Log cutting machine

[Dave Sr.]

Got the stabilizer jacks installed on the back of the log cutter. These may not be the best thing for this but I had them on hand. I bought 4 of them a few years ago for my camper, I had one damaged one and I planned to install 2 of these under center of the camper but I never got it done and then I sold the camper so I still had 3 of them left. The next part of this project will be 2- 2X12 planks for the hydraulic tanks to set on and then connecting hoses and wiring all the electrical connections.

 

[Dave Sr.]

A little more done. Wood platform installed, Hydraulic tanks mounted, electric control box mounted.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Update on log cutter, got the tongue jack and installed it, added the third stabilizer jack to the front corner it looked like it could tip with the 2 jacks on the back and the tongue and tongue jack centered on the axle with all the weight on one side, connected and installed the 2 air regulators, 1 connects to the air cylinder that runs the throttle and needs to be set about 100 PSI the other one connects to the 2 hydraulic tanks and the top of the hydraulic cylinder this one will be set about 60 PSI. I've connected all the wiring to the solenoid valves and limit switches. Right now the wiring is temporarily tied with twist ties. If everything works as planned and I don't have to add any more wires then I'll wrap them all into a wiring harness. The next thing will be adding a battery box, connecting all the air hoses. filling the hydraulic tanks and testing everything without the saw running.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Got the ball coupler installed on the tongue and all the air hoses connected. I put gas and oil in the tanks and started the saw and everything thing seemed to be working OK until I discovered there was a problem with the chain oiling system. When I checked it after a couple of hours the level in the oil tank had gone down about an inch without the saw running. There were only a couple of drips of oil on the floor. When I raised the saw up oil ran out of the plastic bar cover so apparently with the oil tank being quite a bit higher than the oil pump the oil is siphoning from the tank as I expected it to but it runs through the oil pump when the saw isn't running and is continually oiling the chain and would do so until the tank was empty. There would be a couple of ways I could fix this one would be to lower the oil tank so the oil level would not be above the pump so it wouldn't siphon or I could install a solenoid valve in the oil line that would be wired with the throttle control solenoid valve so the oil couldn't flow unless the throttle is wide open. I would probably have to install a needle valve to control the oil volume. I'll try lowering the tank temporarily and see if the pump is able to oil the chain OK first, being it will have to pull oil through the longer oil lines and if that doesn't work OK then I'll go with the solenoid and needle valve. I installed a new oil pump in the saw when I modified the oil intake line.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Ran a test on the hydraulic and air system without the saw running. Everything worked as planned until I switched the air to the dump tank to return the hydraulic fluid to the pressure tank. When the dump tank emptied air was blown back into the bottom of the hydraulic cylinder. Realized I didn't have the solenoid valve on the dump line wired to shut off when the saw was up and tripped the up limit switch. Removed the cylinder and bled out the air and rewired the valve to shut off with the air valve to the top of the cylinder that is shut off when the saw is up. Ran another test and the same thing happened even though the valve was shut off with the up limit switch. Apparently since these solenoid valves are directional when pressure is applied in the opposite direction it can open the valve even when no power is applied to it. I ordered a 1/2" check valve to install between the solenoid valve and the dump tank. This should fix the problem, I'm waiting for the check valve to be delivered so the project is on hold until I get the valve. I did get the battery tray built. I had a large order come in for some sim racing equipment from a company in California that buys a lot of stuff from me. I gave them an ETA of 4 weeks so I have to make this a priority so my time on this project will be limited for a while.

 

[davidwyby]

is the cutter gonna feed into an equally cool splitter?

 

[Dave Sr.]

Hi David, I only have a 22 ton splitter right now so I have to split most pieces several times. If I come up with a big enough cylinder, pump and motor I may rig up something you never know. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Got the check valve installed and bled the air out of the cylinder. Ran several tests without the saw running and every thing works as planned. Have to mount the battery and work out the problem with the chain oiling system then it should be ready to test cut a log. Should have the order ready to ship to California next week and then I'll have more time to work on it.

 

[Dave Sr.]

I've been real busy in the shop so haven't had much time to work on the log cutter. I did get the battery tray mounted and the battery installed and connected so I can run both winches now. I also replaced all the tubing I'd installed for the chain oiling system with 1/8 X 1/4" Viton FKM tubing, I was concerned with a possible problem with heat from the saw with the regular gas tubing I had used. The Viton tubing can stand up to 500 degrees. I'm hoping to get the problem with the chain oiling system fixed and wires run from the battery to the control box this week and then I should be able to test the machine cutting a log.

 

[Dave Sr.]

