processor or good splitter and saw??

[hale family farm]

this is my first post as a new member. i am looking at doing 30 cords of wood per year for myself and uncle. i was also thinking of getting into selling wood on the side to start to make some extra cash and was looking for input on the pros and cons of a cheap processor Vs. a decent splitter and chainsaw. i like the processor idea as you don't have to touch the wood as many times and it's alot faster but the price is also alot higher. right now i have a husky 346xp with 16" bar and one of those box store splitters, they work but i'm looking for more production at a faster pace. any thoughts or ideas on a bigger saw and splitter Vs. a processor would be great. hope i put this in the right catagory thanks scott

[Buck]

look at the timberwolf line of splitters..tw5 and 6  and the fc(fast cycle) versions. Fella could do a lot of wood with one of those. You would probably be impressed with the blockbuster line of processors also.

[hale family farm]

thanks for the info i'm already waiting on some info from timberwolf, and requested info from blockbuster.

[Hilltop366]

Hi and welcome!

I think someone could get good production with a larger saw and a good splitter (a multi split wedge and auto return would be nice) without wearing yourself out if things are set up good to reduce handling,

If a person could make a deck and a feed tray so the log will advance to be cut then the block drop to the splitter it would reduce most of the "back" work.

I have seen a few viedo clips of this sort of set up on here or youtube.

[paul case]

hale,
welcome to the forestry forum.
i have used a tractor mounted splitter and stihl chainsaw to make firewood for serveral years. about the best production we could ever get with 2 men(1 sawing and stacking and 1 splitting) was 1 face cord / hour. that was on firewood logs already a my sawmill so it didnt account for felling and limbing. i would hope the cheapest processor would double that or better.
there are a few members here that have built processors too.

how much can you process with the set up you have per hour? pc

[snowstorm]

many yrs ago i hauled to a little firewood mill. they had a brow....log deck from there they rolled it onto feed roales where it went into the building. saw with a chain saw the splitter was beside it same height after splitting into the convayer onto the truck. worked pretty good

[Hilltop366]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,37533.0/all.html#lastPost

Ideas

[Piston]

Check out the split fire splitters too.  www.split-fire.com  They split both ways and come with a 4 way wedge, so you could get 8 splits with one full cycle.  I haven't seen one used yet in real life so I can't say if they work or are built well, but it's a good option and will be my next splitter if I decide to bite the bullet.  I've been thinking about it a long time now but can't justify for the 5 or 6 cords a year I cut.

[hale family farm]

the way i do firewood now is that i fell the trees and if i can get my pu to them i buck them up right there other wise i drag a few trees out then buck them up on my landing. i tend to get a few cords stacked up of rounds then i have my wife run the splitter controls and i put the wood on.
just dropping trees and bucking them up i can cut 3+ cords a day if i don't have and problems and the trees are good sized. then with the splitter and my wife helping i can usually get about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cord to a tank of fuel which is will last an hour or a little bit longer which isn't bad but if the wood is big i have to run the peice through 5 or 6 times cause it only makes one split at a time. and that cuts into my overall production.
if i have a log truck load of logs i can get it all cut up to length in a weekend then it takes the next week of afterwork to get it all split and then some.  thanks for the imput

[PAFaller]

Processors are great, but you can buy a lot of chinsaws and a good splitter and still have money left over when you compare prices. A good friend of mine does 100 cord of wood a year with a TW-2HD and  a couple 372xp chainsaws. I used to help him this time of year when it was too muddy to work the woods, then I moved to PA so havent done that much wood in awhile. We noticed impressive gains in production by adding a conveyor, and having 2 rigs to load wood into. We found if 2 guys cut a tank of fuel each that was enough of a pile to really keep the spitter humming along, on guy running splitter other moving blocks and cutting more wood, neatening up the split load etc. As I said a conveyer that eliminates having to pick up the split pieces really adds production. Biggest problem with any of the larger processors is you need another piece of equipment to load the deck. If you already have a skid steer or tractor that may not be an issue, but if not its something else to consider. Its also worth thinking about where your wood comes from. Do you have it all piled in one spot and ready to process every year, or do you gather it from various locations. you will have as much time into moving  a processor as you do blocking up only a cord or 2 of wood at a time.

[hale family farm]

a good splitter and 2 nice saws are far cheaper than a processor by far. i used an older 372xp when i was droping a few big trees for lumber for my house and was inpressed with it. i would having a central location or maybe 2 for processing wood if i had a processor. it would probably be the same for a splitter. i have two landings one on each side of the road i live on so that would be the only time i move unless helping a friend out with there firewood. thanks for the imput

[vt_forest]

I have a Timberwolf tw-6 splitter and 24 ft conveyor that I am very happy with.  The only problem that I have had is with the auto cycle, and metal gas tank gets water in it.  I would say that the thing really isn't that portable because of the weight. Takes two people too move the thing around.   I would say that average I can split a cord in about 45 minutes, and uses about a gallon of gas per cord for splitter and conveyor.  Would be faster and use less fuel with two people.  Oh I use a Stihl 660 for blocking.  Hope this helps and good luck.

[UpInATree]

Here's my 2 cents.  

