About a year and a half ago we realized the need to make our "all in one", Wood Beaver firewood processors for the ordinary average "Joe". I am honored to have met a few of you, I am one of the guys you saw, or spoke to, on the shop floor perhaps during your purchase or when ya picked it up. I wrote this for the self sufficiency of the survivalists out there.
This thing ain't your dad's light duty week-end of work log split-er. That being said, I realized the guy who will need to fix it in the field will probably need a guide from the builder's perspective, a sort of "how to make metal bend when your not superman" option.
A DIY’ers Guide to Wedge Alignment...
Let’s face it, Mother Nature is not perfect, trees don’t always grow straight. So, it goes without saying trees are not always cut straight at 90 degrees. Perhaps someone set a widow maker with its crooked edge first on the in feed table and it happens to twist up the business end of your machine. What can you do if tough wood seems to be knocking your wedge too far back, or to one side constantly?
Your Wood Beaver Firewood Processor is built with enough movement built in for the splitting lift of the log as it passes by the wedge. Because of customer demand, for adjust-ability in the wedge height for accommodation of varying wood sizes, we designed a linkage system with 1 lift pin at the wedge, and a pivot point at the handle’s pivot point. The handle pin is generally welded into the wedge linkage, however there are some older models where this may not be the case.
There are three items built into every Wood Beaver that can have an impact on your wedge alignment. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the included illustrations. The individual components are the wedge reinforcement, the wedge lift linkage, and the wedge backer plate.
First let’s take a look at how the splitting process works. This process begins when the wood falls into the bed after the saw bar cuts it to the length you desired. Always make sure it is aligned with the push block track in the bottom of the bed. The wedges will not crosscut against the grain of the wood. This can become a problem with log ends or short lengths. The branch wood that causes knots in lumber generally taps into the heartwood of the log. It will pop with the grain of the wood surrounding it. Branch snags not trimmed in the tree felling process can affect how a log lays in the bed of the machine. It is a good practice to inspect the log for such problems prior to placing it on the machine.
Another rule of thumb is to try to split the wood from the top of the tree towards the bottom, just like when you used to hand split firewood. With a little planning you will enjoy your Wood Beaver Firewood Processor for years
Depending on which wedge you have in your processor, the process is the same, as the wedge itself is allowed to lift up to 8 ½”, the approximate center of a 16” log. It is recommended that you do not attempt to split larger than a 16” diameter log. Although a larger log will physically fit, when it passes through the wedge, the lift of the log as it splits will cause excess stress to the wedge wings of the wedge. This is not an issue with the 4 – way wedge, however, the 6 – way wedges have double the surface contact area, causing some distortion or twisting when splitting at the wedge’s highest elevation setting. The wings of the wedge have a -4 degree pitch designed to help the wedge pull itself down as the wood passes through, but the wood itself is still slightly bound by the wedge retainer until it clears the cutting edge. The general rule of thumb is to never split wood with the wings above the wedge backer behind the wedge. The wedge is a replaceable component, if it is stressed, and damaged it can be replaced or repaired in a well-equipped shop. We will discuss the how to repair a heat treated wedge latter in this article.
Starting at the rear of the processor, let’s consider each component, its function, and what you can do if a failure occurs.
Every component is confined by the “Wedge Retainer Assembly”. This is what holds the wood in place against the combined forces of the push block or ram stroke. It is an integrated appendage of the trough bed, with the same anchor as the ram. The 5/8” x 3” HR has the same 2 degree pitch as the trough, meaning it will be a wider gap on the bottom than it is on the top side. The slightly wider bottom is to facilitate less binding from debris. The end plate is the only fail safe against bending or warping the guide slot of the ram and push block. Basically a failure here, or a “blowout”, needs immediate attention as the “wood splitting” stops. Fortunately the split is only the last step of the firewood, you can still harvest firewood until the end of the day.
“So, what can you do now?” The spliter may be down, but you still have the saw, the ram and the bed, right? If you still have that pile of logs 3” – 12” you can still cut firewood to length and the ram will still feed the conveyor, however, the conveyor is not recommended for large diameter logs (10” or bigger) as there may be increased safety risks.
