The best way to make kindling from 1" diameter branches is?

[ShaneLogs]

Here's a video of a flywheel type guillotine cutter, only this one has a spike to help split the wood at the same time. I'd imagine it's use is limited to certain species and small wood, but it's the guillotine concept I was thinking of above. If that was married to a feed chute and rollers like the chippers have then we are getting somewhere./QUOTE]

Yeah, I'll bet that guy's arms, elbows, and shoulder are beat after just a short time with that. You would definitely want some type of 'hands-off' feed mechanism.

Philbert

Yeah, From that constant jolting on your body

 

[SPDRMNKY]

what about an old hay baler?

most common here are PTO driven, but you can get em' with their own motor...probably better...park it and use the tractor for something else.

plus, I think our old JD baler (with motor) had a belt driving the flywheel, and a tension lever/pulley to engage/disengage...could easily kick it out if it jammed

add a chute/slide in the front for feeding and protection from the tines

probably feed it only fresher green stuff, and you'd have to do some pre-processing to avoid hassles, but...

in the end it should crap out bales of kindling

then add either a young feller' or a conveyor/elevator at the back to dump em' into a trailer/truck/pile

won't dry as fast all baled up, but that can be overcome

and, won't be 100% uniform length, but I think you could live with it

bales would be convenient to handle and transport...

I dunno...with that flywheel and huge knife it should work

 

[StihlKiwi]

Try and find an old Ferguson 35 or TEA tractor with a PTO driven sawbench. You would be able to cut armfuls of branches at a time,

 

[Dale]

I reckon it's just me, but some of you boys are making wayyyyyy too much out of procuring a few tubloads of kindling wood. I get enough kindling from the chips and boogars that fall from the rounds as I split them on the splitter. After each split session, I simply pick the "chips" off the ground, and put them in a tub. This is usually enough kindling to last the season. If not, I'll simply prune off enough small branches from whatever, and dry them in no time.

 

[Felman]

Soak it in some kinda oil?

 

[zogger]

I reckon it's just me, but some of you boys are making wayyyyyy too much out of procuring a few tubloads of kindling wood. I get enough kindling from the chips and boogars that fall from the rounds as I split them on the splitter. After each split session, I simply pick the "chips" off the ground, and put them in a tub. This is usually enough kindling to last the season. If not, I'll simply prune off enough small branches from whatever, and dry them in no time.

That isn't the project. He has access to a thousand cords worth of smallish branches, wants to do a commercial amount.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Agreed!

I reckon it's just me, but some of you boys are making wayyyyyy too much out of procuring a few tubloads of kindling wood. I get enough kindling from the chips and boogars that fall from the rounds as I split them on the splitter. After each split session, I simply pick the "chips" off the ground, and put them in a tub. This is usually enough kindling to last the season. If not, I'll simply prune off enough small branches from whatever, and dry them in no time.

In addition, rather than cut small branches to 16" lengths with the chain saw, I cut them in 4' to 5' lengths only with the chain saw and throw them on the truck long at the jobsite. Then I cut them to 16" lengths for the stove with my shop's band saw, one at a time, two to three cuts apiece. The band saw creates very little saw dust and uses cheap electricity.

Cross cutting small logs that are longer than the band saw's wheel diameter is easy if you angle the cut at about 20 degrees so that the long piece doesn't hit the saw's housing.

 

[KiwiBro]

That isn't the project. He has access to a thousand cords worth of smallish branches, wants to do a commercial amount.

Thanks but it might be like pushing the proverbial uphill. All input is great, just some is more useful than others and such gems are best considered a surprise bonus rather than an expectation.