It was a good show, I was there two days...
We pulled an rv trailer in after dark on Thursday. Friday was gorgeous. Left late on another gorgeous Saturday morning. Every parking area (several fields) was full by then.
Eastonmade had the whole line up and then some. A guy asked Andrew, "Which one of these can I take home?" There is twelve or fourteen orange and blue splitters lined up on both sides of a corner booth. "None!" he says, in his thick Canadian accent, "They're all sold." He went on to say there is a wait till mid to late November. He also demo split some pretty nasty pieces with the box wedge.
Saws were on sale for 'show specials'. Very tempting pricing! Almost came home with one...or two. It's hard to decide sometimes between this one or that one.
Also talked with Mike and his son at Northeast Equipment from Spencer, NY. I bought my Posch PackFix from them three years ago sight unseen, via emails and phone calls. They had to order it. He has five coming and five sold.
The reason for going to the show was to compare processors. Almost all the brand names were there.
I came away surprised by one I never even had on my radar.
I looked at small to medium size machines. I also looked at the split piles each produced, most of which I could not sell without re-splitting. So I looked at Eastonmade's box splitter again as a lower cost option. And Timberwolf's new one too.
Next to Northeast Equipment booth, or rather kiddy corner back to back, was a Japa 435 with a similar box splitter to Eastonmade. Its shallow V box takes splits off the bottom of a round, then pulls the round back, and continues on auto cycle via electronic eye, until the round is processed. Those splits I could sell to customers who want to pick up four or five pieces and easily bring them in the house in a wood carrier. It also was set up with a vac/blower to bag/collect chips from the bar/chain, and a separate discharge conveyor for a fines separator built into the machine below/behind the splitting trough. The outfeed conveyor has hydraulic side to side swing as well. Very clean all around. Really, really nice if your processing in one spot, where clean up is a daily, ongoing issue. This unit was a mobil one. The raised operator platform was large and very nice, with good visibility and splitter chamber access. The mechanical/electrical access doors are large, and clean layout within. The engine, a fifty horse Kubota, was enclosed unlike some other processors with an engine cover lid and exposed components beneath.
My take is the processors here are big and bad, and get bigger and badder... more splits, more wings, more steel, more horse power. The european machines do that also, but there are some builders addressing the re-split issue at the processor, and the chip/debris build up as well. Two of which are Posch and Japa, and do it in a way that does not require bigger... everything, including deeper pockets for fuel costs per hour.
Enjoyed the show. Met lots of good folks all around.
Next time I'll have to try the Black Walnut ice cream. Sounds yummy.
Afterwards we went to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and for a second time ,Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. (Ran over lots of black walnuts on the ground in the camping areas.) Both spots are a must see to put on your list of places to go as well!