Has anyone built a hydraulic chainsaw?

[Smokeydog]

Nice work on your project. How many 3rd? Function controls? Thumb, saw, saw swing all separate? Saw gpm and pressure?

Looked for a donor hydraulic saw when gathering parts but decided to make the mount. Now seeing the abusive environment glad it’s armored like a tank. The hydraulic chainsaw will out cut my Husqvarna in speed. Really throws the chips. The limbsaw bar pressure is not as controlled as your design. It will stall the chain at times. Usually a bump in reverse will get it going again and sometimes needing to adjust boom position. Most the time operate at idle. Not sure what the saw sees gpm at what pressure. 40’ of hose and fittings rob some of the power.

Harvester bars and motors are magnitude bigger than what we are using.

Looking forward to your tests.

 

[Mack84]

Nice work on your project. How many 3rd? Function controls? Thumb, saw, saw swing all separate? Saw gpm and pressure?

Looked for a donor hydraulic saw when gathering parts but decided to make the mount. Now seeing the abusive environment glad it’s armored like a tank. The hydraulic chainsaw will out cut my Husqvarna in speed. Really throws the chips. The limbsaw bar pressure is not as controlled as your design. It will stall the chain at times. Usually a bump in reverse will get it going again and sometimes needing to adjust boom position. Most the time operate at idle. Not sure what the saw sees gpm at what pressure. 40’ of hose and fittings rob some of the power.

Harvester bars and motors are magnitude bigger than what we are using.

Looking forward to your tests.

All run off the one set of hydraulic controls that is why control valves and non return valves needed to be fitted, still in the testing phases but very close to finished... I have bent a couple of bars while getting settings right , luckily I have only be using old worn out ones for the tests. saw from user manual is rated 7-9 gpm 1000-2000 psi maximum capacity 18" bar. My pump and hydraulic system is 3500psi max and pretty sure 13 GPM so therefore have adjusted pressure reliefs on this circuit to ensure no over pressure. The thumb is mechanically adjusted with three pin holes i was going to put a different adjustable linkage on it similar to a top link on tractor however it seems to be in a good position where it is at the moment, I might be pushing my luck to be trying to get it to cut big rounds but so far have tried it on some shrubs and fallen branches in the field behind my house and it was excellent and made short work of cleaning everything up and trimming into smaller pieces. Cheers Mack84

 

[Smokeydog]

All run off the one set of hydraulic controls that is why control valves and non return valves needed to be fitted, still in the testing phases but very close to finished... I have bent a couple of bars while getting settings right , luckily I have only be using old worn out ones for the tests. saw from user manual is rated 7-9 gpm 1000-2000 psi maximum capacity 18" bar. My pump and hydraulic system is 3500psi max and pretty sure 13 GPM so therefore have adjusted pressure reliefs on this circuit to ensure no over pressure. The thumb is mechanically adjusted with three pin holes i was going to put a different adjustable linkage on it similar to a top link on tractor however it seems to be in a good position where it is at the moment, I might be pushing my luck to be trying to get it to cut big rounds but so far have tried it on some shrubs and fallen branches in the field behind my house and it was excellent and made short work of cleaning everything up and trimming into smaller pieces. Cheers Mack84

Very professional looking! Good job. Good guarding, can’t have too much around trees. Like the beaver. One of my limbsaw comments being showered in saw shavings was like watching an angry beaver.

I know enough that there is much I don’t know. Distance, pipe size and fittings have big effects on available flow and pressure. There are charts, rules of thumb but really need instruments and gauges to really know. Even manufacturers specs how much is figured vs measured? Didn’t add any protection for the saw motor from the tractor hydraulics. Wish my R&D department had more funding;-)

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

We have a stand alone de limber that has two hydraulic chain saws. Cuts top off and cuts log lengths. We have a bell feller buncher dangle head with hydraulic chain saw. All work good.

 

[Smokeydog]

All run off the one set of hydraulic controls that is why control valves and non return valves needed to be fitted, still in the testing phases but very close to finished... I have bent a couple of bars while getting settings right , luckily I have only be using old worn out ones for the tests. saw from user manual is rated 7-9 gpm 1000-2000 psi maximum capacity 18" bar. My pump and hydraulic system is 3500psi max and pretty sure 13 GPM so therefore have adjusted pressure reliefs on this circuit to ensure no over pressure. The thumb is mechanically adjusted with three pin holes i was going to put a different adjustable linkage on it similar to a top link on tractor however it seems to be in a good position where it is at the moment, I might be pushing my luck to be trying to get it to cut big rounds but so far have tried it on some shrubs and fallen branches in the field behind my house and it was excellent and made short work of cleaning everything up and trimming into smaller pieces. Cheers Mack84

Is the saw easily mounted to be removed? Could the saw be used as a stand alone limb saw on excavator or tractor FEL ? Additional boom for reach? I find trailer receiver hitch tubing handy for strong mounts. You might not have the need but I can see promise in your design skills.

 

[Texasmark]

I have a Limbsaw brand I think boom mounted chain saw that is hydraulically driven. Its on the end of a 20' give or take boom that you attach to the bucket on your tractors FEL giving you roughly 30' of height for trimming trees. The mechanism is very small considering the cutting ability and all contained out on the end of the boom. The cutting speed is determined by the hydraulic pressure which is determined by how fast your tractor's hydraulic pump is turning.

 

[Mack84]

Is the saw easily mounted to be removed? Could the saw be used as a stand alone limb saw on excavator or tractor FEL ? Additional boom for reach? I find trailer receiver hitch tubing handy for strong mounts. You might not have the need but I can see promise in your design skills.

Hi I've been busy with work for the last month so not much more time to play with it at the moment, the saw can be taken off quite easily and still used however I removed the original handle and manufactured up a custom manifold block for hoses in and out as it gave me an extra 7 inches or so of stuff I didn't have to worry about swinging around when the motor and bar pivots, but yes it can be swapped back to a regular type polesaw etc if needed

 

[Mack84]

I have since upgraded hydraulic pumps to a tandem set of Italian 8.8cc pumps with dual suction instead on the single suction on the original tandem 4.6cc pumps, which should hopefully give me abit more flow for the motor, and am also now thinking 12v linear actuator for pivot with a dial to control rate of drop of the saw/ current.. have all the stuff here just need some time off work to get back into it.. I'll keep you all updated very soon.. the new pumps have made the little 1.5 tonner a completely different machine it's quite impressive for its size now any bigger on the pumps and I wouldn't of had enough HP or room to fit them in there .
Cheers mack84

 

[Smokeydog]