For the owner of a country or private house, an indispensable tool is a cleaver. It can be mechanical or manual. You can buy a similar device in the store, but mechanical devices are expensive, so not everyone can afford it, although they can greatly facilitate the process of harvesting firewood.
Before making such an expensive purchase, you need to think that such designs are not difficult, so you can make them yourself. But first, decide whether the cleaver will be mechanical, or it is better to supplement it with an engine. In the latter case, you will have to look for spare parts somewhere, as well as use the services of a turner. It's good if you have such skills yourself.
Varieties of devices for chopping firewood: an ax with a displaced center
On sale today you can find a splitting ax with a displaced center. For the Vipukirves Leveraxe model, you will have to pay 16,000 rubles. With the help of the tool in a short time it will be possible to chop a large amount of firewood. This is possible thanks to the curved foot located at the top of the blade. It clings to the remaining elements of the log and forms a lever. As a result, the tool does not slip after impact, and the legs remain safe. The design at the same time assumes a free grip of the ax.
The ax handle is made of Finnish birch, which is able to absorb shock. In winter, the handle will not freeze, it will not slip in your hands even in rainy weather. Due to the fact that the design of such an ax is unique, the blade does not get stuck in the wood, because the displaced center of gravity instantly takes the ax to one side, so a section of the log breaks off with one blow. Blade thickness is 8 cm and weight is 3 kg. The material used is steel and the folded dimensions of the tool are 91 x 23 x 9 cm.
Things to consider before making
Before performing a cleaver, it is important to think about the fact that they will have to swing not a few, but a lot of times. It follows from this that the weight of the instrument must be appropriate to the physical form of the person. For example, on sale you can find cleavers, the weight of which varies from 2 to 5 kg. However, using a light tool, only small logs can be split, so the size of the firewood must also be taken into account.
The handle of the tool, which is called an ax handle, must be made of wood like elm or maple, in extreme cases it can be birch. After all, inaccurate and strong blowsrender the tool unusable. It is also important to consider the length of the ax - it should not be too short. If you decide to make a cleaver with your own hands, then it will be more convenient to have two tools. One of them should be a powerful ax with a long handle, while the other is a wedge-shaped classic cleaver. The latter will be suitable for fresh chopped wood with high moisture, while the other will cope with dry logs. Different types of wood will behave differently. And if you have two cleavers on hand, you can find an approach to them.
Tips for making a cleaver
Before you make a cleaver with your own hands, you should choose a suitable design. Homemade tools are hydraulic or screw, the latter are also called conical. The most common are homemade screw or factory options. The main part is a cone with a large thread, which is driven by an electric motor. The master will only need to move the deck to the cone, as the latter will begin to screw into it.
The cone wood splitter has an appropriate shape, from which the wood splits into 2 parts. If we are talking about hydraulic cleavers, then they will have a higher performance compared to the above, but they are more difficult to manufacture. The principle of operation will remain the same as that of the hydraulic press. The wood will be pressed through a special form that splits the element into logs of the desiredsizes. The mechanisms of the machine are a hydraulic drive that operates from a gasoline or electric engine. A cone wood splitter will be more convenient when harvesting firewood compared to a conventional ax. It is easy to make such tools, but you can find ready-made kits for assembling such devices on sale.
Production of a screw splitter
If you are thinking about how to make a screw cleaver, then first you need to prepare the following materials and details:
- electric motor;
- pulleys;
- drive belt;
- sheet metal:
- engine mounting plate;
- shaft with bearings;
- working cone;
- profile pipes;
- metal corners.
When choosing an electric motor, you need to pay attention to the one that has a power of 2 kW. The sheet metal must be 3 mm thick.
Expert advice
Homemade wood splitter can be made much easier if you can find a low-speed powerful electric motor that is capable of delivering 500 revolutions per minute. In this case, a belt drive is not required, and the cone can be put on its shaft.
The number of engine revolutions, in principle, can be any, but it is necessary to calculate the belt drive pulleys in such a way that the speed is 500 revolutions per minute. On the market you can buy a ready-made shaft with bearings for an electric cleaver, but pulleys and a threaded cone can be made,turning to the turner.
Work methodology
If you decide to make a cleaver with your own hands, then carbon steel will act as the material for the cone, it is better to use the St45 brand. When preparing a thread, it must be borne in mind that it must consist of two runs. The pitch is 7 mm, while the height of the turns is 2 mm.
It will be possible to machine pulleys from ordinary steel grade St3, and the dimensions of the grooves will depend on the selected belt. Specialists use a chain instead of a belt drive. This is more reliable, but more difficult in the manufacturing process. It is important to choose the stars in size, which is not very convenient. In order to assemble the cleaver with your own hands, you need to weld the bed by installing a plate for mounting the motor under the tabletop. A shaft with bearings should be located on it. A pulley and a cone are fixed on it. Next, the master has to put on and pull the belt. Connecting the motor to the network is carried out at the next stage, then you can proceed to the test.
Production of a hydraulic splitter
The hydraulic cleaver has a different design from the previous one. The drive and the working part, which is used to split the material, act as a feature. The bed has a different shape, although it is welded from corners, pipes and sheet metal. The press cleaver works by means of a hydraulic cylinder, the pressure in it is provided by an oil pump. It is necessary to install this element on the same shaft with an electric motor, while the unit can be located separately from the frame, howeverit will be connected to the cylinder using hoses.
Nuances of the work
If you decide to make a hydraulic splitter, then first you need to find all the details and take care of making the mold. It is made of metal, and the base will be a cruciform shape. Its dimensions can be chosen individually, because there are no clear restrictions. The main condition in this case is that the power of the cylinder is sufficient to split firewood when its size is too large.
The mold must be fixed on the frame, its transverse axis must coincide with the shaft of the hydraulic cylinder. It is installed along the frame and connected to the pump, while the nozzles should be used. Such a mechanical cleaver can be mobile; for this, the wheels should be strengthened to the frame.