A little more done on the project, battery mounted, wire run from battery to control box, oil tank lowered and reconnected to saw. I used an outdoor extension cable to run 1 wire for 12V to the control box and the other 2 wires to a limit switch to automatically stop the winch at the last cut. I have to test the chain oil system with the tank now mounted below the oil pump. I ordered some 1/8" check valves to put in the oil line, I'm pretty sure that the oil will now siphon back from the pump without one.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Almost ready to cut logs. Marked yellow marks 20" apart on the frame to make it easy to judge length of cut. Both my splitter and wood stove can handle 24" pieces. Wrapped all the wires into a wire loom and attached them to the frame with aluminum clips, made an aluminum shield to deflect sawdust and chips from some of the solenoid valves, wires and air regulators, wired the limit switch that stops the winch at the last cut that moves the log ahead. I need a Ford starter solenoid that will be delivered today to finish this. I have some 1/8" check valves coming from China that are in New York now so they should be delivered in a few days. I had to order these directly from China because I couldn't find any US sellers on Ebay that had 1/8" check valves. These should stop the oil from draining back from the oil pump and keep the pump primed. When I get these 2 things done it should be ready to cut logs.

 

[karrl]

Almost ready to cut logs. Marked yellow marks 20" apart on the frame to make it easy to judge length of cut. Both my splitter and wood stove can handle 24" pieces. Wrapped all the wires into a wire loom and attached them to the frame with aluminum clips, made an aluminum shield to deflect sawdust and chips from some of the solenoid valves, wires and air regulators, wired the limit switch that stops the winch at the last cut that moves the log ahead. I need a Ford starter solenoid that will be delivered today to finish this. I have some 1/8" check valves coming from China that are in New York now so they should be delivered in a few days. I had to order these directly from China because I couldn't find any US sellers on Ebay that had 1/8" check valves. These should stop the oil from draining back from the oil pump and keep the pump primed. When I get these 2 things done it should be ready to cut logs.

I could really see this set up on an elavated platform where you could load right into a dump or a pile. Now that I see it all together I really like what you did.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Thanks for the reply Karrl. I got the Ford solenoid and got it mounted and partially wired last night, will finish that today. If the 1/8" check valves fix the problem with chain oiling system then I should be able to do a test cut on a log. I'm hoping they will be here by the end of the week.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Made a couple of test cuts with the log cutter. I don't have the check valves yet so I primed the oil pump with a pump oil can. I tried making a real short video but I couldn't get it to upload guess it's the wrong format or something I don't know anything about that stuff. The cutter worked pretty good, it's going to take some practice to figure everything out.

 

[USMC615]

Cool machine...outstanding build!

 

[Dave Sr.]

Thanks for the reply USMC. I'll do some more testing when we get some cooler weather.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Log cutter first test cuts. Yesterday I made 2 cuts through a 6 and 1/2" Oak log. I had to prime the oil pump and lines first to get it to oil the chain, the oil drains back from the pump with the oil tank lowered. The 1/8 check valves should be here today or tomorrow they're in Cedar Rapids IA. now. I'm hoping this will fix the problem. The only other problem with the machine maybe the Stihl 034 doesn't have enough power and so it may be slow cutting I have very good control of the speed of the the saw moving down with the air over hydraulic system controlled with a needle valve. I have another possible project for this Winter if I go ahead with it. I'm thinking of building a 100 HP home made chain saw using a small 4 cylinder car motor. The motor is stationary and only the the bar and chain is moved by the hydraulic cylinder the chain is driven by a shaft that is on the same center as the hub so everything moves together. The motor would be mounted ahead of the axle with a drive shaft that would come back to the saw then this could belt drive the saw chain, you could vary the pulley sizes to adjust the chain RPM. The motor could also drive a large air compressor for the hydraulic system and would have an alternator to charge the battery and would have electric start. I'm looking to get a 24" bar and chain if I go ahead with this. I've been looking on Ebay and there are a lot of choices Stihl, Oregon, and cheaper brands, are Bten chains and bars any good? If you have any suggestions on bars and chain please let me know what you use.

 

[Dave Sr.]

Made some more cuts with the machine today. It's a learning experience, figuring how fast to feed the saw, the best way to load logs onto it and how many at a time and bunch of other stuff. The machine really works great. I tried the check valve with the oil tank lowered but I decided it was best to have the oil tank above the pump so the pump would always stay primed. I raised the tank back up to its original place and installed a 1/4" ball valve so I could shut the oil off when the saw isn't running. The biggest log I cut was 10" in diameter. I'm going to wait for cooler weather before I cut any more logs. It's been in the 80's and 90's all Summer here with real high humidity. I have most of the design worked out for my home made chain saw and some of the pieces lined up. The hard part is probably going to be finding an older 4 cylinder motor that doesn't need a computer to run. Here are a few pictures of the machine in action.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Awesome!

 

[Dave Sr.]

Thanks for the reply WoodAbuser. If you have any salvage yards close to you, I'm looking for a 4 cylinder motor. It doesn't have to run as long as it is rebuild-able but must be old enough not to have to have a computer to run. If anybody else knows of something or has something and your not over a couple hundred miles or so from Iowa I'd be interested if the price is right.