So, on the topic of splitting wood...
We started building that RMH 'fireplace' style unit around December 3rd. Glen took most of the pictures with his phone and posted them to his Facebook account. I'd have started a thread and shown y'all (note the transplanted Yankee's attempt to fit in) but my old laptop hates Facebook.
It's heating the living area in the shop fine. The space is 28'x24' with 12' ceiling, just 2" XPS sheeting on the upper 4' of wall and on the ceiling, no cellulose blown in the walls or on top of the ceiling yet. Been Broke for months.
2 concrete bells for the thermal mass, 8"x8"x16" foundation block mortared together and filled with clay-rich dirt. Bells are 32"x32"x60" OD and 16"x16"x52"ID. According to the meat thermometer embedded in a mortar joint, bells are getting to 140°F within 2" of the inside.
Waited until the last moment to cut wood, fortunately the property is full of standing deadwood. Still must be damp on the inside though, as the furnace is producing Alot of ash and the exhaust stack is smoking slightly. To heat that space we are burning throughout the day though. Unit was finished just before Xmas and we have cut/ split/ burned about 1/3 cord.
Dunno what ails me but my arms just are not up to the shock (impact shock) of splitting wood. Recently my elbows and wrists have begun to hurt alot, and it's painful just to move a (3 hole) foundation block. Had to lift a Toyota transfer case up and stuff it into the transmission the other day and it was all i could do to pick it up. Holding it up there was easy though, as i aligned the input shaft with the tranny. Just the lifting hurt alot.
Sitting Indian style under the truck, BTW, not standing under a truck on a vehicle lift. Tires were on the ground too...
I only had to hunch my shoulders a little bit. I just got 35" tires on my 84 Toyota 4x4. 5:29 gearing to match in the axles, so the 22RE 4-cyl engine doesn't have to strain to move the truck. (stock is 4:10 with 28" tires) In case yer wondering, this all came off another truck on the property, i didn't win the lottery. In fact i only have 10 cents to my name.
Back on the subject of firewood, i've been wanting to build a SuperSplitter clone for a couple years but time/ money / space hasn't permitted me to. Has anyone seen one of these? It's super fast, and no hydraulics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpmuZwdlPrcMechanical vs Hydraulic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG7Ytb3M-B4Trolls with negative replies really bother me, here's a guy actually splitting some tougher wood, and the reviews seem more knowledgeable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYIj3uv5sHAIt's pretty pricey though, so people have started building them at home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=256rBriIT28This guy shows the inner workings a bit better. I think he spent Way too much on the rack & pinion gear. He finally mentioned the pinion gear is 4-1/2" OD which explains why he sheared the teeth off it already. Having only one flywheel means less energy stored too. But a good video about a DIY SuperSplitter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGIFYUfkhwEI'd use a 2-1/2" OD pinion gear with a 1" bore. Available from Amazon Supply. Use 2 Toyota 22R timing gear sets for a 2:1 reduction between the flywheel shaft and the pinion shaft. (They are just laying around) Use old 31" tires on the rim full of cement for cheap heavy flywheels. Drill out cement with a masonry bit on an old-school bubble balancer to balance the cement-filled flywheels to reduce shake. The rack and pinion gears are the things that are the hardest for me to acquire, they cost money.
This one would be cheap and easy to build but (even though i have a respect for machinery) it would require only a moments inattention or fatigue-induced 'Oops' to lose body parts. And he's right, the maul is too wide, just a 3/4" thick sharp wedge would impart less side motion to the wood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92ejWHlPLaEI'd seen this one first, looks like he's getting his fingers Waaay too close during some of those vertical splits, and he could definitely use a larger work table. Maybe a guard to keep from falling into it? But hey, everything can be improved on, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40sCGb678sQ
Darrell "Jake" Jacob, Oddmar on all the forums, KC9PZN to all you amateurs.