Tree Shear

[TRUKFXR]

I was just looking at old posts about the Power-trac tree shear and thinking that building one might be an interesting project. J J has a nice design and
completed unit. I like the idea of using the 2'' box receiver as a mount. As I give this some thought, any suggestions or things I should do, or not do when making my plans?

 

[J_J]

I was just looking at old posts about the Power-trac tree shear and thinking that building one might be an interesting project. J J has a nice design and
completed unit. I like the idea of using the 2'' box receiver as a mount. As I give this some thought, any suggestions or things I should do, or not do when making my plans?

The things I like about mine is, that you can shear with it straight out, straight up , straight down, like cutting roots., also sideways/horizontal. If you make it powerful and light , you should be able to reach up in trees and trim whatever.

Only one of my blades is sharp, Two sharp edges might be better.

To control the shear, I used the AUX hydraulic circuit. You could also use an electric valve, with a toggle switch on the joystick.

 

[TRUKFXR]

I like that you use only one cylinder too (unlike the power-trac design) . That should save me a little money. I intend on cutting new Willow tree growth that is not more that 2 1/2'' in diameter. Not sure how well it will cut,
but I can always give it a hard pull too.

 

[TRUKFXR]

Just a thought. Can anybody look at the Power-trac mini-hoe and envision a way of removing the bucket and creating a tree shear? It would have to be a quick change design that uses the basic format of the mini-hoe so it could be changed at will. Seems crazy, and I can't quite see it, but maybe its there
somewhere.

 

[KentT]

Just a thought. Can anybody look at the Power-trac mini-hoe and envision a way of removing the bucket and creating a tree shear? It would have to be a quick change design that uses the basic format of the mini-hoe so it could be changed at will. Seems crazy, and I can't quite see it, but maybe its there
somewhere.

I can't easily see it, because the minihoe cylinder operates front-to-back, while a tree shear would need the cylinder operating side-to-side, wo move the blade. If you could adapt one, I think it would be more readily made to operate vertically (cutting limbs) versus horizontal (cutting trees).

 

[BobRip]

Just a thought. Can anybody look at the Power-trac mini-hoe and envision a way of removing the bucket and creating a tree shear? It would have to be a quick change design that uses the basic format of the mini-hoe so it could be changed at will. Seems crazy, and I can't quite see it, but maybe its there
somewhere.

I think this deserves some thought. The minihoe has a good reach and a cylinder. I think most of the use would be cutting branches, so the orientation might be good. I wonder if I could adapt my homemade thumb as the cutting edge and attach something to the bucket as the stop. That way the cutting edge would be on the bottom and the stop would be on top. Might be worth the effort just to jury rig something and see how well it works. I think the stop on the bucket should be near the pivot to get more force on the cut. You could also replace the bucket bolts with hitch pins for easy change out and put the stop on in place of the bucket. You could also bungee a stop to the bucket since all of the force would keep it on anyway. Does anyone else have some thoughts on this?

 

[J_J]

I think this deserves some thought. The minihoe has a good reach and a cylinder. I think most of the use would be cutting branches, so the orientation might be good. I wonder if I could adapt my homemade thumb as the cutting edge and attach something to the bucket as the stop. That way the cutting edge would be on the bottom and the stop would be on top. Might be worth the effort just to jury rig something and see how well it works. I think the stop on the bucket should be near the pivot to get more force on the cut. You could also replace the bucket bolts with hitch pins for easy change out and put the stop on in place of the bucket. You could also bungee a stop to the bucket since all of the force would keep it on anyway. Does anyone else have some thoughts on this?

Bob, I was thinking what you said about taking off the bucket and using the cylinder and the thumb. That could work if the thumb was thick and strong. Instead of the bucket, I was thinking of a half moon piece of 3/4 steel, pivoting in the center , with the bottom half of the moon sharpened, allowing it to close on the thumb, cutting or slicing limbs, etc. The cylinder would be attached to the unsharpened end of the half moon piece of steel, forcing the half moon cutter to close and open. I can't get into my drawing right now or I would try and designed this thing.

 

[BobRip]

Bob, I was thinking what you said about taking off the bucket and using the cylinder and the thumb. That could work if the thumb was thick and strong. Instead of the bucket, I was thinking of a half moon piece of 3/4 steel, pivoting in the center , with the bottom half of the moon sharpened, allowing it to close on the thumb, cutting or slicing limbs, etc. The cylinder would be attached to the unsharpened end of the half moon piece of steel, forcing the half moon cutter to close and open. I can't get into my drawing right now or I would try and designed this thing.

