to my truck wheel. Split wood nice and was pretty fast although I ran it at low speed just to be a little safe. Never had a problem, but then again you only get to make a fatal mistake once. Stopped using it last year and went to hydraulic cause I was no longer comfortable using it(getting older and slower).

Pete
 
Gots to tell the story a friend of mine had one bolted to the back wheel of his jeep. I said better block the jeep so the wood wont act as a wheel. Never mind Bender it will work. Then he put a big chunk of cotton wood on the screw and away went the Jeep. Laugh you smart A'' but i just couldnt help laughing.
 
Every thing you say Tom is true. The new PTO shafts may be a little safer with the sleeves, but I don't get close to those either. The older shafts are probably no safer than the auger if it grabs on to your clothing.

Both people I know that were wrapped up in PTOs did something stupid. One was wearing a scarf, the other stepped over the PTO while it was running. The first age 15, the second age 10. Do you blame the parents or the kids??

If there are multiple ways to accomplish a task, I try to take the one with less risk. Not always, but try.

Safety, technically you are right, you've never had a problem with your splitter, me... close to 100 stitches from an axe. The difference my axe only hit me once and stopped, it didn't keep chopping over and over into my leg, like a PTO shaft would keeping spinning until someone killed the power.

Rick
 
Have one. Mounts to tractor's 3-pt. PTO driven, I try to use a tractor where the PTO lever is within reach. Very fast splitter. I split a couple cords a year with it. Is it dangerous? Yes. You have to keep your chin back and wear short sleeves and no baggy shirts! It is so good at splitting, you try to split some knotty junk log & that's when you're asking for problems.
 
As a non-parent, easy for me to say it was the parents' fault. Not that I didn't do really dumb things as a kid when my parents weren't looking. Somewhere, somebody's got a movie of a stupid kid climbing native american footholds about 75' up a rock face. Yup, that was me, and survived to remember it. If not which national park we were camping in.

So... reduce your risk by building a house that needs no heat? If you don't split firewood, or fire a stove, your risk decreases.

You're correct, life is about managing risk. Like hunt, or starve. While I wouldn't climb those rock faces anymore, I don't mind using my screw. Or an axe for that matter. While I know the same number of people hurt with each one, neither frighten me. Tools require respect. I have a lot of them, virtually all will bite me if I let them.

But I'm also planning to move a log cabin for a friend on a contraption I've never tried. It's an ex-military container mover. Gotta have some fun sometimes. Just make sure nobody gets hurt. Nobody has with my screw.
 
.
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The lack of a way to shut it down is as scary on those splitters as was the tractor mounted buzz saws. We use to have a saw mounted on the front of a Case SC which we cut all the limb wood for the maple surup house. It also was equiped to sharpen fence posts that we used to cut. Knowone got badly hurt that used it, but there were some near misses. Each time we stepped back for a moment, and looked up and said thanks.
 
The log splitter in that video has to be the most useless splitter ever made! Besides being dangerous, it spit more logs out than actually splitting them and the guy thought it worked pretty good. Was he on drugs? Dave
 
Get one of the Super spliters that Shetland sheep dog posted the link on. I bought one used ten years ago and have replaced just one spring.
 
I had a Unicorn spiral-type wood splitter for a few years. The thing one has to remember is any time you are dealing with the PTO, horrendous things can and will happen if you don't maintain complete focus on what you are doing. I ran mine a lot with no trouble, but sold it because I didn't like having to tie up the tractor with an implement down in the woods, and if you messed around and got it stuck in a fork of Hedge or Oak it was an enormous pain to get it freed up.
 
(reply to post at 07:56:50 07/31/10)
Click to expand...

You said you had one of these auger type splitters but your wife would hurt herself when using so you bought a hydraulic. Do you still own the screw type and want to sell it?
 
I'd still be usin mine, but medically unable.
Had one bolted to a jeep chassis, chained the chassis down, had a kill switch where I could shut it down quick.
Gotta be careful, can get wrapped up in it, or log can get ya'.
Just have to give it proper respect, and don't run it too fast.
Splits elm nice--that's twisted together fibers, and difficult to split.
Fairly decent BTU's in elm, worth the while.
Anyway, hope I can heal up and I'll be using it again.
OH, I also had a hand clutch set up to it, the only thing I should have done was hooked up a throttle I could easily run.
Worked good for me, anyways.
And no, my injuries were not from that, lol.

On Edit:
I do want to agree, it can hurt ya bad before ya know it if not careful.
I wouldn't let anyone borrow mine. Worried they'd get hurt.
 
(quoted from post at 07:08:28 10/19/10) I'd still be usin mine, but medically unable.
Had one bolted to a jeep chassis, chained the chassis down, had a kill switch where I could shut it down quick.
Gotta be careful, can get wrapped up in it, or log can get ya'.
Just have to give it proper respect, and don't run it too fast.
Splits elm nice--that's twisted together fibers, and difficult to split.
Fairly decent BTU's in elm, worth the while.
Anyway, hope I can heal up and I'll be using it again.
OH, I also had a hand clutch set up to it, the only thing I should have done was hooked up a throttle I could easily run.
Worked good for me, anyways.
And no, my injuries were not from that, lol.

On Edit:
I do want to agree, it can hurt ya bad before ya know it if not careful.
I wouldn't let anyone borrow mine. Worried they'd get hurt.
Click to expand...

Well, hope you're well soon. Best of luck.
 
It must be nice to only have straight-grained chunks of perfectly dry wood 12" or less in diameter to split.

I just don't see a screw-type splitter working on a 26" diameter crotch out of a snarly old cherry tree. We only ever cut up garbage wood to heat the house. Fallen-down and misshapen stuff almost exclusively. Awful stuff to split even with a hydraulic splitter.

Straight logs got left in the woods to grow into $$$.
 
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