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Strapping Kit

Started by alpmeadow, August 28, 2008, 10:23:33 AM

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amberwood

I have always used the 3/4" black plastic strap..it does not have the strength of steel, but also costs alot less. Worst case I use 3 or 4 bands rather than 2 on a pack. It only costs 10% the price of steel. As mentioned it is also alot safer in case of failure, and has less tendancy to damage timber when crimped up. It will stretch a little.

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DGK

Quote from: Brucer on August 01, 2009, 04:47:10 PM
Quote from: red on August 01, 2009, 10:43:27 AM
I just heard of a Web Strapping Kit  from
www.kubinecstrapping.com   and Baileys Sells it 
just wondering if anyone has tried it yet

RED

Yep. I was sold after the first bundle I made.

For the last several years my client would collect the slabs and edgings in half-cord bundles and strap them with half-inch metal strapping. He'd flog these off as cheap firewood.

Now that I'm buying logs myself, I have to deal with waste. I decided to try the Bailey's kit rather than invest in an expensive and heavy steel strapping system. I figured for a $100 it was worth a try. Here's my observations:

1) The manual tightener was intended for square packages rather than round bundles. However, I've been able to get it to work for me on my slab bundles.

2) The 250' rolls of banding are light enough to carry (Bailey's includes a bag) so you can tighten up a load and then cut the strapping. With metal I pretty much had to precut all my straps in the shop, then take them to the site.

3) If you cut the strapping just past the bottom of the manual tool, you'll have enough slack to retighten the load. No extra buckle required -- just pull the strap tighter. With metal you have to have enough overlap to get your tensioning tool in place, re-tighten the load, and add another clip.

4) The Bailey's kit literally gives you everything you need. Just carry the bag to the job site and go to it :).

Am I going to stick with the system? For sure. I expect I'll buy the buckles by the 1000 as there's a significant saving. But I'm going to keep buying the 250' rolls of banding -- the 2 x 1650' rolls only save you half a cent per foot and are a heck of a lot heavier.


Hello Brucer,

I am looking at ordering the same kit for my slabs plus some skids of lumber. With reference to your comment about the manual tensioning tool, are you happy with the manual, or now that you have some experience with the kit would you consider one of the ratcheting tensioners?

Thanks,
Doug
Yukon, Canada

LT40G38 modified to dual pumped hydraulic plus, HR120 Resaw, EG200 Edger, Bobcat S185,Bobcat S590, Logosol PH260M3, Sthil MS660's, MS460,MS362's MS260, Trailtech dump trailer, F350, F700 Tilt-Deck log/Lumber Hauler, JD440B Skidder, Naarva S23C Processor

Brucer

The manual tool isn't ideal on round packages like slab bundles. It was intended for square packages where the band makes a sharp bend. However, I'm getting better at positioning it -- each time I use it things go a little faster.

If my main use was square packages (e.g., lifts of lumber), I'd stick with the manual tool.  If I were making several slab bundles a day, I would probably go for one of the ratcheting tools. For now, at about one bundle every 2 days, I'll stick with the manual method.

I've told people that I'll recycle the bands and buckles if they return them to me, and every single one has come back! At this rate I won't need to buy any more banding or buckles until next year ;D.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

DGK

Thanks for the information Brucer. I think that I'll order the kit from Bailey's to give it a try.
Doug
Yukon, Canada

LT40G38 modified to dual pumped hydraulic plus, HR120 Resaw, EG200 Edger, Bobcat S185,Bobcat S590, Logosol PH260M3, Sthil MS660's, MS460,MS362's MS260, Trailtech dump trailer, F350, F700 Tilt-Deck log/Lumber Hauler, JD440B Skidder, Naarva S23C Processor

4x4American

So Brucer, how have you liked your Kubinec setup?  Are you still using it?




I am looking at this:
http://www.baileysonline.com/Forestry-Woodcutting/Portable-Sawmills/Lumber-Banding-Strapping/Kubinec-3-4-Poly-Strapping-Kit.axd


I have a customer who wants me to band his lumber, and I want to do it without breaking the bank.  Also plan to use it for strapping bundles of slabwood for firewood.
Boy, back in my day..