J_J, I am not sure I can visualize that. Do you mean the two half moons would close on each other to cut the branch. That sounds good. I would love to see the drawings when they are ready. I think I can make something real easy and cheap. I need to get some 3/4 inch steel though.

 

[J_J]

J_J, I am not sure I can visualize that. Do you mean the two half moons would close on each other to cut the branch. That sounds good. I would love to see the drawings when they are ready. I think I can make something real easy and cheap. I need to get some 3/4 inch steel though.

Bob, My Turbocad program has vanished, so here is a basic drawing .

When looking at drawing, press the ALT key and use the mouse wheel to expand.

 

[TRUKFXR]

Maybe something like that might work. Use it to take bites out of the tree
until you get to the bottom.

 

[J_J]

Maybe something like that might work. Use it to take bites out of the tree
until you get to the bottom.

If your roll over assembly is strong enough, it should be able to cut 3 or 4 in limbs.

If you make the whole assembly a plug in to the end of the boom, you can mount it in any position, even upside down. My whole unit is about 30 in long including cylinder. If I wanted to reach out further, I could add an extension.

 

[J_J]

I can't easily see it, because the minihoe cylinder operates front-to-back, while a tree shear would need the cylinder operating side-to-side, wo move the blade. If you could adapt one, I think it would be more readily made to operate vertically (cutting limbs) versus horizontal (cutting trees).

Kent,

What if you mounted a bracket on the side of the mini hoe that is equal to the one on there now. Then, you could mount the cylinder on the side, and push the shear in a horizontal plane. You could then switch back and forth to get the job done.

 

[KentT]

Kent,

What if you mounted a bracket on the side of the mini hoe that is equal to the one on there now. Then, you could mount the cylinder on the side, and push the shear in a horizontal plane. You could then switch back and forth to get the job done.

You could certainly do that, by unbolting the cylinder and moving it to the side. Not exactly a "quick attach" kind of change, though...

Personally, if I were going to try to make a relatively inexpensive one, I think I'd try to fab one up to fit the 2" receiver mount. Then you could rotate it 90 degrees to go from vertical to horizontal, and vice versa. IMO, you could put a fairly long boom on it, perhaps even one that extends (using a sleeve and set screws), because all the boom has to do is hold up the weight of the shear. You wouldn't be using it to lift anything...

You can buy a double-action tie-rod cylinder fairly inexpensively...

 

[J_J]

You could certainly do that, by unbolting the cylinder and moving it to the side. Not exactly a "quick attach" kind of change, though...

Personally, if I were going to try to make a relatively inexpensive one, I think I'd try to fab one up to fit the 2" receiver mount. Then you could rotate it 90 degrees to go from vertical to horizontal, and vice versa. IMO, you could put a fairly long boom on it, perhaps even one that extends (using a sleeve and set screws), because all the boom has to do is hold up the weight of the shear. You wouldn't be using it to lift anything...

You can buy a double-action tie-rod cylinder fairly inexpensively...

I have built what you are talking about, and it works quite well.

 

[TRUKFXR]

Are there any plans out there to build a mini-hoe similar to the power-trac?
It doesn't appear to be too involved, but if I were going to build one, I would rather duplicate something that has been proven to work.

 

[BobRip]

Bob, My Turbocad program has vanished, so here is a basic drawing .

When looking at drawing, press the ALT key and use the mouse wheel to expand.

J_J, Thanks for the sketch. Looks doable. Would it be better to have the moving piece be an arch, so it does not push the branch out when it cuts? Of course it would have to mate with the anvil (non moving part). Or is this just overkill?

 

[jamtuc]

Hey guys,

I am new to the forums, been reading awhile. I posted some on the hydraulics pages because I wanted to build a tree shear. I dont know how I missed this post. I am still trying to figure this out. If anyone has plans or pictures of a homemade tree shear it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[JohninCT]

How about something along the lines of this - Its called a stump splitter

http://www.mcfaulkner.com/images/solid-strut-stump-splitter-3.jpg

 

[treeman]

Just curious if you ever finished your shear? I have a bobcat 335 mini-excavator 8500lbs. I am in the tree business and firewood business. I have seen shears on 40k-80k lb machines and have been trying to downsize the idea to my machine. I want to use it for busting/splitting smalller diameter logs and chunks of firewood. Any thoughts?

 

[J_J]

Are you talking shear or splitter. Two different things, A shear will cut the tree down, and the splitter will split it up in smaller parts.