Bustergasket

Yes we can nett straight off the machine with either logs or kindling, the conveyor i have put on the end just unclips, i just yesterday got an order for a 1000 log nets this is incremental to the bulk loads we do, so is welcome, just need to order more nets now ! That 25 ton is impressive, i was watching your video again, have you tried setting the ram so it “half strokes” i set the transaw so it just pushes the ring about 10mm into knife then returns, next ring drops in behind the other ring and that one pushes the other through, obviously depends on length of log but we found that much quicker and also if you get the gap right it might help those bouncers stay in line ? just a thought, that’s good output, and i will endeavour to get a video of the Fuelwood machine uploaded [emoji106]

Iam glad you like the setup gdh it has been fun getting it all going, we were talking at the end of the day on sat and discussing the pros and cons of all the machines we have tried and as you mention the conv processor will cut a longer log whereas this is limited to 10 inch, which is limited by the splitta, the newer ones i think are 14 inch, for us that’s not a trouble and we are making good use of the netted kindling and logs that it turns out, however i can see if you wanted to do longer boiler logs then you would need to keep a machine back, i saw your video where the log went through the knife on the Tajfun sideways how much push does that ram have ? 5000 cube is good going ! how many days do you run your machine ? did you upload you video to youtube first then paste a link to it ? i have a few vids of the new setup which show it working [emoji106]

To me the more automatic bits the better, we ran some timber through the cutta / splitta on sat and did a mix, so we did some bags of kindling in the morning, we really struggle to keep up with the machine, then we switched to some log nets and then finally finished off with some bulk bags, it has surprised us how well the netted products are selling we did contemplate running both the splittas at the same time just for laughs really the thought of netting kindling while the other one fills bulk bags is appealing and the more i get to grips with the woodcutta iam finding it really does run on its own with very little involvement from me, i have tried it on 5 inch timber and found it works ok it’s obviously slower and i think that would be its lower limit, i get my timber man to avoid bringing me the small stuff, but if i get a few sticks then i still have the Trusty Transaw, although it’s not been used for a few months, but i don’t know about you but on a conv. processor i used to get a bit frustrated by the lack of vol. in the smaller diameters and would try and rush them through, anyone else get like that ?, however with this set up it does not bother me, difficult to explain but it just plugs away and your mind wanders off, also the more i watch it work, you have two machines going and the shoot is like a buffer so if there is a snag on one the other keeps going, where my conv processor comes to a complete stop, this means the lad feeding timber gets less stoppage time as it’s constant, yes i think if the Tajfun was running on its own the output would be up there, the other thing i have noticed which they don’t tell you in the brochure is that i have noticed my eyes are not sore the next day, i used to get loads of dust and itchy stuff coming out the next day ! The more we run the machine the more it keeps surprising us, and in ways that we genuinely did not expect, I think the benefits of fully automatic are not appreciated until you try it, i can see other manufacturers will have to follow.

Is the 480 the automatic one ? i have seen a 400 in action but the output looked a bit low, and the guy was jumping around all over lifting the lid and sorting logs, running to swap knifes etc

I agree, the videos are great, but what’s surprised me was actually how it worked in the real world, i have a few videos but have no idea how to upload, anyone have any ideas ?

There is very little in the way of electrical bits on both machines which is a bonus, i have found that real world output would be 30-50 1.2 cube bags a day and that’s stacking and shacking, if you just ran it constant i dread to think how much wood it would chomp through. Regarding pricing and justification i looked long and hard at this, now for me i don’t get much time as so i need kit that will produce huge volumes of regular product quickly, so i have been on a mission for the past 5 years buying all sorts of stuff, i have tried pretty much everything else and they all have downsides which become apparent very quick when using in the real world on real timber, so i just was not confident enough to weigh in for an expensive machine without the knowledge of how it will actually perform, this older machine was the right money so i took a punt and it has outperformed every other bit of kit i have tried, if you are doing logs and kindling on a big scale then to me this machine is a complete game changer, it automatically runs and i don’t have to concentrate like a conventional processor, and it’s just much less fussy on timber which is not straight, and that really did surprise me and my mate who was outside feeding it, when we stopped at lunch he said he was feeding allsorts through, if you have the volume then to me the figures should stack up on a newer machine than mine, and you know that most processors have seen better days after 5 years. This machine is number 1 in that it was the first machine built, and it’s still going and from what i can see i think it will literally go on forever with maintenance obviously, how much volume do you do in a year ? keep on chopping [emoji106]

