My New Processor

[Corley5]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Corley5]

The rest of the story   This showed up on FB Marketplace as an old sawmill about a week ago.  I thought the live decks would be handy for my Block Buster but it was listed as being in Grayling which is on the edge of where I'd go these days to collect junk    Finally I couldn't take it anymore and made the contact and found out it was actually between Waters and Frederick about 15 mins south of Gaylord, 40 miles from home  I went down this afternoon to take a look.  I knew it wasn't a sawmill but maybe a piece of one and thought it was a firewood machine.  Yup, firewood machine.  The guys father had it built and did use it.  The hang up was the conveyor that the blocks dropped into wasn't strong enough and was always breaking.  The conveyor carried the blocks to the left where they had two hydraulic splitters set up to finish the process.  It was really loud too.  They quit using it which IMHO was good because sooner than later someone would have been killed.  I got the whole mess for less than scrap price especially considering steel electric motors are bringing 15 cents a lb   I really only wanted the live decks but...  I have been wanting to go to three phase from IC engines.  This gives me that option with the two motors, hydraulic pumps, and oil reservoir which must be 100 gallons.  Providing they are all good   I can also power the bandmill I've got with a hydraulic motor.  Maybe even the one that powers these saws.  Ahhh  The possibilities

[jmur1]

Wow.  That is a beast!

[barbender]

Sucker😁 It is kinda cool, waiting to see what you accomplish with it. It would be great to have a for real live deck feeding the processor, one man could actually be productive then, instead of having to load the deck every time you start to get something done.

[thecfarm]

Five of those saws must of been kinda pricey. Maybe he had all that stuff laying around?
Took a few smarts to make all that work. Except for the conveyor part.

[cutterboy]

  They quit using it which IMHO was good because sooner than later someone would have been killed.  

I agree. That looks very dangerous. Lots of possibilities for blood.

[Corley5]

  I would like to have seen it run.  From a distance of course.  The capability to launch blocks…  I can see how a conveyor would have been hard to keep in operation.  Blocks would have been going into it with force.  It's not there anymore.  No real evidence that it was other than the trench it was in.  It's been probably twenty years since it last ran.  Maybe longer.   
  Before I went to look at it I talked to my buddy who has a gooseneck about hauling this stuff home.  He's up for the adventure.  We'll take the Bobcat down to load with and they've got a Kubota and an older bigger JD both with loaders and forks.  We'll get the decks out of the way first and then look at getting the saw gang out.  Last will be the motors, pumps and tank.  That will require tearing out a wall.  They're going to tear the building down and suggested taking them out through the outside wall.  That may be the best way to get the saws out too.  It'll take an assortment of wrenches, hammers, pry bars, angle grinder, Sawzall, torches, and extra Milwaukee batteries too.
  The machine was set up and they built the building around it.  There's a lot of concrete.  It was a sizable investment for sure.  I don't how much was new and how much was used when it was built.  They were loggers and the son works for Chris Muma now.  
  What I get myself into   Really looking forward to getting a live deck set up with my machine.  Getting on and off the Bobcat every few minutes to load the little live deck on my machine sucks.  I'm thinking I can get rid of the saws as sign blanks.  My buddy has suggested dropping some of the stuff off at A&L in Gaylord for scrap

[mike_belben]

If you were closer id be trying to trade you ammo for buzz saw blades.


My my pupils dilated, nostrils flared.. I sniffed the screen, considered the miles then heard a tiny, weak voice say "its just junk. Look away Michael."

[Corley5]

I'd do blades for ammo

[Corley5]

Another expense they had was the 3 phase service to run the thing.

[mike_belben]

Whats your favorite caliber?  

[Corley5]

308, 223, 9mm, 40SW, 45ACP, 

[GRANITEstateMP]

308, 223, 9mm, 40SW, 45ACP,

Kinda wish I could like this more than once!

