Bucking table mostly done

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Thats when it was new. Its got turf tires on it now and I have pallet forks. Some of the logs Ive brought home are more than it wants, but it lifts them with a little coaxing...
 
I figured as much. You are lifting up and tossing around really heavy logs onto that log holder.

It would be nice to invent a device that rotates the log after you make about five or six buck cuts within an inch or so of the bottom of the log. Then you could complete the cuts without cutting into your holder with the chain saw. That device might be easier to make than you realize.
 
My solution to bucking might be a little easier. I lay the heavy logs flat about 6" apart. Then I use a cant hook or peavy to lift them up and buck off 18". Then I move the cant hook and buck the next 18".

One other solution for bigger logs is to buck cut five or six lengths part way down and stop before the pinch starts. Then roll the log to complete the buck cuts. Most of the time I can complete at least one buck cut with no pinch and that makes it easy to roll the log(s). Oh, and a simple wedge at the top of the kerf that starts to pinch allows me to complete most buck cuts.

Casey, how are you lifting all those logs onto your new structure? Seems like it would take some really strong power equipment (fork lift?). The ones my logger friend dropped off for me to buck up weigh at least 1000 pounds apiece, maybe more.

Ive got to lift them to get them onto the splitter, so it seems to make more sense to lift the logs and do all the work not bent over.

I'm getting to old to work bent over!! That and Ive got a lot of processing to do. Rough math gives me 30+ cords currently onsite.
 
I figured as much. You are lifting up and tossing around really heavy logs onto that log holder.

It would be nice to invent a device that rotates the log after you make about five or six buck cuts within an inch or so of the bottom of the log. Then you could complete the cuts without cutting into your holder with the chain saw. That device might be easier to make than you realize.

Cutting through is something I need to work out. Conventional thinking is to have a sacrificial board like Crane uses. Ill probably end up doing that since its simple. But I'm toying with trying to set something up that supports the log but leaves a gap for saw clearance. Its an evolving process.
 
Agreed. Every time I drop a heavy round onto the ground, I curse a little because that means I have to lift it back up to split it on the splitter's beam. I hate running the splitter vertically.

As for the log support, more mass might be the solution. Use a slab about the size of a railroad tie as a sacrificial stop for the log and forget trying to rotate the log. Position it so that only about 2" stops the log and the rest is underneath so that the chainsaw never sees it.
 
right now I am working on how I want a table that I can push my splitter up to and start that feeds me rounds , at the moment I have saw horses and planks trying to figure out how I want it

when I work from the tailgate of the truck I put the splitter next to the tailgate I can slide the rounds right off the back of the tailgate onto the log catcher on the splitter and roll them onto the beam
I pull the rounds to me with a hookeroon.
but that means I needed to put them into the truck first

sometimes I work from the trailer into the splitter into the back of the truck the pull the truck up to the wood shed and offload and stack

but I have a lot more wood cut with more that needs to come down all the time , than I am going to burn at home so we are starting to sell some. which means more production so I am looking at trying to handle the wood less
 
Bandsaw mills have chain log rollers, but then you might as well do a live deck, log feed and saw mount, or hydraulic saw.

I started out using landscape timbers and found they were too thin and needed replacing often. Crooked logs can bow the center span due to the multiple kerf marks. That is what led me to lag the face beam between each kerf even with 4 x 6's.

Cutting rounds: The bar will begin to bind on most cuts. Small logs can easily be rolled to finish the cut. When the bar begins to slightly bind, I idle the saw and pull a plastic wedge out of my back pocket. A light tap to set the wedge is all it takes to finish the cut.

I tried using a foot on a Log-Rite cant hook and soon removed it. The soil here is too soft to be effective and would sink more often than not. When the foot did support the load I found myself working on my knees to cut, as I prefer to cut with the dogs against the log and the bar horizontal, from 12 to 6, as opposed to cutting toward myself, 2 to 8, with the tip. With a large saw, the weight of the saw alone does the cutting.

The main thing I do is use a hatchet to remove bark for the saw kerf if it is loaded with dirt from being on the bottom of the log pile.

A cutting table is not fast. Loading logs takes time, advancing and side shifting them takes time too. Plus, it does not work for everyone. If you get tree service logs then a cut table probably makes no sense at all, and a very different approach is needed. For a lot of stuff it is sweet.
 
I've been using my wagon or a trailer to split off of for years,

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I honestly can't understand why folks keep struggling to do it any other way?? Especially, those that already have a loader/tractor!

