Banding machine for bundles?

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I like that a lot could really get some
Bundles cranked out and ready.. just wondering though if the wood would loosen up after handling it who knows. It would definitely crank up production for me ha
 
Everything they're demonstrating is dimensional, very different from firewood. Firewood can shrink as well. The banding will have no give like shrink wrap.

It would be easy to buy some banding and manually tighten it and see how they hold.

Otherwise that thing definitely looks slick.
 
I wouldn't be worried about the dimensional issue so much....it will wrap anything that fits inside the square. Holding the bundle together while it wraps it might be fun....but I bet one could build a rig to hold the wood while it gets wrapped without much fuss.

My question is how long that machine is going to keep wrapping full of all the junk that comes off of firewood. Bark, dirt, chips, etc.
 
The shipping dept in the factory I did maintenance for years had one. Most of the problems I saw with it was lack of cleaning causing the issues of it not working correctly. The dirt and bark off of firewood would be a big no no. Shrink wrap isn't cheap but it sure holds those pieces of wood together.
 
I wouldn't be worried about the dimensional issue so much....it will wrap anything that fits inside the square. Holding the bundle together while it wraps it might be fun....but I bet one could build a rig to hold the wood while it gets wrapped without much fuss.

My question is how long that machine is going to keep wrapping full of all the junk that comes off of firewood. Bark, dirt, chips, etc.

In 300-400 bundles there a pile of little bits of bark that maybe fills a coffee can, so not all that messy.
 
I work for a Modular house builder.
We used to have one at work to band small precut lumber and other small pieces of stuff to finish houses. They quit using it a few years ago and by the time I found out they had already thrown it in the scrap steel bin and it was long gone. I've been looking at a few at auctions but haven't bought one yet. They are adjustable for pressure so you could crank up the pressure and it would "stretch" the banding a bit to allow for any drying or settling during handling. They actually work pretty well and dirt isn't really a problem if you keep and air hose handy and blow out under the shields once in awhile. Ours was in a trim shop and lots of dust there. I have a manual plastic bander and it works too but is way too slow. I use it to strap live edge slabs.
 
I use shrink wrap and find some on Flea Bay now and then or use U-line. I do not find it to be too expensive. You can customize with starters etc. The banding as far as I have tried is way more expensive and needs two bands, but is easier to put on handles. My packaging has to be done in the field where there is no electricity so deep cycle batteries are needed. Thanks
 
I use shrink wrap and find some on Flea Bay now and then or use U-line. I do not find it to be too expensive. You can customize with starters etc. The banding as far as I have tried is way more expensive and needs two bands, but is easier to put on handles. My packaging has to be done in the field where there is no electricity so deep cycle batteries are needed. Thanks

I never said it was too expensive. I said banding is cheaper.

Stretch wrap runs about $.18 per bundle, where banding would be about $.05
 
I wouldn't be worried about the dimensional issue so much....it will wrap anything that fits inside the square. Holding the bundle together while it wraps it might be fun....but I bet one could build a rig to hold the wood while it gets wrapped without much fuss.

My question is how long that machine is going to keep wrapping full of all the junk that comes off of firewood. Bark, dirt, chips, etc.

The point about dimensional lumber had nothing to do with being able to wrap it. It had everything top do with it staying wrapped. Dimensional won't shift.
 
Choppy, I finally found a plastic semi auto banding machine at an auction. It’s a Samuel 625. I finally just tried it on some kindling and it worked great. I’ll try it on some firewood soon. Sure have to pay attention using it, it moves fast. I’ll post some pics when I have time.
 
In 300-400 bundles there a pile of little bits of bark that maybe fills a coffee can, so not all that messy.



Couple pictures of the bander. In one you can see where the band goes back inside to get welded, I would think bark would be a problem some times. The tension is adjustable and can be set pretty tight. I used dry wood and it's been over a week and the bands are still tight. The bigger bundle is 16" splits and of course work better if the bundle is kind of round to band. The smaller bundle is some of my grandsons play pieces so kindling size. With a jig it would likely work pretty good and it is fast. I used two bands and it was pretty wiggly so I put one in the middle and it mad a big difference. It will likely gather dust until I sell it. And a pic of teaching him how to use a recip saw. He always wears his safety gear.
 

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might be cheaper, but how much time is involved? DO you want to do that a hundred times a day?
I use 12" stretch wrap, 80 ga, cast (quieter).
I can wrap a bundle a minuteIMG-0193.JPG
keep the tension adjusted tight, and the bundles stay quite nicely.
Cost? I can get the rolls of wrap for $10 each (ebay) and can wrap a hundred out of a roll. $0.10 each.
if you figure in your healthy profit margin, what the hell is a dime anyway?

agreed the heat shrink is the neetest lookin bundle! with the sacks being the trashiest...
 
The stretch wrap runs me I want to say $68 a box of 4 and the cheapest I've found it.
Shipping is $$ through most places.... like 2-4x the cost of the wrap

I mean maybe if I bought a pallet load it'd be a bit cheaper, but s
 
I have always wondered about using large rubber bands.

I stopped doing bundles a few years ago due to time constraints, but plan on starting again.
I am thinking of either heat shrink for kindling and bags for hearth sales, plastic strap or rubber bands for small camp bundles.
 
Bhruss, I ended up selling that bander, bought 2 more and sold them too, bought another and it's sitting here somewhere waiting for me to sell it too. We decided to not bother with firewood bundle sales and have actually only sold a couple cord of firewood. Life has just been too busy to get around to it. I think the heat shrink wrap would be the best but most of the campers are greenies and don't like the plastic. And are too lazy to put it into a recycling bin though. I would think rubber bands would be quite pricy to buy and not likely easy to recycle either.
 
I hear ya. But after 45 years of running a repair shop then mail order only due to the scamdemic, I have been wanting to do more in the yard and less on the road.
And now the gas prices are the final insult for travel to make a living. Even packing twice a week cost me $ 30 a day in expenses for the trip, and then to the post office on the way home. Weeks with minimal orders the expenses eat all the profit.

There was one post I read somewhere that the person was selling the bundle with a single strap put on with one big staple and his label said to burn the strap and all. Seems like that would sure cause grief with the buyers, to the point of complaints filed with the environmental agency of any state.
 
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