Mini EX tree shear

[YellowDogSVC]

Anyone have any information or know anyone running a small tree shear on a mini excavator? i have seen the timberline 10" but seems a bit small? I figure I need at least a 12" but might be able to make a 10" work. I have a thumb? Can the thumb stay on when I quick attach a shear?
Any intelligent info would be helpful. I'm trying to find an alternative to a 60k CTL so that I can work in the wet or soggy conditions we are having around here.

Thanks. Yellow

[Digdeep]

Anyone have any information or know anyone running a small tree shear on a mini excavator? i have seen the timberline 10" but seems a bit small? I figure I need at least a 12" but might be able to make a 10" work. I have a thumb? Can the thumb stay on when I quick attach a shear?
Any intelligent info would be helpful. I'm trying to find an alternative to a 60k CTL so that I can work in the wet or soggy conditions we are having around here.

Thanks. Yellow

Have you looked into the Dymax line of shears? I think they make a 14" excavator shear called the Timberwolf and they're made in Kansas. I think they make up to 16" and I know down to 10" because I have had a few fitted to Bobcats. They were good quality when I was selling.

[hvy 1ton]

I've played around with a dymax on a bobcat ex before, bout 10 years ago so i'm bit foggy on the details(i was 12). My sister's friend was a bobcat salesmen and he brought one out for my dad to demo, but we wound up buying a dymax for the JD260 SSL from him, buying the ex adds a lot of cost to a shear:laugh: Anyway, i found the info on the dymax 10", their website has never been user friendly. :dizzy: http://www.treeshears.com/tw10exc/default.htm

Looks like they want a 13-20k machine for their 10" and 19K+ for the 14", and your ex is around 10k if i remember right. If your mostly cutting ceders and brush trees with it i think you can get by with your ex since they design their shears for forestry operations and much heavy trees then what you would normally be dealing with. I'm pretty sure the shear is designed to grab trees with the thumb, i know the one we demoed had a pair of serrated plates for the thumb to push against. They didn't have them when we demoed the ex, but i would suspect that having a rotating model would be worth it, i know the accumulator is worth it's weight in gold dealing with buckeyes.

[ksss]

I've played around with a dymax on a bobcat ex before, bout 10 years ago so i'm bit foggy on the details(i was 12). My sister's friend was a bobcat salesmen and he brought one out for my dad to demo, but we wound up buying a dymax for the JD260 SSL from him, buying the ex adds a lot of cost to a shear:laugh: Anyway, i found the info on the dymax 10", their website has never been user friendly. :dizzy: http://www.treeshears.com/tw10exc/default.htm

Looks like they want a 13-20k machine for their 10" and 19K+ for the 14", and your ex is around 10k if i remember right. If your mostly cutting ceders and brush trees with it i think you can get by with your ex since they design their shears for forestry operations and much heavy trees then what you would normally be dealing with. I'm pretty sure the shear is designed to grab trees with the thumb, i know the one we demoed had a pair of serrated plates for the thumb to push against. They didn't have them when we demoed the ex, but i would suspect that having a rotating model would be worth it, i know the accumulator is worth it's weight in gold dealing with buckeyes.


There were a couple that went through Iron Planet this Spring I think for 3700. I considered buying one but, knocking them over seems just as easy.

[YellowDogSVC]

Have you looked into the Dymax line of shears? I think they make a 14" excavator shear called the Timberwolf and they're made in Kansas. I think they make up to 16" and I know down to 10" because I have had a few fitted to Bobcats. They were good quality when I was selling.

I saw the dymax but it looked heavy but will investigate further. thanks.

[YellowDogSVC]

There were a couple that went through Iron Planet this Spring I think for 3700. I considered buying one but, knocking them over seems just as easy.

i was amazed at how easy it was to pluck cedars up with the 335 but if I want to feed my chipper, especially in the rocky terrain, I need to shear. Most of the folks I deal with don't want all the extra rocks or the expense of me mulching up the stumps separate so we shear. I use a 20" tree terminator that I really like but it's way too heavy for the 335 at long reach.

The BC2000 chipper will do a good job on big trees so I like as big a shear as I can get away with.