SR
 
Began cutting parts for a second log deck tonight while listening to thunder rolling in off Lake Michigan. Last Fall I noticed one of my knees getting sore, which I attributed to splitting continuously on just one side of the SuperSplit due to using a staging table. I made a point of lifting my heel when pivoting after that, especially when moving rounds of wood. I also moved the staging table one step further away on purpose, and payed more attention to alternating which way I turned to grab the next round.
Cutting/staging. 5,800/cord. Staging table to splitter 5,800/cord. Yields one cord. So modern math: one cord of Oak is 11,600 pounds pure and simple. Throw the weight charts out.
I'm hoping a second log deck and staging table on the opposite side of the splitter will help balance things a bit with shoulders/neck/arms, and perhaps avoid further knee issues as well. I'm thinking this should also deter trying to pile the logs as dangerously high on the existing deck as I have been doing. If this were a two man operation, one could still cut at one deck while the other deck is being loaded. I would add that another benefit would be less starting/stopping the forklift, and longer run times for the 60 hp diesel, but with the Posch PackFix there is a lot of starting/stopping anyway changing out pallets.
Rain started... Forecast shows rain the next three days. Hope to be set up and running soon after that, if the mud ain't too deep.
Sawyer Rob: Your trailer needs a live bottom, to feed the load to you.:drinkingcoffee:
 
Sawyer Rob: Your trailer needs a live bottom, to feed the load to you.:drinkingcoffee:
It already has one, and HE has a name... lol I call him "helper". :)

When I'm working alone, I can lift one of the sides off and that get's me access to most of the rounds.

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I do have two spreaders and they work pretty good as wood haulers too, and of course, they bring the wood to you, or self unload,

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as they have apron chains in them,

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I just like having a helper around when I go to the woods or do any of the heavier work, it's just much safer and makes the work go much faster. My wife really enjoys helping with firewood too, so that's works out pretty nice too...

SR
 
If you look close at the pics it looks like he can tow the whole thing down the road together too. The processor is 3 pth and the wagon's tongue is offset so it pulls behind inline with the tractor and even facing the working way. It's all for sale in Ontario on Kijiji under "wood processor" if you are interested in it.
 
I'm not trying to be an azz and I think the thing is great but if you look at the welds on the last picture I posted I would assume it's hand built. Welds are a little cold, no penetration and full welds, not stitched like production places would do. Everything on it looks over built too. Looks like a Horst running gear. We have lots of Amish welding places around here and they can build almost anything you want. Look at his truck and trailer in the back ground, this guy doesn't fool around. The processor is a Japa, the same as the one I bought last summer and is still sitting in my yard :(
It's actually a pretty simple set up and wouldn't be hard to build after looking at these pics.
If you google Kijiji in Ontario the ad comes up and you could give the guy a call. At the price he is asking it should sell quick.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-heavy-equipm...er/1247883796?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
 
Thanks for sharing the website.
I am building another bucking table for the opposite side of the SuperSplit.
Which has me rethinking how I do things. Over thinking might be closer to the truth.

However, here's the thought.
1.) Last year... I cut 1/3 to 1/2 cord of rounds and stage on a table next to the splitter. Then switched to splitting mode, filling the PackFix drums about twice, until the staging table is empty.

In full cords that is handling 5,800 pounds of green Oak twice per cord. Rounds to staging table, rounds to splitter.

2.) Alternative.

Eliminate staging table, which means letting splitter and conveyor run while cutting rounds. Cut six rounds/split six rounds, cut six rounds/split six rounds... Run time would be 1/4 cord cycles, until the PackFix drum is full, then wrap and move the pallet.
I already shut the saw off quite often when moving rounds to the staging table and advancing another log forward and against end stop. Cut six rounds/split six rounds, cut six rounds/split six... It would cut out lifting 5,800 pounds per cord.

Faster...probably not. A little more fuel perhaps for the Honda 160 on the conveyor, and the 6.5 hp Subaru on the SS. But... 5,800 pounds is 5,800 pounds. If I could do two cords in a day, it adds up quick.

The only draw back I can think of is if a log rolls off the front of the cut table, it could hit the splitter or conveyor. So perhaps some 3/4" black pipe stops that can lift out after loading logs. The new deck is 4' longer so I don't pile so high, which in the past made for extra work. I figured rolling the logs a little further may be easier than fighting with them in a pile on the deck.

It is going to be three years before I can swing a processor, if then. Assuming 100 cords this year, eliminating one handling means eliminating 5,800 pounds x 100 = 580,000 pounds. Hmm. Adding a scissors lift to the truck would eliminate another 5,800 pounds per cord during delivery. I think that just bumped to the top of the 'to do' list.
 
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