Tree Shear

[waggy5]

Anybody have any experience with a hydraulic tree shear that mounts to a skid-steer? If so, what size skid-steer do you have and what size shear and Manufacturer? Will the shears cut hardwood, i.e. maple, oak, hickory,etc... at their rated capacities, i.e. 10", 14", 16", etc... Thanks! I am a newbie to the Forestry Forum!

[fishpharmer]

Waggy, welcome to Forestry Forum.  I can't share any personal experience.  I am sure someone here can.  I recall seeing pictures of a tree shear on here.

[Cedarman]

We use one in Oklahoma to cut cedars.  It is a Tree Terminator made in Plato Mo.  It will cut a 20" cedar 60' tall.  Most are smaller.  It will also hold the tree and you can carry it upright to stack.  We have used it for 5 1/2 years.  It will cut any tree species.  I wouldn't cut oak above 16" at stump though.  Used on Cat 287   

[Jeff]

I've run one on a bobcat.  I dont recall the head make, but it was a twenty inch shear. You won't cut twenty with one.  It worked OK in aspen and went down hill from there.

Things we hated about it.
High stumps.  You had to go back usually and cut off a lot of stumps as any butt flare it wouldn't handle.

Shattered wood.  You won't generally find a mill thatwill accept sheared wood unless you butt trim everything. 

You better have a skidder too.  Because I guarantee, at some point, yer going to flop the skidsteer over when a tall tree goes sideways on you and you can't turn with it and lay it out fast enough for some reason. (cradle knolls for one)

I'd never get one for general logging. The only pace I would use one is in plantation harvest on flat level ground.

[Bobus2003]

I got to try-out a Case 95XT w/Fecon Shear.. Neat unit, have to be real careful cutting on any slope.. The guy said he flopped it over a couple times learning the limits when he first got it

http://www.fecon.com/shears-and-saws/dual-knife.asp

[Cedarman]

Aaron and I have cut thousands of cedar trees and some hardwood. Post oak, elm, sycamore, honey locust among the hardwood.  Have never come close to tipping sideways. We operate on flat and some sloping ground.  When ground is sloping, always operate going up hill or down hill. There are times when the tree tilts forward and would set us on our nose, but releasing the grapple will alow the tree to fall forward on its own. Our shear will cut the flare at ground level.  It also angles the cut downward.  We did 67 acres where all stumps had to be 2" or shorter. We always try to shear at ground level. Tree size from saplings up to some that we should have used a chainsaw on. Anything over 24" we usually use a chainsaw. Sometimes we cut the tree 6 to 12" high because the tree was too big to shear at ground level.  Then the second cut was made with the tip of the shears at ground level.  This would bust the butt flare into pieces.  Takes 3 or 4 cuts to reduce the butt to ground level.  We can windrow the cedars as we cut them to let them dry and make it easier to grab them later for grinding.  If working among trees that need to be left standing that are not too thick, we can carry the tree vertical until we need to put it into the windrow. It is amazing how big a tree can be carried this way.
We have sent dozens of tractor trailer loads of cedar to sawmills and no complaints. The splintering on cedar only extends upward about 6" at most. So leaving the log and extra 6" takes care of that.  Hardwoods tend to splinter further up the tree.
We have used both wheeled skidsteers with steel tracks and ones with rubber tracks.
You must be careful of debris falling on back of machine and building up causing a fire hazard. Leaves somehow can get on the manifold and will start a fire.  Cleanliness is important.  Debris will constantly rain down.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Shattered wood.  You won't generally find a mill that will accept sheared wood unless you butt trim everything. 

None of the mills up here will accept anything sheared unless you trim the shattered wood off. In which case you lose most if not all of the butt log which is generally worth the most money.

[Twig farmer]

To heck with the skid steer attachment, look around for a 4 wheel machine. Like a Franklin shear, or an older Hydro-Ax.
It might be more coin, but you'll be ahead of the game.

[Jeff]

Cedarman, shearing cedar is way different then shearing 60 and 70 foot aspen or any large top heavy hardwoods in respect to keeping the machine on its wheels.

[chucker]

shattered butt ends, will tell you two things!! 1, your under powered for cutting .. and 2, your shear head blade is to dull !!!  as far as cutting butt ends and loseing log profit, the cause is from the 2 reasons i just gave... from being on the log deck/landing  end of many a loads of sheared timber butt trimming is a loss only from split wood more then half the diameter of the butt! if its split more then this then your right back to # 1 and 2 for the reason!! not cleanly shearing from the stumpand tearing it from the stump takes the value from pulling the heart wood apart!! normally a butt trim should not have to be more then a 6" trim.........

[Jeff]

That's true, and I can tell you that very few outfits do anything about the problem until the mill has cut them off for it. THEN they do, until the next time. So the easy way is to not allow sheared wood.   I got put in the hospital from having a sheared beech come unglued when I started the headsaw into it. A chuck blew right through the sawbooth and knocked me out. Ended up with two black eyes and a concusion.

