PTO firewood saw bench

reilig

3 houses in my family use wood as their main source of heating. We have been talking about ways to reduce the amount of work that we all have to prepare wood. We also intend to buy a load or 2 of forestry thinnings this year to supplement our supply before coppice comes to fruition in a couple of years time. The majority of the wood that we use is under 8 inches in diameter and we don't have a lot of splitting to do for our stoves or boilers.

So my question is has anyone got one of these or see one of these in action? Would it save us a lot of time over cutting logs with a chainsaw? We have talked about a firewood processer, but the cost does not justify its purchase coupled with the fact that we don't split an awful lot of the wood that we use.

Has anyone got experience of one?

crackcrack30

saw one operating in tullamore show a couple of years ago, for the price i thaught it was value, there was a lot of jamming of the thinned logs though, the guy was kept busy clearing it..........just an observation....tractor used to load the logs prior to sawing and splitting with conveyor to whatever... (trailer)

reilig

crackcrack30 wrote: »

saw one operating in tullamore show a couple of years ago, for the price i thaught it was value, there was a lot of jamming of the thinned logs though, the guy was kept busy clearing it..........just an observation....tractor used to load the logs prior to sawing and splitting with conveyor to whatever... (trailer)

What was causing the Jamming? Was it the bark? Was there a conveyor on the saw or was it a firewood processer with a saw and a separate splitter with a conveyor belt that you saw?

crackcrack30

Cant rember exactly, may have been that the logs were not completly straight, I think the (long) logs may have ben lifted and steped rather than belt type conveyor, probably making a sensor then acting the saw, about 7k i think.....deffo worth waiting to see if you are going to spend money between 3 houses....

moy83

We have a Major bench saw bought about four years ago for E1100.
It handles timber up to 10" , and definitely speeds things up compared to the chainsaw , with alot less maintenance too .
You could cut thinnings all day long with the bench saw without having to sharpen a chain or top up with oil and petrol , throw it back in the shed after and not worry about it until you need it again .
I used to use a mates Scheppach before we got ours and I think it was much stronger built and felt lighter to use than the Major , it was only a couple of hundred extra at the time and I'm sorry after that we didnt go the few extra pound .
For a few euro again (under 2k ) you could get one that folds flat and saws them down the middle which might be handy for drying them without splitting and leaving them as long as your gassifier can hold them .

reilig

moy83 wrote: »

We have a Major bench saw bought about four years ago for E1100.
It handles timber up to 10" , and definitely speeds things up compared to the chainsaw , with alot less maintenance too .
You could cut thinnings all day long with the bench saw without having to sharpen a chain or top up with oil and petrol , throw it back in the shed after and not worry about it until you need it again .
I used to use a mates Scheppach before we got ours and I think it was much stronger built and felt lighter to use than the Major , it was only a couple of hundred extra at the time and I'm sorry after that we didnt go the few extra pound .
For a few euro again (under 2k ) you could get one that folds flat and saws them down the middle which might be handy for drying them without splitting and leaving them as long as your gassifier can hold them .

Cheers Moy,

Just what I wanted to hear. They have gone up quite a bit since you bought. The Scheppach saw is €2100 inc vat for the KWZ7. The Major one is €1350.
I think I might stick with the Major one. At the end of the day, we're only cutting for 3 houses. The Scheppach appears to be more of a professional model.

That's it settled so!!

gctest50

Spose you could scale this down a bit to fit between the rails of an old truck chassis ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbGMbBctBUk

More H-iron and welding fun :


www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJtq3yJAj2w

(c/w description of hydraulic pumps etc used in build)

reilig

Well the deal is done.

I bought a demo model from major yesterday for Eur900. The saw is perfect. It has actually never sawed anything. There is an unused pto shaft with it. If you wanted to find fault with it, you could say that the paint is slightly faded. But I bought it to saw, not to display so that doesn't bother me at all. It was the model that they brought to shows so I guess it got an odd shower of rain and a bit of sun. Couldn't be happier with it.

Great saving IMO on the Eur1350 list price!!

Bring on a weekend of sawing next weekend!!

JohnBoy

Well wear.

keep them fingers out of it too!

F.D

reilig wrote: »

Well the deal is done.

I bought a demo model from major yesterday for Eur900. The saw is perfect. It has actually never sawed anything. There is an unused pto shaft with it. If you wanted to find fault with it, you could say that the paint is slightly faded. But I bought it to saw, not to display so that doesn't bother me at all. It was the model that they brought to shows so I guess it got an odd shower of rain and a bit of sun. Couldn't be happier with it.

Great saving IMO on the Eur1350 list price!!

Bring on a weekend of sawing next weekend!!

Let us know how well it works or if there is anything you dont like on it once you have used it a few times i only looked at the video of it working after it was mentioned on here looks like a good piece of kit

reilig

JohnBoy wrote: »

keep them fingers out of it too!

