Excavator attachments buyer's guide: From grabs to tree shears

JAS P WILSON
JAK TREE SHEARS

As the home of the renowned HARVADIG forestry-spec excavator system, Jas P Wilson has accrued a wide selection of high-quality hydraulic attachments to create a versatile and productive excavator-based system. 

This operating method has grown in popularity, and to meet demand the attachments now on offer have also increased.

Within the options on offer, alongside brands like FAE mulchers and LASCO firewood cone splitters, is the highly-regarded JAK tree shear brand. Jas P Wilson has supplied these

Finnish-made JAK tree shears for over six years, and as such the quality, reliability and performance of these units is now well established and highly regarded by customers across the UK and Ireland.

For the excavator market, there are fixed and rotating tree shear options, with the 200, 250 and 300 models offering a comprehensive range to cover compact to large excavators. The model numbers reflect millimetres of their max cut, and all models are available as fixed or rotating.

At the core of the range is a 300-mm-cut JAK 300R. Launched at the APF show in September were the saw and dual-knife guillotine systems, with the latter allowing the unit to cut up to 350-mm-diameter timber. 

The standard JAK 300R with removable blade continues to be very popular with customers as the balance of power, efficiency and cost is ideal for most commercial applications. 

The 300 model is suited to base machines of 12 tonnes and above, with both the 250 model (five–12-tonne base machine) and 200 model (two–five-tonne base machine) also offering a popular option for users with smaller base machines.

The position of the blade on the standard model allows the operator to cut very close to ground, leaving very minimal stumps and allowing maximum timber harvesting. This creates worksites which are very clean, ideal for first thinnings, infrastructure management and arboriculture. 

The blade can be quickly unbolted to allow the shear to perform as a standard timber grab for handling logs or feeding machinery such as a crane-feed woodchipper.
Jas P Wilson carries a wide variety of stock tree shear models to ensure a quick turnaround on orders. Its team will create bespoke hitches and hoses to make this process seamless from start to finish. 

For full details, please call product specialist Kris Wilson at Jas P Wilson on 01556 612233, or email kris@jaspwilson.co.uk.

FIELD AND FOREST 

WITH mechanisation becoming ever more prevalent in the arboriculture and forestry industries, Field and Forest Machinery is an industry leader in providing high-quality attachments for a vast range of forestry applications.

One key area where Field and Forest Machinery has progressed is grapple-saw attachments. Being the main UK dealer for GMT Equipment and also distributors of the Cranab GSK Saw Cassette setup, Field and Forest Machinery has recently added the OMEF GS400 grapple saw to its range.

The OMEF GS400 caters for prime movers weighing five–10 tonnes, which fills a gap in the market, with other brands best suited to base machines that weigh from approximately nine tonnes upwards. Straddling the five–10-tonne range, the OMEF GS400 opens the door for operations with smaller machinery to process and dismantle trees whilst reducing the need to put personnel in dangerous situations, especially with ash dieback rapidly spreading throughout the UK.

The OMEF GS400 boasts an impressive 400-mm cutting capacity and comes as standard with 360-degree rotation, allowing the operator to tackle the most complex of cuts. The 1,500 kg safe working limit means the grapple function ensures that any cut timber is held in position until it is stacked, landed in the desired location, or fed straight into a chipper.

Also in the OMEF range and another popular attachment for Field and Forest Machinery is the range of OMEF tree shears. Over the years, OMEF has developed a range of tree shears that cater for base carriers from 1.5–40 tonnes plus. The simple but effective design, coupled with large hydraulic cylinder power, ensures clean and positive cutting whilst maintaining enough grab force to allow timber to be handled after it has been sheared. These are available as both fixed and with rotation.

Alongside the OMEF tree shear range are the British-built TerraTech 300 and 400 tree shears, available with or without rotation. Also within the TerraTech range are stump shears and brash rakes, and all of the TerraTech attachments cover weight ranges from three–30 tonnes. Timber handling is an essential part of any arboriculture and forestry operation. Field and Forest Machinery is the distributor for the full Intermercato and

Powerhand grab and grapple ranges. All grabs are available with full rotation, giving extra functionality and efficiency to the machine operator. Field and Forest also offers a wide range of cone splitters, hydraulic winches, stump grinding and fencing attachments for a number of base carrier machines.

For more details, contact the Field and Forest Machinery team on 01506 862371, or visit the website, www.fieldandforestltd.co.uk.

RSL ENGINEERING 

THE cost of living keeps going up, and as businesses we all need to be more efficient to ensure we can maximise our potential.

At RSL Engineering, we build our attachments with efficiency in mind, and the purpose of spending on attachments is to save in the long run by making the job simpler, better, and faster – having the right tool for the right job!