[mike_belben]

Its a good thing theres 750 miles in the way of this transaction Corley.  I have cases of all those except 308

[Tacotodd]

They’re easy to make from -06 family cases.

[Spike60]

What a contraption that is. Most time I've spent staring at pictures since I joined the site some years back. Trying to figure out where the brave operators stood to operate that thing. Also wondering how anyone could breath in that building with those 5 saw blades generating sawdust in that enclosed area. Really an amazing machine though. Thanks for sharing all this Corley.

[moodnacreek]

I learned a long time ago that if you can think of it, someone has done it. That machine is actually a timber sized trim saw for making shorts. It would or did take alot of power and sharpening. It would be interesting to know when it was put together. Firewood processing works well with one saw as has been proven. It's the splitting that could always be better.              With the price of steel [and scrap] and if you can use those decks that is a deal.

[mike_belben]

It was a fools errand from the getgo.. Simultaneously trying to cut multiple blocks just multiplies the power and expense.  Like doug said.. Put the money on the splitting side. One good circle saw can flood most splitter sections with wood.  


A for effort but poor design is what really idled that machine.   Cant even jog around a defect.. The blades hit what they hit and toss what they toss.  Im glad itll be properly resurrected. 

[jmur1]

I was going to throw that in:  Mine has 1 circle blade and usually sends a projectile about 1 per hour.  I have a dent in the shop door that was enough motivation to build a full enclosure around the cut area (10 guage).  Now it has some light dents in it.  I may be most of the problem here because I always push the limits of it - too small diameter cuts, crotches, and so on.


I can only imagine how this machine would run for me!.   That being said we should definitely see it run...


jmur1 

[Corley5]

Had some errands in Gaylord so I went down afterward to get a start on the tear down.  Errands took longer than expected so I only got the wall opened up around the motors and tank, sprayed bolts with penetrating oil, looked things over better in better light and have a plan in mind.  I'm going back tomorrow with the cutting torch  We're thinking we'll start hauling stuff home Saturday.  The motors are a 150hp US Electric and a 50hp Lincoln.  I looked about everywhere for a date on something but nothing.  I'm thinking 70s technology?  Maybe?  The fuse box/load center has fuses not breakers, one pump has a Hydreco tag, and the valve body is a Greisen.  I talked to one of the owners.  It was her husband's father who built it.  She said everything was purchased new to build it, they didn't use it much, and went all in into logging.  She was unsure of the build date.  If he's around this weekend I'll see if I can find out more.  I did figure out how it worked.  The saws roll back and forth controlled by two cylinders.  The rack I'm not so sure about.  It has a cylinder to tilt it up to catch the blocks.  I guess.  It was obviously the object of severe abuse and had been repaired more than once.  There were other places where there'd been torch work.  There'll be more torch work.  Otherwise there's very little wear.  It wasn't used much.  It cost some fairly serious $$$ to set it up.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mike_belben]

I will reckon it consumed a modest 401k, without replenishing it!

[jmur1]

Thats a serious setup.  Cant imagine the cost today.  Pretty cool!

[Corley5]

Yesterday we got everything to it's new home except the motors, pumps, and oil tank.  That's for today.  The owner will be home around noon.  He figures the machine was built in the 80s.  A guy in Roscommon built it.  I'm going to ask today if he knows whether it's a one of a kind or if more were made.  It doesn't look as impressive in pieces but much safer.  One spectator asked yesterday as I was torching if I could remember how to put it back together   I told her it would never be together in that form again   Zach has a piece of the frame picked out to make a bumper for his Dakota   Unloading was much less complicated with the 544H than the loading process 



 

 

 

 

 

[OH logger]

