Splitter for Chestnut Palings

[Catweazle]

Has anyone seen / made a splitter for palings ? They need to be up to 6ft long and an 8" log would need to be split into 6 segments, preferably in one operation.

 

I'm thinking it will be like a normal firewood splitter but with a much longer ram or possibly some kind of feed "wheels" like a harvester head. I guess it would also have some kind of guide near the blades, to keep the log from wandering off course, and probably thin blades so as not to damage the wood too much.

 

Ideas appreciated,

 

Thanks.

[Quickthorn]

Have you tried Woodlots? I can't see anything that exactly matches what you are after, but you might find a contact.

 

I'm not exactly sure if such a thing exists, to be honest. It may still be done by hand. Anyway, there are a few facts and figures about chestnut paling manufacture in this paper (it's a pdf file).

[garth mc garth]

what typre of paling diameter are you looking for?? is it the small pales in a roll wired together?? my friend has a splitter for clefting rails in 9ft 6 lengths that works really well, didnt cost much to build

[Catweazle]

Quickthorn - thanks for that, it shows splitting by hand though which is a bit slow. I need something like a "powered froe" . A machine that pushes the log through whilst I steer the froe by hand would be better than nothing.

 

Garth - I will be splitting longer wood too, for post and rail fence. How did your friends machine work ? Was it similar to a long conventional log-splitter ?

 

I wonder if the blade(s) will have to be spring mounted so that they can follow the grain to an extent, splitting rather than cutting.

 

As far as I can google nobody sells one of these machines but I can't believe that all that paling is split by hand.

[garth mc garth]

a shaped blade ie a cresent cut out the face so it grips the wood top and bottom will stop it from running out and splitting straight. the one my mate built is from the masts of 2 forklifts welded end on end. splits on the up stroke of 1 mast, when thats at full extension you pull the other lever to extend second mast and retract the first whilst splitting a second rail.

[digga]

have made thousands of bundles of chestnut pailing over the years its supricing just how quick you can get at cleaving them out .if you try doing it with a splitter you wouldnt be able to correct it when it starts to run off like you can with a froe you would get so much waste and miss splits i couldnt see it being cost effective

[Ian Leach]

AS said above i have only done it by hand and it's very quick and forthe bigger stuff wedges

[Quickthorn]

have made thousands of bundles of chestnut pailing over the years its supricing just how quick you can get at cleaving them out .if you try doing it with a splitter you wouldnt be able to correct it when it starts to run off like you can with a froe you would get so much waste and miss splits i couldnt see it being cost effective

 

Digga, agree with what you're saying there. I'd be interested to know: what were they paying per pale, and how long ago? How many could you do in a day?

[digga]

not sure what there paying at the moment as the last couple of lots ive done we have used are selfs made them a little bigger for hedge laying stakes

the other day i had all the lengths alllready sawn out hand shaved and made 28 bundles with 25 in each bundle know guys that do it all the time that do far more than that

[Quickthorn]

That doesn't seem too bad, considering your main tool would probably cost about £40, makes no noise, needs no fuel and next to no maintenance.!