First clear the machine of any wood in the trough, and grate area.
Remove wedge lift pin, lift wedge from its retainer assembly.
Unbolt and remove the wedge backer plate, continue cutting firewood to length and cycle the splitting ram as normal to move the wood forward through the grate area to the conveyor.
We recommend a qualified welder perform some of the specific repairs and retrofitting procedures we have outlined for a failure of such magnitude. Wood Beaver stands behind our product, and we are working to ensure a superior value.
Obviously the larger the wood diameter is, the larger the stress on the individual components. There are steps you can take to ensure the longevity of your Wood Beaver’s individual components beyond the retainer assembly failure mentioned above.
The wedge backer plate is intended as a guide for the upper portion of the wedge. It provides support behind the wedge only when all clearance is exhausted from the force of the ram on the wood. The force is then exerted against the bolts in both the retainer plates and the ½” bolt in the bottom mounting tabs by resting against the end plate of the wedge retainer assembly. If it becomes bent, across the 3” dimension it should be replaced. It can be removed and straightened if it should bend across the 5/8” dimension. It is expected that the ram force will shear the bolts and push the wedge through the end plate if the wedge slips to the side of the wedge reinforcement.
Minor adjustments to the left or right of a vertical line can be made to the wedge backer’s alignment by slightly bending the backer’s body to frame mounting tabs located below the grate at the rear of the machine. Do not hesitate cutting back an inch of weld with a grinder to open up or close the tabs on the top of the tab at the backside of the wedge if it is determined to bind excessively or causes the wedge to lean to the left or right of vertical alignment.
You may also consider welding some guide tabs to the backside of the wings on your standard 4 – way splitting wedge. If you do, I suggest allowing a 1/8” gap between the guide tab and the wedge backer plate. This will ensure enough movement as the log lifts and it splits, also you do not need your wedge binding in an elevated position before the next piece starts its cycle.
Now that we have discussed the backside of the wedge, let’s take a look at the linkage that lifts the wedge up and down. We have added centering tubes to the inside surfaces to help guide the bottom end of the wedge. They also help to stiffen the linkage like a link of a roller chain, to limit the extreme twisting forces that may occur on the topside. Should the linkage become damaged, twisted or bent, it is simple enough to disassemble, remove, and perform maintenance in the field. Usually several liberal blows of a heavy hammer will straighten any alignment issues. If the bend is extreme, a mounted vise may be required to hold it while a long bar or piece of 1” shaft w/ a cheater pipe can un-twist a bent linkage.
Note that the wedge lift handle must remain secured in a lock slot throughout the splitting process. If it is lose, increasing pressure of the handle spring, or even wrapping it in position with a bungee strap will help keep it in place. An unlocked handle can lead to a major lifting of the wedge, resulting in a failure of the wedge retainer assembly.
While we are discussing the components below the bed of your processor, let’s move forward to the wedge reinforcement or wedge rein for short. The wedge rein cantilevers the force exerted against the wedge above the bed of the machine to the toe of the wedge below because it is a solid appendage of the bed’s fulcrum through the push block guide track or slot between the bed halves. The force of the ram is transferred through the wedge to its toe at the bottom; therefore it is critical that every piece aligns with the rein.
It is recommended that you periodically check the alignment below the bed as well as on the top side. Should you determine that the rein is out of a vertical alignment it can easily be realigned with a large pipe wrench and a 4 foot piece of cheater pipe or handle extension. You should add a short piece of c- channel or heavy plate inside of the jaw of the wrench to avoid curling the reinforcement bar. 6 or 7” will ensure the bending process occurs as close to the bed as possible. You do not want to curl the rein.
It may be that a torch is needed to heat the bar to a dull red to assist in bending the bar at the point desired. If a torch is not handy, but you do have a bottle jack or a floor jack, simply set the feet of the machine, to the down position to stabilize the processor. Place the wrench handle in the direction you want to bend the rein, and then place the jack under the cheater pipe. The pressure of the jack will overcome the resistance of the steel bar.
We have included some pictures to show you some of the damage that can happen in a so called catastrophic failure. We hope you will watch for proper alignment to avoid premature failure of the spliter portion of your Wood Beaver Firewood Processor.
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