Do you load your processor deck with a knuckleboom?  I load mine with a bobcat and as much as I’d love to have a long deck for when I’m runnin by myself I don’t think it’d help much cause I can only reach so far with the skid loader. Mine is 10’ I think on the 22/22 and i can just reach to put a log in the trough. I’m sure a guy could push the logs if the deck would be longer but that can be hard on stuff and get the logs wopper jawed. If I have to get in the processor cab to advance the log deck Soni can fill it up I might as well stay in the cab and process the deck. How do you all with long live decks do it? I’m all ears cause I don’t process very often by myself but that’s mostly because of the short on and off live deck issue 

[Corley5]

It's all home 😎😎. Quite a project it was.  Have to get plugs and caps to seal things back up.  Pumped 45 gallons of oil from the tank to get it below the pump intakes.  Still close to 40 gallons according to my calculations.  Good oil too.  It'll run in my Block Buster.  The tank is almost 240 gallons.  Going to get a couple quick couplers for the tractor and hook the decks up to the live lines on the tractor.  After oiling the chains and greasing the bearings.

 

 

 

 

 

[Corley5]

I've got a wireless remote controlled valve in mind to operate the deck from the Bobcat.

[mike_belben]

I've got a wireless remote controlled valve in mind to operate the deck from the Bobcat.

a $15 amazon winch remote will give you a 100+ ft range on 2 different triggered positive wires to fire in/out on a pad mounted 12v DC solenoid valve.  id find a parker or comparable on ebay personally.   if the solenoid coil needs more juice than the remote box can supply then you can use the remote to toggle a DC reversing contactor.  also very cheap.  once you find your valve the remote part can be done right for about $60.  
i just tore new and old contactors apart and am testing the first of the 2 cheapest chicom remotes i could get for my winch.  extremely pleased so far.  saving 3x as much time by using a remote control makes up for the 1/3 line speed of a real hydraulic or pto winch, but having to walk back a few times if the tong falls off or something needs redirected.  

[mike_belben]

Do you load your processor deck with a knuckleboom?  I load mine with a bobcat and as much as I’d love to have a long deck for when I’m runnin by myself I don’t think it’d help much cause I can only reach so far with the skid loader. Mine is 10’ I think on the 22/22 and i can just reach to put a log in the trough. I’m sure a guy could push the logs if the deck would be longer but that can be hard on stuff and get the logs wopper jawed. If I have to get in the processor cab to advance the log deck Soni can fill it up I might as well stay in the cab and process the deck. How do you all with long live decks do it? I’m all ears cause I don’t process very often by myself but that’s mostly because of the short on and off live deck issue

i have contemplated this since i have a forklift with 8ft forks than can really swamp a deck but also like using the bobcat more when its running.  whenever a live deck materializes for me it will be built in a way that the bobcat can drive right up the center all the way to the trough and bracing will be diagonals to the exterior rather than joist bars running across. 
  i guess my biggest concern is not having enough power to move the chains when fully loaded.  i think a truck transmission may find its way in there. 

[OH logger]

That’s an idea mike. I’ve tossed that around also as far as settin a deck up
That way so I can run bobcat down the middle. Just never figured out how to make it work so it’s cost efffevtive and easily mobile. I prefer to process with a helper anyways. Doin 4 cord per hour keeps the loader busy especially if I get a log catty wompas in the trough 👎🏿

[Corley5]

Oiled the chains, greased the bearings, added couplers to the hoses, plugged them into the tractor and it works .  Tight, quiet, reversible, I let it run a while both ways to work the oil into the chains.  The motor was off the other deck and needs hoses.  It is loose and clean oil came out of it.  I have to clean up the shafts to reinstall it and get a couple hoses.  That's for another day.  Thinking about power, controls, and plumbing for them now.  I've got firewood to process



 

 

 

 

[Corley5]

Same drill with the little deck.  Same results   Supposed to be warmer tomorrow and I need to get going on firewood orders.  This project will have to wait for a bit.  I'll deal with climbing on and off the Bobcat for a while longer   The end of that is in sight



 

 

 

[Corley5]

