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À LA PELLE, the specialist in hydraulic excavator attachments Who is Arnaud Dufour
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Drilling and compacting

Screw splitter

On the left, the threaded cone screws into the log and forces the fibres apart. On the right, the wood is split where it fell, then carried away already cut down. Computer-generated image.
Left: the threaded cone screws into the log and forces the fibres apart. Right: the wood is split where it fell, then carried away already cut down. Computer-generated image.

A threaded cone that screws into the log and opens it by forcing the fibres apart.
No ram, no travel to wait for:
the wood opens as the screw goes down.

Other names for this tool: screw splitter, splitting cone, splitting screw, conical splitter, hydraulic log splitter, wood cone.

The essentials
Family
Drilling and compacting
Classes (t)
Mini-excavators
Coupler
We calculate it with you for your machine
Power source
Hydraulic — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine
Principle
Screwing, without percussion

Before splitting, felling →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, the threaded cone screws into the log and forces the fibres apart. On the right, the wood is split where it fell, then carried away already cut down. Computer-generated image.
the threaded cone screws into the log and forces the fibres apart the wood is split where it fell, then carried away already cut down
Left: the threaded cone screws into the log and forces the fibres apart.
Right: the wood is split where it fell, then carried away already cut down.
What sets it apart:
the force is continuous and not brutal — what resists a wedge splitter gives way here.
Computer-generated image.

The cone turns and drives itself into the wood by its own thread.
As it goes in, it forces the fibres apart until they break.
A large-diameter log, a knotty log, a stump:
what resists a wedge splitter gives way here, because the force is continuous and not brutal.

Mounted on an excavator, the tool works where the wood fell.
You split on the spot, you only carry wood that has already been reduced — and that is often the whole point.

It is the most demanding tool in the range where safety is concerned. A turning screw grips and drags in everything that touches it. Nobody must be within reach while it is working, and it is operated from the cab, never from the ground.
This is not a catalogue precaution:
it is the condition of use.

02 What we check with you

On which machine?

A screw splitter fits a mini-excavator.
The exact excavator class and the coupler: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What the tool does

It works by screwing in, without percussion.
The torque, the rotation speed and the tool weight: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It works hydraulically.
The type of circuit, the flow, the pressure and the case drain to the tank: we calculate them with you for your machine.

Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

Don't have these figures?
A photo of the machine is enough to start.

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Give us your excavator model, the diameter of the largest logs and the dominant species.
Tell us too whether you split on the ground or on a set-up station:
that changes the tool as much as the method.

What we need to answer you
  • Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
  • The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
  • The coupler in place Its system and its class.
  • The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Threaded cone screwed into a log that is opening, a heap of split wood beside it
The cone forces the fibres apart until they break. The force is continuous, not brutal — that is what opens knotty wood that would resist a wedge.
Synthetic image.
04 Choice

What determines the choice

  • 01 — The diameter of the logs to be split It governs the size of the cone and the torque needed.
    An undersized screw drives in and stalls without opening the wood — and it then has to be backed out, which is not immediate.
  • 02 — The species and the condition of the wood A straight softwood opens almost by itself.
    A knotty oak, green wood or a stump call for a far higher torque.
    It is the worst case that sizes the tool, not the most frequent one.
  • 03 — The torque available, more than the flow The screw splitter works by rotational force.
    It is the pressure and the displacement of the hydraulic motor that decide, not the speed.
  • 04 — The thread and the surface condition That is the wear part.
    A worn thread no longer bites, slips and heats up.
    Its availability as a spare part counts as much as the price of the tool.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • The auxiliary line, its pressure and its flow See the 7 criteria.
  • The organisation of the workstation Where the log sits, how it is wedged, and who is nearby.
    With this tool, the question arises before the purchase.
  • The direction of rotation and the non-return Being able to reverse the rotation makes it possible to free a screw that has bitten in.
    Without that function, a jam becomes a job in itself.
  • The interface Coupler type and size, or pin dimensions.
    The tool is supplied with the matching plate — see the couplers.
A question about an attachment? 01 84 16 55 49 Send my photos