Tree Shear build

[nybirdman]

Another tool I didn't know existed or needed until I saw one on TBN.
I had some 4" & 3" tubing, a little scrap angle so I decided to go ahead with a new project.
I have a young friend with a complete fab shop,plasma cutter,torch,mig welder ect.I can weld but don't have the cutting equiptment that he does.
Materials used:
Skid steer adapter plate.............$144.00
4"x 8" cylinder,6ft.hoses(2) and QD's..........$168.89
Shop fee..............................$125.00 + some scrap steel I had
Miscellaneous........................$20.00 (1-1/4" pivot pin and bushings)
Grand total(about 6hrs of work) $457.89
Similar units sell for $2600.00

Tried out for about an hour and decided to reroute the hoses and paint.Cutting edge is an old snow plow wear plate ground to about 45 degrees. Also added hydraulic hoses protectors,spiral wrap @ $22.00.

 

[TCJatko]

Nicely done. The ingenuity and fabrication skills of TBN members never cease to impress me.

 

[LouieJunior]

I would need some kind of guard near the cylinder - or it would be destroyed in short order.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Very cool. Would love to hear how it works out for you.

You know, it occurs to me that if you would design the cutting edge to be removable, you could also have a tree PULLER just by replacing the cutting edge with a wider surface that would grab instead of shear. That might work well for small saplings and brush that are small enough to pull out by the roots.

 

[rd_macgregor]

Do the trees mostly fall in one direction? Some of the commercial units claim the wedge action of the cutting edge promotes falling away from that edge.
I also agree with the idea of tree-pulling. I have a lot of (expensive!) single-purpose attachments, some of which could have relatively minor modifications to make them adaptable to other jobs.
Bob

 

[J_J]

Nice build.

but

Seems to me you have limited your cutting capacity by using square tubing on the cyl side.

I would have chosen a wide sharp 12 to 14 in plate steel.

 

[nybirdman]

Nice build.

but

Seems to me you have limited your cutting capacity by using square tubing on the cyl side.

I would have chosen a wide sharp 12 to 14 in plate steel.

Thanks,it was never intended for anything above 3-4in.I'll use a chain saw for the bigger stuff.This was one of those things that "looked" like a good idea.In use it's pretty slow going.I am glad I didn't spend big bucks on one.

 

[J_J]

Are you using the lift fluid for the tree cutter.

If you have regen on the FEL valvve , you can use the regen/low pressure for fast operation, and non regen for high pressure.

 

[nybirdman]

It's not the action of the cutter that's slow,just the action of repositioning the tractor.I can cut more in five minutes with a chain saw than this can in an hour.Like I said one of those things that "looked" like a good idea.
It works off the third function on the FEL,so fast enough.....at least as fast as any videos I have seen of similar equipment.