arboriculturist

Of course, but for those of us like you and I who only sell a premium product, the date will be quite a bit different.

I am interested to hear peoples views on when they consider is the latest you can process hardwood logs to be ready for sale in October. I am talking about storing the split logs in slatted crates, stacked 4 high with tops covered outside. We always considered end of June late enough. Any answers much appreciated.

The great thing about a Posch are the ergonomics - everything is in the perfect place for the operator and access to the splitting chamber is ideal. May retrofit with a shorter ram though, as no point in having a 20" stroke when splitting 10" long logs - just adds to the cycle time. For owner operators speeding up the ram operation is a straightforward engineering process. So even though the Posch is great now straight out of the box - it can be made greater!

As many change their machine every 3 years, perhaps build quality is not such a consideration - not sure how the re-sale value compares with a Posch though?

Thats a lot of timber cut with 1 sharpening! Fair play, some are better than others with a file - makes bar and chain processors look a lot more attractive. Thanks:thumbup1:

That all sounds good - I nearly bought a Lasco off Wilsons but found too much inconsistency in size of split roundwood lengths and lots shards produced when processed, but there again we have very fussy customers.

Not seen it Jon - I'll check it out:thumbup1:

That machine will go on forever - just be sure to grease the bank of 4 grease points where you stand every 4 hours, other points every 8 and pto every 8. In some ways the 350 had the edge on the 360. Give it 10 mins to warm up with the output conveyor running before use. A wise purchase for the money.

Wow 600 tonnes on one sharpening! I think Wilson's are keen to retain their customers, so John may trim his margins a touch ( although they now have Simon Munro who negotiates a lot of sales). Hoping to get a few more replies on machines you have mentioned - pros and cons etc. Thanks again.

That's my thoughts exactly. Time spent building good relationships with suppliers generally pays off - decent straight sub 12" timber arriving and with the log deck fed with the 360 and grab, the Posch can produce impressive meterage with zero downtime.

If the price is rock bottom - agreed can be worthwhile if you have a boiler to take waste, however given the price of labour consider what meterage of decent roundwood you would have run through the processor in the time it would take to process that lot!

The time is approaching to change the processor - no issues just not keen to have the main machine older than 3 years. TCT circular blades have been excellent - Practically zero maintenance just swap blade every 200 tonne of throughput. I must say maintaining a bar and chain processor is not an attractive thought. Wilsons Machinery always seem to give you a great deal when you trade in for a new machine and their after sales has always been faultless in my opinion. I am inclined to stay with a Posch unless anyone thinks a change of machine make would be worthy of serious consideration. Any opinions would be much appreciated.

Agree, lots of shards. It seems the larger diameter you go the more inconsistent the end product is. One advantage of buying roundwood that is smaller than the max capacity of your processor is you get clean logs with next to nothing in the way of shards.

As you posted a while ago, if you buy graded timber the processors we all have will be adequate. That's my view also and use semi-skilled labour to deal with Arb. arisings. We have a 360 with grab so are efficient when it comes to timber handling and size grading here. Thanks for your input.

Having seen this machine working the figures stack up if you can buy oversize at a reduced rate and do not have the option of buying size graded roundwood. Production speed is massive of course.

Harvesting profitability is regional - if you are in the South West where small plantations on steep and difficult terrain prevail, the margins are far to small to provide a decent income, so I have every sympathy with those caught up in the business and have no easy exit strategy.

My face would drop if that load arrived here! What processor do you have that will cope with those shapes? Thanks for posting images though, always good to see.

Here we have the Quote for the Rabaud Xylog 420 and the 550 direct from Home Forestry - Take a seat ! Many thanks for your enquiry, please find prices below for the machinery you are interested in. Xylog 420 With integrated hydraulic pump and tank kit, PTO shaft. 2.2m infeed conveyor, 4.6m discharge conveyour with hydraulic side shift and hydraulic folding/ unfolding, 2/4/6 way splitting knife standard, 8 and 12 as optional extra. Offer price £23495.00 plus vat ex works. Delivery TBC Options: 5m long x 3 chain hydraulic log deck £10695.00 plus vat, Delivery TBC Transport trailer with chain feeding log deck 3.00m with hydraulic installation £18495.00 plus vat, Delivery TBC Xylog 550 Xylog 550 with hydraulic PTO pump and tank kit, loading deck platform with 3 chainjs, mobile road axle,(movable machine), 4m feed discharge conveyor, xylometer automated cutting wedge Offer price £74490.00 plus vat delivery TBC Options: Cover for mobile machine £926.50 plus vat Optional 1m long extension for conveyor £1525.75 plus vat Channelling box for sawdust £522.75 plus vat Sawdust vacuum system 400mm, 5.5kw 7.om long £3997.00 plus vat All prices are ex-works France, delivery costs to be confirmed at point of order. All quotations are valid for 30 days, all Rabaud equipment is supplied with a 1 year parts warranty backed by the Factory. If you require any further information, please let me know. Best regards Nathan Home

I think what the bloke meant is: e.g. The 1 summer felled load he processed into logs he got 36 m3. The 1 winter felled load he processed into logs he got 40 m3.

I have heard conflicting views about the difference in the weight between freshly felled Roundwood when the sap has risen compared to when trees are felled when dormant. One bloke said he had 10% less volume on an 8 wheeler load of Sycamore felled in June compared with the same in December. It appears that individual tree species vary a lot also. Would anyone care to comment or put a % on the difference?

It seems that few people consider the conversion rate when buying timber species - makes a huge difference as you already know.

UPDATE - Just had a message from Nathan at Home Foresty. He will have prices ex factory in the next couple of days - happy to post when I recieve them. From what I understand - knowone in the UK as yet has a Rabaud processor.