Brucer

Yes! I've gone through several thousand feet of strapping (not including re-used material).  So far I've only had two straps break while handling bundles. I've managed to put the chainsaw through a couple of straps when bucking up bundles -- sure beats steel strapping in that regard :).

Three years ago I bought a proper ratchet tool so we could get the slab bundles tighter. This made it much easier to roll the bundles out of the racks. I discovered the hard way that I should have bought the special ratchet tool for round bundles. It wasn't in stock at the dealer so I bought the regular one. We had to learn a few tricks for getting the bundles as tight as we wanted.

I'd still recommend the kit with the manual tool as a starter set. That way you aren't out of pocket too much if you find it doesn't work for you.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Peter Drouin

Go to U Line for your stuff 4x4
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

4x4American

I'll have to check them out.
Boy, back in my day..

Brad_bb

I've been using the Kubinec system for a year and a half now.  I like it a lot.  Low investment and a strong strap.  It takes some time at first to use them.  Once you get the hang of it, you get faster.  It's an easily portable system too.  The manual tool has been just fine for me.  If you were strapping 5 days a week, then it would be time to up grade to a full cart with steel or plastic banding. But if you're only strapping occasionally like me, this system is good in every way.
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

YellowHammer

When using the Kubinec or generic buckle system, can they be released on a tight pack of lumber without cutting the straps?
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

terrifictimbersllc

If you want to go to the trouble you can get the buckles loose either by prying on them and working the strap or by pulling the bundle tighter with something else, once the strap is a bit loose you can get the buckle off.   But one can also  cut the strap at the buckle and have a strap that's shorter than the first. On one side of the buckle one needs about a foot extra strap to use the tool. On the other side only a couple inches will do it so that is what would be lost if you want to have a strategy of reusing strap and buckles if you're not shipping the bundle off somewhere else.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

Brucer

Just about impossible to remove a buckle when the strap is tight. For my slab bundles I told people to cut the strap as close to the buckle as possible. When I reused a strap, I'd use a second buckle and a short piece of strapping. I told people to cut the strap between the buckles.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

barbender

I've been happy with the Kubinec strapping, although the 3/4" seems like overkill for most stuff to me. I got the starter kit with the manual tool first, I later got a ratchet tensioner. Maybe I'm not using the ratchet correctly, but I can get stuff tighter with the manual tool.
I found it quite a bit cheaper at Strapping Supply, I think was the name of the outfit.
Too many irons in the fire

Brucer

While the 3/4" strap is way stronger than I need to bundle slabs, I still prefer it. It stands up to serious abuse -- like poking it with a loader fork, or having a bundle slide off the forks sideways and hit the ground at an angle.

In some cases the manual tool will get things tighter because of the angle at which it pulls the strap. The tensioners (manual or ratchet) grip or pinch the strap that's going around your package. Then they wrap onto the tail end of the strap that's coming back at them from the buckle, and that's what get's pulled.

Problems arise when the top piece of strap is rubbing on the lower piece anywhere between the tensioner and the buckle. There will be so much friction that the two pieces press against each other and the strap no longer slides through the buckle. When this happens you can see the bottom piece of strap start to bunch up as it gets dragged back toward the tensioner. This usually doesn't happen with the manual tensioner because it pulls the upper strap at a much steeper angle. It doesn't happen with either tensioner if the surface you're strapping is flat.

If the strap won't move through the buckle easily, I slip a piece of smooth metal between the two pieces of strapping. This lifts them away from each other and the strap will still slide over the metal. I keep a chainsaw wrench in my strapping bag for this purpose, but an outrigger leveling bar from a Wood-Mizer also works well.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Ohio_Bill


[b]If the strap won't move through the buckle easily, I slip a piece of smooth metal between the two pieces of strapping. This lifts them away from each other and the strap will still slide over the metal. I keep a chainsaw wrench in my strapping bag for this purpose, but an outrigger leveling bar from a Wood-Mizer also works well.[/b]

[/quote]

Thanks Brucer for sharing your fix.  I will try that tomorrow
Bill
USAF Veteran  C141 Loadmaster
LT 40 HDD42-RA   , Allis Chalmers I 500 Forklift , Allis Chalmers 840 Loader , International 4300 , Zetor 6245 Tractor – Loader ,Bob Cat 763 , Riehl Steel Edger

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