It has a seriously good safety mechanism in comparison to other saws that I looked at with 2 hands needed to tilt the table towards the blade. Fingers should be safe enough. Certainly a lot safer than logging with the chainsaw.

moy83

Well wear reilig , and great price .
Its safe alright your left arm will know all about it soon , maybe its an obvious one but dont have the tractor facing up even a slight hill when youre using it as the smallest of an incline will make pushing the deck alot harder over a couple of hours .
Happy cutting

F.D

Rellig, any update on how your cutting with the major saw,
any faults with it now that you have been using it

reilig

F.D wrote: »

Rellig, any update on how your cutting with the major saw,
any faults with it now that you have been using it

It's the biz. I sawed quite a bit with it earlier in the year but nothing much since but I'm knocking trees at the moment so should have more to saw in the coming months. It's the sort of thing that you will only use for 1 or 2 days every year because you can saw enough wood with it in that time to do the house for a year! No faults as yet!

F.D

thanks rellig, after doing an evening on the chain saw and have very little to show for it, i think it will be an investment for us in the very near future

Oldtree

I cut the wood into rings with a saw and then split with a 13 tonne pto one of these: lovely

http://www.mlarge.com/thor_products_10.html

F.D

Oldtree wrote: »

I cut the wood into rings with a saw and then split with a 13 tonne pto one of these: lovely

http://www.mlarge.com/thor_products_10.html

The problem we have is with the chain saw its too slow, We have a lot of branches and trees that were just cut into lenghts a few years ago and piled in an open shed so they are fairly seasoned we just need to chop them down to lenghts for the range,
maybe in a few years if we have bigger stuff we could use a splitter then

locky76

reilig wrote: »

It's the biz. I sawed quite a bit with it earlier in the year but nothing much since but I'm knocking trees at the moment so should have more to saw in the coming months. It's the sort of thing that you will only use for 1 or 2 days every year because you can saw enough wood with it in that time to do the house for a year! No faults as yet!

How come you didn't go for an electric one Reilig?
I have an electric log splitter and find it's the business, I set it up in a shed and it stays there and is ready for use whenever i have a free half hour etc...
No messing getting the tractor hooked up etc.
I would imagine an electric one would have plenty of power to cut anything it would be required to cut...

pachanco

F.D wrote: »

The problem we have is with the chain saw its too slow, We have a lot of branches and trees that were just cut into lenghts a few years ago and piled in an open shed so they are fairly seasoned we just need to chop them down to lenghts for the range,
maybe in a few years if we have bigger stuff we could use a splitter then

Hey F.D,

I'm not trying to put you off buying one of the major saws; they look like a great tool all together. It's just when you say that the chainsaw is too slow, I'm curious are you cutting the branches one at a time with the chainsaw?

I may be stating the obvious here but if you pile a few lengths on top of one another it saves an awful lot of time. Here's a youtube link to a homemade log sawhorse for inspiration. There are plenty of commercial versions available.

ford2600

pachanco wrote: »

Hey F.D,

I'm not trying to put you off buying one of the major saws; they look like a great tool all together. It's just when you say that the chainsaw is too slow, I'm curious are you cutting the branches one at a time with the chainsaw?

I may be stating the obvious here but if you pile a few lengths on top of one another it saves an awful lot of time. Here's a youtube link to a homemade log sawhorse for inspiration. There are plenty of commercial versions available.

I use a saw horse with a spring loaded chain.
Have put 20ft plus lengths on it. If small 4" diameter lengths are loaded you can cut ten or more at one time.
Made by Kavanagh in Gowran or Borris. Paid 300. Super kit. Therr is cheaper there but better to get a good one.
Quicker than major saw and very dsw as wood can't move.
Will post photo later

reilig

locky76 wrote: »

How come you didn't go for an electric one Reilig?
I have an electric log splitter and find it's the business, I set it up in a shed and it stays there and is ready for use whenever i have a free half hour etc...
No messing getting the tractor hooked up etc.
I would imagine an electric one would have plenty of power to cut anything it would be required to cut...

I don't have electricity where I store my wood.

I spend about 4 days per year at wood. 2 days knocking trees, splitting them into lengths and drawing them to the shed and 2 days sawing them up, splitting and stacking. It means that the saw is only used for 2 days in the year by me. it's worked on a MF 35 and i have the transport box on the other tractor. i saw right into the box and then tip it into the shed.

reilig

ford2600 wrote: »

I use a saw horse with a spring loaded chain.
Have put 20ft plus lengths on it. If small 4" diameter lengths are loaded you can cut ten or more at one time.
Made by Kavanagh in Gowran or Borris. Paid 300. Super kit. Therr is cheaper there but better to get a good one.
Quicker than major saw and very dsw as wood can't move.
Will post photo later

I have one of them too, but the pto saw is 3 or 4 times faster. It's far safer, and you don't have any chain to sharpen.

F.D

pachanco wrote: »

Hey F.D,

I'm not trying to put you off buying one of the major saws; they look like a great tool all together. It's just when you say that the chainsaw is too slow, I'm curious are you cutting the branches one at a time with the chainsaw?

