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Author Topic: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??  (Read 9215 times)

Bondo

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Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« on: January 01, 2017, 06:23:50 PM »

I have,....

I watched hours, 'n hours of you-tube videos 'bout 'em, from manufactured units to home made splitters from all over the world,....

I have access to a New Holland skid-steer, 'n auger drive unit,....

The Stickler splitter is quite popular, but I don't want it wheel mounted, so I'd have to build a mount for it somehow,...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Stickler+wood+splitter
$339.00....

Another much more interestin' one is the Atom Splitter,....
It comes in the right size for the auger drive I can borrow,....
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=atom+wood+splitter
$580.00....

Lastly is the 1 I bought, the Titan Auger wood splitter,...
It appears to be a knock-off of the Atom splitter, 'n considerably cheaper at $269.00, 'n I bought at a Christmas Special for $238.00.....
Now, the draw-backs,...
It don't come with a 2, 9/16" hole, but in 2", so an adapter was needed, at just under a hundred bucks,....
Still cheaper,....
I finally got the pieces, went over to the warehouse, loaded up the skid-steer, 'n auger drive, drug it to the wood yard, 'n go to Splittin' all those massive chunks of wood,.....
Not,....

Try as I might, no way, no how is this thing screwin' into the blocks,.....
Lottsa down pressure, 'n I can get just the replaceable tip buried into a block,...  'bout 3", maybe 4" deep,...
After 'bout a 1/2 hour of putzin' 'round, tryin' to split blocks that already had cracks, 'n what-not, I headed it for my garage, 'n unscrewed the replaceable tip part of the cone,...

Figured I'd start "Bondoizin'" the cheaper replaceable part, insteada ownin' the whole thing, figurin' that grindin' on it will void the warranty,...
Lookin' it over, it's a double flute screw, like a twist drill,....
The "Threads" are very squarish in profile, without a back-cut on the trailin' edge,....
Sorta like Acme threads on a lead screw,....
Anyways,....    I found that by puttin' my angle grinder in the vise, I turned the cone screw with my hands, 'n ground a relief along the trailin' edge of the threads, more like a wood screw,...

Next day, I go put it back together, fire up the skid-steer, 'n head out back,....
1st piece of hard maple, a 2, 1/2' round, rotten in the center, I hit it on it's side, 'n Pow, split it right apart,....
Cool,...
I moved up along the pile, It digs in real good, til it hits the cone, then alota down-pressure helps,....
Seems my grindin' worked, but it's stallin' out where I quit grindin',....
After a few more blocks, mostly split from the end-grain, I tried a big ole red oak, from it's side,....
I start it in, push down, it's in to the cone piece, I push harder, 'n Harder,....    Nothin',.....
I pick up the drive, 'n the replaceable cone on the end, that I sharpened, is GONE,....

I bail outa the loader, 'n look things over, the tip literally screwed itself off, broke the 7/8" threaded portion, in tension, right off,....
The threads in the cone piece are deeper than the threaded tail of the tip piece,...
The tip was diggin' so hard into the oak, it stopped, 'n the cone kept turnin', til the 7/8" threads parted under tension,....
Unf*#kin' unbelievable,....   Donno the tensile strength of a 7/8" bolt, but it's damn High,....

Back on Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday, I finally got through to customer service on their 800 number, talked to a 'ell of a nice guy, Scott,....
Seems I ain't the only one havin' problems with this thing,....
He wanted to credit my card, give me All my money back, 'n I could send him the pieces I had left,...
I convinced 'im, That I think the thing will work Perfectly, with abit of Tunin',.....
We talked 'bout how to grind, 'n where quite abit,...   He told me they were recomendin' cutin' the threads Deeper,...
I disagree, 'n think just abit of back-cut on the threads, allows the wood fibers to spring back, 'n grab the next thread goin' by,....
Scott is sendin' me 2 new $50.00 tips, 'n credited my card for $50.00 for my hassle,...
I hope to see the tips in tomorrow's mail, 'n will try splittin' more blocks, hopefully by tomorrow afternoon,...

So far, I can't say enough Good things 'bout this American company sellin' their made in America tools,...
Home base is down Memphis way,....
I'm gonna do what I can do to help 'em fix the bugs in their new product,.....
« Last Edit: January 01, 2017, 06:29:10 PM by Bondo »
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BIG AL

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2017, 11:13:36 AM »

Never saw one never tried one. Went and watched some videos I want one!!! I wonder how much abuse that puts on the gear box of the auger? I know where there is a 3pt. auger I can have but I would hate to fork out the money for the bit and blow up the gear box.
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SE Mass
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2017, 02:41:01 PM »

Never saw one never tried one. Went and watched some videos I want one!!! I wonder how much abuse that puts on the gear box of the auger? I know where there is a 3pt. auger I can have but I would hate to fork out the money for the bit and blow up the gear box.

