Firewood processor build thread

[muddstopper]

I am using a .404 harvester chain. Regular saw chain is a 3/8 pitch.. Power and torque can be controlled thru the use of a adjustable relief to regulate pressure. Axial piston motors can take up to 45-4600psi, but running reduced pressure will lower the HP. I also have concerns with chain breakage, I intend to start out with very low pressure, less than 1000psi, and work my way up until I find the sweet spot. Chain speed will be controled with a flow control, I plan on having 30gpm available, mostly because of efficencies losses, but at 25gpm,, my chain speed is dang near the same as a 3120 husky, which is a beast of a saw. I already have the saw built and will mount and test it as soon as I get the processor frame built. My current splitter has a 28gpm 2stage pump and I will hook that to the saw. Being a two stage pump, pressure is only around 700psi in the high flow mode.

I just did the math on this setup, a 1.3cuin motor would turn 4975rpms @28gpm (My motor is rated for 4400rpms), and @700psi should develop 12.1ftlbs of torques and 11.5 hp. It should give a chain speed of 4354fpm. A little more than the Husky 3120 gas powered chainsaw, but also less than a Harvester. I'll have to double check the math, but I was using online calculators so i assume these numbers are pretty close. My saw might work pretty good without having to worry about chain break.

 

[kiotiken]

Great posts about hydraulic saw motors, thanks. Everything you said is exactly why I'm sticking with my chain saw for now. As you say, there's big money in a hydraulic saw and that's not where I wanted to go.

Paints dry. Seems hard and well cured. I'm sure it's not really, but I feel better about it anyway. I haven't been out of bed in 3 days so apart from checking on the paint now and then, I haven't been back to it. I feel better today so I'll try and paint the parts that I didn't finish and start assembling the whole mess tonight.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I wonder if a hydraulic shear would work as a replacement for the chainsaw bar in this type of processor? Would a shear require too much power, be too slow or unreasonably limit the capacity (eg. diameter) of the unit...or cause other problems I haven't imagined?

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

rd, funny you mentioned a sheer. I had 8 cord delivered last week done with a shear processor. Judging by the end cuts, its rotary of some sort. Maxes out at a 15" log. He claims that the wood seasons better/faster with the shear cut but I don't like the way it stacks. Cuts are tapered and hence longer pieces for the same nominal length than if sawn

 

[muddstopper]

Great posts about hydraulic saw motors, thanks. Everything you said is exactly why I'm sticking with my chain saw for now. As you say, there's big money in a hydraulic saw and that's not where I wanted to go.

Actually with your setup, I would think it would be fairly inexpensive to just add a hydraulic saw in the near future. I think you already said you had the 28gpm 2 stage pump, all you would need would be a saw motor, about $300+/-, and a sprocket, bar and chain, about $200. Make your saw feed by hand to eliminate any fancy controls, add another valve to run the saw and your there. That fancy saw control is about $600 if you feel the need.

As for a shear, great way to splinter wood so it drys faster, dont know if I want to think about the power and tonnage it would take to shear a 27in dia whiteoak or hickory though. Lots of tonnage and power, something would have to give and you just hope its the wood and not the machine.

 

[muddstopper]

a few pics of my hydraulic chainsaw.

 

[kiotiken]

a few pics of my hydraulic chainsaw.

Very cool. You did catch my attention when you said you were using a 28 2 stage pump, that is the one I have. It's something for the future for me, but this posts will help if I do go that way. Thanks, looks good. When are you starting your own build thread?

 

[muddstopper]

Well, I am on vacation for the next 2 wks and plan on working some on my processor. I'll make a few pics as i go along, but my project is a build it as I can afford it and I dont have some of the most expensive parts needed to complete the build. On another note, I did just sell the rest of the hydraulic cylinders i bought a couple of months ago, one guy on the way to pick his up now, and the other guy supposed to come tomorrow. That should give me enough money to buy the rest of the steel i need for framing, so maybe by the end of next wk I'll have something to show. I did build a fire in the shop a little while ago so it would be warm in the morning, I guess thats a start.

 

[kiotiken]

Finished painting it last night. I was knocked off may ***** by this cold and hadn't been out to the garage for about 5 days. My intention was to paint it with thinned paint but I just couldn't do it. It was slightly globby and soooooo slow. The paint did eventually dry nicely and felt like it had hardened properly so I made the decision to thin the paint again last night. If it's going to be an issue, it might as well be an issue for the whole machine, not just 85% of it! Everything got one coat and any high wear areas got two. I'll wait and see how this paint performs and if I need to make any adjustments to get it working properly before re-painting in the summer. I'm not convinced I love the colour anyway so I could see adding another colour to the mix or changing the colour for the entire machine at the same time. Now to put it all back together and hook up the hydraulics.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Glad to see you back on your feet. Looking forward to the report on how it works

 

[kiotiken]

You'll NEVER believe this... I ran into trouble installing the hydraulics!! :laughing: Surplus Center sent me a coupler with the wrong key way. I bought the pump, the couplers and mount from them (called and did a phone order to get all the right parts) but I guess the 28 GPM pump uses a larger key way than the standard pump. They were excellent about it, apologized and are sending the correct coupler, free of charge, they don't even want the old one back (although that's because it's not worth the postage). Anyway, unless I get it before Friday (not likely going standard mail across and international border), this won't be running until after Christmas since I'll be leaving for the holidays.

