For the owner of a country or private house, an essential 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 significantly facilitate the process of harvesting firewood.
Before making such an expensive purchase, you need to think about the fact 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 parts somewhere, as well as use the services of a turner. Well, if you have such skills yourself.
Varieties of devices for chopping firewood: an ax with an offset center
On sale today you can find a cleaver ax with a displaced center. For the model Vipukirves Leveraxe will have to pay 16,000 rubles. Using a tool in a short time it will be possible to chop a large amount of firewood. This is possible due to the curved foot located at the top of the blade. She clings to the remaining elements of the log and forms a lever. As a result, the tool does not slip after the impact, and the legs remain safe. The design in this case involves the free grip of the ax.
The ax is made of Finnish birch, which is able to absorb shock impulse. 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 shifted center of gravity instantly takes the ax to the side, so with one hit a section of the log breaks off. The thickness of the blade is 8 cm and the weight is 3 kg. Steel is used as the material, and when folded, the dimensions of the tool are 91 x 23 x 9 cm.
What to consider before manufacturing
Before performing a cleaver, it is important to think that they will have to wave not several, but many times. It follows the conclusion 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, it will be possible to split only small logs, so the size of the firewood must also be taken into account.
The handle of the tool, which is called a hatchet, must be made of wood according to the type of elm or maple, in extreme cases it can be a birch. After all, inaccurate and powerful blows will render the tool unusable. It is also important to consider the length of the ax - it should not be too short. If you decide to do the 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 should be a wedge-shaped classic cleaver. The latter is suitable for fresh chopped wood with high humidity, while the other will cope with dry logs. Different types of wood will behave differently. And if you have two cleaver on hand, you can find an approach to them.
Cleaver Tips
Before you perform 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 begins to screw into it.
The cone splitter has a corresponding shape, from which the wood splits into 2 parts. If we are talking about hydraulic splitters, then they will have a higher productivity compared to the above, but it is more difficult to manufacture them. The principle of operation will remain the same as that of a hydraulic press. The wood will be pressed through a special form, which splits the element into logs of the desired size. The machine mechanisms are a hydraulic drive that operates from a gasoline or electric engine. A cone splitter will be more convenient when harvesting firewood compared to a conventional ax. To make such tools is simple, but on sale you can find ready-made kits for assembling such devices.
Making a screw cleaver
If you are thinking about how to make a cleaver screw, then first you need to prepare the following materials and details:
- electric motor;
- pulleys;
- drive belt;
- sheet metal:
- plate for mounting the engine;
- shaft with bearings;
- working cone;
- profile pipes;
- metal corners.
When choosing an electric motor, you need to pay attention to one that has a power of 2 kW. Sheet metal should have a thickness of 3 mm.
Specialist advice
A home- made chopper for firewood can be made much easier if you can find a low-speed powerful electric motor that will be able to produce 500 rpm. In this case, a belt drive is not required, and the cone can be put on its shaft.
The number of revolutions of the engine, in principle, can be any, but it is necessary to calculate the belt pulleys in such a way that the speed is equal to 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 by contacting a turner.
Methodology
If you decide to make a cleaver with your own hands, then carbon steel will act as a material for the cone, it is better to use the St45 grade. When preparing a thread, it must be taken into account that it must consist of two passes. The pitch is 7 mm, while the height of the turns is 2 mm.
Pulleys can be machined from ordinary steel of the St3 grade, and the dimensions of the grooves will depend on the selected belt. Instead of a belt drive, specialists use a chain drive. It is more reliable, but more difficult in the manufacturing process. It is important to choose the size of the stars, 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 countertop. A shaft with bearings should be located on it. A pulley and cone are fixed on it. Next, the master will put on and pull the belt. Connecting the motor to the network is carried out in the next step, then you can proceed to the tests.
Making a hydraulic cleaver
The hydraulic splitter has a design different from the previous one. The drive and the working part, which is used for splitting the material, act as a feature. The bed has a different shape, although it is welded from corners, pipes and sheet metal. The press splitter works due to the hydraulic cylinder, the pressure in it is provided by the oil pump. It is necessary to install this element on one shaft with an electric motor, while the assembly can be located separately from the bed, however, it must be connected to the cylinder using hoses.
The nuances of the work
If you decide to make a hydraulic cleaver, then for a start you should find all the details and take care of the manufacture of the mold. It is made of metal, and a cruciform shape will act as a basis. Its sizes can be selected individually, because there are no clear restrictions. The main condition in this case is that the cylinder power is enough to split the firewood when their size is too large.
The form must be fixed on the bed, 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, wheels should be strengthened to the frame.