  I've been thinking about the fate of the rest of my "New Processor".  I'm for sure keeping the 50hp motor, its pumps, the reservoir and the iron.  I would consider parting with the 150hp motor, its pump, the saw hydraulic motor and other parts to include pillow blocks, shafts and sheaves.  There's much of what's needed to build a slasher style firewood processor.  I'd recommend modern saws   I'm still contemplating this.  I could add it all to my hoard which I've actually pared down  and would rather not grow  or part with it to someone who wants to make something out of it.  It'll be added to the collection before it's scrapped.  I've read and understand and agree to the terms of selling items on The Forum and will list stuff in The For Sale Section when the time comes.

[GRANITEstateMP]

Corley5,

I can test them decks out for ya and get the kinks worked out of them while you saw out your other orders . Best if I test them out on my processor... at my house.  Always willing to help

[Corley5]

I woulda had it running but the two adapters I needed didn't get in the bag at the hydraulic shop.  That's all that needs to be done.  Other than cutting the backstop down some.  It doesn't need to stick up that high.  Figured I'd better use it since I've got it.  I wasn't going to use it until I moved the machines into the building in the back but that's going to be a while.  Have to run electrical etc. out there.  So I leveled things up, put in a pad and stuffed it in the shed.  Maiden voyage after I get adapters in the AM.



 

 

 

 

[mike_belben]

Heck yeah

[mike_belben]

Id bet it takes a mess of horsetorques to pull those chains with that deck fully loaded. 


Do the rollers stick out beyond the chain sideplates or are the sideplates dragging into the troughs?  

[Corley5]

I'm going to find out   The chains drag in the trough.  On my way to the parts house and to pick up a 1,000 red pine plugs because I need something else to do    I'll get it going when I get back   Fingers crossed that I've got enough hydraulic power in the processor to pull it.  28 gpm and 24 hp.  It never lacked pulling a third that length

[mike_belben]

 

[Corley5]

  It works    It'll pull a full load   I loaded it and got off the Bobcat once to advance it.  I think I may be able to load it full without getting off the skid loader once I get a routine down.  Pretty nice to run a 5 face cord load without loading the machine 7 or 8 times   It's gonna work 



 

 

 

[barbender]

Awesome! Count me jealous!! I'll be cursing you every face cord today when I get in and out of my skid steer😡😂

[mike_belben]

Sign me up for that deal.

[hedgerow]

Corley5  Looks like the new to you live deck is working out nicely. I have wanted one for my homemade processor but any I found were thousand or more miles from me and they wanted good money for them. With me only doing 15-20 cord a year for myself I can live without one. I didn't even use the processor last year as most of the hedge we did was so crooked and smaller it wasn't worth trying to run it threw the processor. 

[Corley5]

  It's working good  I can get it 2/3s full without advancing.  That's working out.  I put that much on and run it which gives me 2/3s of a load on the 550.  I put the same amount on and have a third left when the truck is full.  I can then completely fill it and the next load I don't have to run the Bobcat at all if I don't want to or with a third left I can fill it  The chains and rails are getting some of the 30 or so years of rust polished off and loosening up.  The short deck needs to be installed to serve as a descrambler before the processor.  There's a reason to use both of them.  I'll install it when I move everything into the other building later in the summer.  
 The hydraulic motors are mounted wrong.  They should be below the rails. Where they are a crooked or knotty stick with the crook or knot down catches the motor and messes up the advance.  A definite design flaw.  And for this machine they should be on the opposite side.  Nothing a little time cutting and welding can't fix.  Considering I've got less than $1,200 including fuel into the whole mess of stuff I'm not complaining  It works.  I've put over 50 cords of 100" over it.  I've spent way more and ended up with way less   

[Corley5]

Before I had to be careful of the building's header with the Bobcat's loader arm's.  Now I have to be careful not to load the deck too tall

[mike_belben]

Pics or it didnt happen!

[Corley5]

Pics or it didnt happen!

. Maybe today