Walk behind small tree harvester?

[bearlakehockey]

Is there tracked or wheeled walk behind machine to cut 4-6 inch diameter trees?  Like a brush hog that would cut the tree , but not plow it over and grind it up. 

[Bobus2003]

Doesn't Dr. Trimmer make a small walk behind tree cutter?

[stonebroke]

You can get a beaver blade for a DR trimmer but I think four inches would be pushing it.

Stonebroke

[DirtForester]

Can I get that in a cut-to-length model?   ;D

[stonebroke]

Yep, Cut to one length. Tree length :D :D :D :D :D

Stonebroke

[DirtForester]

Yep, Cut to one length. Tree length :D :D :D :D :D

Stonebroke

:D

[pbunyan]

I have a DR trimmer with beaver blade attachment.There used to be two sizes 14 and 12
inch.I have the 14 inch.I only used it once and it cut better than I thought it would but I
didn't cut to its full capacity. which would be may be 4 ".The blade has chain saw chain
embedded in the rim and cuts like a chain saw.when dull you use a chain saw file to sharpen
it.There seems to be plenty of power.I have chainsaws so I use it to cut brush around the
yard.It really saves the back on the smaller stuff.

[SwampDonkey]

A professional model brush saw, seems to me would be more productive. Cutting a 6"'er is doable, I've cut pin cherry 8" or 9", have to come from a  couple sides and maintain sharp blades. That big stuff can be hard on gears and drive shaft, but for the homeowner type jobs, nothing to it. How much you cutting? Remember, sharp blades. Just don't pull on the handle bars like a gunner shooting down a Kamikaze, use the harness to help free the blade if it gets pinched or you'll break handle bars and bar elbows. ;D

[VT_Forestry]

I'll second what SwampDonkey said...a handheld brushcutter with a sharp blade will quickly drop a 7-9" tree if you come at it from two sides.  Good luck 

[SwampDonkey]

Plus, there is an art to following that bigger stuff as well. Just work opposite of the way she wants to fall to reduce pinch. Helps to clear a path to drop it into. You'll catch on. ;D

[Gary_C]

A professional model brush saw, seems to me would be more productive. Cutting a 6"'er is doable, I've cut pin cherry 8" or 9", have to come from a  couple sides and maintain sharp blades.

Can you do directional felling too?  ;D

Do you carry the brush saw on your escape path or just save yourself?  :D

[SwampDonkey]

A job for a professional I guess.  :D ;D

[Raider Bill]

What's one of those brush cutters run price wise?

[SwampDonkey]

Well an Echo is $1000 and a Stihl around $1300, the upper end models. $CDN

Echo now makes the biggest one HP wise, but it's not that big a difference. I hate the throttle cable on the Echo, poor design, not protected well enough from hooking into brush and ripping it out of the housing. Other than that, make sure you adjust the carb when you bring it home.

[Raider Bill]

I've been thinking of a DR walk behind brush cutter. Maybe have to rethink that.

[Woulde]

I've been looking for a brush cutter to clear trees up to 4".  Need to cut 3 or 4 acres.  I'll leave the big trees for the pros.  From reading this forum, it seems to me the Stihl brand is top of the line.  But which model?  A dealer suggested a 130 model, but he didn't seem real sure.  If I need to spend $1,000 I'll do it, but just can't pull the trigger.  Any suggestions?  BTW, what's the difference between a brush cutter and clearing saw?  FWIW, I'm just a layman, not a "pro".

[SwampDonkey]

As far as the clearing saw, FS450,500,550. We buy the FS550 here for pre-commercial thinning, their top model. Husky makes an equivalent saw. Most fellows on the crew use them because of the dealer. The Stihl is easier to work on from what I see out there. The brush cutter they are talking about is a walk behind machine that looks like a big mower. They advertised them on TV quite hard in the 90's around here. I doubt they would mow much 4" stuff, maybe 1"-2". But maybe they have a larger class than I've seen. I bet the clearing saw is cheaper and more productive.

[Raider Bill]

One of my concerns is length of the saw. I'm 6'4" I hate to work bent over. Makes for a long day.

