Bucket and quick change on a buncher?

Looking into a small buncher like a timberjack 608, but I'd like it to do more.

Currently we have a huge fencing job, we rented a 130 excavator for building right of way this past season, but don't want to rent again.

My thought is that I want the buncher for winter forestry work, but I'd like to put a quick change on it and be able to put either a bucket or power grapple on to move some dirt and felled trees around to clear right of way.

I'd rather go this way than trying to convert an excavator to do forestry things...

Anyone ever seen this done?

No but with the tool tilt cylinder be mounted on top of the boom I don't see why it would be difficult to do. That 155 Thunderbird you worked on, was that the Weyco machine?

Coastal said:

Looking into a small buncher like a timberjack 608, but I'd like it to do more.

Currently we have a huge fencing job, we rented a 130 excavator for building right of way this past season, but don't want to rent again.

My thought is that I want the buncher for winter forestry work, but I'd like to put a quick change on it and be able to put either a bucket or power grapple on to move some dirt and felled trees around to clear right of way.

I'd rather go this way than trying to convert an excavator to do forestry things...

Anyone ever seen this done?

Click to expand...

I built a quick tach to match my shear mount and used a 1-1/2 yard loader bucket on my 411B Hydro Ax. It worked fine per say, but the lifting height is way to low to dump into any kind of truck. Mine also automatically tips the attachment forward if you lift to high. It worked fine for leveling a landing or cleaning up brush, ecteria, as long as you could work without lifting over 5 feet high.

A modern large road builder machine (excavator configuration with bucket and claw thumb) with a good operator in small trees could probably dig out small trees quicker than a 20 year old feller buncher with reliability problems could cut them down.
With a TJ 608 you would need to check the feller buncher boom geometry.
My choice (depending on the tree size etc) would be bar saw head, e.g waratah fl85 series 2 (fits on small 20 ton) and one of the locking quick change heads to go between felling saw head, live heel grapple (that can be used to dig a bit of dirt, log shovelling.) and tilt buckets. on something in road builder configuration with reinforced boom ,a bit of a compromise. volvo etc

Fl85 is junk. They will run you broke with repairing them.

I'll add to this, I'm looking at a buncher to give me some more options for winter work since we can't really fence in the winter. Also some of the new fence contracts are requiring right of way clearing through wildfire burns, you're required to have a certified faller or mechanized falling.

I know guys are putting power Grapples on bunchers to make them do a bit more than just cut down trees, that might be ideal, if I found a power grapple with a bucket /rake combo

Hallback said:

No but with the tool tilt cylinder be mounted on top of the boom I don't see why it would be difficult to do. That 155 Thunderbird you worked on, was that the Weyco machine?

Click to expand...

I don't even know what a 155 thunderbird is lol you must have the wrong guy.

How did the 13 tonne excavator get on? Too small?

John Deere 959m with levelling, heel grapple and quadco 27B (pierce equipment)
https://yutu.be/gVvpJ1HCBzg?t=378

Kobelco sk300 (factory high and wide chassis) with ensign heel grapple, digging out tree stumps and digging dirt tracks with the heel (no bucket) and shovelling.
https://yutu.be/3-PqlLU6BiQ?t=51

https://www.tmarequipment.com/attachments/grapples/ (BC, Ca heavy duty grapples 20 tonnes and up)

Volvo excavators thunderbird 255, 3 x volvo, 1 x tigercat leveller plus 2x team manual chainsaw felling. 1 volvo with grapple and quick change to bucket.

BC intensive logging Volvo excavators, do these guys leave everyone else the charcoal standing trees?

Virginia hardwood, jd 20 ton with felling head using bar saw head instead of disc saw head, no stick ram.

http://www.summitattachments.com/products
Tong tosser cable winch on grapple heel.

There are a number of post driving machines for fencing not on the internet.
king hitter on excavator (20+ year old picture, plenty of new machines made and developed since this, by this company and others )

Doherty have done a 'processor to log grapple rapid changeover unit' for those loggers who don't like knocking log truck bolsters around with their grapple processor while loading. Higher oil flow rates than a standard engcon type coupling.
Could probably be adapted for a buncher or felling head to log grapple or dig bucket. ( likely to be quite expensive though). Operator only leaving seat for electrical connections probably.
The initial size unit will probably be for the little processors/ grapples that the likes of a timberpro combi- forwarder setup uses.

Processing and loading
• Doherty automatic quick coupler
• Rapid changeover from processor to log grapple
• Single base machine to process logs and load trucks
• First prototype designed and built
• Ready for pressure testing in workshop
• Installation to first adopter machine and field trials
later in 2018
• Marketed by Doherty Engineered Attachments Ltd
and serviced by Total Hydraulic Solutions Ltd

Thanks for that!

For curious how’s a QC going to change the angle on the head? How are you going to attach a QC with typically no dog bone on a buncher? Years ago we had a conversion machine by Jewell that could still dig while running a bar, but that boom was specially built for the application most buncher booms don’t dig because of geometry of the boom.

Ya I was looking at some boom travel schematics and I don't think it's worth the effort .. It will only dig a few feet down, which could translate to nothing if your on a slope or something.

If you have a crane etc and can use the same boom lift rams, a boom swap should not take too long.
but the two machines (excvator and fellerbuncher) is probably the way to go.

Rotating grapple bucket. If you are removing trees. Get the forestry volvos in the pnw. 'Great West"?
In the si, nz high country. operator with dreads. Operator only has little trees in this video, twice the size and larger trees elsewhere that are madill 3800 worthy.

That operator with dreads looks like a very young Fred Dagg. 5tAWwqKNI7g