I haven't been able to work much with the mud. Chainsaw helpers are not always available so I am back to working mostly by my lonesome which works fine when the equipment is set up for the job but this wet season is really hurting my productivity and I hate to just sit.

I'll keep looking. If you see something on IP, let me know..

[ksss]

i was amazed at how easy it was to pluck cedars up with the 335 but if I want to feed my chipper, especially in the rocky terrain, I need to shear. Most of the folks I deal with don't want all the extra rocks or the expense of me mulching up the stumps separate so we shear. I use a 20" tree terminator that I really like but it's way too heavy for the 335 at long reach.

The BC2000 chipper will do a good job on big trees so I like as big a shear as I can get away with.

I haven't been able to work much with the mud. Chainsaw helpers are not always available so I am back to working mostly by my lonesome which works fine when the equipment is set up for the job but this wet season is really hurting my productivity and I hate to just sit.

I'll keep looking. If you see something on IP, let me know..


How productive is that skid steer mounted chipper? Can you give me an idea of how much soft wood you can run through it and what it costs to maintain?

[YellowDogSVC]

How productive is that skid steer mounted chipper? Can you give me an idea of how much soft wood you can run through it and what it costs to maintain?

I don't have the skidsteer chipper. I have the Vermeer BC2000 w/loader. It's 200 hp and has a nearly 20' reach on the loader. It is rated at 20" but I have stuffed bigger in there. It does 20" oaks but that vibrates the hell out of it so I stopped doing oak except for extreme cases. I mostly chip juniper which gets up to 30" but those usually stay put. We mostly chip from 10"-18" trees and I can chip about an acre of dense trees in 8 hours. I think I did about 2 AC once when a tractor was bringing the trees to within reach of the loader and it was about a 9.5-10 hour chipping day. I posted some pics before of how dense the trees get here so chipping an acre in a day is, I think, a pretty good rate.

169829 see how thick and bushy these cedars get?
also, we have to do something with the chips, so I try and make trails.

[hvy 1ton]

Have you looked into the Dymax line of shears? I think they make a 14" excavator shear called the Timberwolf and they're made in Kansas. I think they make up to 16" and I know down to 10" because I have had a few fitted to Bobcats. They were good quality when I was selling.

I got a little sidetracked when writing my post and Digdeep beat me to it. Dymax makes 10-20" timberwolf shears need like a 330 or 350 to run a 20" shear if i remember correctly. What's the deal with bobcat dealers selling dymax shears? I figured White Star only sold them since they are manufactured here in Kansas.

[YellowDogSVC]

I got a little sidetracked when writing my post and Digdeep beat me to it. Dymax makes 10-20" timberwolf shears need like a 330 or 350 to run a 20" shear if i remember correctly. What's the deal with bobcat dealers selling dymax shears? I figured White Star only sold them since they are manufactured here in Kansas.

My dealer only sells tree terminator. Haven't seen dymax locally.

[ksss]

I thought BC meant Bobcat. How much if I can ask did that set you back.

[YellowDogSVC]

I thought BC meant Bobcat. How much if I can ask did that set you back.

I'll PM you.

[hvy 1ton]

So i was thinking about this thread some more, dangerous i know, anyway since your mostly dealing with scrub trees a timberwolf probably wouldn't be much of an advantage anyway. You probably just lay them over and move them with your skid anyway right? I bet dymax could make you a 20" clearing shear with a push bar instead of the grapple. Most of the operating weight requirement is from grabbing and swinging the tree so your Bobcat could probably handle it pretty well, but i don't wanna make any promises. How far out can your ex pick 2000lbs? If you were doing thinning or fuel reduction in forests the timberwolfs are invaluable, being able to hold hold on to tree and pilling them right where you want.

[YellowDogSVC]

So i was thinking about this thread some more, dangerous i know, anyway since your mostly dealing with scrub trees a timberwolf probably wouldn't be much of an advantage anyway. You probably just lay them over and move them with your skid anyway right? I bet dymax could make you a 20" clearing shear with a push bar instead of the grapple. Most of the operating weight requirement is from grabbing and swinging the tree so your Bobcat could probably handle it pretty well, but i don't wanna make any promises. How far out can your ex pick 2000lbs? If you were doing thinning or fuel reduction in forests the timberwolfs are invaluable, being able to hold hold on to tree and pilling them right where you want.

