A local builder and inventor was honoured at The Princess Auto West Edmonton Inventors Fair on July 13.
Seventy-two-year-old Leo Cote received the ‘Favourite Invention Award' at the fair for his Firewood Shearer and Splitter, which he designed, fabricated and assembled at his home and workshop located near Moose Lake.
The award was based on voting by more than 2,000 people attending the fair.
“It blew my mind how many people saw it in action. They tried it out and could see how it works. It was great,” said Cote, as he demonstrated the invention to the Nouvelle at his home this past week.
The wood shearer and splitter is made mostly of steel, hydraulics and two 15 horsepower engines. With the hook of a cable to a log and the push and pull of a few levers, the unit essentially pulls the full-length log into position, where a guillotine-like blade shears off a foot-long section before it is pushed through a t-section of sharpened steel which splits the wood into four manageable pieces.
Cote said at this point he has not patented the unit, but still gets a lot of use out of it, cutting wood for himself, family and friends.
Only having wood stoves to heat his home and shop, as opposed to hooking up to natural gas, Cote said he burns about 10 quarts of wood for heat during the winter, and the wood splitter takes a lot of the labour out of what used to be a tough task.
“I should have called it the lazy man's wood splitter,” Cote joked.
He said he has a deal worked out with his nephew, where he provides the wood splitter and his nephew provides the wood and they both end up with split logs for the winter months.
Cote said bartering has always been part of his lifestyle and was the only way he could have built the wood splitter. Through trading, borrowing and lending Cote managed to build his wood splitter for around $3,500 instead of an estimated $15,000 by purchasing everything new.
Because of his unselfish nature, Cote has found himself splitting wood for many different people, including a group attending a family reunion at a local campground.
He said after donating the wood to the family, members insisted he take some money for the good deed. But Cote would not accept, saying the money could go to a better cause.
The family eventually gathered $130 and donated it to Haying in the 30s, an organization which helps individuals and families going through cancer treatments.
Cote said, “That good deed couldn't have made me happier. It's nice to see it get passed on,” pointing out family members, including his wife have died from cancer.
Although the wood splitter has worked very well for the past two winters, Cote said there is always room for improvement. He is now planning to build a conveyor system for the wood splitter this winter, which would automatically carry the split logs up a conveyor belt and into an awaiting trailer or truck box.
Cote considers himself a builder, and that title is more than fitting. With one quick tour around his home and property, decorative and utilitarian items sit inside and out, all built by Cote, himself.
“I thrive on building things,” said Cote, who has a Grade 6 education, but decades of hands-on experience building, fabricating and repairing various items.
He said he does not have the technical expertise some might possess, but that he is hard working, determined and willing to make things work the right way, even if that takes a few tries.
“Whenever I build something, I basically break it, find out what needs to be worked on and then improve it.”
He said that desire to build likely runs in the family, as his father was a carpenter and builder and had an “inventive mind” and now one of his grandsons is getting into the business of building.
With five children, 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, Cote said his large family has a lot of potential to do different things in life, leaving him the opportunity to keep on building for himself and those around him.