Seven steps are provided to delimb safely and professionally.
In the November 2 edition of Logging-on, Husqvarna brought us safety tips for felling with chainsaws. In this edition, Husqvarna assists us with seven tips for safe, efficient tree limbing. When working with chainsaws, limbing is usually the operation that requires the most time and effort. Here are the basic rules from Husqvarna:
- The right height: The best working height for limbing is when the tree is placed from your waist to your knee height. You can achieve the right working height by trying to fell a tree so that it falls over other felled trees, logs, stones or elevations in the terrain. Remember to let your knees do the bending – not your back. If you are a beginner at limbing, you should proceed slowly and methodically, gradually increasing the tempo. And always remember: if your back starts to get tired, this can be an indication that you need to fine-tune your technique.
- Steady and secure: Stand securely on the left side of the trunk with your feet apart at a 45-degree angle to the trunk. Work with the saw close to your body and keep your stance stable in two directions. Make sure you have an ample reach, so that you can keep the risky business of moving your feet while limbing to a minimum.
- Keep it down: To avoid accidents, it’s important not to lift the chainsaw away from the trunk more than necessary. Carry the chainsaw as little as possible and use it as a lever, with the saw body resting on the trunk or your leg. Limbing will be easier and more effective with a short guide bar (13”-15”).
- Controlled motion: Always hold the guide bar on the other side of the trunk when you move your feet. The chain must be static when you move. Hold the saw by both handles when moving short distances, never by the rear handle only. For longer movement, you should activate the chain brake and carry the saw by the front handle.
- Beware of kickback: Avoid cutting with the guide bar tip. Your thumbs and fingers must always be wrapped around the handles during limbing work. Use a guide bar length that is adapted to the dimension of the tree.
- Dodge the pinches: Determine how the branches are tensioned and cut on the opposite side of the branch, where the guide bar is not likely to be pinched under the weight of the branch. If you’re unsure cut the branch in stages, from the outside in towards the trunk.
- Brake before branch-removal: Let the chainsaw rest on the trunk while you remove branches and firewood with your right hand. First, release the throttle and throttle lock and activate the chain brake. Cutting downwards, so that the chain tries to pull the saw towards the trunk, is known as cutting with a pulling chain. Cutting from beneath, so that the chain tries to push the saw towards you, is known as a pushing chain. Source
The new extended stick boom option applies to the 800MH-Series tracked harvesters.
Customer feedback has resulted in John Deere launching an extended boom stick that permits a longer reach option, enabling operators to minimize the number of cut trails. The longer reach will allow customers to be more efficient while meeting local regulations. With the extended boom, operators can harvest larger areas, reducing the frequency of required movement of the machine. This not only benefits the surrounding terrain, but also improves the efficiency of the machine.
The extended boom is designed for use with smaller attachments and can reach 32.5 feet (9.9 meters). Additionally, the extended option features a narrow boom tip, allowing the operator to reach past standing timber in thinning applications. This also helps operators minimize damage to the trees being harvested. Source
Read MoreLogging-on has joined the team at Expoforest as an official media partner. Read here to get more detail on this increasingly popular fair.
Excitement is building for the world’s biggest forestry event of 2018. Expoforest is Brazil’s biggest fair in terms of overall area (200 hectares), with the longest trails (4 kilometers); it also takes place outdoors, requires extensive Eucalyptus felling, as well as land levelling and destumping operations and the construction of the trails and parking lot. Currently, 217 companies are already confirmed exhibitors for the 4th Expoforest that will be held between April 11th and 13th of 2018. Therefore, 80% of exhibit areas have already been sold. This number reflects directly the importance of the fair for the forestry market, which understands participating in Expoforest is a strategic decision, especially as the fair only takes place every four years.
According to the organizers, there is expected to be 40% growth compared to the 2014 fair. The number of visitors is also expected to increase significantly. Over 30 thousand visitors are expected, and the organisers are certain they will be awed by the scope of the fair. Companies interested in exhibiting their products and services in Expoforest 2018 may contact the commercial team at expoforest@malinovski.com.br.
