Old equipment.

[Jonseredbred]

Anyone have pictures of tree equipment back in the day???

Here are some of my father's stuff from the late 60's

 

[Wagnaw]

There's people that still rock those same trucks around here!!

 

[Dave Shepard]

Sweet. Love the old equipment. The farther you go back, the more they did with less equipment. Moving giant one log loads with a single axle tractor, no cab, and probably no brakes either.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I just didn't have a camera (or equipment) back then.

 

[thattreeguy]

i ll look, i had pics of a 67 or 69 asplundh huck and duck, fully restored, balanced, painted, ready for the antique equip show,
some wonderful person lost controll of a tree
(huge co dom spit while being felled, i'd said to cable it and pull it, he went hollywood on it instead),
and it landed accross the tounge of the chipper, needless to say it was totalled,...like taco status
i bent it back pretty good but never the same( 966, and 911 loader and a torch work wonders)
broke my heart a whole summer and about 7 grand into it
to be ...scrap

 

[Tree Reb]

I just didn't have a camera (or equipment) back then.

Me either. Even after I got one I still forgot to take pictures, too busy working.

Lucky I missed out on these.

 

[pantheraba]

This is a log cutter that my grandfather invented back in the early 30's...he could use his tractor to cut logs, down in Hahira, GA. I am not sure if he could cut standing logs with it or not.

I never saw it, only heard of it. We tracked down his patent a few years ago. There are some large saw blades (maybe 30-36 inches diameter) around the old homeplace, one is the "landing" you stand on when you enter the back door to his shop. I'll get some pictures next time.

Some of the mechanism is probably still in the shop. It is a treasure house (junk house?) of old mysterious stuff.

 

[wiley_p]

Sweet. Love the old equipment. The farther you go back, the more they did with less equipment. Moving giant one log loads with a single axle tractor, no cab, and probably no brakes either.

I'll argue that statement Dave. Maybe they put in more effort, than the working man today, but no way in hell can the days of old match our ability to produce. Not even close. Even with the big trees that used to come out of AK and WA, a cutter today is doing way more work than the fellas 75 years ago.

 

[Dave Shepard]

That wasn't really my point. Today, you load up a load of logs with a big loader , onto a comfy truck with adequate brakes, and typically have a safe ride out of the woods. It was a lot different back then. My statement had nothing to do with production.

 

[skyhuck]

We were removing some street trees a few years back, I felled a Lime, snedded it out, chipped the brash, cut up the timber and threw it on the trailer, took about 20 minuets.

This old guy had been watching us from his house window and he came out, he was about 90. He was amazed, he said he had been a faller in the woods before chainsaws and said that the tree we had done in 20 minuets would have taken two of them all day, with axes and a two man crosscut.

 

[Bounce]

We were removing some street trees a few years back, I felled a Lime, snedded it out, chipped the brash, cut up the timber and threw it on the trailer, took about 20 minuets.

This old guy had been watching us from his house window and he came out, he was about 90. He was amazed, he said he had been a faller in the woods before chainsaws and said that the tree we had done in 20 minuets would have taken two of them all day, with axes and a two man crosscut.

I used to work for the Forest Service maintaining trails in Wilderness areas where you can't use a chainsaw. We used a crosscut saw to cut 50-100 logs out of the trail per day. I would estimate that what took us a week with 4 people could have been completed in 1 day by 1 person with a good chainsaw.

 

[Al Smith]

I remember as a boy the line clearence crews swinging around on bo-sun chairs on manila ropes with handsaws .

 

[Ax-Man]

That thing is so cool Tree Reb. I like it.

My dad has something similar only the saw blade is for mowing woody small brush. He probaly picked it up at an auction somewhere. I got the thing running last week along with a new drive belt. Don't plan on doing much with it other than add it to my collection of things that can cut and maime you.

Good pic, never seen anything quite like that.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It is cool, for sure!

 

[tntree]

wicked dangerous, love it!

 

[Tree Reb]

A bloke in Victoria invented it, 1920's I think. I worked with a guy once that had one, you could tilt it to fell trees then cut them into posts or firewood, like the second pic.

Some good inventors down there, only one of these. They grow grapes there now. There's a story about it here, http://www.4wdonline.com/ClassicTrucks/BigLizzie.html

 

[woodworkingboy]

Love the simplicity, and a tree felling device and not a kickback warning to be found. Probably in those days they figured that only smart people deserved to survive.

 

[Ax-Man]

Thought I would add a little more to this thread. Not exactly big tree equipment but related to the business some what.

These are two very tired old Bachtold mowers that I got running after sitting in the shed for the past 15 years or more. The one on the right is for mowing high weeds and light brush. I used it to mow down the regrowth from stump sprouts from the cutting we did earlier in the year that was way to rough for any other mower that we would have to do this with. I was surprized how easily it worked out considering the worn out condition of the mower. I don't know which is faster a clearing saw or the mower. The mower is not as manuverable as a clearing saw but is easier on fuel and chops the stuff much finer than a clearing saw with a tri cut blade.

After getting the high growth down I decided to see what that circular saw saw blade could do to level off some of the stumps at ground level. Even as dull as that blade was I was suprprized again at how easily it cut some of those stumps right at ground level to make the next mowing easier. Hopefully. Much easier than bending over with a chainsaw and dulling the chain out trying to do the same task.

Anyway the circular blade is what got my gears going. Did some poking around the internet. Bachtold is still in business and they are not that far from me either, about 50 miles south of my house. Many parts are still available including that saw blade. The circular saw blades were used and probaly still are used somewhat on the smaller farms to cut Christmas trees according to the lady I talked to. The front of the mower pulls out so the blade can be used at a 90 degree angle so you can saw vertically like the one pictured earlier in the thread only not as big as the one we have.

The lady in the parts department would not admit that could be done with these old Bachtolds mowers but it can be done. Some old ads posters for Bachtold on e-bay promoted this. Imagine the liability for that one. The good old days.

Anyway, the neighbor had another old Bachtold that I am rebuilding just to mount that blade onto. If it works out I'll get a new blade just to have a new toy. I don't want to molest the one that has the blade on it anymore than it already has been as it still runs and works decent with that old Wisconsin engine. I'll just put the mowing blade and deck back on it and use it every once in awhile.

I even found a newer and more updated model of one of these Bachtold mowers yesterday in excellent shape while I was searching for an engine for my little rebuild project. Came home with a good engine and a nicer newer brush mower for next year.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Really cool old brush cutters Larry! Very effective tools in the right places.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Whutta strange piece of equipment!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Anyone have pictures of tree equipment back in the day???

Here are some of my father's stuff from the late 60's

All red X's.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

DR Power Equipment is trying to revive the blade cutter with a chain blade instead.. Old Idea come again
<embed id=VideoPlayback src=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-5661855994858581997&hl=en&fs=true style=width:400px;height:326px allowFullScreen=true allowScriptAccess=always type=application/x-shockwave-flash> </embed>

 

[Ax-Man]

Cool Kind of what I thinking of doing only making a front deflector guide or guard to make the cut tree fall off to the side instead of falling anywhere it wants to.

Something similar to the Marshall Tree Saw design that fits on the front of a skid steer.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

That would work well... I have a guard that pushes the tree away on the bigger mower.. even little saplings can give ya a wack on da brain

 

[Greenhorn]

I dig old equipment. One day when I am rich and have a huge barn I am going to collect it. Started the collection the other day with a rare two cycle toro push mower.