I have a tractor 3-point mounted Timberwolf TW-5 custom.  This baby is capable of splitting up to 4 foot lengths, has auto-cycle so once I hit go it splits and returns while I ready the next piece.  I have a hydraulic lift mechanism to lift the removable 4-way wedge to optimum height, and it was originally equipped with one hydraulic loading arm for really big stock or to use as a shelf for multiple normal sized rounds.  I'm a bit nuts so I ordered another hydraulic loading assembly to put on the opposite side after a couple of rounds (over 4 feet diameter) fell off to the far side after splitting.  This frustrated me since I was splitting so fast I had amassed a huge pile off the end of the splitter extension table.  To roll this now partially split piece around the pile to the hydraulic loader was a lot of work!  Now I can work from either side...its awesome.  Timberwolf will not build it for you this way....you have to order it afterwards and put this on yourself...they feel it may be too dangerous.   Cycle time on this is extremely fast.  I own many chain saws; all of them Stihl.  With a helper I can rip through many cords per day.  We stack our split cordwood and remove it in easily measured cords from our 4 foot high by 3 deep  rows.  I think that a processor would be faster if the logs were all of medium size, and loaded on a log deck.  Someone mentioned the necessary additional equipment needed to handle full logs already.  If you have it great, but if you don't it is expensive.  I have a great tractor with a super grapple on the front, but friends of mine have spent 50 to 100 thousand dollars on their processors.  How many cords do you need to sell off at a profit to recapture this investment plus the mainenance needed on it to simply break even?   I think processors are great for guys with a  big tree service and a non stop flow of incoming logs.  So, even though I have a small tree service, I don't own a processor.   My production is pretty fast but I do admit it is more physically demanding.  I enjoy keeping the extra money tho   I put a couple pictures in my gallery, but do not know how to get them into this post yet

[beenthere]

If they are in your gallery, then bring just click on them and scroll down below a ways to see instructions for two different ways to post them.

How about a video of your TW-5 in operation? Sounds like a good splitter.

[UpInATree]

I do have a few videos of it in action.  I'll upload from my DroidX and figure out how to get them up.  Thanks

[beenthere]

I'd suggest putting them up on YouTube (easy and no cost) and then link to them here.

[hale family farm]

thanks for your 2 cents. seems like a good chainsaw or 2, and a nice splitter are the way to go. i still like the idea of a processor but i don't think with the price of one i will ever be able to make my money back, since i really just want it for myself and to make a little money on the side. maybe down the road i can build my own with the help of a few friends. thanks again

[postville]

Take a look at a Super Split unit. They are made in Mass.
It is mechanical not hydraulic, flywheels with a pinion gear and a rack on the ram. Push down, the ram engages the gear and it moves forward. Springs return the ram fast. I like it as if it won't split on the first try, it will hammer it self through with a few more.
A hydraulic unit will stall and that's it, this is like hammering a nail.
Very thrifty on fuel, mine has 5 hp Honda which will run all day on a tank of gas.Bob

[thecfarm]

I suppose you are too far away from Bangor,Maine?

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,49610.0.html

This is a great show to watch equipment in action. Also one in Hamburg,NY too.

[UN Hooker]

postville
The Super Split is a very good & fast single wedge splitter for smaller wood. A friend in Maine has one and loves it, says he will never go back to hyd. He only splits 6" to 10"dia. wood that he can easily lift.
It would not work well for the wood we split. I built a hyd. splitter (that will not stall) with a 6 way wedge that "gets the job done" faster than I can work!  I'll put a couple pics. on if I can.
UN

[bill m]

UN Hooker, is that a skyworker in the backround of your pictures?

[UN Hooker]

Yep. That's what it is. That's one of the 3 that that went thru this fall when the HY-Line did a heavy cut.
They finished just before the first heavy snow - that left a mile of wood under 3ft. of snow. Now all the mud holes are open so I'll have to wait till fall to drag it to the pile.
   UN

[thecfarm]

That looks like quite the splitter.How many hp is it?  By the looks of the rear tires it will move on it's own power? What's the loader on? Don't know if any ever welcome you to the forum,but welcome to the forum.

[UN Hooker]

thecfarm

It has a 24 HP Honda on it with a 23 gpm main pump that powers the 6.5"dia. ram or the "loco motion"-
depending on where the selector valve is set. The second pump is about 8 gpm. and powers the log lift
and the wedge lift. This is the second year I've used it - still have a couple of "engineering" changes to make on it, then I'll sand blast and paint it. The next time I uncover it I'll take some pics.
       
  The loader is on a 4400 Ford loader ex-backhoe. Didn't need the hoe so I built the boom and put a grapple on it. That is by far the handiest thing I have built, moving wood is only one tenth its use. 

          UN

[spencerhenry]

i sell firewood as a business. i used to use a saw and a splitter. my splitter is a split-fire 290-4 now called the 4409 or 4490. a year and a half ago i decided to really try and make firewood into a business, and bought a small processor. best decision i ever made. i have machines to load the processor and without them it would not be worth doing. i can produce more firewood in a couple of hours with the processor than i could in an entire day with the splitter. i think i run about a full cord per hour with the processor, and that includes the time it takes to load it. good straight logs of perfect 10" or so size will increase production even more. the processor has a conveyor so i can process about 6 cords before i need to move the machine or the pile. the sawdust is all in one pile and i shovel into a truck or machine bucket, the neighbor buys all of it for animal bedding.
i had some sawlog butts that i cut off and was saving the splitter to split them, after running the processor for about 120 cords, and then using the splitter for 30 20" diameter rounds, i will never use the splitter again. it is so slow and you have to handle every piece, i am better off selling the stuff too big for the processor as unsplit wood. my processor cost about $20k, in the first season alone i tripled the amount of firewood i sold. i was able to save so much time that i can price the wood so cheap that people dont want to cut their own. my processor is a dyna products with 30hp kohler, 4 way wedge, and a conveyor. i have had a few small problems with it, but dyna has been great to deal with and stood behind the machine.
my splitfire splitter is for sale if anyone doesnt want to go all the way to a processor.