This is DR's product

http://www.drpower.com/field-brush-mower.aspx

Big differance in price between SwampDonkeys cutter and this.

[VT_Forestry]

I run an FS450 on a regular basis doing pre-commercial thinning (not nearly as much as SD but enough  :D ).  IIRC they are in the $900-$1000 range.  A 4" tree is nothing to one of these things, zips right through them   I have some videos that I've taken that I'll try to get up on YouTube.  We have the full-length saw, I'm 6'2" and with the harness adjusted properly I'm not bending over at all.  My own personal opinion is this:  for clearing small trees I would much rather use the Stihl as opposed to something on wheels like a DR.  It's very versatile and easy to get around with, you can step over trees and not have to worry about driving over them.  Seems like it would be a whole lot more productive to run a clearing saw...but hey, that's just my opinion

[Woulde]

The FS130 the dealer recommended is called a trimmer in their spring 2010 full line limited catalog.  He suggested swapping out the trimmer head for the saw blade.  They're a lot cheaper, but I don't want cheap, I want the right tool. 

Just by looking at specs on the Stihl web site I'm between the 350 and 450.   

Also, what blade to use?  I'm guessing the chisel tooth.  I don't have much brush, primarily trees and saplings.  Area to be cleared on sloped ground if that matters.

BTW, Stihl seems to use the term brush cutter and cutting saw interchangeably.

[stonebroke]

The problem with the field and brush mower is it will only do 2 or 2 and a half inch stuff. the beaver blade fits on the trimmer.

Stonebroke

[SwampDonkey]

9" Chisel Tooth, make sure it's Swede steel and not Asian steel, says on box. Stays sharp longer. And make sure you walk out with the right cut out size in the blade, the upper saws use a small cut out 500/550, not sure on the lower saws. The smaller Husky for instance has a larger hole, but the old bigger Husky they just stopped making a couple years back has a small hole. Maybe VT_For can tell ya the cut out size on the 450, or just check in parts lookup at the dealer.

[VT_Forestry]

9" Chisel Tooth, make sure it's Swede steel and not Asian steel, says on box. Stays sharp longer.  Maybe VT_For can tell ya the cut out size on the 450, or just check in parts lookup at the dealer.

I wanna say that the center hole is 20mm, but I'm not 100% on that.  I'll check tomorrow at work. 

[John Mc]

DR's biggest walk-behind brush mower is the 17 HP Pro-XL. It weighs over 350 pounds. It's supposedly rated for up to 3" saplings. I'm not sure how well it handles something that big, since you have to be able to push it over to mow it. I don't think these are intended to replace a clearing saw... they're more a substitute for a tractor with a brush mower for someone who can't justify the expense of a tractor, or for someone who needs to get into places that a tractor can't/shouldn't go.

(To me one of the interesting things about the DR units is that you can swap the brushcutter head for a lawnmower, generator, snow-blower. Only one engine to maintain for a variety of uses.)

I have an old Jonsered GR 2036, which they called a "brushcutter", and said it was "OK" for clearing saw use. I use it with a chisel-tooth blade. It works well on smaller saplings. I've done 3", but it's really not all that efficient on stuff that big. Generally, if I get many above 2", my "walk behind small tree harvester" is my chainsaw.

If I were doing a lot of this, I'd upgrade to a bigger model.

John Mc

[Raider Bill]

I've got a tractor with 6' brush hog but as you say it just won't fit in some places.
Vines, saplings and briars are what I'm wanting to clean up.

[sprucebunny]

I'm wondering what will happen once the 3-4" tree comes down ???

I use a chainsaw because once I get them down, I want to be able to chop them up enough so they lie close to the ground. The woods I'm working in are a little thick and I often ( 75% of the time ) have to grab the butt of the cut tree and drag it away from the stump to make it even fall down !

I guess if you are completely clearing an area it's not as much of an issue but I am 'weeding' out the pin cherry and poplar. Neither a clearing saw or a walk behind thing would work for me .... a 6' brush hog/tractor would be great until it falls into a hole I can't see thru the brush or meets a hidden rock or stump !

