Wood Splitter-Buzz Saw Made From Swather

Wood Splitter-Buzz Saw Made From Swather WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 32-5-30 "I had an old swather and the leg off an old road grader, and by using them, some other salvage material, and spending $100 to buy one cylinder, I made a versatile, mobile wood splitter-buzz saw combination unit," says Jim Rife of Roy, Montana. "It was a long winter's project a year ago, and I'm quite happy with it. It's unique and it will do just about anything you want in working with wood." Rife has a wood furnace in his home and also heats his shop with wood, so he needs to process a lot of firewood. He uses old fence posts, old boards, and also goes into the mountains to cut trees. The project began when Rife stripped a Massey Ferguson swather right down to the motor and drivelines, and then installed the road grader's leg with one cylinder, under the swather. He used the 4-in. hydraulic cylinder, which had an almost 2-in. shaft, and welded a blade he had built onto the leg. Rife also connected a 1-ft. sq. block to the end of the cylinder with a pin, forming a plunger end to push the blocks through. "I built a hydraulic lift on the side where the operator stands, using a separate 3-in. cylinder that I bought new. It has a 1-in. shaft and it will lift about any size block of wood that you want, and roll it onto the splitting platform," he explains. Rife says he's used the unit to split some blocks so big that he couldn't lift them - they were 31 in. long and 2 ft. dia., and were originally cut with a chain saw. On the other end of the swather, Rife mounted a 30-in. dia. buzz saw with a moveable table. It will cut through a 14-in. dia. piece of wood. "It takes two men to run it, but it really cuts wood fast, and everything runs off the same power plant," he says. "The swather's hydraulic pumping system runs the wood splitter. I converted the V-belts and drives over to the buzz saw and two different grinders. There are separate clutches for the buzz saw and both grinders so you can start up whichever one you want separately." Rife put a trailer hitch on the swather's trail wheel and pulls it from there. "This rig has been really handy. It's a complete operation," Rife adds. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jim Rife, Box 269, Roy, Montana 59471 (ph 406 464-5341).

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