Hero photograph
Trailer mounted hydraulic wood splitter, designed and built by Otago Polytechnic students
 
Photo by Otago Polytechnic

Chop chop

Lesley Brook —

Four Mechanical Engineering students built their own hydraulic wood splitter.

For their project, Diploma students Jack Scurr, Liam Manson, Jack Allen and James Parker decided to apply their minds and skills to creating an asset that would be theirs to keep and use. They researched the requirements, drew up the designs, sourced the materials, and built the wood splitter including the trailer using the equipment and technician support in our EPICentre workshop. Their objectives were achieved:

  • Portable: The wood splitter is trailer-mounted and meets road requirements.
  • Easy to use: The only physical force required is lifting the wood onto the chopping table and removing it.
  • Safe: The control lever must be held down, so it cannot be turned on accidentally and the downwards movement can be stopped simply by letting go. Safety glasses and earmuffs must be worn during operation.
  • Durable and easy to maintain: the team chose high quality materials.

The students have plans to add a mechanical lift to remove the physical need to lift the tree rings onto the table. They are justifiably proud of their finished product and plan to recoup the costs of materials by chopping and selling firewood.