Vertical Saw Clears Trails Fast

Vertical Saw Clears Trails Fast WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Curtis Cullen clears his walking trails fast with a loader-mounted vertical saw The miniature buzz saw clips canes vines and stems as he drives “We have some land in Arkansas My wife is a birdwatcher and likes to travel the trails which were all overgrown with blackberry canes and vines ” says Cullen “I near worked myself to death trimming with a circle saw blade on a heavy-duty trimmer I came back all covered with chiggers and ticks ” A trip to Harbor Freight got Cullen on the right path with a $99 212 cc engine The brush forks on his compact tractor loader became the base He bought some pieces of square tubing to fit the 2-in forks and welded them underneath a 12 by 30-in frame made from 1 by 1-in 1/8-in wall tubing Set screws lock the brackets and frame to the forks “I bought a 36-in long 1-in diameter cold rolled steel bar for the driveshaft and mounted it in pillow block bearings ” says Cullen “At the engine end I mounted a pulley in-line with the drive pulley on the engine At the other end I mounted a 12-in Beaver Blade attachment for a DR trimmer ” DR Power Equipment promotes the Beaver Blade as a chainsaw on wheels Cullen turned it into a chainsaw on a loader “I drilled a hole in the end of the shaft and used a right-hand tap for the hex bolt to attach the blade ” says Cullen “I welded a heavy-duty flange on the shaft for the blade to back up against As the blade turns the bolt tightens it up against the flange ” The engine is mounted to the frame on 1/8-in steel plates with slots This allows Cullen to tighten the twist link belt by sliding the engine and securing it “I run the belt a little loose If I do hit something the belt slips until I can back off ” he says Cullen starts the engine with its pull rope and runs it on idle He admits it is probably oversized for the blade but the price was right “I may add an automatic clutch and a remote throttle control ” says Cullen “Then when I idle down the blade will stop ” Initially Cullen fabricated a guard over the blade which turns clockwise toward the ground “The guard material wasn’t heavy enough to handle the material I was cutting ” he says Cullen has run the vertical saw for 4 years without a problem “It cuts through stuff like a knife through hot butter even branches up to 2-in dia ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Curtis Cullen 1903 Columbia Dr Richardson Texas 75081 ph 972 824-8341

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