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Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:39 am
by Bob Perry
A neighbor just bought this machine. Pretty cool. Made by Built-Rite of Ludlow VT.


Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 2:15 pm
by danovercash
Seems like I remember seeing a video of a machine like on the front of a Bobcat. The whole 9 yards on one tractor! Your neighbor has a nice looking rig, would take alot of firewood to pay for that thing.

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:31 pm
by Bob Perry
would take alot of firewood to pay for that thing.


For sure. I don't know what he paid. But he's a self-employed guy who does small engines, snow plowing, etc., so this could be a nice business.

We do have a lot of people who enjoy burning wood but don't have the equipment (or the ambition) to do their own, so there definitely is a market for wood. And as the oil prices rise, demand increases for wood.

The engine is Kubota, I believe it's 67 HP. Of course a good tractor could run a hydraulic pump off the PTO. I look at the machine and say hmmmm, I can weld, I understand hydraulics, hmmm what a project that would be to build one. But just buying all those components would cost a fortune!

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:19 pm
by danovercash

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:34 pm
by dgrapes59
That is a pretty impressive machine!

I was at a guy’s house last week and he had a “home-made” splitter on the back of his compact John Deere. He was a fabricator turned design engineer and the quality of his work would have made Rick Prentice proud! It was a super heavy duty and even had a hydraulic lift to load heavy logs from the ground to the splitter. Unfortunately he failed to put a guard by a moving part that happened to find the end of his finger… that kind of power doesn’t pinch, it removes!

Thanks for sharing,

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:43 pm
by Bob Perry
danovercash wrote:Here you go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeanPDO-D6M

And you thought buzz saws were dangerous!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVAAx3m ... re=related


Regarding the first one, Wow! what a machine, appears to run off Bobcat hydraulic system, very fast. And seems like the operator can't see what he's doing. But gets it up high and fills truck without conveyor.

The second video, I'd like to say, What's the life expectancy of the guy who runs it, but looks like he's about as old as the machine, so...

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:51 pm
by Bob Perry
dgrapes59 wrote:Unfortunately he failed to put a guard by a moving part that happened to find the end of his finger… that kind of power doesn’t pinch, it removes!


Ouch!

Yea those inventions can get us in trouble! My father used to tell a story about a farmer who lost a finger in a hay-baler knotter, then the second farmer came along and said "How did that happen?" and the guy went to point where it happened and it suddenly triggered and chopped off another finger.

As I got older I wondered if all these stories were true. :big say what:

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:17 pm
by Bigdog
Some learn by watching - some learn from doing. Some never learn......

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:01 pm
by Rudi
Those were two of the videos I had found a couple years ago when we were discussing how's and why's of splitter projects. Never ceased to amaze me those two along with a few others I found. I really liked the one where the guy was building a splitter with an axe head welded to a steel wheel. Very similar to my father-in-law's splitter he used for years. Wanna talk dangerous :?: :?: :shock: Still need to get pics uploaded of that one and maybe a video of it in action maybe in the spring.

In the meantime, I saw this one at the Grand Digue show on the 11th. Amazing. He worked on this project for a number of years off and on as he had spare time. Farmers don't have a lot of that even in the winter... :roll: so it took a while.. along with the thinking process. He is really quite proud of his invention. Won't go into production but suffices for his needs and that is what counts.



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Log cut and ready for the toss :!:
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You can see the chainsaw bar and chain as it clears the guard.
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Stowed position, chainsaw bar in the guard.
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Drive train adapted from an old cordwood saw. Hydraulic reservoir top left hand corner of the saw table assembly.
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Not sure what loader frame it is...
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danovercash wrote:And you thought buzz saws were dangerous!


Many of these critters appear dangerous, but things are not always what they seem. Besides modern technology had to come from somewhere...... :idea:

When folks have no extra money, folks tend to make what they need. They know how it is to be used and they know the risks. For others it probably is about as safe as it looks.. so best that they don't touch. My FIL's splitter is a beast, but it sure beats the heck out of splitting 10-12 cords of wood with a maul :!: After a couple years of helping Dad split his wood, I am reasonably comfortable with the splitter although it is not my favourite piece of equipment.

Without getting into a long discussion on the merits of this or that, it is very easy today to cast pronouncements on the perceived safety/efficacy of a particular home brewed unit and with today's safety concerns it is sort of valid. However, when viewing these units one must remember from whence it came. Usually it came from someone's imagination and deep desire to lighten their work load and they used what they had available to build it. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say.

I still use the very same saw table that my wife's great-grandfather, grandfather and father all used. It has been modified a bit over the years to be more rugged but it is still the same saw that has been in the family for generations and will be for a few more to come I hope. It is about as dangerous to me as my shop table saw, or my band saw, radial arm saw or chop saw. It is all dependent upon the user and the user's skill set. All of my kids and my wife are trained to use the saw safely and Thank The Lord, no one has ever been hurt so far.

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:51 pm
by Bob Perry
Love it! That spring action, I watched it a few times, still trying to figure it out how it's done. Gotta love farmer inventions.

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:50 pm
by Rudi
Bob:

I found out pretty quickly that you gotta watch where you is standin :!: Gettin beaned was a real possibility. :shock: :lol: The spring action is actually hydraulics. From what I understand there is a hydraulic ram (small one) that moves out rather quickly, taps the lever and off goes the log. My camera ran out of room so I wasn't able to get any more shots of it. Maybe next year.

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:35 pm
by Bob Perry
Yea if you can figure it out or get more pictures, Rudi, I'd appreciate it. A farmer with a welder is like a conductor with an orchestra.

Re: Firewood Processing Machine

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:53 am
by Rudi
bobperry wrote:A farmer with a welder is like a conductor with an orchestra.


Boy is that the truth :big smile:

Will see if I can get his name and number and see if I can go get pics and info over the next little while. Gotta finish my wood first though before I get any spare time.