Swing Booms on regular skidders???

[Metals406]

All you guys are dumb heads!! It's almost 2011!

Sam clearly needs to be using up-to-date technology to get his wood out! All other ideas are stupid. :jester:

 

[056kid]

Lololololololololololololololol

 

[Gologit]

Metals406

Okay Nate...now you owe me for a monitor/keyboard Sprite spray removal ! :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[slowp]

All you guys are dumb heads!! It's almost 2011!

Sam clearly needs to be using up-to-date technology to get his wood out! All other ideas are stupid. :jester:

Now that's just stupid. Everybody knows that if you have a starship, you don't need no stinkin' chokers. You use the transporter and BEAM THEM UP!
Get with the program.....

 

[hammerlogging]

I just Zen that #### from stump to deck. Mind over matter.

 

[slowp]

I just Zen that #### from stump to deck. Mind over matter.

Zen might work in peckerpoles but the high balling outfits use the Transporter. I mean, it worked for moving whales didn't it?

Maybe Zen is taught as part of the GOL? :biggrinbounce2: And, admit it, it IS DEFINITELY and Eastern method. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Metals406]

Now that's just stupid. Everybody knows that if you have a starship, you don't need no stinkin' chokers. You use the transporter and BEAM THEM UP!
Get with the program.....

I just Zen that #### from stump to deck. Mind over matter.

Zen might work in peckerpoles but the high balling outfits use the Transporter. I mean, it worked for moving whales didn't it?

Maybe Zen is taught as part of the GOL? :biggrinbounce2: And, admit it, it IS DEFINITELY and Eastern method. :hmm3grin2orange:

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Metals406]

Okay Nate...now you owe me for a monitor/keyboard Sprite spray removal ! :hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

Sorry Bob!

 

[joesawer]

Lmao!!!
No you just need to up grade the space ship with a swing boom and you know it will be the ultimate logging ship!
Even better than beaming them up or zen!

 

[slowp]

Lmao!!!
No you just need to up grade the space ship with a swing boom and you know it will be the ultimate logging ship!
Even better than beaming them up or zen!

I wouldn't invest in one right now. I hear that Tribbles are going to be placed on the endangered species list.

 

[056kid]

Space cadet logging, taught by a GOL instructor near you!

 

[RandyMac]

Nate, the Enterprise is soo last century.

Hey Kid!!!
We should tie one on, post a lot of nonsense, I want to increase my ignore listings.

Lol not only do your posts show a gross lack of experience your skin is much too thin to be a logger!
Buck up Buttercup!!!
Grow some hide an get some experience and when you hear that popping sound let me know. LOL

 

[056kid]

You bet Old timer, gonna have to wait alittle though, Im traveling this evening,(bus driver will boot you if you are boozed.)

 

[Slamm]

Been using a Cat 518 with the larger model swing boom on it and myself and the other operator like it. At this point the only draw we have found is the lever controls. Knowing what you want it to do and knowing that the attachment can do it doesn't do any good if you can't communicate it to the attachment with the lever controls. So we are going to convert it to either joystick control or a touchpad with electric valves, and that should solve that problem. The problem with the lever controls is you can't get enough or multi movements very easily with the levers so in certain situations when you can use both hands on the levers it is great but other times it could be much faster with the joystick control.

Additionally, while I know that Esco grapples have pulled out Billions of feet of wood .................. they suck when compared to a Deere grapple's continuous rotating motor and Deere's much more precise angle control and stronger rotating motor, plus I like the bunching grapples on the Deere's better, so we are going to cut the Esco's grapple part off and put Deere's grapple system on the end, which should work much better.

As to the other spaceship stuff, don't know, I run kinda a low budget setup, so one of you guys will have to give that a try, but I guess it would be more in line with the helicopter type of "skidding" that they do.

Later,

Sam

 

[TumblebugTaylor]

Theres a neat little skidder made in europe called Woody Ive seen on You Tube that is about the size of your skidder with a swing boom on it and its bidirectional and remotecontrol ed to. The neat thing about it was it had 2 small inverted grapples like mini clam bunks one on each side. It could put a log in each one of those and haul one in the grapple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NzIH185cqM&feature=related
Its kind of a cross breed skidder/tool carrier.

 

[KyMasterLogger]

a couple of things that come to mind right off:

im pretty sure the 540b cable has a smaller hydraulic pump than a grapple machine.

that swing boom have bigger hydraulic cylinders than the cyls on a grapple 540b? there could be a very slow operating time of the boom, having to move more fluid and all that jazz takes time.

best i can remember, the grapple machine(as compared to a cable machine) is a little longer. for a swing boom, it may even have to be longer (but i dont know). do you plan on using that complete frame as the rear half of your skidder or are you going to adapt that frame to the cable machine rear frame.

just curious, but how old is the 540B(s) that you have?

and please PM me your location and a phone #. i'd love to see this thing in person.