I will need to test the machine with that much weight at reach.

[hvy 1ton]

I will need to test the machine with that much weight at reach.

Since i can't find any bobcat weight charts, looks like a 50D would be able to get close to full reach over the front and around 10' over the side with the blade down. With your lighter conventional machine i bet would work out to about the same.

[AWJ Services]

I will need to test the machine with that much weight at reach.

At full reach about 500 pounds will be a safe guess.
And remember 10 from center is ten foot from the center of the machine not the boom knuckle.

[93turbo]

I can lift a 400 lb bucket with 500 lbs of dirt in it at full reach over the side with my 334. Now it is very tippy at that reach and you must be smooth but it will do it. I have a feeling if I got out and picked up on the back I could lift it LOL

[hvy 1ton]

One more thought before doze off for the night. A bare 14" shear weighs in at ~1630lbs and could probably knock a hundy or two off if it was built for an ex instead of a skid. Although, it sounds like the extra 6" of capacity would be worth the extra weight if it could work.

I know this is the worst suggestion yet, but i hear good things about kobelco and deertachi 7 toners. At least I admit that spending 45k on a machine just to buy a new shear, especially when trying to avoid buying a 60k machine to run the current shear, is a bad idea.:laugh:

[AWJ Services]

One more thought before doze off for the night. A bare 14" shear weighs in at ~1630lbs and could probably knock a hundy or two off if it was built for an ex instead of a skid. Although, it sounds like the extra 6" of capacity would be worth the extra weight if it could work.

I know this is the worst suggestion yet, but i hear good things about kobelco and deertachi 7 toners. At least I admit that spending 45k on a machine just to buy a new shear, especially when trying to avoid buying a 60k machine to run the current shear, is a bad idea.:laugh:

It will take a 9 ton machine to handle 1500 pounds at full reach safely in a rough enviroment with grades, swells and rocks.
The question is will it need to go full reach to be productive?
A skid with a shear has to right on the tree so he may be able to deal with a limited reach to be productive.
Why does not someone make a hyd saw option( running a chain saw ) . It would be much lighter.

[Gravel Rat]

You think your machine will handle this baby :laugh:

www.waratah.net/en_US/waratah/products/harvesting/600_Series/hth626.html

This is the smallest chainsaw operated processing head

www.waratah.net/en_US/waratah/products/harvesting/200_Series/hth240.html

Waratah makes the best falling/processing heads on the market no other company can compete.

[t190]

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

[YellowDogSVC]

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

okay. that's cool but it looks expensive!!

I wonder if a brush saw would work?

http://www.bobcat.com/attachments/brush_saw

[hvy 1ton]

Why does not someone make a hyd saw option( running a chain saw ) . It would be much lighter.

They do, just none small enough to run with a mini or midi ex. Waratah makes the FL85 and Valmet make the 233. Both have a cut capacity around 32". If somebody started building a bar saw felling head with a 16" capacity i bet it could be brought down to around 1400lbs, but not much less. Most people working in that size tree want a ctl processor so that's what everyone builds. A harvester head wouldn't do much for Yellowdog since he's just making mulch out of the trees anyway. If he was trying to merchandise them it would be a different story. From what I've read of West Coast logging, felling heads are mostly used for storm clean up since they can grapple trees without cutting them unlike hotsaws cousins.

I was gonna mention the Naarva Grip, but T190 beat me too it. Also, it uses a guillotine shear and not a bar saw, but is about the closest thing to a mini felling head. As for expensive, that would be the Arbostroke Harvester, still not as expensive as a roller processoer, but last i checked some where around 30K installed for an Arbro Stroke 1000.

[stuvecorp]

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

Cool, I did see a Kubota on Machinery Trader that had a harvesting head but don't know how cost effective it would be.

[hvy 1ton]

Cool, I did see a Kubota on Machinery Trader that had a harvesting head but don't know how cost effective it would be.

