my new Firewood toys

[JohnDeere4300]

So this year I upgraded to my 61 hp Deere skid steer.

So far I have used my skid steer to push trees and brush back away from the road and I was very impressed at how much power it had.

Jake,

Nice lookin' Skid Steer!!!... I'm sure it does a great job for you, and I'm sure you're very happy with it!!

That's also a nice stack of logs!!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Bill

 

[tbutman]

R-11 3.5 inch insulation both roof and knee wall. House was built in the mid 70's and doesn't heat particularly bad. The problems the cold winters we tend to have in Maine. Been pretty mild this year. Mainers are one of the few people that start feeling warm and fuzzy when the topic turns to global warming.(attempt at humor) So ground cover there is some stacking involved though I do have a few aces up my sleeve. The attached barn that we added in the 80's has 2 18"x48" slots cut into the floor with diamond plate removable covers . These allow one to raise the garage doors, Pull the rubber floor mat back and back the dump trailer into the mechanics garage and dump into either of the two 10'x10'x7' rooms in the "tie-up". Which you must admit is a huge time saver and convenient as all get out. The barn also sports a 10'x10'x30' concrete room with a doorway of the same dimensions at the end of the barn with west facing windows running the length and another smaller garage door at the opposite end that i'm going to use for this year to store and season my wood in. All this is kinda a long ways from the house furnace, Eagle wood/oil combination (forced hot air) but very close to the garage wood stove. I hope this answers your questions.

 

[tbutman]

I burn 20 cord a year and put up a tad more myself. I have some pretty good equipment but you (OP) have me beat big time.

Here is something I built this winter using a video I saw on youtube as an example. I call it a limb processor. I haven't "fine tuned" it yet as I haven't started cutting wood yet, letting the snow melt off my roads and giving things a chance to dry out some.I hadn't yet threw any paint at it when I took these pics but I assure you it's all painted red now.take a look-
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_1Jh4ETLCM]Can Cervera - Montseny Suport Motoserra - Cutting logs on chainsaw bench - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Ivan49]

On your elevator how fast is it running and is the motor direct drive to it? Thanks

 

[tbutman]

It moved at the appropriate speed I feel, not slow and not too fast and the motor is belt and pulley drive.

 

[Ken45101]

Here is something I built this winter using a video I saw on youtube as an example. I call it a limb processor. I haven't "fine tuned" it yet as I haven't started cutting wood yet, letting the snow melt off my roads and giving things a chance to dry out some.I hadn't yet threw any paint at it when I took these pics but I assure you it's all painted red now.take a look-

That's neat and a great idea :thumbsup: although it gives me the willies looking at it.

Ken

 

[GrizzyDan]

Here is something I built this winter using a video I saw on youtube as an example. I call it a limb processor. I haven't "fine tuned" it yet as I haven't started cutting wood yet, letting the snow melt off my roads and giving things a chance to dry out some.I hadn't yet threw any paint at it when I took these pics but I assure you it's all painted red now.take a look-
Can Cervera - Montseny Suport Motoserra - Cutting logs on chainsaw bench - YouTube

I've run about the same thing here for 14 years with an old skillsaw, upside down, with the guard pinned back. I oogled the chainsaw setup on youtube months ago and put it on the list of things to build =) No need to touch the branches twice.

However, this is something I've been dying to build yet I don't even know where to begin. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbcUu0TW11s]Superpilke - YouTube[/ame]

Sadly when it comes to winching trees and skidding my 2wd IH just doesn't have what it takes, so I torture my 4x4 f250. Once I get logs to the road however, it's a crapshoot on which is better. Honestly.. you could have serious 4x4 competitions in my back yard and I doubt even the best tube buggy on 44" swampers could make it up the hills I have to skid these logs out of.

Yet a skidsteer would make things so much nicer in the yard :thumbsup:

 

[Artisan]

I burn 20 cord a year and put up a tad more myself. I have some pretty good equipment but you (OP) have me beat big time.

Here is something I built this winter using a video I saw on youtube as an example. I call it a limb processor. I haven't "fine tuned" it yet as I haven't started cutting wood yet, letting the snow melt off my roads and giving things a chance to dry out some.I hadn't yet threw any paint at it when I took these pics but I assure you it's all painted red now.take a look-
Can Cervera - Montseny Suport Motoserra - Cutting logs on chainsaw bench - YouTube

Very, VERY cool....I like it...just don't fall on it!
Maybe a fixed horizontal above it? Nah...........live dangerously!

 

[tbutman]

If I make it idiot proof and get hurt, my IQ drops beyond repair. If I live dangerously and nothing happens I look like a hero

 

[Artisan]

Superpilke = Cheatin' ! :laughing: WOW, here is a better video, it shows more of the inner workings;

Superpilke firewood processor - YouTube!

