tree shear?

[Eric H]

I want to put a tree shear on my TL150 from supertrack. They have a fecon unit available. Just curious if anyone has used one or are there others I should look at.
I have a hydro ax and Barko, but I want to use the tak for easy egress into tight spots. This will not be your typical feller application.

 

[Digdeep]

Dymax makes a solid shear. I think they are based out of Kansas. they're too big for skid steers but I sold a few on the Bobcat CTLs I used to sell.

 

[LBrown59]

I want to put a tree shear on my TL150 from supertrack. They have a fecon unit available. Just curious if anyone has used one or are there others I should look at.
I have a hydro ax and Barko, but I want to use the tak for easy egress into tight spots. This will not be your typical feller application.[/quote]
What's a typical feller application ?

 

[radman1]

I have a 3-4 year old Dymax ranch ax model. 14" cut and it has been fantastic. IMHO, I don't know of a better tree shear. Talked to a guy who has used several different brands over the years before I bought mine. He said Dymax was the best of the ones he has used. Mine has the optional brush guard and it is much heavier than others that I have seen. It will cut a 14" softwood but not a hardwood in one bite. I even occassionally use mine to pick up cut trees in my way. I just tip it down, do a 1/2 bite into the tree, roll back the shear and move it out of the way. I think the only way to damage this shear is by cutting a rock and nicking the cutting edge.

I am not sure why digdeep says they are too big for skidsteers. I have mine on a Bobcat S300 and it works great.

 

[Digdeep]

I am not sure why digdeep says they are too big for skidsteers. I have mine on a Bobcat S300 and it works great.

I'll rephrase that to say they are too big for all but the large framed skid steers. I've always thought that they made a mid to small skid too unstable, especially if the tree had any sort of large branch network toward the top.

 

[J_J]

14 in Ranch Axe

14" Ranch Axe tree shears for skid steer loaders - TreeShears.com - DYMAX

 

[J_J]

Tree shears.

The last tree cutter, looks fairly simple and tuff. Maybe cost $300 to build.

 

[Eric H]

Thanks guys I will check them out

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I have used and really like the tree terminator Grande. It's a 20" capacity 2000lb attachment. I have had no issues.

 

[radman1]

I'll rephrase that to say they are too big for all but the large framed skid steers. I've always thought that they made a mid to small skid too unstable, especially if the tree had any sort of large branch network toward the top.

I agree. Wouldn't want to put it on a mid frame skidsteer. Mine with the brush guard weighs about 1800 lbs. The balance on my large frame skid steer is just about right.

One more plug for the Dymax, I have on occassion used it to push myself out of a ditch or if muddy and can't back up. Again not recommended, but a very durable unit.

 

[TMTS]

14" Timberwolf tree shears for skid steer loaders - TreeShears.com - DYMAX

I have used what they call the timberwolf 14" from Dymax since 2002 my ASV 4810. if you have a skid-steer with an electrical quick connect circuit the accumulator arm is a slick unit...as others have mentioned it is a wicked rugged unit. might want to reinforce around your loader arm pins as its pretty easy to put a lot of force on them when you have hold of a 12" white pine thats 50 ft tall...

I did 10+ acres of abandoned X-mas trees last august with the shear- some of the trees were 10+ inches DBH- laid them down in big bunches, used a brush grapple to pick them up and haul them to a chipper- we filled 5 45ft chip trailers with the biomass from the x-mass trees- thats about 60 cords worth of x-mas trees...

 

[jmfox]

I like the looks of the the Timberline HT, especially when it comes to cutting firewood. The Dymax doesn't rotate.

jmf

 

[radman1]

jmfox

That long, unsupported cutting edge of the Timberline would scare me. I don't think it could take the abuse. The potential to flex and bend over long term will be a problem The rotating aspect could be useful. However, if it rotates, it needs to pivot around a single axis. This creates a weak point in the design.
I do occassionally cut a downed tree to make it more manageable. I just drive up to the trunk, tip the shears down vertically and make the cut. Not a big deal.
A single cutting shear can also create problems on big trees. On big trees, the shear can become wedged in the tree if it can't make the cut. The blade is not as wide as the cut and can get stuck. Even on my double cutting shear, it can get wedged at times and I still have the blade edge outside of the tree. I can get it out by opening a closing the blades a few times. If the blade is completely covered by the tree, it may require a chainsaw to relieve the pressure and try to free it.

 

[AKfish]

Feller-bunchers have tongs or a hydraulic clamp that's several feet above the knife. Never used one; but I'd have to guess it helps stabilize the tree to keep it from tipping over into the cab - as well as a means to stack the tree and move it, etc.

These SS tree shears - how tricky is it to keep the tree from tipping over into your lap??

Do you angle your cut just slightly at a forward tilt and use the shear to push the tree over when the blade has cut through?

Curious... thanks.

AKfish

 

[C.G.S.]

The acumlator on the Dymax is well worth the extra money. I use mine to shear and stack for the knuckle boom feed chipper.It is a well made unit.

 

[jmfox]

How much is the extra money for a Dymax?

jmf

 

[radman1]

These SS tree shears - how tricky is it to keep the tree from tipping over into your lap??

Do you angle your cut just slightly at a forward tilt and use the shear to push the tree over when the blade has cut through?

Curious... thanks.

AKfish

The tree tends to almost always fall off to the side. I tend to cut slightly at a forward tilt and then it tends to fall forward and to the side. On cedars and bushy trees, my brush guard also tends to push the tree forward and to the side. My brush guard does a great job of dropping them forward and protects the machine from scratches/damage. They tend to fall backwards when cutting up hill or up slope. On those, I tend to tip it slightly forward as it cuts.

 

[radman1]

How much is the extra money for a Dymax?

jmf

My Dymax Ranch Axe with brush guard was about $6000 3 years ago. I added my own spray kit and use a product called Pathway. Have also used Tordon mixed with diesel. I copied the Dymax version for my sprayer. The Dymax sprayer at that time was another $1000 which is overpriced. I have a push button switch attached to the control stick in my cab. Just reach over and push the button with thumb, without movinvg hands from the controls. The spray kit keeps the hardwoods and brush from growing back after the cut. Cedars won't grow back unless a branch is left on the stump.

 

[TMTS]

The dymax timberwolf w/ accumulator is somewhere around 10K.

 

[Tags]

I have a friend that is selling a 14" Dymax shear here in Connecticut. He bought it a couple of years ago to clear a fairly big building lot but he really hasn't used it since. If anyone is interested I could get some more info.