Kindling Splitter

This is a little different aproach to making kindling. The machine is all made from steel leftovers from previous projects. I just improvised the design with what I had at hand. It could be better looking but I went for practicality and honestly I didn't know if the machine would work as it should untill the big test. Im happy to say that it does the job marvellously.

What I needed for this build is some basic tools like angle grinder, welder, drill and some hand tools, hammer, ruler, punch...

...and some caution. Working with steel is dangerous and you must always use all the safety equipment you can and also your head. Accidents happen all the time so take your time to do it right.

Every time I started to make something, I bought more material than I needeed. So there were always leftover pieces which I didn't want to throw away. Bigger pieces are easily reused somewhere else but small pieces always remain and I don't really know what to do with them. It's an ideal opportunity to make a small machine.

So first I had to gather all the leftover steel and try to immagine what to do with it. I sketched the first part of the machine because it was hard to visualise it and I could do some corrections in the design before I made the first cut. When it all looked good I started cutting.

I stacked the pipes according to the design and welded them together. It's not even the same steel pipes. Some are thinner than the others. The bottom ones are from a thicker material to bear the load on them. But this does not matter because in the end it will be barely visible. When they were welded together I cut the back side to the correct angle and the first piece was prepared to be welded to the base.

Before starting this project I looked for ideas on the internet. I didn't like "the hinged machette" idea because I thought it to be dangerous. If it slips or jerks and you get caught unprepared it could hurt you badly. So I took a little different approach. I decided to make a sliding knife like on big vertical splitters, but simpler of course. even if something unwanted happens, the knife can only go so far down and your hands remain safe and unharmed.

So I had to shorten one side of the L profile to make a gap wide enough for the knife slider. Then when I was preparing the slider a small disaster happened. I cut my finger with the angle grinder. Luckily it was a small injury and after taking care of it I could continue. But this all happened because I was too excited and didn't think enough of my own safety.

When I welded the L profiles on to the base something happened that I didn't think of. I left too little tolerance for the slider so when the welds cooled down the slider bind in place. I painted it to see where to grind but this did not solve the problem so I had to grind the welds off and do it again. The second time it worked and the slider run good over the whole path.

The cutting piece is made from an old file. I cut it in half and grinded it slowly almost to a cutting edge with angle grinder. I was really careful not to overheat it so I had a smal bucket full of water nearby and dipped it in every few passes. in the end I finnished the cutting edge on the water stone. While I was at it I sharpened the axe too.

Then it was the time to make some holes. I have a hay hat on the drill press so whenever I have to change the gear ratio I have to put that hat on the head. It's a funny distraction, where else should I put it?

So this really are some ugly pieces I put together for the head piece but it's thick and undestructable steel and it's perfect for the job.

I had to make some more small parts to make everything work. My biggest concern here was if the hinge welds for the links were strong enough not to break. Hinge was made from some drilled nuts. When I put everything together I measured top and bottom position because everything on machine is adjustable. If I needed to change the stroke I just had to shorten the links. Next I welded the handle on and the kindle splitter was ready for the first try. My wife gladly volunteered for it.

It seemed the torque ratio was a little to small and I had to use a lot of force to actually split some wood. So I decided to change a few things. First I drilled an additional set of holes on the top part to shorten the head piece radius.

The second problem was that wood stopped at the knife screw so I added a plate to increase the distance between the cutting edge and the screw. I also added another piece for the slider so it runs much more straight.

Third I had to shorten the links to adapt to the new design.

And last I made some pieces to screw the machine on to the wall. And I made some welding dots so wood pieces don't slip off.

Even if it looked like an ugly duck before, the black paint really hides the imperfections. I could paint it another color but this is what I had at hand. In the end I realised I forgot to paint the links, so I used quick drying red spray paint. I also used a lot of grease so it doesnt squeak. I think it came out great but after a few uses it is not so shiny anymore. It's a hard working machine.

Honestly, now I could split kindling in the middle of the night, nobody would even hear me.