[SwampDonkey]

I tried the chainsaw deal and I ain't ever doing that job with out a clearing saw ever again.  :D :D 8) In ten years a site is clean as can be when it rots completely to soil. The trees fall to the ground good enough for me, I'd have to be real fussy to complain about how it looks. A brush pile is a brush pile. We don't leave hangups, all in the technique.

[VT_Forestry]

I tried the chainsaw deal and I ain't ever doing that job with out a clearing saw ever again.  :D :D 8) In ten years a site is clean as can be when it rots completely to soil. The trees fall to the ground good enough for me, I'd have to be real fussy to complain about how it looks. A brush pile is a brush pile. We don't leave hangups, all in the technique.

Agreed...one of the nice things about the harness, at least with my experience with the Stihls, is that once the tree is on the ground, it's very easy to delimb and then rotate on its edge to "buck" the tree to whatever the length you want.  Since a lot of the pre-commercial thinning work we do is very visible to the public, we take a little extra time to process the trees once they are on the ground to make it aesthetically attractive. 

[fishpharmer]

This isn't exactly walk behind, but looks effective. 
http://www.brownmfgcorp.com/cutter/TCF.html

in action...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAP7gjXqXO8

[Woulde]

"I'm wondering what will happen once the 3-4" tree comes down"

Good question.

I don't want them rotting on the ground, so I'm planning to use a chain saw and a utility vehicle to move them to a burn pit, but I'm open to suggestions.  Since I live 300 miles away, this will be a multi year project done on intermittent weekends as time allows.  Hopefully, I can recruit some friends and family to help.  So far it's just me and my dad.

Before I cut the first tree down, I plan to have a forester walk the land with me and develop a plan to meet my objectives.  Hopefully, he'll have some suggestions on what equipment to use.

[SwampDonkey]

I don't want them rotting on the ground, so I'm planning to use a chain saw and a utility vehicle to move them to a burn pit, but I'm open to suggestions.

Well, I guess you folks ain't gonna like driving bye seeing my tree line in the back yard stacked with brush and tree limbs underneath.  ;D ;) She rots where she falls or gets dragged to the nearest vacant spot to break down on her own, which could be anywhere that ain't mowed.

[Woulde]

9" Chisel Tooth, make sure it's Swede steel and not Asian steel, says on box. Stays sharp longer. And make sure you walk out with the right cut out size in the blade, the upper saws use a small cut out 500/550, not sure on the lower saws. The smaller Husky for instance has a larger hole, but the old bigger Husky they just stopped making a couple years back has a small hole. Maybe VT_For can tell ya the cut out size on the 450, or just check in parts lookup at the dealer.

Good info, thanks. Could explain what you mean by "cut out size"?

[Raider Bill]

"I'm wondering what will happen once the 3-4" tree comes down"

Good question.

I don't want them rotting on the ground, so I'm planning to use a chain saw and a utility vehicle to move them to a burn pit, but I'm open to suggestions.  Since I live 300 miles away, this will be a multi year project done on intermittent weekends as time allows.  Hopefully, I can recruit some friends and family to help.  So far it's just me and my dad.

That's what I do Been knocking them down and dragging to a burn area. The parts that I work on can be seen from the house so I'm going for that "park" look ;D

I've got a zillion poplar and locust.

I'd sure like to have one of them Browns cutters for a week!

[SwampDonkey]

Good info, thanks. Could explain what you mean by "cut out size"?

The centre hole on the blade to mount to the saw, on the FS500 and 550 it's 20 mm, looked at the carton a bit ago to see.

[SwampDonkey]

That's what I do Been knocking them down and dragging to a burn area. The parts that I work on can be seen from the house so I'm going for that "park" look ;D

I would to, if I was going to continually brush it out. But since I only hit those areas 5 or 6 years apart I don't go through the effort because them stumps sucker back and screen the brush, or the leave trees screen it to somewhat. Go for the rustic hillbilly look. Don't want it looking too pretty. Already get enough of them "how well your grounds look" comments already. ;D

[sprucebunny]

I've got a zillion poplar and locust.