The RSL Thumb Grab, available in either hydraulic or manual variants, is a must-have for all digger owners. They can be used with a variety of attachments, ensuring you always have a grab on your machine ready for action. 

No need to change attachments when you need to lift or move something while you are in the middle of a job. For a fraction of the price of a dedicated grab, your machine has one almost permanently fitted. These are bespoke-made to fit your machine correctly. 

Removing stumps and root balls is a simple task with our RSL Root Ripper. The removable serrated blade can saw through roots, making them easy to pull through or break. This makes stump removal quick and easy and with less ground disturbance around the stump. 

Rakes can be used for a variety of applications, and as ours are made in-house we can offer a bespoke service spacing the tines at either our standard spacings or to your desired spacings. Our tines are made from a minimum of 12.5 mm S355 HT Steel, ensuring they are strong and will carry out the task at hand easily.

We manufacture our range of tree shears from the entry-level fixed-blade Mother Kutter with 12” cut capacity, through to the 12” Lite, 12” HD, 16” HD and 20” HD. These are designed to minimise labour and decrease time taken to get the job done safely, saving you time and money.

Visit our website at www.rslengineering.co.uk to see the rest of our product range, which we are constantly developing, or call us 02033056509 and have a chat about your requirements.

CLARK ENGINEERING 
POWERHAND

WHEN it comes to end-of-arm attachments for excavators, Powerhand is a brand that can be trusted for quality and performance. The Powerhand forestry grapple range is the culmination of almost 100 years’ experience working in the forest industry and includes a range of timber grapples for log handling and a range of tined biomass grapples to handle brash and biomass, feed chippers, clear up sites and move oversized logs. 

The range is manufactured from a combination of high-strength steels to produce grapples of the highest performance and durability.

In the Powerhand stable of products, two excavator grapples that have been tried and tested in the forest industry are the eX series and the GB series.

The eX series is the ultimate heavy-duty forestry biomass grapple for installation on an excavator or large crane. The design has been optimised for tasks such as feeding chippers, handling brash while clearing sites, log handling and general forestry work. 

Designed for use on excavators from 13 tonnes to 25 tonnes, the eX series is ideal for rigid excavator mounting both direct via a tilt-rotator or rigid rotator assembly and also available for swing-link mounting. 

The grapple legs feature five solid 50-mm Hardox tines to excel in this demanding application. The Powerhand eX series can also be fitted with a grapple-saw unit.

The GB series biomass grapple is available for both rigid excavator mount on excavators from eight tonnes up to 16 tonnes, and swing-link mounted for use on excavators and timber cranes.

Combining high strength with light weight, the GB biomass grapples are ideal for the handling of all types of biomass including, timber, branches, scrap wood and materials for recycling.

Available in 0.28 m² and 0.36 m² capacities with five solid Hardox tines, these grapples offer the ultimate solution to biomass handling.

For further details on any Powerhand products, please contact Richard Gordon on 01387860241.

Powerhand is a division of Clark Engineering.

www.powerhand.com
www.clark-engineering.com

AUGER TORQUE

WHETHER you are undertaking land clearance, pathway creation and maintenance or tree planting, Auger Torque has a range of forestry attachments to meet every challenge you may face. 

With options for all parent machines, including excavators, skid steers, tractors and mini loaders, the Auger Torque range of attachments give you the flexibility, versatility and reliability you need to get the job done. 

Use the Auger Torque range of earth drills with augers to aid with fence-post installation and tree planting, easily swap out the auger to the cement mixer bowl for pouring concrete. Take the earth drills to the next level by swapping to the log-splitter cone to process logs, or stump-planer attachment to effectively remove tree stumps for ground and woodland maintenance. 

Mulchers available from Auger Torque are the perfect attachment for excavator mounting, providing a working width up to 1.5 metres. Easily change from fixed tungsten teeth to swinging hammer teeth with the unique feature of on-site drum changes – no need to return back to the yard!

Providing a cutting length of 2.5 m when fully extended, and excavator mounted, the Auger Torque hedge trimmer gives operators the extra reach they need to gain access to taller trees, deep hedges and hard-to-reach shrubbery. 

The Cone Crusher Bucket is one of the newest attachments Auger Torque have added to their selection. Use it to repurpose small-volume construction rubble into useable aggregate/hardcore, the ideal solution to save time and money on site, creating and maintaining forestry roads and tracks.

For more information of the Auger Torque range of attachments, visit www.augertorque.com or check out their social media channels – instagram and Facebook @augertorqueukandeurope, or @augertorque for Tiktok!