 

[tbutman]

I have seen this video before. love the self feed but the product it makes really isn't proper for my wood/oil combo furnace which takes a 24" stick. These look better suited for an old fashion top feed wood heater or old fashion kitchen wood cook stove... again, top feed.

 

[Artisan]

Wait WAIT! LOL,


1st, My new umm mantra?

"If I make it idiot proof and get hurt, my IQ drops beyond repair. If I live dangerously and nothing happens I look like a hero "
Quoted by a Maineiac :laughing:


BUT LOOK at this! Here is a butt feedin' Superpilke w/ Slo-Mo on that combo rotatin' - choppin' - splittin' head, ingenious! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ORDJ-7dZG8&feature=fvwp&NR=1[/ame]

 

[tbutman]

That's pretty nice right there!

 

[dstig1]

What convinced me on a skid steer was how much work I got done with one last year. I borrowed one from my grandpa and got every last tree brought to the log deck. Comparing it to the little 16 hp Yanmar i had it would have taken weeks using my 3 point forks. So this year I upgraded to my 61 hp Deere skid steer, it is bigger than the one i used last year and will lift considerably more, all I need are some pallet forks. We cut all our logs into 8' sections, it makes it a lot easier to bring them back to the deck and they are easy to stack/unstack when we begin cutting. What I also accomplished on the skid steer was along with getting all the logs to the log deck, i was able to clean up every last tree limb with the pallet forks and put them on the burn pile. :thumbsup: Some time this year I plan to build a hydraulic log splitter for the front of my Deere so I can split firewood from inside the cab. :thumbsup:

So far I have used my skid steer to push trees and brush back away from the road and I was very impressed at how much power it had. I have also maintained the local gravel road (filling in the pot holes/grading/etc.) and i cant believe I went so long without a bucket! :laughing:

Dude, you don't need forks - you need a grapple! The control you will gain with a grapple is far better than forks for handling logs. Orders of magnitude better. Logs need to be pretty near perfectly balanced on forks or they rock and fall off with the slightest disturbance. Not so with a grapple. Then when it comes to placing the log, you can gently release it instead of smashing it into things as it rolls off. Much better for loading something like a processor deck.

Look at post #37 for reference...

 

[Obed]

OP, I'd love to have your wood processor for just 2 days. I have eighty 20' long logs I need to cut, split and stack. I will have to spend every spare weekend I have for the next year cutting up this pile.

Congrats on your setup. You can bet that if I burned 20 cords a year, I'd have a wood processor too.

Obed

 

[tbutman]

a grapple can work with forks as well.

 

[GrizzyDan]

There are quite a few vids on the superpilke and bilke--I think that 2nd one was similar, might be wrong. Anyway, you're right about it not being right for many stoves, I myself prefer two sizes of wood 18" and 22" to stack alternately each row.. This machine looks to make 8-10" split rounds.. but...

You nailed it right on the head. I think this setup would be most perfect for OWB's, preferably a top load setup so you can have a massive pile of limb and tree top wood to scoop into with your loader. Limb wood really does make nice kindling, yet not worth the time--piles don't come close to equaling out at the end of the day. However, with the superpilke you could toss handfuls of branches in there at a time and process it all; log, limb, and leaf. (you can tell I don't run a chipper:laughing

My father used to do the limb wood processing with the upside down skillsaw when he was still in good health. Now I still don't mess with limb wood unless it's 3" or thicker, and every time I light off a bonfire I think of pops and his mind set on getting everything you could out of a tree.

 

[GrizzyDan]

Here is something I built this winter using a video I saw on youtube as an example. I call it a limb processor. I haven't "fine tuned" it yet as I haven't started cutting wood yet, letting the snow melt off my roads and giving things a chance to dry out some.I hadn't yet threw any paint at it when I took these pics but I assure you it's all painted red now.take a look-

You are definitely on the right track with this setup, the cut limbs will fall into the bed and a bit of poking from the rear with a long stick will make room for more. What you want to stay away from is having anything on the ground near the saw that you can slip or trip on. I used to have that skillsaw mounted on an old sawhorse and the pile behind and around it would become fairly large, yet I still remember pops doing the wet floor skid on a cut limb once, thought he was going to grab that blade for a moment. I never let the pile get too big before moving the setup after that.

The one far superior advantage in safety with the chainsaw setup is that the chain isn't spinning until you set the limb down and push the lever, vs running at full speed constantly.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Wow ! 20 cord a year, you might want to invest in some insulation. My house is 3200 square feet and my shop 2100 and my garage detached is 800 all heated by wood, some forced air propane in my house and I burn 6-10 cord a year, how do you burn 20 cord of hard wood.

:thumbsup:

 

[flyingcow]

:thumbsup:

I've got a dairy farmer that goes thru 50/60 cord a year. Heats his barn,big shop,house,indoor pool,etc.