I'd sure like to have one of them Browns cutters for a week!

Like this one rattleing thru my camp area  ;D ???





In return for letting them drive thru to the powerline, they ground up a small area of trees for me. Took them about 45 minutes what would have taken me at least 6 hours and I still would have had a bunch of brush.  8)

[stonebroke]

I have a browns tree cutter and it will cutt a eight inch tree. You have to watch out where they fall though. I also have a bidirectional tractor but I never had the loader on it with the tree cutter. That is a great idea. The things you learn on FF.If you got in contact with Browns I bet they could give you a list of custom operators in your area.

Stonebroke

[Raider Bill]

Theres a rental place about 40 miles away that rents a traced skid steer with some kind of full width grinder on the front. That's the ticket but I don't know what they get a day.
Being a part time "half back" I think that would be fun ;D So far the bobcat, trac loader and bull dozer have been a blast :D
More power as Tim the Tool man Taylor would say.

I'm going up for 2 weeks this Friday and will be looking into either renting something or buying a stihl brush cutter.

[SwampDonkey]

$180/hr is what most equipment operators charge around here, plus float charges. Rental charges probably in line with that. Seems a lot of $$ outlay for a small piece of land. But a clearing saw ain't especially cheap either unless your going to use it a lot.

[stonebroke]

Our local farm store rents a bobcat for 200 dollars a day but that is with just a bucket.

Stonebroke

[Raider Bill]

I rented a trac bobcat from a local rental place a few times before. Was $900 for a week.

[Woulde]

Here's a look at what I'll be cutting.  This photo from building site looking at lake.





This photo from building site looking back toward ridgeline.

[sjfarkas]

That ground would be quick work for a large track skid steer with a mulching head.  you should be able to cover a couple acres a day and then do very little saw work for the finishing touches.  If you can find a machine to rent you'd get'er done.

[maple flats]

I routinely cut places that look like that or even more dense with a chainsaw. I cut most in 2 steps. I drop the tree, small notch then back cut, when almost cut through I push over by hand for those sizes (up to 5-6") . Then I cut the stump, barely above the dirt, kneeling on the ground. Everything over about 2" gets bucked for the maple evaporator, smaller, i just knock the limbs off and let lay.

[Samuel]

[/quote]

Your wife let you bring that thing in the house???

[SwampDonkey]

My house, no wife.  :D

I think it was just for a photo op a few years ago. I don't live with my saws, but they are nearby in the storage room. Gotta take care of the things that pay the bills. ;D

[AndyC]

 



These are pictures from a catalog of Gravely Motor plow attachments and tractors.  They are still in existance although not the old styles like these.  I had both the 22" circular saw and 33" chainsaw and both worked okay but the circular saw guards were less than complete so some people started using a 30" brushhog deck with a v cut out of the front and then added a 22" buzz saw blade to the "mower".  I still have 4 tractors like the one in the picture but have sold most of my unique attachments.  I personally wouldn't use this to do what you need but thought people would be interested.     

Gravely is the Great Granpa of the DR. products - much heavier, more durable and they have 50 attachments.     

[Woulde]

Maple flats,

I thought of using just a chain saw, but I don't think I would last very long getting up and down so often.  The knees ain't what they used to be  .  Seems to me a brush cutter is the way to go, but I'm still hung up over which one. 

I went back to the Stihl dealer this past weekend and asked a few more questions.  They told me they haven't sold an FS350 since they've been a dealer.  To their defense, they're more of a farming outfit than a forestry supplier.  I think I'll buy something in Northern Michigan, where I'll be using it.  Seems to make sense to support the dealer who'll be servicing me.

I don't want to hijack this thread anymore than I already have.  I'll be posting more pictures as I go.  This is a multi year project, hopefully ending with a timber frame over looking the lake.  Can't wait to get in the woods with my dad and get away from the rat race in the city. 8) 8)

[Woulde]

Ordered a Stihl FS-310 brush cutter with chisel saw blade and MS-250 chainsaw today.  Will pick up at the local dealer in Petosky, MI next week.  Heading Up North to do some clearing!  Will post some before and after pictures soon after.