How to Make your Firewood Processor

How to Make a Firewood Processor
Firewood processors are the ideal tool for splitting and cutting large amounts
of firewood efficiently and safely. The only problem with these tools is that
they are pricey. An average firewood processor can cost anywhere from ten to
fifty thousand dollars, but with proper tools and knowledge any craftsman can
build a homemade processor for around three thousand.  Have a question? Get an answer from a Handyman now!
Instructions
1
The first thing you want to do when building a firewood processor is to draw out or purchase plans. these plans will be the outline for your project. Next you want to look into what equipment you will use to power your processor. Wood processors cut the wood using a long blade chainsaw welded into place on the frame along with a log splitter. When the log is placed into the processor the chainsaw will cut it to length then an hydraulic ram pushes the log into a sharpened blade that will split the log in half. Then you take the log and run it through the processor again to get firewood sized pieces of wood.

2
Once you have your chainsaw and log splitter purchased you can follow your plans to the next step which is constructing the trailer. Follow you plans to create a base trailer that will support the chainsaw and log splitter. Most trailers are constructed out of channel iron welded together. Once you have the trailer welded together you want to use steel mesh to act as guards around the cutting area. If you purchased plans they will explain the proper placement of the welds
to keep the chains in place; if you are working on your own plans just weld where the chains will protect the operator without disrupting the flow of processing.

3
After you have everything welded into place and your plans have been followed all the way through go ahead and test your processor with various size pieces of wood. Most firewood processors can handle wood twenty inches in diameter and produce two to three cords per hour. As long as you stick to your plans and have solid welds your firewood processor should work fine to cut and split logs into usable firewood.