Craft machinery | Forestry.com

Some people just can’t make do with machines available on the open market. They think these machines are not good enough. So they make their own. More or less professional machines, made by competent and interested entrepreneurs. Here are some examples.

Handcrafted machines – tailor-made for you

Of course, you must have construction skills to build your machine. Or, you must know someone who has. Like Starks Flis AB which we wrote about last February, who wanted a remote-controlled shredder. They let a classic forest machine builder, LL Maskiner, build the machine to Stark’s specifications.

Full speed! The chipper is powered by a 580 hp Scania V8 engine. The carrier is a 2004 Valmet 860. (It became Komatsu in 2005)

LL Maskiner is the company that built the “Spindeln” (Spider) harvester, which later became SkogsJan, then Caterpillar, and today EcoLog.

Homemade machines – with commercial intentions

As mentioned earlier, I worked for the Elmia forestry show and really wanted some weird machines on the show. I invited Starks Flis AB to attend the show with their remote control shredder, but they had no intention of selling the machine. They just wanted an efficient shredder.

But there were others. Like the T-Bear we talked about (among other machines) in the article Strange machines that could have been something. In this case, the inventor had a clear vision of bringing the machine to market. In the meantime, he used it in his daily logging business. However, the T-Bear was unsuccessful and only one was built.

Homemade devices

The inventor of the T-Bear wanted to reach the market, but the market was not interested (?).

In the same article, the German engineer Jürgen Hartig and his electric swing arm harvester are mentioned. This project, so far, has never left the drawing board. But Mr. Hartig built his own harvester before that. It was originally used because SkogsJan was not ready to enter a new market. Later he sold the concept to a machine builder who built a series of seven machines. But he still has the original in the yard.

Homemade devices

Jürgen Hartig’s homemade harvester.

Homemade for real

Finally, we have real homemade machines. Those who just need a machine and have thinking and soldering skills. And normally a bunch of junk to start with. This type of machine is more common than it seems. You meet them from time to time. The owners/builders certainly don’t want to market the machines as they are mostly illegal. They have not been tested or have any certificates like CE or similar. In other words, they could be deadly and should not be shown in public or exploited by strangers.

I can’t help it, but it’s the type of machine that I find the most exciting. They are there because the owner had the time and the interest to build it. Maybe he or she even needed it, but it probably wasn’t important.

When you work in the forest like me, you see them. But you must have sharp eyes. Below is one that carried wood that I felled last winter.

Homemade devices

A “real” homemade machine. Based on a Volvo BM 400 tractor.

Are there others?

It would be interesting to see more of these “real” homemade machines. Please let me know if you have or have seen any.

Photos: Per Jonsson

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