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log wizard de-barking tool

Started by T.J., September 17, 2011, 08:52:53 PM

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T.J.

i'm not shure if i need to put this here or on the chainsaw board,but here goes :

i searched this topic and 2 posts came up one from 2002 and one from 2003.what are y'alls thoughts on them?i know most of y'all either use a pressure washer or have one on your mill but,what do you do if you are some where you cant hook up your pressure washer? would the log wizard not be a handy tool?

also would the Stihl MS170 do alright with one attached to it?

any advice will be appreciated.
thanks,
T.J.

Dave Shepard

When I first started sawing we had a couple of Wizards. We ran them on Husky 55s. They work well, but take a little time. I would only open up enough for a slab and a board or two down one side. I don't know how big a 170, but the 55s ran it with ease. Sometimes after I got a log opened up I could take a bark spud and loosen up the remaining bark in big pieces. It really saves the bands if the logs are dirty.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

T.J.

Dave,
thanks for the reply.i appreciate it.
on the Stihl site it says the following about the 170 :
occasional use saw
30.1cc 1.8 cu in
1.7 bhp
8.6 lbs
i think they cost around $200

does anyone know what size the saw needs to be for the log wizard?

thanks,
T.J.

zopi

One seventy is a little light...200 might be better...
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
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And lots of junk.

Brad_S.

I bought one to try and remove some frozen mud from a customers logs. It was totally worthless for that so I sold it very shortly after. Frozen mud is an extreme material to try and remove, but I can't imagine it would do much better on dry mud either. If all you want to do is remove clean bark, it may be a useful tool but as a log cleaner, it isn't very effective, IMO.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

bandmiller2

TJ,I think the wizard is aimed more at rough furnature and post and beam builders than sawyers.What would dull the band would dull the small plainer blades on the wizard.Unless you have a mounted debarker its wire brush ,spud,or axe.An axe sharpened one way, like some hatchets, is quite effective at muddy bark removal.  Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

VT-Woodchuck

I use mine on a Husky 136. Seems to work for me. It creates a lot of dust and you should wear long pants. It has done what I have asked of it. I do sharpen the blades every once in a while. I did buy a drive chain for it - no cutters.

Dave Shepard

If you set the blades out a little bit more, it will reduce the entire log to shavings. I didn't want to suggest that, as it takes more power, and is more abusive to the drive chain. It will take off frozen mud this way, and anything else in the way. It does really throw the stuff, so I always tried to have my chainsaw chaps on when using it.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Chuck White

I used a Log Wizzard on a Poulan chain saw quite a few years ago and it seems to me that it does a good job for what it was intended.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

isawlogs


I have one here and have had it since 93 when I bought my mill. I have used you it in all or about all situations, it does take frozen mud off a log, one needs to pull the cutters out a tad bit, enough for them to bite. Only bark it will not clean up is that of cedar, it being stringy and will wrap itself around the barrel of the wizzard.
 
As for that 170, it aint big enough or have the torque and speed to reve up for the wizzard to be effecient, I have mine on an 034 , it was on a 026 but as I said , it needs the rpm and torque to be effecient. The knives dull fast but are easy enough to change to resharpen I used a hand grinder, no need to have them cutting or balanced as a planer, they're going to get messed up quick anyways.
 
I put one on a Poulan and cleaned up some  logs that where sawed 8" thick with bark left on two sides that where to be used on a dovetail house,. I killed the saw before the job was over, it was way over worked for what it was doing. Those Poulans are good little saws, like the 170, just not cut out to do that type of work.
    ( That Poulan was a new saw, I did not bring it back as I new I had abused it over and above what it was built for) 
  The weight of the Wizzard on the end of the 170 would also be above what the antivibe could take. Even on the bigger saws I have shortened the blade on it.
A man does not always grow wise as he grows old , but he always grows old as he grows wise .

   Marcel

reride82

What type of trees will you be using it on? I've used one on Lodgepole Pine and it works great, but on Ponderosa Pine where the bark is thicker a bar or hatchet as described earlier works faster. Although I've found that the log wizard works better around knots and uneven areas. I use mine on a husky 455 and I added a handle where the wizard bolts to the bar plus a few guards around the drive chain. This makes it so I have better control of the head and can manage the torque of the saw with more precision.
'Do it once, do it right'

'First we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us'
Living life on the Continental Divide in Montana

T.J.

thanks to everyone for all the help & advice.i really appreciate it.

i guess the MS170 is out then. do y'all think a Husky 353 would be alright to use with it?

i have a variety of trees to mill - SYP,yellow poplar,soft maple,red & white oak,ERC (glad isawlogs warned me on that one).

again thanks for the help.
T.J.

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