I may be stating the obvious here but if you pile a few lengths on top of one another it saves an awful lot of time. Here's a youtube link to a homemade log sawhorse for inspiration. There are plenty of commercial versions available.

QUOTE]

I find the chain saw just gets blunt way to quick, and is having to be sharpened a lot, that home made log horse and some of the other ones mentioned do look the job but all and all i think a saw blade will cut quicker than the chain saw if all the wood is near hand

F.D

reilig wrote: »

I don't have electricity where I store my wood.

I spend about 4 days per year at wood. 2 days knocking trees, splitting them into lengths and drawing them to the shed and 2 days sawing them up, splitting and stacking. It means that the saw is only used for 2 days in the year by me. it's worked on a MF 35 and i have the transport box on the other tractor. i saw right into the box and then tip it into the shed.

I like the fact that the pto saw is portable, but this would not be a bad idea if electric was an option

pachanco

reilig wrote: »

I have one of them too, but the pto saw is 3 or 4 times faster. It's far safer, and you don't have any chain to sharpen.

No argument here, the pto saw is definitely safer than the chainsaw. As for you saying it's three or four times faster, I can't let you away with that!:) Those major lads must have you on commission to big up their products!

If you have a decent pile on your log horse, it's got to be quicker than pushing them through a saw one at a time. As for sharpening the chainsaw, yes that's a pain all right, but if you have a few chains with you when your cutting and then sharpen them on a rainy day, it's not too bad.

Just as a matter of interest, how much are the saw blades for the major and do they stay sharp long?

reilig

pachanco wrote: »

No argument here, the pto saw is definitely safer than the chainsaw. As for you saying it's three or four times faster, I can't let you away with that!:) Those major lads must have you on commission to big up their products!

If you have a decent pile on your log horse, it's got to be quicker than pushing them through a saw one at a time. As for sharpening the chainsaw, yes that's a pain all right, but if you have a few chains with you when your cutting and then sharpen them on a rainy day, it's not too bad.

Just as a matter of interest, how much are the saw blades for the major and do they stay sharp long?

Saw blades for any of these types of machines (not just major) are tungsten tipped so in reality, the one blade on mine should stay sharp for at least 15 years. You are talking about €150 to get it re-engineered. You'd go through a lot of chains (and maybe even a saw) for what I would cut in 15 years with it.

Don't forget that you have to load wood onto the saw horse one at a time also. Then you have to wrap the chain around it. Then saw through each log, then unhook the chain and set it up again.

With the log saw, you can put 4 or 5 logs into the holder and saw right through them. In reality, the saw blade actually goes through a log 5 times faster than a sharp chainsaw chain.

As i said, I have a log horse. I'm well enough placed and cut enough timber yearly to compare!

moy83

I had to put a new blade on mine last year because the brother was cutting timber and nails with it , think it was 220 euro for a new one but other than that the blades should last yonks .
I find the table saw way quicker than the chainsaw and safer

pachanco

moy83 wrote: »

I had to put a new blade on mine last year because the brother was cutting timber and nails with it , think it was 220 euro for a new one but other than that the blades should last yonks .
I find the table saw way quicker than the chainsaw and safer

Thanks for that info on the price of the new blades. I hope you have the saw well hidden from the brother now, you wouldn't want to buying one of those saw blades too often at €220 a pop.

pachanco

reilig wrote: »

Saw blades for any of these types of machines (not just major) are tungsten tipped so in reality, the one blade on mine should stay sharp for at least 15 years. You are talking about €150 to get it re-engineered. You'd go through a lot of chains (and maybe even a saw) for what I would cut in 15 years with it.

Don't forget that you have to load wood onto the saw horse one at a time also. Then you have to wrap the chain around it. Then saw through each log, then unhook the chain and set it up again.

With the log saw, you can put 4 or 5 logs into the holder and saw right through them. In reality, the saw blade actually goes through a log 5 times faster than a sharp chainsaw chain.

As i said, I have a log horse. I'm well enough placed and cut enough timber yearly to compare!

That is good longevity with the saw blade. I've never used one of the pto saws, so I'm only basing my argument on videos I've seen on youtube and my experience with the saw horse system. Sure if there are two of yee telling me it's a faster method I think I'll bow to your actual experience using both systems.

I Know the log saw horses with spring loaded chains that you have. They are a good contraption, but the only thing I see lacking in them is that you can only pile the timber so high with them. The home made you tube one takes a higher pile than them and once the saw is going sure it flies through the logs. It's the system I use and I find it more than adequate for my needs. I can definitely see the advantages of owning a pto saw and the safety aspect alone makes it worth owning one.

Are you pushing softwood or hardwood through the saw? And do you usually push a few lengths through at a time? I suppose it depends on the diameter of the logs.

Here is a link to a google image search for "log sawhorse". Might give people some ideas.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=log+saw+horse&rlz=1C1AFAB_enIE495IE495&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=qd9eUu7EAoSihgeZmoDICA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=910&bih=444#es_sm=93&espv=210&q=log+sawhorse&tbm=isch