Ribeirão Preto is a major Brazilian city with excellent infrastructure and easily reached by road or air. The city is renowned for hosting the biggest agribusiness events in Latin America. A wide network of hotels and accommodations is available all over the area. Expoforest 2018 will benefit from all these features, as well as exclusive use of a 200-hectare area of planted seven-year-old cloned eucalypt forest belonging to International Paper. The fair will be held in the Horto Florestal Vale Aprazível, located within city limits of Santa Rita do Passa Quatro (in São Paulo state), by the Anhanguera Highway (SP 330) KM-258, 60 km away from Ribeirão Preto. Source
Read MoreThe RK 105 is an innovative crane for the Rottne F10 and F11 forwarders.
The crane is significantly different compared to its predecessor, the RK 85. The new jib arm crane for the Rottne F10 and Rottne F11 provides 20 per cent more lifting force than its predecessor. Behind the idea of the new knuckle boom crane, lies a strategy that has resulted in a completely new and improved product. The three main parts that have been redesigned compared with the old crane are the mast, the lift cylinder and the lifting arm. The result is a completely new crane with increased strength. The key changes are a stronger mast, a new type of self-aligning bearing, new cylinder mounts and a stronger lifting arm. There is also a different approach to the assembly process.
The new crane is reinforced to give greater lifting force. The development work at the factory in Rottne has resulted in the RK 105 having a lifting torque of 105 kNm. This is compared to approximately 87 kNm on the earlier model. The lifting angle has also been increased by about five degrees. Rottne was able to reduce the stresses in the welds. The new RK 105 will be mounted as the standard crane on all F10D and F11D models delivered to customers from Rottne’s factory from around the turn of the year 2017/2018 and onward. Source
Read MoreThis provides a truck for on-road applications requiring off-road mobility
Iveco launched the Stralis X-WAY, the new range specifically designed for construction logistics and urban missions. The new range offers a choice of line-ups that can be tailored to match the requirements of various applications. The truck has a low kerb weight achieved through the redesign of the mechanical rear suspension, the chassis architecture and cross members optimisation, and the 400 hp Iveco Cursor 9 engine, new front ‘1-leaf’ and rear ‘2-leaf’ springs, 800-Nm PTO without clutch and optional aluminium rims and air tanks. The result is a robust vehicle that can deal with the driving conditions on a construction site while carrying the biggest payload in the construction logistics and urban services segment, but still provide good fuel-efficiency, safety and comfort on the road.
Fuel reduction technologies have shown to reduce fuel consumption by 11.2% in the Stralis XP. A patented Hi-SCR after-treatment system achieves a 97% NOx-abatement levels, the highest in the market, and requires no parked regeneration, reducing maintenance costs and maximising the vehicle’s time on the road. The Hi-Tronix automated transmission is available in 12- and 16-speed versions. HI-MUX electrical and electronic architecture enable all the fuel saving and safety functions. These include the HI-CRUISE system that integrates driving assistance functions such as eco-roll, predictive gear shifting and predictive cruise control.
The line-up includes 2- and 4-axle models and an 8x4 tridem; articulated and rigid; a wide offer of engine, gearbox and Multipower PTOs, including the new sandwich PTO with up to 2,450Nm torque; three engines (Cursor 9, Cursor 11, which is new on the 6x4 and 8x4 versions, and Cursor 13) and three transmissions (manual, Allison automatic and ZF Hi-Tronix 12- or 16-speed automated) offers a wide variety of possibilities.
The Stralis X-WAY combines its on-road technologies with the chassis of Iveco’s off-road vehicles. It handles off road sections due to features such as the new HI-TRACTION hydrostatic drive that provides additional hydraulic front-wheel traction when needed, improving the vehicle’s stability and the driver’s safety on difficult terrains.
