Could be an angle grinder in my future

Do yall still talk about cords up there that much? No one around here talks in cords here, not in the industry. Older foresters use it more. I know what they are and convert, but we talk in tons. Many loggers don't really know how much cords are on a truck or how many they hold or how many bd ft are on a truck etc, how to convert it to tons.

State law here requires tons to be listed on a scale ticket and you have to be paid in tons by a producer.

 

Yeah it is the same here. I do all the conversions in my head, but realize too that many people on here have no idea how much a "ton" is, and thus try to keep it relevant to everyone and not just you and I.

When I ran a loader a few years moving earth, I told the owner he should put in onboard scales, as how full a truck was with his 644 John Deere straight bucket loader was drastically different in filling a truck than with his 744 John Deere spade nose bucket loader. He brushed it off, but after I was gone ended up putting in scales, and could not believe how much gravel he sold at a loss. Woods wise, I did the same thing, often thinking I got shafted on wood by being paid by the cord until I carefully piled, and then measured up a load of wood and waited to see what it said on the scale slip. I thought it was 12.5 cords and it came back as 12.3 cords...that is pretty darn close in my estimation.

There was a huge debate on here awhile ago about selling wood by the weight versus by the cord, and it got people all cranked up so I don't get into that nonsense any more. I have sold enough wood and know what each species weighs so I just do the math and convert it all to cords for them. It keeps the peace...

 

I had the same issue with Axe Men as you, great at first and then silly drama. Some of the other shows seemed to be the same way, even Iced Road Truckers. After awhile though, it really is all the same, but that is life. fell, limb, haul out, pile...rinse and repeat. At first how each crew does something is new and different, but after a bit it is all the same an get boring; for loggers and audience alike. They perk it up with man-made drama, but it is easy to see through.

Forestry Forum...I liked it, but the guy that owns it definitely needs to get laid. It was also hard to post pictures because of the sizing rules and all. I thought it was just me, but there was a lot of talk about it over on TractorByNet, and I used it as an excuse to say come over to FHC! Basically a guy wanted TractorByNet to do a forestry section, but they semi-have it via Land Clearing and Rural Living sub-forums, so I suggested it is all right here.

Myself, I would not steer people here if I did not like it here myself. Other than Tractorbynet for a spell or two every other day or so, this is the only site I go to.

 

I go to TBN go through spells I go to TBN a few times a week. Not as into the oils , tires and rural living as I was. I had noticed it does not get the traffic it once did. Now there way more members there but many don't post or ever visit. And I would say the regular member is just a few fold more than here. 94BULLITT and I were talking about that a few months back. I can post a pic there of my loaded truck or something and get just a few posts about it. I posted I got a new set of tires on that site complete with a pic of the old k10 and the new 33" mud tires and I think I had one guy comment on how he would not commute everyday on tires like that. I said me neither, I also don't commute to work in a 10 mpg 38 year old truck either ??? That thing is basically special duty, hunting, working, pulling tractor, wood hauling, needing 4wd etc. Here I got 10x the posts with basically the same pic. A bunch of "cool old truck" comments and many on nice looking tires, and all the random ones that we get off on tangents about...hmmm just like here, aren't we suppose to be talking about grinders?? Haha

So I did burn up a $12 HF 4" angle grinder after many years of hard homeowner use. And yes it was a 4" and not a 4.5" one. I now own two 4.5" HF grinders. There good for what they are. If I worked with them every day I would buy a different brand. HF stands behind there junk it's just it capping out at an inopportune time and the travel to go get a new one that's the problem.

 

An indefensible tool at my property, almost always used with a thin, reinforced cut- off wheel which will slice through everything except for masonry, though it is very slow cutting wood. I always keep my 4 1/2" around on all jobs and almost always use it sooner or later. Great for cutting plastic, Al flashing and all kinds of things while leaving a nice, clean finish and you can use it right after the cut to knock the burrs and sharp edges off whatever you just cut with it. It is also great for some odd jobs such as cutting projecting nail points off rather than trying to drive them over and into construction wood, and cutting off the heads of those screws that strip with 1/16" or 1/8" of the head left high (especially when sub- flooring). The cut- off wheel is actually very useful for cutting things such as vinyl siding / sheathing that would normally be done with tin- snips or similar; the angle grinder is faster, leaves a nice cut and does not bend the material during the cut.

Just as an FYI, these tools can be and often are used with one hand (bad) and no guard (much worse) along with a cutting wheel (truly dangerous) and they can and will hurt the user, or even the helper, instantly and sometimes very badly. They are both very useful but especially nasty with a knotted wire wheel; they cut right through slag, rust, paint and anything else but if they grab flesh, they are truly nasty. And the 115V plug- in units have a lot of power so they have no problem getting tangled in or going right through leather work gloves (or welding gloves), a shirt or anything else and still hurting the operator. They are, IMO, much like chainsaws: very useful but also very unforgiving and it is the rare case where one 'nicks' the user rather than inflicting some real damage.