Ayuh,.....     I ain't got an update yet, no mail, no new tip,....   darn Holidays,....   :-\

Did go out, 'n grind the thread on the main cone section though,....
Once the tips show up, I'll grind 1 down, 'n go get the skid-steer, 'n auger drive,....

As for gear box abuse, it appears to be much less than sinkin' a 12" auger into rocky ground, for Sure,....

I see where reverse spin will be handy, 'n I hear some pto tractor 3-pt. hitch augers don't go backwards,...
Donno,...

I Do have some Pictures though,.....


I don't have any before pictures, but those on the Titan website show the squareness of the original threads,...
These pic.s show how I ground the lead corner off the threads, allowin' the wood to be gripped by the top of the thread,...



This is the back-cut on the main cone body,....



This is the Evidence I'm usin' to think this thing is gonna work Great,...
The tip I ground stuck in the oak block, the auger kept turnin', 'n the main cone wouldn't follow the ground tip into the block,...
The attachment threads then turned deeper into the main cone body, til the 7/8" steel sheared, in tension,......
It stretched quite aways before it snapped,...




As soon as the tips get here, I'll let ya know how it goes,....
« Last Edit: July 27, 2017, 10:57:48 PM by mlappin »
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RSI

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2017, 03:15:13 PM »

A few years ago I built one using a Stickler cone and a wheel motor from a lawn mower. It worked pretty good but the hub was too weak and broke. It grabbed good enough that not much down force was needed.

The Stickler cone is hollow so not sure how much abuse it can take. One of these days I need to try rebuilding it again. I am thinking about trying a front wheel hub assembly from GM 2500HD truck.
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BIG AL

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2017, 04:37:14 PM »

Correct in that the 3pt. auger only spins one way , no reverse.  :( That's part of the reason you find a bunch of broken augers around here where the soil is so rocky.
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SE Mass
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2017, 01:15:12 PM »

Just a quick up-date,....

Been out in the wood pile a couple times with this rig,....
Most of what's left is maple, oak, 'n box elder,....  3' up to 5' rounds, 12" to 23" length,...
Big ugly wood, knot knuckles 'n all,...
Varyin' degrees of rot, as they're all old residential take-down trees,...

I LOVE it,...

I'll get some pictures up later,.....
It's on an ole 565 new holland skid-steer with a quick-connect auger drive, 2, 9/16" shaft, unknown manufacturer,...

With the replaceable tip, 'n cone sharpened in the pictures above, it works pretty damn good,...
Pick yer spot, drop the tip on/ near it, hit the auger, 'n abit of down pressure, it turns in nicely,....

The Problems, so far relate to the spot in the round ya pick, keepin' the entire chunk from spinnin', 'n gettin' the splitter out of a badly chosen spot,...

I'm findin' goin' in from the end-grain, hopefully at a defect area, or clear straight grain, works the Best,....
The problem splits usually occur when I go into the side of a round,....
If I run it in til the hyd.s stall, backin' the splitter out is a Pain,...
Had to walk it over to my beam splitter twice to bust off big rounds I couldn't get it to unscrew from,...
Though that's a lack of hyd. drive, not a fault of the cone splitter,...

I Did break another tip, luckily, they sent me 2 replacements, so I'm still up, 'n runnin',....
I believe I did it by tryin' to back it out of a bad spot, 'n unscrewed the tip from the cone, which puts the load on the threaded portion, rather than the cone portion, which busted the tip off, when I hauled the whole thing over to the beam splitter,...

After I broke the 2nd tip, before I screwed in the other new tip I'd already sharpened, I cut the threads on the cone again, leavin' a 3/16" or less of the flatness of the thread,.....
The flatness on the threads started out just over 5/16" wide, with a very sharp corner where I beveled off the edge,...
I'd thought the splitter was goin' in quicker at the tip, 'n slower on the cone, so sharpenin' the cone's threads seemed logical,....
Glad I did it,....
It's much better cuttin' into the wood now,...
Which of course makes it much easier to bury into a really Bad spot too,.....
The big chunk of round stuck on it now is proof of that,....
Once it stops rainin', I'll go split it off with the beam splitter,.....   ::)
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RSI

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2017, 01:35:02 PM »

Are you going in at the edge or the middle of the wood? If you have been doing the middle, try closer to the edge / end. It keeps it from spinning and splits easier.
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2017, 02:18:45 PM »

Are you going in at the edge or the middle of the wood? If you have been doing the middle, try closer to the edge / end. It keeps it from spinning and splits easier.

Ayuh,....    Been tryin' all sortsa things, but I get yer drift,....

Here's a few views from the seat,...












The order of the pictures is exactly backwards,....
The split startin' in the very 1st picture, is the chunk of wood that's still hung on the cone,....
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #8 on: January 13, 2017, 03:20:39 PM »

No more pictures, but I was out in the woodyard with the Titan splitter again today,.....

No complaints, at All with the Titan,....    ;)     :)

Still learnin' what it, 'n the skid-steer are capable of,...
Had several chunks screwed in solid 'n stalled, so split 'em off with the beam splitter,....

