Turning an unwanted Tractor into a Woodsplitting Machine

Having borrowed my neighbour's wood splitter for our annual firewood push, supplying myself, friends and family with firewood for the year, I decided it was time to build my own. My neighbour Terry mentioned he had an old tractor that had been sitting unused at his quarry for many years. He thought it would be perfect for converting into a tractor-powered log splitter, and he was happy for me to have it! After plenty of cranking and a lot of engine-starting attempts, we managed to expel A LOT of water out of the exhaust pipe! Eventually, cranking it over on 24 volts did the trick, and the old girl fired into life after years of hibernation. I drove the tractor back to my place and got stuck into the project. First up was removing the backhoe unit, which Terry wanted to keep. Thankfully, that went smoothly. Next came a number of smaller repairs, including getting the power steering and alternator working again, followed by a full engine service to get the old tractor ready for its new life as a wood splitter. I sourced a workbench and an I-beam from a local scrapyard, but most of the other materials and components came from bits and pieces the neighbours had lying around. After plenty of welding, three grinders and a fair bit of improvisation, I finally managed to get the homemade hydraulic log splitter assembled and ready for a test run! It wasn't pretty, and there are definitely things I could have done better, but using what we had available, a wood splitter was born. I even managed to put together a makeshift log-lifting table to help raise some of the bigger logs, or biscuits as we call them here in New Zealand. It makes a huge difference when you're operating the log splitter and handling firewood on your own. So far, it's split through rata, Tasmanian blackwood, tawa and plenty of pine without missing a beat. There are already a few modifications in the pipeline to improve the design before next year's firewood season, but so far, so good! Can an unwanted, long-abandoned tractor be turned into a useful piece of firewood-processing machinery? This project proves that with a bit of ingenuity, some welding and a few parts from the scrapyard, you can build something useful without spending a fortune. If you enjoy DIY machinery projects, tractor restorations, homemade log splitters, welding, fabrication and rural New Zealand living, make sure to subscribe to OFFGRID NZ for more projects. #WoodSplitter #TractorConversion #DIY #Firewood #OffGridNZ