Odd Equipment

[Idoitall]

As someone always interested in new (to me) or odd looking equipment I couldn't resist looking at the antique "Buncher" from who knows what year. This thing is working on a small site near me, cutting some large southern pines. And yes, it has a saw underneath the jaws.
Anyone ever seen one of these? Says BELL on it.
(Sorry for the small image size, I couldn't figure out how to enlarge them. Feel free to enlarge)

 

[skidsteer.ca]

There has been the odd one of those around our parts, believe they work good, so long as the terrain is decent, have heard they are easy to roll, (thats what rops are for) the boom machines have taken over since, but there are still a few smaller loggers using them.
Ken

 

[Sam_French]

There has been the odd one of those around our parts, believe they work good, so long as the terrain is decent, have heard they are easy to roll, (thats what rops are for) the boom machines have taken over since, but there are still a few smaller loggers using them.
Ken

My Father was looking at those when they came out. They are great on flat land but once you get them on a slope its a different story.

 

[1840Taylor]

My Father was looking at those when they came out. They are great on flat land but once you get them on a slope its a different story.

Thats made by Bell in South Africa. They were originally made to load sugar cane from windrows. Bell still makes them, Ive run a couple for friends in the logging business of thinning plantations. Yo udrive with 2 foot pedals one for each side and you hands run the cutter. Some have a longer boom for loadin logs and pulp. Theres a good reason they are used in thinning they dont tear up the ground and like a skid steer they turn in their own radius. Getting one tree on eas side of the row or hacking an undesirable tree is a good plus for their design. They are also quite stable, you sit in a sort of leaned back relaxed way. For slop work you work up or down no side working. One of the variants of that Feller buncher can be seen on the newer Flights of the Phoenix movie in the front when they are leaving the oil rig. Theres one with a forkift mast dropping a load of pipe. Lots were sold with this arrange ment as rought terrain lift trucks. I hated loading the one I ran. a few ways to load it in the woods you can take a skidder and oush a pile of dirt up betwwn the trailer ramps and drive up the trailers ramps and the wheel will follow. Load with a middle manual ramp, or load the 2 front wheels then run one front whel ahead of the other in a turn and that will wag the caster up one ram then straighten back out at the top and your on. The one I really hate is the HydroAxe 3 wheeler that came out. You had a foot pedal for forward and reverse and then had a steering wheel for the left and right and counter steer. IT was built like the front half a the newer bunchers. The cab was up high on top of the drive axle almost. The shear is out front on loader arms and is super heavy. Designed for the same job plus bigger work they are agravating to get used to. Ican run one I have a friend that had one when he started out. Its been rolled several time loading. its a bit easier to see out of. Its a little nerve racking when you hit a stump when that side raises up and it feels like your gonna tip over. Also they have a hydraulic tilt on the shear and dont tilt away like the one on the Bell. The problem is when you cut the tree and it wanted to fall you could tilt the boom and open the holding arms. his had a set of accumulater arms and they could cut 2 or 3 smaller trees and hold them and drop in a bunch. But some times it wouldnt release them. Ive seen it on its nose and side alot.