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"Back-Saver" Log Clamp
Turning logs into firewood got a whole lot easier for Fred Miller when he put together his log clamp. Mounted on either a skid steer or a tractor loader, he can pick up a log and turn it into firewood lengths in no time flat.
"It saves my back. I can pick up a log with it and hold it two feet off the ground," say
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"Back-Saver" Log Clamp WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 31-2-28 Turning logs into firewood got a whole lot easier for Fred Miller when he put together his log clamp. Mounted on either a skid steer or a tractor loader, he can pick up a log and turn it into firewood lengths in no time flat.
"It saves my back. I can pick up a log with it and hold it two feet off the ground," says Miller. "That lets me stand up and cut it with the chain saw or carry it to the firewood site and cut it there. It'll lift a log up to about 14 in. diameter."
Miller wanted a simple clamp that would be easy to use and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. He started with a quick-tach plate to match his loader. He welded two 2-ft. lengths of 1/4-in., 4-in. square steel tubing to the bottom of the plate. Small triangular gussets welded to the tubes and to the plate help reinforce the arms.
Miller then welded a 3-ft. section of the square tubing to the center of the plate to serve as a mount for the clamping arm and the hydraulic cylinder to operate it. A clevis hitch at the top serves as a seat for the end of the hydraulic ram, while a second clevis at the end of the clamping arm connects to the base of the cylinder.
The clamping arm itself is fabricated from 2-in. square tubing. Its serrated edge is made with 1/4-in. thick, 2-in. long teeth that are cut and welded to the tubing. The clamping arm hinges to the vertical upright at its halfway point, just above the quick-tach plate.
"The clamping arms are offset so the last length of log left in the clamp is about the right size for the stove," explains Miller.
After building it, he decided to reinforce the upright post. Miller welded two 30-in. lengths of tubing against the plate in an A-frame. It ends about 6 in. from the end of the vertical support and is welded to it.
Miller estimates he spent about $300 in labor and materials on his log clamp. Most of the steel was scrap. The most expensive component was the quick attach plate at $120 and the hydraulic cylinder at $80.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Fred Miller, 880 Sassafras Hill, Charlottesville, Va. 22911 (fenceit@ntelos.net).
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