 

[Slamm]

a couple of things that come to mind right off:

im pretty sure the 540b cable has a smaller hydraulic pump than a grapple machine.

that swing boom have bigger hydraulic cylinders than the cyls on a grapple 540b? there could be a very slow operating time of the boom, having to move more fluid and all that jazz takes time.

best i can remember, the grapple machine(as compared to a cable machine) is a little longer. for a swing boom, it may even have to be longer (but i dont know). do you plan on using that complete frame as the rear half of your skidder or are you going to adapt that frame to the cable machine rear frame.

just curious, but how old is the 540B(s) that you have?

and please PM me your location and a phone #. i'd love to see this thing in person.

No problem on the grapple hydro pump size they are all the same on a Deere.

The cylinders are not bigger and there is only one cylinder per action instead of two like on a single function grapple so action might be faster instead of slower.

The rear of the cable machine is shorter than the same 540B grapple rearend, but that shouldn't bother it too much, as this is the smaller version of the Esco Swing Boom that I am mounting onto it.

For a few weeks I have been using my CAT 518 Skidder with the larger model Swing Boom, and it can pick up 30" oak trees and move them from side to side and up and down at the further extents with complete ease. So I don't see this scaled down version as being any sort of problem for the smaller 540B skidder size, and I love this skidder it is the tightest best handling skidder I know of, flawless describes it best, as it has super fast steering and I'm putting a bigger engine in it as soon as a hill job presents itself. Right now the 90-100 hp is fine for flat ground work, but I hate it for any kinda hill work.

Now we are just too busy to get away and get the swing boom mounted. I have some more guys coming to help work and that might give me a chance to take the cable machine home or to the machine shop and mount the swing boom and joystick controls. As soon as I get that completed, then joystick controls are going onto the 518, that machine is just amazing at what it can do with that boom. I will never log without a swing boom, I can tell you that for sure. What you can do with them is tops.

Sam

 

[KyMasterLogger]

No problem on the grapple hydro pump size they are all the same on a Deere.

The cylinders are not bigger and there is only one cylinder per action instead of two like on a single function grapple so action might be faster instead of slower.

The rear of the cable machine is shorter than the same 540B grapple rearend, but that shouldn't bother it too much, as this is the smaller version of the Esco Swing Boom that I am mounting onto it.

For a few weeks I have been using my CAT 518 Skidder with the larger model Swing Boom, and it can pick up 30" oak trees and move them from side to side and up and down at the further extents with complete ease. So I don't see this scaled down version as being any sort of problem for the smaller 540B skidder size, and I love this skidder it is the tightest best handling skidder I know of, flawless describes it best, as it has super fast steering and I'm putting a bigger engine in it as soon as a hill job presents itself. Right now the 90-100 hp is fine for flat ground work, but I hate it for any kinda hill work.

Now we are just too busy to get away and get the swing boom mounted. I have some more guys coming to help work and that might give me a chance to take the cable machine home or to the machine shop and mount the swing boom and joystick controls. As soon as I get that completed, then joystick controls are going onto the 518, that machine is just amazing at what it can do with that boom. I will never log without a swing boom, I can tell you that for sure. What you can do with them is tops.

Sam

sam, there are 2 different pumps. a 3 cubic inch pump for cable machines and a 4 cubic inch pump for grapple machines according to the JD Tech Manual 1139, section 21 page 2160-4. i believe they are the same physical size though.

i have a late 70's 540b that was originally a cable machine, but has a esco grapple on it now. the hydraulics on it are slow, imo and needs a larger pump. the rear arch was unbolted and the grapple was fabricated to bolt onto the rear frame at the same place where the arch was. the machine will rare up on even the smallest hills with a decent load. if the machine was 1 or 2 feet longer, this problem would be helped alot or possibly solved. fluid filled front tires would also help, but is something im not willing to do.

having been down a similar road with modifying a machine to better suit your needs, heres some lessons i have learned:
1) bigger and faster is not always better, unless we are talking about hyd pumps and fluid flow.
2) wheelbase (especially on hilly terrain), longer is usually better. and if you dont believe me ask any woman! lol

KML

 

[380LGR]

The pumps are not the same on the cable or the grapple. There is no hydro tank on cable machines its in the tranny. Grapple has seperate hydro tank with a charge pump and a tandem hydro pump.

 

[Slamm]

The pumps are not the same on the cable or the grapple. There is no hydro tank on cable machines its in the tranny. Grapple has seperate hydro tank with a charge pump and a tandem hydro pump.

?? My 540B Cable and 540B Grapple may have different sized pumps internally, but the external size and all is the same, but there isn't any separate Hydro Tank or Charge pump. Possibly you are talking about a separate manufacturer of skidders.

Sam