Optimal Bucking Software

[hammerlogging]

Logmax, in my rather limited exposure, always seems to be the preferred go to, especially given the abuse from hardwoods, especially the limbing part.

 

[lmbrman]

I am currently researching, as best I can, fixed head harvester/processor heads.
You guys out west have used them for years, though more likely they were dangle heads.
What make has the best power / measuring system / reliability?

I am leaning towards the fixed heads because they offer tree control, a big consideration for my intended uses. The 4 I keep coming back to (All I can find, really!) are the Quadco 5660, Logmax 6000, Fabtek 4 roller, and Rolly-II. Which of these do you guys think is the best option for a 50/50mix of soft and hardwoods?

we run the fixed head Hahn -

easy to work on, build parts if needed in the woods, reliable software, and reasonably priced new or used

(and easy to longbutt with if that helps, but don't tell any foresters)

 

[Oldtimer]

I really like the idea of the disk saw on the Quadco 5660 and the Rolly-II...Why mess with a bar and chain if you can have a disc. The Quadco has the 4 sided tooth design...
The Quadco swings out in an arc, the Rolly comes out straight on rails like a Roto-saw feller head.
Youtube has vids of them.
I really wonder how well these harvester heads will work in the late spring and early summer when the bark is basically falling off the bole...right now I have hell keeping a hitch in the grapple it's so damn slippery. Like my Uncle Al says, "It's slippery as a buttered C***K!"

I'm home and here on the site because I just blew out a skidder tire...And I mean it popped like a quarter stick of dynomite. "KeeerPOP-Whiiiiiiiisssssssshhhhhhh"..
In the process of gathering what I need to effect repair. $206 for the tube...

 

[OlympicYJ]

I am currently researching, as best I can, fixed head harvester/processor heads.
You guys out west have used them for years, though more likely they were dangle heads.
What make has the best power / measuring system / reliability?

I am leaning towards the fixed heads because they offer tree control, a big consideration for my intended uses. The 4 I keep coming back to (All I can find, really!) are the Quadco 5660, Logmax 6000, Fabtek 4 roller, and Rolly-II. Which of these do you guys think is the best option for a 50/50mix of soft and hardwoods?

The two popular dangle heads are Waratah and Keto out here. Guys like the measuring system of the Keto but it's a tad slower than the Waratah and its a little gentler on the wood. The Ketos use tracks instead of wheels not sure but think they are a little more expensive to replace. And just saw they are part of Quadco. Fixed you might look at a Risley Cobra just one I know of don't know anything about em. I don't know if you thought about it but if you have hardwoods that are susceptible to bruising a processor head isn't the way to go. Both wheel and track heads will bruise the wood. Out here our alder is easily bruised by the wheels on Waratahs guys have used rubber wheels with some success but a stroker works way better. The bar and chain setup is reliable. The wheel saws on processors are kind of older tech if I remember correctly and it limits the size of wood you can process. Now on your bunchers like a Quadco Hotsaw fixed head is very popular. The Quadco you are looking at is 6500 pounds a Keto 150 is 1780 - 2300 pounds depending on how many knives you want. The Keto has a 25" capacity. Food for thought. The dangle heads have control when falling but it's an uncontrolled/controlled fall as opposed to a buncher head which controls the tree from the time it leaves the stump till it hits the ground. Just some observations I've made and what loggers have told me their preferences are. Food for thought.

 

[Oldtimer]

Bruising is not an issue. I know the heads I am thinking about are very heavy. I'd need to have a 430 sized Timbco/Valmet or 735 Timberpro tracked machine. But that's the norm here. Need a leveler, and some ass under you to hold the wood..

I just love the idea of flotation; increased working season, less damage to the forest floor, all weather working ability, and the versatility a fixed head processor can offer.
An 8 wheeled forwarder with the eco-tracks should skip right over stuff that stops a skidder..
and I would still have the 648 Deere for the times I need it.

Now to convince my bank to part with $200K in 3 years time...if the economy allows.

 

[hammerlogging]

I am ashamed to admit that I meant Waratah when i said logmax. Sorry.

Do you mean to put the head on the timbco 8 wheel forwarder? I talked to a guy in NY doing that once.

A timbco is NOT a machine you want to buy old, if you were wondering.


I would really think dangle head because it is SO much easier on the machine its attached to. and fast and maneuverable (think limbing hardwood) , and you can shoot pulpwood stick out the end 50-100 feet if you want to. SOunds like you are making great plans for the future.

 

[StihlKiwi]

I've heard from guys on a couple of crews that run Woodsman heads that they've got the edge on the equivalent Waratah head, especially when it comes to delimbing, might be an advantage if you are dealing with hardwoods.
Hope that helps

Thomas

 

[Samlock]

I too have heard a couple of experiments with harvester head/forwarder combos. Unfortunately they're not encouraging stories. The forwarder cranes and hydraulics are not designed for the harvester heads and they have eventually fallen to pieces.

That's of course second hand hearsay, I haven't done it myself. Still I'd strongly suggest you Oldtimer to keep asking around if there's someone who has done it.

 

[Oldtimer]

The local Quadco dealer said they can diect me to 3 or 4 crews in southern NH who run the 5660.
I'd never try a fixed head on a machine designed for a dangle.
I know the dangle is lighter, maybe cheaper, and are fast...but I will need the ability to lift and carry the tree- both to reduce residual stand damage and to build whole tree piles for the skidder if a landowner wants the brush and tops removed.

Here's a couple videos of fixed heads. Quadco 5660, a Rolly-II, and a Fabtek.
I wish the Fabtek 4 roller had the quadco saw...

[video=youtube;wJUta7HPNKE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJUta7HPNKE[/video]

 

[Oldtimer]

[video=youtube;n1rqi3CKBVE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1rqi3CKBVE[/video]

 

[Oldtimer]

[video=youtube;yFhYtUrVK4c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFhYtUrVK4c[/video]