getting lazy

[lopet]

Well this year I am getting a little support from a different saw dust maker as my little perkins on my block buster is giving me problems.



 

The machine is custom built and has a few special features. I really like the " log kicker "



 

Rear roller to support long logs or lifting up crooked ones



 

Hydraulic driven top roller clamp also help to feed crooked stuff



 

Hydraulic bumper plate for setting block length



 

50 ton splitting force is not enough for 18 " dead elm



 

Support vehicle for locating a faulty wire in the joystick controls



  

[NWP]

Cool. I like that rear roller idea

[North River Energy]

+2 on the tail roll. 
That's been on my 'build' list for awhile, but after uprating the infeed chain motor last week, I really need to replace the dangle chain with a retractable hard stop. It's the right kind of fast, but way too easy to overshoot the target.

Looks like a clean design overall.
Got any video?

[lopet]

+2 on the tail roll. 
That's been on my 'build' list for awhile

Just be ready to spend a lot more money than you think you gonna spend. ;D

It has plenty of horse power, engine never bogged down. Huge oil cooler, but still think hydraulics get quite hot. Seen the operator stalling the saw blade a couple of times and it's never enough force for the splitter ram. But yes very solid and professional built.

Years ago they told me they don't like the cord kings and all the others and they will build their own and brought in their own ideas, which I think are pretty good ones. But building a prototype costs a lot of nerves, time and money,
Sorry no video !    Smart phones don't work for stupid guys.

[hedgerow]

Nice looking processor. I wish it was sitting on my yard for a few weeks. It would sure make a quick job out of this next seasons firewood.

[North River Energy]

Just be ready to spend a lot more money than you think you gonna spend.

Pfft.  Craigslist+time+careful use of scrap steel=affordable product development.  The key is to shop in anticipation of ideas you haven't had yet.

If no video, howzabout more photos?

[lopet]

Don't mean to discourage you NRE, I know you've got some pretty good fabricating skills and I would say anyone has who built their own processor.
Of coarse you can build less for less, but a unit like that  who runs three pumps takes quite a bit of engineering and you need the right size of hydraulic motors to get most efficiency, not too big and not too small. The cost of hydraulics are quite often underestimated IMO and I am sure if they gonna build a new or bigger one it's not gonna be the same design.
There is some more pics in my gallery and if you have a specific question you can pm me.

[lopet]

+2 on the tail roll. 
I really need to replace the dangle chain with a retractable hard stop.

Make sure the hard stop moves out of the way as you're cutting or the saw will bind as the block starts breaking off. The one I have on my block buster moves hydraulically forward and retracts on air, same as the saw.

[North River Energy]

Perceived cost is just another design consideration that hasn't yet found a solution.

Gallery photos were helpful, thanks.

I'm thinking I can 'tee' the stop cylinder into the finger clamp circuit, and if I get the plumbing right, the action of the stop should lead the action of the clamp.

[lopet]

Mine runs the clamp, the saw cylinder , the stop cylinder and the saw motor all from the same lever  but I am not sure how it is plumbed in.
The only difference to most of the others is the stop cylinder and the saw cylinder retract on air pressure. This way you can use all the hydraulics for the splitting ram. The ram also returns on air pressure, that way you can use all the hydraulic power to do the next cut. It works pretty good actually.
Why you wanna have the stop action before the clamp action ?

[North River Energy]

I have one pump for the saw, another for the splitter, and a third for the 'auxiliaries'.

When the log clamp is up, the stop should be extended to measure the advancing log.  When the log hits the stop, the clamp comes down, and the stop should retract so as not to close the kerf.
The saw travel is on the same bank, but a different spool than the clamp and infeed chain.

If I remember correctly, Blockbuster uses some sort of sequence valve to incorporate clamp and cut into one pull of the same lever? 
Was also under the impression that splitter ram return was air powered for speed.
Pretty clever, that.

[lopet]

that splitter ram return was air powered for speed.

Since we installed a dump valve at the oil tank  the ram returns at least twice as fast on air pressure.

make sure you take some pictures of your build.

[North River Energy]

Will do on the photos. It might be awhile on account of a few other priorities...