[habaneroeater]

Cedarman, shearing cedar is way different then shearing 60 and 70 foot aspen or any large top heavy hardwoods in respect to keeping the machine on its wheels. your right Jeff cedars are tapered  smaller at top not top heavy like aspen if you are cutting in a Walmart parking lot it might work if you are smooth with the controls all in fun

[Cedarman]

Hardwood trees are top heavy for sure and we are not in the business of shearing hardwood unless they are smaller  junk trees in the way.  Oklahoma does not grow tall trees in the western 2/3 of the state.
Also,ERC is completely different than hardwood trees as far as grade goes.  Best wood is from 2 to 3 feet up the tree because of ingrown bark.  Best wood is also heartwood, opposite of hardwood.  So cutting off a foot or so of butt log is a plus.
On a big tree if you have to back the knives out you stand  a good chance of pulling slabs away from the butt.  I can see where this could be dangerous for a sawmill and also lower the grade of lumber.

Waggy5, what is your application?  Knowing what you are trying to accomplish will help us focus on what you are trying to do.

[waggy5]

Hi, and thanks for all the great comments! I am looking at thinning operations and trail making. Any trees cut for the most part would be for firewood only. Most trees would be in the 4" to 12" diameter. The trees could be anywhere from 15 feet to 50 feet tall. Also some white cedar, popular, small white pine, hemlock... etc.  I am interested in the skid-steer type mount due to not wanting to invest in another large piece of equipment. I am trying to figure out if they are worth the money. I would want one with a grapple. I have checked out the Dymax, M&M, Tree terminator and a couple others via the web sites. Some look better than others. A decent size shear and grapple (14" to 16") is going to weight about 2200 lbs., add this to the weight of a 10" diameter forty foot tall hardwood and I could see where tipping of the machine could happen. My rig weights about 11,500 lbs. and will lift 3000 lbs to full height. Wheel base is about 87". I would not cut more than 1ft to 2 ft off the ground though. Thanks again.

[habaneroeater]

i know what you want to cut now but how is your land? how is your wallet, the tree terminator is 10,000! on ebay! and a good husky is 400! plus skid steer 10,000 used or more,  tracks? do you have enough wood to justify the 20,000 plus dollars if they work well in every application, every logger would have one because more and more land owners want a neat harvest.will you used the skidsteer for other stuff  potato farmer love skid steers just a thought stephan

[habaneroeater]

what do you think, i ask a lot because you can learn from many, and gain a different perspective, stephan

[rick f]

A guy here in downeast maine had one on a skid steer clearing the edges of blueberry land. Mostly birch 20-40' high with some maple and softwood mix. The groiund was rough and I saw him let go of more then one bunch. I'm glad he was using it and not me, the pucker factor I think was real high.

habaneroeater, I've got a friend that ownes about 300 ac. in Belgrade. Up behind Hammond Lumber then go right at the church. The old Sawyer place, his son just built a house across from his farthers place.

[Stephen Alford]

  Hey, one of the issues with a skidsteer that may need to be addressed especially with thinning and trail work is that on some models you cannot see over your head and what is happening in the crowns . Trying to back up with the tree brings debris falling on the machine.  The window in the roof quickly becomes covered. When the crowns tangle the operator will lean forward  and trying to look up while trying to operate the machine.  At this point the operator is out of the seat , kinda unstable , going backwards, while looking up. Did I mention debris falling on the machine.

[habaneroeater]

Hey Rick my mothers down east in pembroke got about 600 acres there. here is a blog with her on it they have a bed and breakfast fine food her husband trained side by side with julia childs as a peer http://pfephoto.blogspot.com/2009/09/cinque-terre-farm.html i have been all over maine and downeast and downeast i used to drive the corona beer truck in 90-95 from ellesworth to vanceboro and everything in between to mooseneck general in south addison.. stephan

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[logloper]

HI ALL.  Stephan Alford,how do you like that Implemax grapple? I have one and can not seem to be able to get ahold of the company anymore. Its been a good piece,until I needed parts.  Anyway,I have one of the Dymax tree shears. 14"  I use it on a Cat 262B with steel tracks over the wheels.I would agree,stay straight up or down on the hills. It cuts to the full 14" capacity with no trouble,where you have to watch out is on the height of your trees.Works great for corrall pole or mine prop size of wood. Does good in dead wood also,but more junk comes out on your head.No sawmill in my area will except sheared wood unless you buck all the buts. Thats from a large shear(Hydro-Ax),or a smaller shear(such as the Dymax). Fecon does offer a 16" Hotsaw with universal skidsteer atatch. But,you better have extra cooling capacity if your going to run it hard.
        Hope this helps.