Apparatus for rough-splitting planks

Abstract

A mechanical hand tool converts random-sized boards or planks into small, uniformly sized pieces suitable for use as kindling wood for stoves, fireplaces, and campfires. The device as a whole works on the principle of pincers or nippers, comprising two handles connected by means of a series of pivots and levers to jaws carrying opposing splitter blades. The mechanical advantage of the tool is increased significantly by the compounding action of the multiple pivots such that the physical effort involved in applying the tool is minimized. The tool is applied by holding the work, consisting of any of a broad range of predetermined sizes, edge-up between the feet of a user, who stands erect and astride the board or plank as it lies on the floor or ground. By a succession of side-to-side opening and closing actions of the tool in combination with forward and backward motions, utilizing the handles to provide leverage, small pieces can be split away and broken off from the main piece, as the operator works along its length and width, until said main piece is thus completely converted.