Hi Chris,
The first time I used mine, I was very slow and careful. It is pretty intimidating. I feel better about using it now. First, I make sure the work area is clear of any trip hazards and distractions. Then I use eye and ear protection and heavy gloves. If you keep the blade speed up and the blade sharp, there is little chance of a kick back.
If wood is dry I think a saw will work better than a chunker .
3 clones. I just realized the one we had, had the “cradle” reversed. The vertical member was next to the operator rather than next to the saw. It gave something solid to push with rather than your hand doing all the holding. We mounted it on the front of the John Deere “B” and powered it with the flat belt on the tractor. Like this:
or this:
Still a backwards cradle.
I just bought a old Ford tractor and one that hooks onto the three point hitch, came with it. Really grate for chunking up dry oak and the such, but as LaRossa points out you then have to take a hatchet to the chunks to get them sized right. Not many people us these anymore because they can chunk the wood with their chain saw, on the spot. They are available on Craigs list for from $50 up. Carl you are correct about the vertical piece of the bed being away from the operator. I have never seen one any other way, but it makes more sense for the vertical to support the wood from behind as you push.
Interesting warning from Europe on wood pellets and CO gas.
Today I was walking the mini dachshund and passed by an old man fixing his lawnmower. A first generation Dakota was parked by him. I asked how he liked his truck, and it was all positive. I told him that I was going out of state to look at his year range and would be converting it to wood power. He stared past me, and then said that he’d been around a lot of them! As a marine in 1944 and 1945, he was on mainland China and the only things that moved on wheels were rickshaws and wood power vehicles. Besides his wife, I’m probably the only person that had such a conversation with him.
Hello Doug D,
Back several years before my uncle death while visiting I mention my wood powered truck that I drove there . Yes he had seen them before in France during the war. While he was on foot and marching one would pass the troops and in a little while the troops would pass the wood burner while the operator was trying to get it started again and the cycle would continue all day .
I offered to take him for a ride and he wanted no part of it. I think he was afraid we would have to walk back home or he wanted to see nothing that would remind him of his time spent in France.
I didn’t go into detail of improvements in the last 65 years and that I had been driving for sometime now .
Hey Wayne,
I remember you mentioning a crawler you had that was powered by an automobile engine ( Buick, I think). You said you wished you had it back. Tell me about it. How did it perform, low end torque and such. I have a line on a nice JD 450 high lift with a bad engine. Gasoline engines are much cheaper than diesel that will fit this small crawler. What do ya think?
thanks,carson
Good Morning Carson,
Sorry to be so long responding ( 18 hour days )
The old crawler I had was TD-14 international , a big weak low compression motor . They started on gasoline and ran until they were warm then switch over to diesel. I think when new the motor was rated at about 50 HP and red lined at 950 rpm.
The motor was so weak most of my work was done in low range and slow.
I removed the diesel and put a six cylinder ford motor and transmission in it and ran for several years .
There were enough room to put the motor and three speed transmission in the motor cavity with the ford trans connected to the dozer trans. This gave me the option of 19 forward gears .
Your feet or hands are not fast enough to control the throttle so a mechanical governor control must be added to take care of the engine speeds ( I used a little belt driven governor) .
I used this setup for 3-4 years and let the air breather get disconnected accidentally and ran the motor with heavy dust getting in it and ruined it.
I took a motor out of a 69 buick power glide ( automatic ) , 350 , 4 barrel and installed same a the ford six. ( had to move the radiator forward 4 inches ) I could spin the tracks in the first 5 gears and I believe top speed would be as fast as an army tank. It used a LOT of gasoline while working but gasoline was somewhere around 75 cents a gallon. As gasoline got more expensive I used my D6 cat diesel more and sold the gasoline crawler . Now diesel is so expensive I can’t afford to operate the D6 .
Really wish I had the gasoline crawler back with a gasifier on it !!!
Just a footnote . I was using the crawler for clearing and logging the farm I now live on . With the log truck in mud and stuck I could chain up the crawler to it and set the throttle just prior to spinning . Get in the truck and add enough power to let the crawler start moving and pull me free , lock the truck brakes enough to stop the crawler and disconnect . A few times when too muddy for the truck to make it to dry and hard ground I would hook the crawler to it and set the throttle as above, tie hay strings to the steering clutches and control the dozer from the truck just like driving a mule and wagon. Sometime as far as a quarter mile .
Yes poor folks have poor ways !!
Back a few months http://www.dontletthecandleburnout.com/ did several hours filming over several miles and conditions , Walmart parking lot and town ,hay fields , pastures , back roads , in the back of the truck hanging over the bed at hyway speeds ( Very nimble acrobat , Apache Indian I think he said ) .
Also yesterday filmed from noon on up into the night.
May be back today for more .
Thanks to the young camera crew for the foresight to the future.
Really wish I had the gasoline crawler back with a gasifier on it ! Yep, Wayne thats exactly what crossed my mind. This JD 450 is a lot smaller than that big TD-14 a good sized gasoline engine ought to make her sing. Add a gasifier to that and people would be paying me just to get to drive her.
thanks
carson ( i’ll let you borrow her, but you have to supply your own wood )
Hi Chris,
Just testing the durability of your basic 55gal in Florida. In real life this was bright white.
Shh!!! were hunting GATORS 
Having fun
Hey Sean ,
I was about to ask where do you come up with the courage to hunt those gators, but never mind . I spotted it just behind your feet .
Hey Wayne,
A little of the fermented beverage can give most courage but not much wisdom. We hooked what we thought was an 8 foot gator. Turns out are eyes were a bit off wound up being 13 foot 1100 lbs.The three of use couldn’t get it in the boat. Next time I will be sure to bring the winch. Five men to get the monster in the boat finally 1 forklift 6 hours later and it was out of the boat. I’m hunger just thinking about it. CHOMP CHOMP Sean
Oh my, people really do that! I thought the TV show was fake. You’re not going to eat it are you? LOL
That’s a pretty good size gator …Some good eating …
But of Coarse Carl,
Johnny has the right idea. That was the whole reason for going LOL!!! If you or any other member of DOW ever down this way I will have enough wood for your truck and food for your belly. And as Wayne says a little of that fermented beverage. BBB Sean
I WAS going to take some time off my gasifier project Labor Day and take a day trip in our class B camper van. It would not start! - not even a click! I knew the battery was good so I took the doghouse off the engine and this is what I found. @#$% squirrel damage! Three ignition wires, two neutral safety switch wires, three idle air control wires and one engine temp sensor wire. No more parking in the back by the trees from now on 
Looks like war to me. I usually get nests everywhere and lots of acorns.
Time for some squirrel stew.