The paint seems to have dried nicely. The valves, engine, tank etc are installed and I'm plumbing hydraulics now. I'll have it all done waiting for the coupler in the next day or two. Wish I could test it, but not much happens without that one $4 part.

 

[Scooby074]

Glad to hear the paint came around. Usually if it donsnt kick off correct.. it never really hardens. Sure saves a lot of work.

 

[muddstopper]

I dont know about Canada, but you can get a keyway at just about any autoparts or hardware store around here.

 

[kiotiken]

Glad to hear the paint came around. Usually if it donsnt kick off correct.. it never really hardens. Sure saves a lot of work.

The funny thing is when I went to finish painting, I put the first coat on the splitter head and I started off spraying it un-thinned. After I couldn't handle it anymore, I thinned the paint and left the top part of the splitter head as a test to see if it dried any differently. I painted several other pieces and re-coated virtually the entire processor. Everything dried properly except the splitter head and it made no difference between the thinned and un-thinned paint, it stayed tacky for 24 hrs, then seems to have dried and hardened properly. No fans on, just one heater to keep the temperature up after the shop heater and fan was turned off to paint. I don't know what the difference could be, it's hanging right beside the other parts and beside the processor.

 

[kiotiken]

I dont know about Canada, but you can get a keyway at just about any autoparts or hardware store around here.

This is the coupler half from the pump that fits into the half from the engine. The one they sent has a keyway that's too small for the pump. I'm sure I could get one at Princess Auto or TSC, but I don't think I'd find one at the local hardware store.

I've also now discovered that the 90 elbow I have to supply oil to the pump doesn't clear the relief valve on the pump. That means a trip to Princess Auto for some new fittings. I may pick up the coupler at the same time.

 

[Scooby074]

The funny thing is when I went to finish painting, I put the first coat on the splitter head and I started off spraying it un-thinned. After I couldn't handle it anymore, I thinned the paint and left the top part of the splitter head as a test to see if it dried any differently. I painted several other pieces and re-coated virtually the entire processor. Everything dried properly except the splitter head and it made no difference between the thinned and un-thinned paint, it stayed tacky for 24 hrs, then seems to have dried and hardened properly. No fans on, just one heater to keep the temperature up after the shop heater and fan was turned off to paint. I don't know what the difference could be, it's hanging right beside the other parts and beside the processor.

Weird.

I still wonder if it was old paint..

I assume you wiped the splitter head down with solvent before painting?

RE: the keyway, any supply house will have it. Kinecor, PA, Acklands, Motion Industries... The fittings for the supply side of the pump can be just normal NPT black iron stuff from Home Hardware.

 

[muddstopper]

Actually, if the coupling has one size keyway, and the shaft another, you can get tee shaped keyways that are made just for that situation. I had the same problem with a coupling and shaft when changeing out a pump on another piece of equipment. I got the special keyway at Carquest Auto parts.

 

[kiotiken]

Well, I've done as much as I can with the parts I have. I need to exchange a few of the fittings I bought and a couple of the hoses as well. Once I have all the parts, it should take me an hour or two to finish the rest, fill it with hydraulic oil and engine oil and fire it up for the first time.

As for the keyway, perhaps I'm using the wrong terminology or I'm just not understanding, but here's a picture of the part that has the wrong size keyway cast into it. The keyway is too small, I need the same part with a larger keyway.



Here are some pics of the nearly finished and assembled processor. I forgot 4 bolts for the chainsaw mount, but other than that and the wrong fittings and hoses, it's fully assembled.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

I can't remember the correct term for that type of part but its not a keyway.

A keyway is a slot in a round shaft with a corresponding slot on the inside of a sprocket or pulley that accepts a small piece of square stock (the key) to lock the two of them together and transfer the rotational force.

 

[kiotiken]

I can't remember the correct term for that type of part but its not a keyway.

A keyway is a slot in a round shaft with a corresponding slot on the inside of a sprocket or pulley that accepts a small piece of square stock (the key) to lock the two of them together and transfer the rotational force.

That part has a keyway in it, to connect it to the shaft on the pump. That part fits properly to the other half that is mounted to the engine, but it doesn't fit on the shaft of the pump because the keyway in that part is too narrow to accept the key from the pump. They're sending a part that is identical except it has a larger keyway.