Customers can choose the cab that best matches their application. Cabs are the AD (Active Day) short cab with low roof, AT (Active Time) sleeper cab with low or medium roof, and the Hi-Way sleeper cab for on-road long-haul missions. Source
Read MoreTigercat increases product support capacity in Brazil
Marcos Dos Santos has joined the Tigercat product support team in the position of Brazilian factory support representative, based in Arapoti, Parana State, Brazil. Marcos will be providing after sales technical support to Tigercat’s growing customer base in Brazil. He has more than twenty years’ experience working within the forestry industry in the technical support area. He began his career with Stora Enso as a junior mechanic and further developed his skills at the dealer level with Latin Equipment do Brazil and CBI do Brazil. Source
Ponsse received a President award for internationalisation
Sauli Niinistö, the President of the Republic of Finland, gave Ponsse Plc a special recognition from the annual Internationalisation Award. The Internationalisation Award is a recognition granted to Finnish companies that have gained international success and to the communities behind them. The special recognition was based on Ponsse's long-term profitable and sustainable international growth and modernisation. Source
Kai Wärn, President and CEO of the Husqvarna Group, was awarded leader of the year at a ceremony in Sweden
He has improved profitability, sharpened the Group’s strategy and reorganized the Husqvarna Group into a more customer focused and brand-oriented company. The leader of the year is the most prestige award of its kind in Sweden and it is awarded by Affärsvärlden in cooperation with Korn Ferry, Mannheimer Swartling and PA Consulting Group. The award goes to a person who has demonstrated an outstanding leadership in business or management. The award was founded in 1984 and this year it was awarded for the 34th time. Source
Bandit Industries will spend all of 2018 celebrating its 35th anniversary
Bandit Industries started out as Foremost Fabrications in a small one-room shop by Mike Morey Sr. and Diane Morey. The first chipper was a Model 100 Brush Bandit. Today, more than 60,000 Bandit machines are in use all around the world, and more than 200 dealer locations serve our customers in six continents. Source
Italian crane manufacturer Fassi acquires 100% ownership of Cranab
Fassi acquired part-ownership of Cranab in 2013 and has since then increased its ownership in the company step by step and, with the acquisition of Hans Eliasson´s shares, has now become the full owner of the Cranab Group, which consists of the companies Cranab, Vimek and Bracke Forest. Their ambition is to develop Cranab to become a crane supplier with a wider product range, in which truck-mounted timber and recycling cranes become new products. Source
Read More"The Effect of Customer–Contractor Alignment in Forest Harvesting Services on Contractor Profitability and the Risk for Relationship Breakdown"
Published in Forests 2017, Vol. 8(10) 2017. Authors: M Eriksson, L LeBel and O Lindroos. Source
“Characterizing Rigging Crew Proximity to Hazards on Cable Logging Operations Using GNSS-RF: Effect of GNSS Positioning Error on Worker Safety Status”
Published in Forests 2017,Vol. 8(10) 2017. Authors: A Wempe and R Keefe. Source
“Forestry Best Management Practices Relationships with Aquatic and Riparian Fauna: A Review”
Published in Forests 2017, Vol. 8(9) 2017. Authors: B Warrington, W Aust, S Barrett, W Ford, C Dolloff, E Schilling, T Wigley and M Bolding. Source
“Can Biomass Quality Be Preserved through Tarping Comminuted Roadside Biomass Piles?”
Published in Forests 2017, Vol. 8(9) 2017. Authors: S Wetzel, S Volpe, J Damianopoulos and S Krigstin. Source
“Comparison of productivity and cost depending on slope when forwarding short length logs with small Japanese forwarders”
Published in the International Journal of Forest Engineering, Vol. 28(3) 2017. Authors: S Berg, M Yoshida, R Sakurai and H Sakai. Source
Read MoreTo see the full list of conferences and exhibitions, please click on "Events" in the menu at the top of the page.
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