andy cobb

I've got an old pair of saw boots and I'm considering getting a few short stainless screws and putting them in the soles to get a bit more grip when walking on wet timber. Wonder if anybody had already done this and if I'm about to waste a pair of boots.

Hi there, just wondering if there's any news on the 501sxh? Thanks - Andy

Sounds a crackin job, not the sort of thing motor manual ever gets a sniff at now adays. Good sized timber as well Very jealous

I would think at only 25 ton it would struggle on multi way split. I can make my 40 ton bauke with 4' wide beech on 4 way

I know the op has decided on what he wants but just seen this on eBay, tidy little machine. Item 152431897121 Sorry don't know how to do links. - Andy

On some of the smaller tractors does the pto not go in the opposite direction? A friend of mine had an Older kubota and think he had a bit of trouble finding a second hand flail that was compatible with it. Think it was a b1700.

Well done. Bet your mighty relieved:thumbup1:

Done:thumbup1:

Nice to see a tracked machine with a comfortable cab. Most you see are just a cabless seat. Looks a fantastic base unit for a very capable forwarder.

Finally got blade fitted, had a new lad start helping me with firewood and was reluctant for him to learn on a new blade. Have only run about 5 ton through machine but am impressed with the blade. Runs very quiet with just a high pitched hum as it cuts. Was a little worried it might run rough because of having a lot less teeth than the previous blade but it's very smooth and takes almost no effort to cut seasoned hardwood billets approx 8" diameter. It's a tiny bit thinner then the old blade so on the plus side there is a little bit less waste but I suppose there will be more deflection if a log twists in the cradle, don't know if that will effect the long term life of the blade. Much less dust in the chip than the old blade which was becoming a problem as the blade deteriorated , wasn't nice having to wear a mask all day. It was only after removing the old blade I realised just how bad it had got with more damaged or missing teeth than good ones. I'm sending it to the saw doctors but if it's going to be more than £150 to re-tip and sharpen I might just buy another eddesso blade. Hope this helps anybody who might be looking for a new/second blade for their machine. -Andy

That looks really tidy tcd. Are ex fc machines generally well looked after?

That's a good idea. And it obviously works coz the guys smiling! Cheers. Gonna try dumper in woods in next couple of weeks loading it with the grab on the trailer and forwarding out timber in the skip, I know it won't get a full weight on it but it might give me some idea of how it will behave

Luckily they are only 2 miles down the road from me and i do a lot of work for marks brother so. Will definatly nip down and ask for some advice. Been looking for an excuse to go look round new place anyway

Am currently running a small trailer on back of tractor, unfortunately the crane isn't big enough to handle some of the timber I'm currently working with ( big beech 4' +). I already have the hiab 650 sat in the yard and have considered mounting that on the small trailer, unfortunately a lot of the timber is within established woods that are a pain to navigate with a tractor trailer combo especially if you have to reverse in/ out, so I'm thinking that to mount the hiab at the very rear of the dumper would be relatively simple and inexpensive. If it proved useless in the woods it would still be a very capable yard machine for loading splitter and stacking bundles of billets. Btw all opinions positive or negative are much appreciated - Andy

that would be the ideal set up but i need to keep the dumper ability as building is my main job. when I get the machine done it might only move 300 ton in the woods each year its main purpose will be feeding the big balfor splitter, which I'm hoping to put together a hire package with dumper, splitter and processor and use as a standard dumper with the advantage of having a grab/ clamshell.

Luckily I never do large site work we tend to do renovations extensions and one off builds. Currently renovating a farm house into a 8 bedroom holiday cottage with 6 acres for glamping pods so dumper will be used a lot there. On the forestry side it's only small estate work usually for gamekeepers , cutting rides tree removal for gun pegs and when doing forestry I work alone so at least it means I'm not worried about bystanders etc but operator safety is something I need to look at as well Hoping that for the small scale forestry work I do a little dumper forwarder will wiggle where a tractor trailer won't .

The dumper does have a roll bar and will continue to have one when hiab is on. I do take your point about operator safety though but I think a substantial framework built from the chassis would offer adequate protection . I looked at a forward control dumper that's been parked up at a local quarry with a duff engine but it would be too big for construction work which is my main occupation.

Does that mean that oil would just flow from one cylinder to the other as the grab followed the bunk? Sorry for my ignorance but hydraulics aren't my forte.

After listening to the help from here I'm thinking now of mounting it at the very rear of the machine and removing the legs so I can lower the hiab as much as possible to keep cog down then fitting pivoting legs just behind the wheels and lowering the roll frame as much as possible. Does anybody know if a valve of some sort exists that would allow the grab to follow when in transport but could then be closed to stop free flow for loading. Could a pair of pressure relief valves be piped into the slew circuit that could then be locked out?

Had never considered that either. Machine will have to operate on some slopes but nothing too steep. Do you think the hiab is better on the rear unit for stability?

Another option could be to mount it at the rear end, the hiab would still have enough reach I think and the engineering would be simpler but it still doesn't solve the problem of where to put the grab when moving.

Never considered the hiab following the bunk! Was hoping to get 12 foot lengths on so would need a 8 foot bunk I guess. Wonder if hiab could rest with grab on something at rear of machine or would that leave hiab joint too high for travel in woods?

I've just bought a 5 ton thwaites dumper with the hope of mounting a hiab 650 on it and making a timber bunk on the front. Wondering if anybody here had done similar or could think of a better way than the 1 I've got planned. Was thinking of removing the steering column and mounting the hiab at the front of the rear unit, leaving the entire front unit to be a bunk, hoping I can work it so that the skip can also be swapped for the bunk easily so I can fit a clam shell and use it for on the construction side as well . Would remount the steering column on the hiab base somewhere as its only hydraulics and electrics. Sorry it's so long winded but as its pissing it down I'm hoping there's a few on here who can offer some advice.

If it's a decent length bar I sometimes find a smallish tree ( 4" ish) and put a vertical bore cut in at a comfortable height then just hang the saw in that while I sharpen and just lift the saw and drag the chain round as required. Obviously no good if you haven't got a tree to sacrifice.

I use a merkur as a few others on this thread do. I started as I hated paying the price of Mach 3 blades, took a few shaves to get used to it but now I have virtually no shaving rash afterwards and it's such a close shave that you can usually leave it an extra day till next shave. On the downside it's bloody cold on the chin when you go to work first morning!