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Tree Machine Clears Farmland Fast, Easily
"They're the fastest, most efficient and economical way of tree-clearing we know of," says Don Queal, Coats, Kan., about the giant one-of-a-kind "Tree Machine" that he calls the "Cadillac" of self-propelled brush cutters.
It's a very tough machine," he says. "The first one has 6,500 hours on it and has cut 3 to 4 million trees. All three machines built so far have been extensively field tested in my own tree-clearing business, which covers 20 counties in south central and eastern Kansas."
Queal's crews reclaim pastureland over-run by cedar trees, sawing them off at ground level with minimal soil disturbance. The "Tree Machine" can cut down 400 to 500 6- to 12-in dia. trees per hour under ideal conditions. It'll handle the hardest of hardwoods without difficulty, Queal notes.
An acquaintance of Queal's, Floyd Blasi, designed and built the first two machines seven years ago. Queal has since built one and would like to find a manufacturer interested in producing them.
The tree cutter looks like a big swather. It has two drive wheels with 26-in. wide steel-belted logging tires in front and two crazy wheels with 14-in. wide implement tires, filled with a hard rubber compound, in back. Weighing 9,000 lbs., the machine is 7 ft. tall, 8 ft. wide and almost 20 ft. long.
Power is supplied by a rear-mounted Deere 6-cyl. 120 hp. diesel engine.
A 30-in. dia. steel cutting blade, with Tungsten carbide cutters, mounts on a 7-ft. long hydraulically operated boom. The blade, which runs parallel to the ground, can be adjusted to cut down trees at heights up to 4 ft. And because of boom design and the machine's high maneuverability, the "Tree Machine" can get at trees others can't.
Hydrostatically driven, the machine's top speed is 7 mph.
For safety, the cab is completely enclose and reinforced with a ROPS system to protect the operator from falling trees. The cab has an easy-to-read instrument panel, air conditioning, and easy-to-operate control levers.
Because the machine has a very low center of gravity, it provides maximum stability on steep or uneven ground, Queal adds.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Queal, 80425 SW 50th Ave., Coats, Kan. 67028 (ph 316-546-2462).


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1995 - Volume #19, Issue #1