For weld grinding I much prefer a 7" angle grinder though. The 4 1/2" will work but it is slow while the 7" is far more aggressive and faster.

Brian

 

Lodged Tree; I don't think a 16" chop saw blade would stand up to much on a buncher.
A bar saw would IMO work much better. Grab cut lift. The base plate( saw blade on a full size hot saw buncher) is really thick and heavy duty. And even they break.
I don't know how much pressure or gpm your hydraulic system produces tho.
Seems like the small hyd motors that are on the small firewood processors would work great. If your system would run one and a small ram to cut and retract the bar.

 

They do not last- tried a couple got about 3 months out of each one- on sale plus coupon about $16 out the door, this was a number of years ago - maybe better now?

 

I know a professional traveling welder who uses nothing but harbor freight grinders, buys them by the cart full. Some last a while and some don't work to begin with. After having 3 Milwaukee's stolen in 2 months off job sites while he was working he now just grabs another one off the truck.

 

A home depot blade will not work, totally wrong application for that type of blade. I have an electric cordwood saw with a 10 HP baldor that has just enough power, not average generator friendly. 8" tree is not happening with a 16" blade at least from one side. Possibly a hydraulic shear would work for you.

 

I am paying $9.99 for these with coupon. I have had the oldest 4.5 one for a few years. But I am a home owner useing it. I weld small stuff and cut bolts etc. Fabricate repair and weld patches for bush hog etc.

They do change their stuff every few years.

 

I haven't seen a shear in 10 years. And then it was old. And don't think it would work on decent size trees?

 

I have a bar saw on the feller-buncher head now and it does work well. It is just a chainsaw and is kind of vulnerable. A hydraulic motor would work I imagine, its just that I am maxed on on hydraulics. My valve stack is power-beyond capable, so I could add a valve to that, then hydraulic hoses, the hydraulic motor, and then a bar and chain, but it seems expensive, and is still a little vulnerable to damage. Katie's suggestion was just to buy a smaller, junk chainsaw and mount it, but I told her I already had my Husqvarna 562 bolted to it!! All teasing aside, a cheaper saw makes sense. I would bolt a small Harbor Freight engine to the thing instead of a chainsaw, but I need an engine that can run in any position because I must load the tree onto my log loader after cutting it.

 

Hey thanks, that is good to know. I was going with a 3 HP electric motor if I did this, only because that is as big as they have up to Harbor Freight. I am only looking to cut a 4 inch tree, but if a 10 hp motor is not working well for you, then a 3 hp motor is not a good ratio even for a 4 inch tree. I appreciate the feedback so I don't have to go down an expensive and worthless rabbit path!

 

They are banned in industry because they crack the trees when they are severed from the stump, but they actually work well for small sized trees. Most small feller-bunchers use shears because up to about 8 inches, they do work. Myself I am only looking to cut a 4 inch tree as a firewood chunker would not be able to shear anything bigger off. At the same time my pot bellied stove cannot take anything much bigger than a 6 inch piece of wood.

If you do searches for homemade feller-bunchers, they typically are shears, sadly I just lack a hydraulic circuit to make it work. This is an amazing machine, but skip ahead to the 3 minute mark for the good part.

 

I have heard this. But would think that only matters in logs that are sawn. For pulp wood that does not matter.

Why are you cutting so may 4 and 8" trees? Are you cutting in growth in a stand, ie pulp wood , from under neath your crop trees?

 

OK what does this have to do with angle grinders?
move along now.............

 

One of the most amazing inventions I've ever seen !!!! Wow!

 

Sharpening the shear blade is just one job that an angle grinder is very usefully for. And ! It is a perfect situation to use a cordless angle grinder . with a disc or flap wheel. .

 

Homemade fabrication, it has everything to do with angle grinders!

 

No it doesn't, but very few crews are going to run a shear for pulpwood and firewood, and then a hotsaw for saw logs. Because it is a requirement for saw logs, the shears just dropped out of favor over all.

No, not at all. My main stove is a pot bellied stove so rather than take big wood and work it up into small pieces, why not just start with small trees in the first place? The problem with small trees is, it takes a lot of them to make the four cords of wood I need to heat my home. So the easy way to process many small trees is to make it 100% mechanical, so that is what I am doing. I used an angle grinder to fabricate a feller-buncher to take out small trees and load them onto my log trailer. That part is now done. My second step is to take an angle grinder and fabricate a firewood chunker to take the saplings and chop them up into firewood for me. This will give me small wood, but wood that is perfect for a pot bellied stove. I'll use my bigger trees to sell to the paper company, or as firewood to sell to other people. I have enough saplings around the edges of my fields alone to go for years!

There are many versions of this, but ultimately this is what I would like to build, but may run it via a PTO instead of a separate engine. In my case I will use my log loader to feed the firewood chipper instead of loading the thing by hand, but will probably need a conveyor to load it into my dump trailer. As I said, 100% mechanical firewood on a micro-scale.

It is kind of in between real firewood, and pellets. Or put another way, coal sized pieces of wood.