DriftlessinWIHey Everyone, I solved the issue of controlling my multi-function skid steer attachments from the cab of my excavator. It involved an Arduino, 4 way relay, an HC-5 Bluetooth module and a simple android app. Give me your thoughts in the comments below. This has opened up a lot of possibilities for my CAT 306 and now I can use a lot of my attachments that I had for my Gehl RT210.
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driftlessinwi
This log grapple for my skid steer is my favorite attachment. It is made by Wallenstein and has a rotating grapple, an extendible boom, a 9000lb Warn hydraulic winch, and can open to 72″ wide while also closing down to 3″. It works great for loading and unloading trailers, winching logs out of the woods, skidding logs, stacking logs, grabbing brush, and it even does a great job placing large stones and rocks for landscaping.
In this video I do a walkaround and show how all the functions work. I also show how it works unloading a trailer full of logs and also how I use it to hold fliches that I cut up into firewood. This video has no talking, but it does have some sound. Enjoy and thanks for watching!
driftlessinwi
Part 2 of my wood kiln tour and my adventures in woodworking with common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). The weather didn’t cooperate with this video, it has been below zero every day for almost two weeks now. The upside was that I got to stress test the DIY dehumidifier wood kiln I made, and I learned a lot about its capabilities.
I also finished drying the buckthorn I milled and ran it through my jointer…WOW! This stuff is very gorgeous, and it has many characteristics in its grain and structure that I have never seen before. I compared it to quartersawn Cherry and flat sawn Black Walnut. Take a look! I think I will make a separate video on the highlights of the buckthorn milling and finishing process.
Related Videos: Part 1 of DIY Wood Kiln Tour and Buckthorn Drying – https://youtu.be/lP5vhE7SXF4
Harvesting and Milling the Buckthorn – https://youtu.be/anzKsypOS-U
Thanks for watching!
driftlessinwi
You may have wondered, “can you mill buckthorn?” Or, maybe, “is buckthorn wood good for anything?” Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), or European buckthorn, as it is also known is a a highly invasive plant that grows all over my woods. There are a few places in the woods where this stuff has grown to over 10 inches in diameter. I looked all over for other examples of people milling buckthorn for wood working but couldn’t find a video so I thought I would make this. Includes a few shots of doing atv logging. I made a follow up video on this to show how well buckthorn dries and finishes – Energy Efficient DIY Wood Kiln – Buckthorn Drying
Tell me if you think milling buckthorn is worth it in the comments on the YouTube video! Enjoy, and please subscribe! 🙂
This kiln can hold 16ft long lumber and has a 4ft H x 4ft W chamber. I reused a bunch of 2.5″ foam board I had, along with lumber from a metal roofing pallet to make the majority of it. It will get to 110 degrees F with just a small dehumidifier running. A tiny personal heater can easily heat the chamber to over 150 degrees for sanitizing lumber.
After milling some giant buckthorn I wanted to test drying it, so I loaded up the kiln with a bunch of silver maple and Osage orange that I am using for a treehouse project. This is not a video on how to dry wood, it is just a tour of my setup…in fact there are many things in the video you shouldn’t do to get the best results, but I am experimenting and the wood being used is for a treehouse and not furniture. I will have follow-up videos that show how well the buckthorn dried, and how well it finishes. Consider subscribing, thanks!
A ton of work! But this has been a fun project for the kids and I. I get to use almost all of my tools and equipment to work on it: From harvesting damage trees, to milling them on the sawmill, to planning, sanding, etc etc…
I have been able to hone many of my skills by experimenting with this treehouse. I timber framed it with both round logs and squared off timbers. If I were to do it over I would probably stick to squared off timbers because round logs add a lot of work, not just with the framing, but with the finishing touches as nothing goes together perfectly.
I wanted to practice with some elements to homebuilding like framing walls, installing windows and doors, doing spray foam insulation, roofing, decking, building concrete footers, weather proofing and siding. This was a perfect project to learn a lot of things while also building something my kids really enjoy.
But, I am not finished! So much more to do, please subscribe if you would like to follow the project. If you have any suggestions or comments or ideas, please share them in the comments below. The interior is still somewhat of a blank slate and we are coming up with ideas to make cool built ins and different ways to get into the loft.