Model Woodsplitter

[vascon2196]

Brian,

I've had my eye on this since it started. I'm looking forward to see the finished product.

I also like the method of choosing the best mechanism...anything mechanical is right up my alley. Check out "507 Mechanical Movements" if you have time...great place to see different mechanisms used over the years.

Anyway...great job.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Vascon--Thanks for dropping in and saying Hi. I have the book "507 mechanical movements" and have actually modelled/fabricated some of the strange devices and powered them with my small steam engines.---Brian

 

[Brian Rupnow]

That went well!! The gear is cut, and I didn't end up with any "half teeth". Both ends have the keyways cut, although it's a bit hard to see in the picture. It mates very well with the rack---(I tried it as soon as it came off the mill.). At the last minute, when I was making the shaft this morning, I decided to make the shaft 3/4" longer on one end, just in case I have to mount a pulley instead of running my drive belt to one of the flywheels.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Now that I have reassembled everything, I can actually try it out. If I spin the flywheels by hand, feed the rack in from the back end, and immediately move the lever into the "extend" position, it grabs the rack and spits it out the front side like a lightning bolt!! It doesn't seem to do any "grinding" of the gear teeth at all, as near as I can tell. This is good news, so far.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

We have an all bronze slider finished. Holy Cow---There are only a couple of pieces left to make!!!

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Check this out. This is just too cool!!!
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXLX0TC0YFY&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Before anybody points it out---The "pusher plate" will not extend far enough to run into the splitting wedge when I get everything finished and in place. It will stop about 3/8" from the splitter plate.

 

[ShopShoe]

Brian,

I am enjoying this project. Before I saw your follow-up post above I figured you were designing things to the ram-to-wedge distance would be accommodated.
Can't wait to see it splitting.

--ShopShoe

 

[vascon2196]

Looks like it is going to work great...nice sliding action, very smooth.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

After giving this some though, I have decided that this lovely little machine would chop fingers just as easily as it will chop wood. The "logs" are round and will have a tendency to roll off the splitter before they get split, and I don't want my fingers grabbing for a log trying to straighten it out and "whoops"--there goes the tip of my finger!!! To that effect, I have designed a set of log racks that will keep the log from falling off the splitter before it gets pushed through the splitter wedge.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

The wood splitter is finished!! The log racks that keep the piece of wood from falling off before it gets split got a little simpler. The dual springs which return the rack to it's home position were scrapped in favour of a single tension spring that returns the rack. Now all I have to do is hook it up to one of my engines and see if it really splits wood.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Here ya go boys and girls. This is fun!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures of my old bald head while I am picking up wood off the floor. If anybody wants a complete set of drawings, email me at [email protected].
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts60HeWkKg8&feature=youtu.be[/ame]

 

[canadianhorsepower]

Here ya go boys and girls. This is fun!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures of my old bald head while I am picking up wood off the floor. If anybody wants a complete set of drawings, email me at [email protected].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts60HeWkKg8&feature=youtu.be

Brian
good show love itth_wav
I need 3 cord for next wek LOL

I'm doing new flywheel for the Rupnow engine
Pick up material yesterday
should start Monday

cheers
Luc

 

[crueby]

Great job Brian! With the cold weather lately, now you can build a little tiny bonfire to keep warm!
th_wavth_wav

I think the "Broom" trees here seeded out well this year, just noticed there is one growing out in my garage as well as in the kitchen closet....!

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Luc--Since you mentioned o-rings in an earlier post, I thought I would post this for you. This is one of the few times that I didn't use an o-ring to drive one of my "creations".---Not because I couldn't have, but because I didn't want to cut a v-groove in the face of one of my flywheels. This "rubberish" flat belt drive with the corrugated inner surface is 5/8" wide x .093" thick, and grips like a tiger on a flat pulley. There is a vacuum cleaner repair place not too far from where I live, and occasionally I go down and root around through their scrap bin to see what goodies I can salvage. That is the origin of this flat belt. Surprisingly, their isn't much feed-back from the splitter to the engine when I split a piece of wood. The engine doesn't even falter. The inertia of the two steel flywheels on the splitter is doing all of the work. Probably an o-ring would have worked fine, but it would have been difficult to keep on the flat pulley.

 

[vascon2196]

Very cool Brian! I think it came out great, and you do a great job using Solid Works to design/revise your creations. I will be sharing this build with my students.

"Broom Trees"....now that's funny.

 

[Charles Lamont]

Delightful. Now you just need a log-burner steam engine to use up the product.

 

[Cogsy]

Very cool Brian. I like your one handed procedure - way too easy to mis-time 2 hands and split a finger! So what's next in your woodworking shop? How about a thicknesser/planer for the planks off your sawmill?

 

[bazmak]

Nice to put a bald head to a name. Absolutely beautiful Brian
The log splitter not the bald head

 

[Swifty]

Another excellent model Brian. Well designed, made and explained, congratulations.

Paul