Homemade bundler is finished

[unclemoustache]

So far I'm happy with the results. Couple little issues, but they can be corrected. Motor doesn't always get things going when I step on the pedal. A little push on the arm gets it going. Not a problem. I might have some spacing issues if I have shorter wood to deal with.

The arm spins nice and fast. Other bundlers I've seen move so slowly. I like the speed.



I used a gear reducer to go between the motor and the pulleys. Yes, that is some garden hose I used for conduit. Didn't have any actual conduit laying around, but I had some hose! It has wheels on the back so I can tip it back to move it around.

I pimped it out a bit as well - I have 3 bins for the 1/4" rope pieces on the right side, and a slot on the left for my narrow-crown stapler. There's a pvc pipe to hold extra staples. I have a nice fancy cutter for the wrap, but I haven't made a slot for that to sit yet.

 

[Joesell]

Looks good!

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I am on my second attempt o building the most profitable bundler possible. I am trying to achieve the most trouble free system with built in safety. My system is battery powered because house current is not available. But am considering running a 110 volt converter to facilitate operations. Your system looks pretty OK hope you keep us posted on how well yours is performing. How much effort has it taken you at this point. Thanks

 

[dave_dj1]

Looks good! Needs a foot pedal like off a sewing machine.

 

[Circle B MN]

Looking good! I built one several years ago that was hand crank. There's not a whole lot to them really, and the price of the commercial built units is nuts.

 

[mijdirtyjeep]

Nice job! Looks very good and will save the rotator cuff!

 

[trains]

Looks good, if the motor wont start by itself, its usually the run start capacitor under the half round housing thats on the top side of your motor, cheap easy fix.
should have values on its side, replace with same.

 

[VW Splitter]

Looks good! Needs a foot pedal like off a sewing machine.

It's got a foot pedal. It just need a little extra push to get it going. I like it. I can see the $ stacking up with that. I was in Krogers just the other day and they had bundles for $9.98. Looking good!

 

[babybart]

Looks good, if the motor wont start by itself, its usually the run start capacitor under the half round housing thats on the top side of your motor, cheap easy fix.
should have values on its side, replace with same.

Just remember to unplug it first Unc.

 

[unclemoustache]

Looks good, if the motor wont start by itself, its usually the run start capacitor under the half round housing thats on the top side of your motor, cheap easy fix.
should have values on its side, replace with same.

Yes, I figured that was the issue. Seems to need just a bit more ‘oompf’ to get it going.


I was clocking the hours I put into it, but lost track later on. I would guess around 40 hours.

I thought about doing a hand-crank, but since I had a motor lying around, I decided to go that route. Glad I did.

But I can understand the price of the commercial units. The gear reducer was expensive! It would be much cheaper to have a dual pulley system, but I chose the reducer. Another choice I’m glad I made. I spent about $600 on materials.

 

[unclemoustache]

It's got a foot pedal. It just need a little extra push to get it going. I like it. I can see the $ stacking up with that. I was in Krogers just the other day and they had bundles for $9.98. Looking good!

Menards is selling bundles for about $4.50! I can’t compete with that but my bundles are bigger.

I bought a cord of soft wood the other day since I only have good hardwood left. (I use junkwood for the bundles. Easier to light, quick to dry, etc. bundle buyers aren’t after heat but rather ambience).
It was mustly cut to 14”. How annoying. I have to weld a bit onto my holding bracket so I can bundle them.

Even more annoying was the fact that it was still wet.

I would like to do a video of all the firewood sellers in the area. Have all of them drop off a cord and then stack and measure to see how much the really deliver, what kinds of wood are in it, how much punky/rotten, what lengths and moisture content.
That would probably make me a lot of enemies, though.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I think it spinning that quick is going to result in someone getting hurt.

Gives no time to arrange the wood as it wraps, move a hand or arm, or place an info sheet (I use business cards).

Also the plastic will tear easier with it coming off the roll at Mach 30.

Dunno. Just my thoughts. I've wrapped thousands of bundles. If I could do it quicker with a wrapper and feel it was efficient and safe I'd speed mine up.
It's close to half that speed and that was actually speed up from the factory rpm (I put a larger pulley on the motor)

 

[unclemoustache]

Yes, it's pretty fast. I have a few extra pulleys I can use to slow it down if I feel the need. I'm not worried about safety (but that may just be my ignorance). If anything, I'll be most likely to get hit in the hand or arm which won't be bad. At worst a smack in the face, which could leave a bruise on someone who didn't have a giant moustache.

The plastic did tear once on me, but I've only done 5 bundles so far. Some tweaking will be necessary, but I'm surprised at how well it worked right out of the gate. I was expecting to have to do a lot of tweaking right away.