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Dutchmaster Tree Spade Mounted On Log Skidder
Here are a couple of machines I couldn't get along without in my 350-acre tree-farming operation.
First is what I like to call my "diesel powered" Ford 8N. It's actually the rear end of a 1952 Ford 8N coupled to the front end of an old Massey 35, which had a broken rear axle housing. I bolted the Ford's rear end
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Dutchmaster Tree Spade Mounted On Log Skidder WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 22-4-33 Here are a couple of machines I couldn't get along without in my 350-acre tree-farming operation.
First is what I like to call my "diesel powered" Ford 8N. It's actually the rear end of a 1952 Ford 8N coupled to the front end of an old Massey 35, which had a broken rear axle housing. I bolted the Ford's rear end to the Massey transmission housing, which was simple to do since both use the same bolt pattern. I lengthened the Massey's hood 5 or 6 in. to accommodate the Ford's steering column, which is at a different angle than that of the Massey. Then, I painted it Ford 8N col-ors.
I use the tractor to cultivate trees with my 6-ft. cultivator and it works great. It gives me six speeds instead of four. It's also diesel-powered which I prefer to gas. It cost $100 for the Ford rear end and $120 apiece for new rear rims.
Second is the heavy-duty Dutchmaster tree spade I mounted on my C5 Treefarmer log skidder. It handles a lot bigger trees and is more maneuverable than the commercial tree spade mounted in a truck I used before.
The 50-in. dia. spade easily handles trees with 5-in. in dia. trunks. Worked great all win-ter relocating trees and there was nothing particularly difficult about mounting the spade on the log skidder.
A somewhat bigger job was the repowering job I did on the skidder. It was originally equipped with a 4-cyl. 220-cu. in. Ford engine, which didn't have enough power for my needs. So I repowered the skidder with a 350-cu. in. Oldsmobile diesel engine and an automatic Turbo 400 transmission. The hardest part of the job was getting the engine to drive the tree spade's hydraulic pump. To do so, I got a used water pump off an old car and put it on a metal plate to raise it to drive the radiator fan. I had to do that because the crank-shaft on the original engine sat too close to the pump to drive the fan. Cost was under $30,000, including the new tree spade. (George Craib, R.R. 1, Bolton, Ontario, Canada L7E 5R7; ph 905 859-0695)
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