Has anyone ever used a timber processor to cut and limb cedar trees? I'd like to find something more efficient than a chainsaw.
I have cut some with my Fabtek
@barbender (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=1286) spent a few weeks in the Dakotas on an ERC job and posted some pictures. Not sure he has insight into how well the processors did on the project. We're thinking of doing some in July this year, about 30 acres of so so ERC but it will sell well as fence posts if nothing else.
Yep, it was in Nebraska actually. On the Missouri River. The processor worked great on the red cedar.
I reach in with a Stihl pole saw to trim the branches, so I do not get green stuff down my neck. 8) 8) 8) It is hard to trim branches with the tree on the ground.
The stuff we were cutting, we felt sorry for anyone that felled them by hand. It would've been a real battle just getting to the trunk, there were so many limbs!
We used a Patu processor for a few years. Stroke delimber. Worked great. Learning curve is there though. Now most of the cedar comes in tree length that has been run through a pull through delimber. One company can cut, pull out delimb and load 22 ton in 2 hours. 4 loads a day. they can cover us up when they get a good patch.
any pics Cedarman?
Cedarman, I thought a Patu or similar would be a good answer for that red cedar, on a smaller scale. The Ponsse Cobra with an H6 head devoured it but we were demoing a $1 million harvesting solution...stroke heads look like they have a lot of limbing power for their size, just because of the different way they function. Limby softwoods like plantation white spruce, red pine, and that red cedar don't limb worth a hoot in a roller feed processor head, especially when it gets warm. The limbs get to be like noodles on spruce! I always thought one of the stroke heads would work well in some of these first entry thins we do. BTW, when thinning red cedar in Nebraska I could've swore it was just another northern MN white spruce thin😊
From my gallery, this was 2 years back I think
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11286/20191101_084857.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1572666994)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11286/20191031_122849.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1572666941)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11286/20191031_122808.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1572666841)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11286/20191030_112219.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1572666861)
I recognize that country. :)
Those were some nice looking logs. smiley_thumbsup
Not all rotten in the center like so many red cedar.
barbender did it smell good after cutting all that red cedar?
I actually don't like the smell of red cedar, only because it reminds me of my sister's stinky little hamster when we were kids- red cedar is used for their bedding. But if I put that memory out of my mind, yes, it was quite aromatic! It was a unique experience, no doubt.
Those logs were very nice. There was ugly ones too, I just didn't take pictures of those😊 I sorted for saw logs, posts, and junk that they didn't know what they were going to do with.
Now if anyone thinks they're going to set the world on fire going cut to length in red cedar, hold on a second. With a brand new Ponsse Cobra processor, and one of the most experienced Ponsse harvester operators in the Lake States, we were getting about 25 cords in an 8 hour day. The terrain was extremely challenging (Missouri River breaks), and it was a demo so there was a little bit of stopping to do show and tell. On flat ground we might have done 40-50 cords. The locals who had been cutting cedar for posts were amazed at any rate, the most mechanized ones were using a skid steer, chain saw, and a pickup and figured we did about 2 weeks worth of posts in a day😂 But then, our equipment was a bit more $$
any pics of the pull through delimber? I remember a video of an old tire rim used, and onw with a hydraulic pack and it ran up the tree to delimb.
Will see if I can get a few pics from the past.
May take a while.
I watched some video at work last pm. I re-watched the steel wheel being pulled by a winch as well. that is prob. my price range to spend anyway :)
I think it would work better to anchor the wheel, and push the stems back and forth through it with your skid steer.
Doc can you link the video of using the steel wheel to delimb the trees. I have plenty of them laying around.
Simple is enough sometimes! Steel Wheel Delimber utilizing Farmi 3-point Winch in Alternative methods and solutions (forestryforum.com) (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=109302.msg1708083#msg1708083)