So the BB didn't come with a dump valve?  That's kind of odd given the minimal cost and significant gain.

[lopet]

I think the newer ones come with it, but mine is 92 and it's old old

[North River Energy]

Here's a short clip with the new infeed drive motor.
It seem the 'lazier' I get by way of machine design, the faster I have to move my hands...
http://youtu.be/n24MWzFJuoQ

[4x4American]

Awesome processors on this thread!  Enjoyed the video, did you build that, NRE?

[thecfarm]

Mighty nice!!

[North River Energy]

Thanks Cf.
4x4A, I bought a pile of parts and took it from there.
http://beckmannag.com/firewood-production/rebuilding-a-firewood-processor
And the upgrades:
http://beckmannag.com/firewood-production/processor-upgrades

It's been a rewarding and sometimes frustrating learning experience.

[lopet]

Awesome NRE   8) 8)
Very impressive improvements you have made to speed things up, compared to a video from 2009.
Also like the fact of using recycled material and especially the idea with the flywheel.

I can see lots of hours, sweat and set backs in it, but it's something you can be proud of.

Keep on going, now you need a live deck !

[North River Energy]

Thanks lopet. 
There's a certain feeling that goes along with getting ahead with a machine you put together yourself.

A powered deck is in the plans, but ahead of that is the log stop and another upgrade to the saw drive.
I want to remove the gearbox and change out the two v-belts for a synchronous belt.


Have another project I'm working on that truly epitomizes the notion of 'getting lazy'.  Hope to have an update in a few days time...

[lopet]

Wow wow wow, just to make one thing clear . I do not own that processor in the top pictures neither I have something to do with the  construction  or the build in features.  The machine belongs to a couple of fellows I am doing business with for a few years .    It started with selling logs to them and later trading logs for custom processing, and when they said they're gonna build a bigger unit, I ended up buying their blockbuster of them,  after  they got all the bugs out of the new processor. I have to admit that they had some pretty good ideas, which they have talked about for a few  years, but didn't really know the cost of it to get it built.  What I have heard is, what they thought they can build for about 90 K turned out in to a 120 K machine.
I mean it's a prototype,  which still has some issues and you gotta split a lot of wood to make  this work .

It was the first year I have hired them with this processor to do all the bigger stuff, after I was having trouble with my little Perkins diesel on my block buster last year. I 've had a big dead elm block stuck in the wedge and got a little rammy. >:(  Turned out it was blowing antifreeze out of the rad cap ever since. Finished the season just with pouring water in the rad  ( I know it's not the same ). Anyhow, thought I blew the head gasket but it still had the power, so I started the new season with knowing it might not handle the big stuff very well , but bought a new rad cap and surprisingly it's keeping the coolant in the rad.
The other thing is, I do have a eight way wedge, which i think is way too hard on that old girl , so i am just using the four way and two way head.
If I have a log more than 14'' I have to chip away at the bottom, toss the blocks back and re split.
So now their design is the " french fries cutter style " where you push the block through a multi wedge gate. It works really good, but you end up with a bunch of fines and a bunch of too big blocks and a bunch of perfect size blocks.
I still think, I can  make the better looking product, but not at their cost.
So my plan is to mix it all together when delivery takes place and none of my customers is gonna complain or will notice any changes.  ;D ;D     

[North River Energy]

A teaser video.
http://youtu.be/ykd8HdxJRq0

Beta test tomorrow, weather permitting.

[North River Energy]

Lazy, or? :

http://youtu.be/_0g83BEfox8

Forgot to start the conveyor for this clip.

[lopet]

Reminds me when I was a child and played with lego. Everything had to be done by cranes and loaders.

[lopet]

" Big Brother " has left more than a week ago, off to the next job.
The three piles on the left, they figured  should hold about 17-18 cord each and the forth one around 13-14 cord.
Total roughly 65 cord in three days. Considering the troubleshooting the first day and a green operator the second day, we did alright.
I think anything what's 20 cord or more without fixing or welding, they call a good day.
In perfect wood and a experienced operator I would say the machine is capable to put out almost 40 cord a day.



 

Now I am back to busting blocks again.