With the 18" of snow melted, gettin' around was much better,...
Split all the big chunks I could reach, parked it, 'n switched to splittin' the blocks to boiler sized, 'n movin' 'em to the boiler wood pad,....
Movin' the blocks ain't so bad when they're under 100 pounds, insteada several hundred,...

Backs alittle stiff, but all in all a Great day,...
Probably a full cord to the boiler pad, 'n 3 cords of massive rounds busted into manageable chunks for splittin' finer,....
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2017, 02:05:30 PM »

Another up-date,....   

Was out in the back wood yard, bustin' the monster blocks down into manageable chunks today before the rain started,....
I'm down to maybe 15 or 20 monsters left,...
'bout an hour or so into it, I Busted off another tip,...... :'(

Brought the skid-steer back in, pulled the Titan off, in the garage, I pulled the busted piece of stud outa the threads in the cone with a hammer, 'n punch,...
The broken stub backed out nicely,...   No damage,....

I came in, 'n called palletforks.com again,....

After waitin' awhile, Zack answered the line,....   told be Scott was out of the office today, So,....

I explained my situation, 'n past conversations with Scott, 'n begged for another couple of replacement tips,...
We chatted for a few minutes, 'n when I asked 'bout the tips again, Zack said they're already on their way to me,.... :)
Again, No charge,....

I can't say enough Good things 'bout this outfit, Darn Nice folks, that are standin' behind their product,....
'n I LOVE the Titan,...
I'm still learnin' it's idiosyncrasies, but I'm gainin' insight, 'n it's workin' Great,.....

When the new replacement tips get here, I'll post another up-date,....
Speakin' with some Buds this afternoon, my Bud, Bob had a Great idea for possibly fixin' the breakin' tip problem,.....     ;)
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aarmga

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2017, 01:52:27 AM »

I just wanted to comment on this.  I have a few products from titan as well.  They were slow to ship a few things but darn nice people to talk to. I called and left a message on a Friday just after they closed and got a call back and zack told me he was just finishing something up and figured he would call me back while he was still there.  Besides having a good product they have great customer service.  I will buy all my attachments I need from them!
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2017, 05:33:05 PM »

I just wanted to comment on this.  I have a few products from titan as well.  They were slow to ship a few things but darn nice people to talk to. I called and left a message on a Friday just after they closed and got a call back and zack told me he was just finishing something up and figured he would call me back while he was still there.  Besides having a good product they have great customer service.  I will buy all my attachments I need from them!

Ayuh,....    While I've talked to a few folks down there,....

Zack is who I ask for,....   talked to him at length,....

As a final up-date for this thread,....
Titan has sent me another new tip, even though I hadn't called for another,....

I've found the splitter to work Great,....
The only thing that could make it better is to have more hyd. power available for more splittin' torque,...

I now screw the tip in, then weld a bead in each slot at the junction,....
It stops it from screwin' in, 'n pullin' the stud in two, like posted way above,....

It also stops the tip from Unscrewin', when the auger stalls, 'n has to be backed out,...
The tip backin' out has been the biggest problem,....
The last tip still in the splitter, backed out, just enough to crack the weld,....
I'll grind it out, 'n reweld it before usin' it again,...

All in all,...   I Love the tool, especially 'cause I've got use of a company skid-steer to run it,...
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DeerMeadowFarm

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2017, 09:15:29 AM »

I am just replying to this now, and maybe someone else has mentioned it, but I see that you are using the spiral splitter in the end grain of the wood in your photos. As far as I know, and everyone I've tried, the idea is to stick the tip of that cone into the side of the log/round, not the end.

I have a cordwood saw that I use for 8" - 10" max diameter limbs/saplings that I use and sometimes I'd like to split the rounds once. I plan to add a cone splitter to it.
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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #13 on: June 16, 2017, 10:58:57 PM »

Good point!  I looked into that more and you are right.  A cone splitter should split the wood from the side of the log not the face of the log!  I never knew that!
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Bondo

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Re: Has anyone tried one of the spiral cone wood splitters,..??
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2017, 05:07:12 PM »

Quote
but I see that you are using the spiral splitter in the end grain of the wood in your photos. As far as I know, and everyone I've tried, the idea is to stick the tip of that cone into the side of the log/round, not the end.

Ayuh,....    The Diameter of the rounds comes into play,....

I shoot for 18" to 20" wood for my boiler,...
My hyd. splitter is 24",...

Stabbin' the side of a 60" round, 18" long just ain't feasible,...

The reason I bought this thing is for all the rounds I get that are over 'bout 30"s or so....
 I'll hurt myself(again) gettin' 'em to the hyd. splitter,...

The spiral splitter has done a Great Job at reducin' the Huge rounds to manageable chunks for Me,...
'n a Big kudos to the folks down in Tennessee that build, sell these things, 'n provide Great service,...
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