Firewood processor build thread

[muddstopper]

I am using a .404 harvester chain. Regular saw chain is a 3/8 pitch.. Power and torque can be controlled thru the use of a adjustable relief to regulate pressure. Axial piston motors can take up to 45-4600psi, but running reduced pressure will lower the HP. I also have concerns with chain breakage, I intend to start out with very low pressure, less than 1000psi, and work my way up until I find the sweet spot. Chain speed will be controled with a flow control, I plan on having 30gpm available, mostly because of efficencies losses, but at 25gpm,, my chain speed is dang near the same as a 3120 husky, which is a beast of a saw. I already have the saw built and will mount and test it as soon as I get the processor frame built. My current splitter has a 28gpm 2stage pump and I will hook that to the saw. Being a two stage pump, pressure is only around 700psi in the high flow mode.

I just did the math on this setup, a 1.3cuin motor would turn 4975rpms @28gpm (My motor is rated for 4400rpms), and @700psi should develop 12.1ftlbs of torques and 11.5 hp. It should give a chain speed of 4354fpm. A little more than the Husky 3120 gas powered chainsaw, but also less than a Harvester. I'll have to double check the math, but I was using online calculators so i assume these numbers are pretty close. My saw might work pretty good without having to worry about chain break.

 

[kiotiken]

Great posts about hydraulic saw motors, thanks. Everything you said is exactly why I'm sticking with my chain saw for now. As you say, there's big money in a hydraulic saw and that's not where I wanted to go.

Paints dry. Seems hard and well cured. I'm sure it's not really, but I feel better about it anyway. I haven't been out of bed in 3 days so apart from checking on the paint now and then, I haven't been back to it. I feel better today so I'll try and paint the parts that I didn't finish and start assembling the whole mess tonight.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I wonder if a hydraulic shear would work as a replacement for the chainsaw bar in this type of processor? Would a shear require too much power, be too slow or unreasonably limit the capacity (eg. diameter) of the unit...or cause other problems I haven't imagined?

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

rd, funny you mentioned a sheer. I had 8 cord delivered last week done with a shear processor. Judging by the end cuts, its rotary of some sort. Maxes out at a 15" log. He claims that the wood seasons better/faster with the shear cut but I don't like the way it stacks. Cuts are tapered and hence longer pieces for the same nominal length than if sawn

 

[muddstopper]

Great posts about hydraulic saw motors, thanks. Everything you said is exactly why I'm sticking with my chain saw for now. As you say, there's big money in a hydraulic saw and that's not where I wanted to go.

Actually with your setup, I would think it would be fairly inexpensive to just add a hydraulic saw in the near future. I think you already said you had the 28gpm 2 stage pump, all you would need would be a saw motor, about $300+/-, and a sprocket, bar and chain, about $200. Make your saw feed by hand to eliminate any fancy controls, add another valve to run the saw and your there. That fancy saw control is about $600 if you feel the need.

As for a shear, great way to splinter wood so it drys faster, dont know if I want to think about the power and tonnage it would take to shear a 27in dia whiteoak or hickory though. Lots of tonnage and power, something would have to give and you just hope its the wood and not the machine.

 

[muddstopper]

a few pics of my hydraulic chainsaw.

 

[kiotiken]

a few pics of my hydraulic chainsaw.

Very cool. You did catch my attention when you said you were using a 28 2 stage pump, that is the one I have. It's something for the future for me, but this posts will help if I do go that way. Thanks, looks good. When are you starting your own build thread?

 

[muddstopper]

Well, I am on vacation for the next 2 wks and plan on working some on my processor. I'll make a few pics as i go along, but my project is a build it as I can afford it and I dont have some of the most expensive parts needed to complete the build. On another note, I did just sell the rest of the hydraulic cylinders i bought a couple of months ago, one guy on the way to pick his up now, and the other guy supposed to come tomorrow. That should give me enough money to buy the rest of the steel i need for framing, so maybe by the end of next wk I'll have something to show. I did build a fire in the shop a little while ago so it would be warm in the morning, I guess thats a start.

 

[kiotiken]

Finished painting it last night. I was knocked off may ***** by this cold and hadn't been out to the garage for about 5 days. My intention was to paint it with thinned paint but I just couldn't do it. It was slightly globby and soooooo slow. The paint did eventually dry nicely and felt like it had hardened properly so I made the decision to thin the paint again last night. If it's going to be an issue, it might as well be an issue for the whole machine, not just 85% of it! Everything got one coat and any high wear areas got two. I'll wait and see how this paint performs and if I need to make any adjustments to get it working properly before re-painting in the summer. I'm not convinced I love the colour anyway so I could see adding another colour to the mix or changing the colour for the entire machine at the same time. Now to put it all back together and hook up the hydraulics.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

Glad to see you back on your feet. Looking forward to the report on how it works