RAM Wedge Instead Of Felling Wedges?

[chris_girard]

Anyone seen this tool before? I wonder how it would compare to our standard hydrolic logging jacks?

http://www.clarkforest.com/shop/log...ling-tools/ram-wedge-hydraulic-felling-wedges

 

[bonner1040]

9.5 kg... Not bad! I think it looks awesome, of course. Practical, who knows!

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'd like to try it out: it ain't cheap.

 

[Reddog]

I wonder how it would compare to our standard hydrolic logging jacks?

Apples to oranges.
The Silvey's have a lot more lift and tonnage.
But on high dollar hardwoods we could not think of losing that much butt log to cut the jack pocket in.

 

[sotc]

Intriguing. Though for 20 pounds I would rather beat wedges all day

 

[emr]

I saw a vid on YouTube where somebody was using one of those. It worked well but I don't think they were felling any real large trees. It definitely got the job done.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

I wonder what the lift is like on standard wedges. Seems that used in multiples, you can lift a lot. Probably has its place, but I'm not sure where that is.

 

[Reddog]

The selling point is less work than driving wedges and safer in not shaking things lose down on your head.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I hear THAT!

 

[lumberjack]

I saw the video on YouTube as well, found it intriguing as all get out. With VAT, that's roughly $2235, I could see it being a viable niche tool for sure.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

I wonder what the lift is like on standard wedges. Seems that used in multiples, you can lift a lot. Probably has its place, but I'm not sure where that is.

Wedge Height : 6cm

near 2,5"

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Thanks M-A, though I meant the lifting power, not the lifting height. We wedge things over a lot at work, far more than a pull line.

 

[bonner1040]

Sean,

The manufacturer lists it as a 5-ton Jack with a 3:1 rise/run giving it a total lifting capacity of 15-tons @ the top of the wedge.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

I mean the lift on standard wedges.

I figure that its mostly a matter of rise compared to run for the wedge effect multiplied by the force of the swinging ax/ maul/ hammer. The wedge dimensions are easy to calculate, but whenever I try to measure the force of the swinging ax, I keep breaking the bathroom scale. I don't know how many scales I have gone through in trying to measure this force.

Another factor will be the distance from the wedge to the hinge.

I figure that there is some stored energy in compressed wood fiber trying to rebound, which makes using multiple wedges more effective than only pounding in one, but I could be wrong about this. Intuitively, though, it seems to make sense.

For the odd tree, the jack is a good thing. We use our double-ram Silvey at Parks, time to time, but generally rely on wedges. So much more packable, and lighter. I can fit four wedges in my two back pockets, easily, but we use an external backpack frame with a custom added shelf for carrying the jack. Probably around 50-75 pounds, versus a couple pounds. You still need the wedges with a jack, too.

 

[gf beranek]

It's an old concept. I had one given to me in the 80's by a faller that got tired of lugging it around.

The few heavy trees I tried it on the damn thing spit out,, and if I didn't have a regular wedge in the trees they would have set back on me. Then the damn thing would get air locked too and you would be out of bullets trying to bleed it out.

It proved a far better anchor for my 8 foot pram.

 

[chris_girard]

It's an old concept. I had one given to me in the 80's by a faller that got tired of lugging it around.

The few heavy trees I tried it on the damn thing spit out,, and if I didn't have a regular wedge in the trees they would have set back on me. Then the damn thing would get air locked too and you would be out of bullets trying to bleed it out.

It proved a far better anchor for my 8 foot pram.

And that was my concern too Jer was that the damn thing would split out on a large tree and cause the tree to really sit back hard.