The other half of this set up is the splitta, now when this lot got delivered it came with a splitta which was set up for kindling, it worked but needed a few bits tidying up, so i put the Woodcutta into my existing splitta which i have been running for about 5 years, had to make up a shoot to transfer etc, i was not sure if the two machines would run at the same rate, well after running a good few days now i can say they are matched together depends a bit on timber dia but it seems to work itself out, the addition of a small conveyor, second hand ebay purchase, has proved a worthwhile exercise, it runs at 4m/ min which seems just right to give a constant flow of logs, and have to say they are nice and regular sizes, biggest issues we have now is keeping it fed with timber, biggest positive is iam not knackered after a day, need less people, and i have more time for other projects ! been cutting the blanks to feed through the other splitta for kindling.

One of the first thing we had to do was modify the side of the barn so we could get the timber to the saw, always tight on space so opted for outside in feed, so far seems to be working ok, then with this set up we ran it up, have to say it started cutting straight away, that first day we ran off about 25 bags but it was clear something was not right, i had oil howling out the saw chain pump a burst hose and a small ram was leaking oil, i think the machine had not been used continuously like this for some time as it was set for kindling when i took delivery, i was expecting to spend a bit so had a chat with the folks at Fuelwood, have to say great service, and most of what i needed was in stock and on the shelf, i put the new bar and chain on it which is narrower that the 2.0 harvesting bar which was fitted, and a new semi chisel chain, decided to put a new motor on the chain drive, had to make a new intermediate shaft from 12mm silver steel rod and new bearing in the sprocket housing, that all took a few evenings it was a week or so before i could get to run the machine, by that time i had managed to get an oil cooler rigged up, again Fuelwood were able to order me one in and give me some pointers, i welded up a frame and stuck somewhere out the way, they also had a new 12v supply so that went on along with some leds the oil temps we’re getting high so interested to see what a difference the cooler made, at this point also stuck some new filters in the hydro pack, the next time we ran it i kept an eye on the oil temps and they were much more under control, and it worked better than before, the most recent tweaks have been to the saw start trigger mechanism, newer machines have different parts to this very early in fact #1 machine, this one uses a mechanical valve and the issue i was seeing was that on 14 inch dia the time between chain start and chain contact with timber was not enough and sometimes the chain would stick into the wood before it got going, after a few different attempts i came up with a swinging spike that just contacts timber and starts it spinning, it has surprised me how well it works and gravity is proving pretty reliable ! the machine now runs for long periods on its own iam sure i will keep tweaking but the fact that this old machine is running so well has meant iam well ahead on this years production and i have only ran it for a few days here and there, will post up some more pics when i get a chance, keep on chopping [emoji106]

Well i have been busy in the barn working on this latest project, it’s starting to take shape and has impressed me from the first time i fired it up, i have been looking for a while and always wondered if a woodcutta would work for me... well let me say since setting this up i have a few bits of kit up for sale ! i always worry that a bit of kit will be fussy, this has surprised me how big and bendy timber this bit of kit will deal with, it’s an older machine 20 years to be precise, but the principal is the same as newer machines, now the fact this is going strong after 20 yrs is due to the superb design and build quality, it really is built like a tank, and is a well polished design, i have had to fettle a few bits to get back to fine form, and it’s now really starting to come into its own, this goes to show that there is some super high output machines out there and they can earn there money back very quick, thing that surprised me was how easy fully automatic is, i think once you have tried this it’s difficult to go back to pulling levers, i actually took a log order the other day while the machine continued running, made me smile ! will try and load some pics of the work we have done lately [emoji106]

here is a few pics of what it produces, talk soon, cheers

some great ideas here guys, i will be having a chat with the farmer, it sounds like we maybe able to trade some sawdust for steak [emoji106]

Most of the small bits drop through the gap between the machine and outfeed, i have made a cleaner which works well so really the bits that are left are welcome by customers as they use for starting, for me i would never go back to a manual hydraulic splitter it feels like they take too much time to fill a bag and you have to be there and concentrate, the splitta has completely changed the way we work and the quality of the product has proved to be the most consistent of all machines over the past 6 years, we can feed anything in the one end and get good logs out the other without thinking about it, it’s regular that the phone rings with a log order while chopping and the machine will carry on while i take the order, mine is the older 360 model but it takes 400 dia, it’s built like a tank, and does kindling too which is selling well, i bought both of the machines second hand, the payback time was just a few days on the one machine and a few months on the more expensive one, the one needed a bit of work but it’s a basic machine that’s easy to cut bits off and weld new bits on, this year i have dried the rounds before we feed through in a hope to avoid having to dry kindling in the bags, see how that goes !