That is an Arbro 400. It runs a 14" or 16" bar and has a max cut of 14.5" if i remember correctly. Comes with a computer that will automatically run the stroke and cut at predefined lenghts. It can also be equipped with a sensor for the tree thickness and incorporate that into the cut programs. High tech logging equipment that's for sure. These machines may some day become popular for thinning operations in the National Forests if everyone finally figures out that the West is burning because of over populated forests.

Too move along the topic in Yellowdog's direction, I have no personal experience with tree saws, skid steer mounted or otherwise. I can't imagine that would work well with a mini ex, but that is just my gut feeling.

[stuvecorp]

That is an Arbro 400. It runs a 14" or 16" bar and has a max cut of 14.5" if i remember correctly. Comes with a computer that will automatically run the stroke and cut at predefined lenghts. It can also be equipped with a sensor for the tree thickness and incorporate that into the cut programs. High tech logging equipment that's for sure. These machines may some day become popular for thinning operations in the National Forests if everyone finally figures out that the West is burning because of over populated forests.

Too move along the topic in Yellowdog's direction, I have no personal experience with tree saws, skid steer mounted or otherwise. I can't imagine that would work well with a mini ex, but that is just my gut feeling.

When you figure how much money is spent fighting all those fires, it has to be cheaper to have a bunch of those excavators and mulchers doing some clearing.

I couldn't see a processing head for Yellowdog unless he would be getting in to logging. Yellowdog, you just want to take the tree down so you can chip it right?

[YellowDogSVC]

yeah stuve.. just take it down to chip. I was looking at the timberline shear, 10" for the mini ex. It's about a 5k investment. A bunching shear wouldn't be practical on the bushy cedars that we cut. 10" is small but I can make multiple cuts. I just looked at a job today where that type of shear would be handy (working across a small creek). I can shear and with some hand labor and my thumb, move the brush to where I can grind with Bobcat or chip. I really rather give my business to tree terminator as they have been incredible but their lightest shear in the 12" class is about 1100 lbs any way you outfit it. The timberline is only 500 lbs +/- but I'm still looking/thinking. gotta do something to set myself up for being able to work in soft conditions. It's hard to get a mini ex stuck, right?

[QwikDraw]

YD,

I think this is a good looking set up. I'm sure it'll cost you though. I'd like a head like this but not sure it is in the budget right now.

I would think you would have to add some sort of hydraulic kit too.

Naarva-Grip Felling Heads (http://www.farmi.us/newpage6.htm)

[YellowDogSVC]

YD,

I think this is a good looking set up. I'm sure it'll cost you though. I'd like a head like this but not sure it is in the budget right now.

I would think you would have to add some sort of hydraulic kit too.

Naarva-Grip Felling Heads (http://www.farmi.us/newpage6.htm)

yeah. I'm going to stick simple. I'm a one-man operation and already have a lot of Bobcat and CAT attachments for skidsteer. I think a small shear and a eventually a small brush mower for my mini would round out my attachments. Of course, if Santa wants to be generous, I would like a rock eater to go with my other tools.

I'm getting to the point, though, that if I can't make it with what I got, I need to start doing something else. Every time I get something paid off, seems I find a new toy and I am against carrying a note anymore.

[stuvecorp]

yeah. I'm going to stick simple. I'm a one-man operation and already have a lot of Bobcat and CAT attachments for skidsteer. I think a small shear and a eventually a small brush mower for my mini would round out my attachments. Of course, if Santa wants to be generous, I would like a rock eater to go with my other tools.

I'm getting to the point, though, that if I can't make it with what I got, I need to start doing something else. Every time I get something paid off, seems I find a new toy and I am against carrying a note anymore.

I think you hit it there. It seems like no matter what there is always something that I 'need'. It would be cool to not have payments, boy would that be freedom.

[QwikDraw]

Yeah payments do get heavy at times...but work does have to be a little fun!

I too am a one man show, I sub out a few loggers I know when they are slow. Good with a saw and decent in the mowers. I wish I could find a full time employee right about now..

I would think the mini would be very limited with any shear and you would have to be very careful on hilly terrain. I know even a large harvester can be tipped over(as my buddy did to his JD 653). I would say no accumulator arms and just get it down would be best.