If you have got a big enough pile then you could hire one of these in from Fuelwood, they are automatic, do come up for sale now and again, can honestly say it’s the best bit of kit we have found, takes upto 14 inch dia but you can take a 28 inch ring and knock it in half, feed ok flat side down, have not used my 13 ton thor since having this, it really does fill a bag in 5 mins or so.

The bags are double stacked so i guess it’s half what you can see as the bottom bag will also have shrunk

We ran a few bags off yesterday and were surprised when we stacked them next to the bags that were done 4 weeks ago, now some of the heights difference may be due to the bags relaxing in this heat but the logs are also now very dry sub 20%, all the bags were shaken and topped up same as the previous ones ! we would think 10% shrinkage

Another vote for bag supplies, had same bags for 4 years, out in sun no degradation yet [emoji106]

Good ideas, and yes i will try and get a vid or pictures loaded of the woodcutta/ splitta

Cheers guys some great suggestions there, especially like the waterproof oil absorption material, very clever in the development of the concept and then superb application, very interesting [emoji106]

I have been working on a new project over the past month on a firewood processor, i have a few improvements to finish off and i think it will work really well for us, however i can see that we are producing lots of sawdust and very quickly !, now this is chainsaw bar as opposed to tct so there is slight oil from chain lube, it’s about 30-40 % moisture so i think that makes briquettes more difficult, my current thinking is to bag/ box up and try and sell as oil absorption matter, be interested to hear any other possible uses ?

The thing is with these machines the output is huge, and the fact they are automatic means you don’t have to concentrate like you do on a conventional processor, you end up sort of overseeing, i have done 50 x 1 m cube bags in a day, but rings all precut and sized for the machine, you have to get yourself organised, it will also do kindling at a rate of about 1 bag 65x45 every minute, that’s two of us and bags tied and stacked on pallet, that for us was an added bonus that has proved to be a popular seller, iam using the older 360 machine but it takes 400, think new one is marked 400 but takes 450 but check that. Payback time can be swift if you can shift the volume that this machine will produce

It’s very rare i get a refusal, thing is it’s easy to just turn the handle and it resets the machine so it feeds again and splits the next bit, very easy especially when comparing to a refusal in a conventional processor, i have fed allsorts through my older 360 and it’s typical to get two refusals in a morning but we do put anything through (and like i say it’s seconds to reset it), almost just to see what happens, invariably it splits it, when you get a refusal you just get a double size bit out the end so no bother, will see if i can find a real life vid

It is a superb bit of kit, you can increase the price by adding conveyors and other options, best to give Fuelwood a call, i would have no hesitation if you ever came across a used machine just buy it, although i think people tend to hold onto them, the payback on these bits it’s of kit is from my experience very quick, built like tanks and residual value considerably better that other firewood processors.

Have you looked at a fuelwood splitta 400, i think fuelwood hire them out, i have exactly the same problem but have found a partial solution currently i ring anything upto 800 diameter split in half and feed through the splitta, the ringing is fairly labour intensive but two guys should just about keep up with the machine, you will be doing a cubic meter bag every 6 mins and the logs will be regular size, iam looking to modify my woodcutta / splitta to be able to handle 600 ish diameter as realistically i don’t have much over that diameter, do you think the manual ringing is an option ? if so then iam sure you will be amazed at how much wood comes off those large rings, we do a days ringing and then feed them through, the machine is automatic and it’s relentless, i would estimate about 5 ton per hour, they feed through flat (split) side down just fine

Looking for initially around 50 bags, based midlands, must be from good quality hardwood, any recommendations appreciated, have a good one

sorted, deleted the app and reinstalled, working ok cheers