Joining Forces
It is a long way from Warwick to Inverness and Fuelwood’s Richard Slatem chose to break his journey halfway – in Northumberland. He took the opportunity to drop off the company’s demonstration model of the Transaw 350 firewood processor with Kenny Dobson and Stephen Wills of Forest Machine Services (FMS).

FMS is just one of the dealerships that provide nationwide sales and service for Fuelwood’s products. Richard Slatem’s trip to the shores of the Moray Firth – where Farm and Forestry Services of Ardersier hold the dealership for Fuelwood products – left the company’s topof- the-range firewood processor down in Northumberland for a long weekend.

After a Friday demonstration for a potential customer near the coast, the Transaw 350 moved inland to the FMS premises at Park End on the west bank of the River North Tyne, just south of Wark. Demonstrations on Saturday and Monday gave firewood suppliers from across the North of England a chance to see the big Fuelwood machine in action. The Warwickshire-based company not only manufactures a comprehensive range of firewood machinery; it also distributes a wide array of forestry equipment from other constructors. Visitors who may not have required the high production rates achievable with the Transaw 350, for example, were
able to evaluate the operation of the Finnish Japa firewood processors and logsplitters. The raw material to feed the machines on show originated on the estate of Chipchase Castle, just
across the water from Park End.

Northumbrian firewood merchant Richard Makepeace had undertaken a hardwood thinning on woodland straddling the long-disused Border Counties railway line and the produce from the harvesting operation was destined to warm the hearths of the residents of Tynedale. Richard, of Acomb, near Hexham, mechanised his firewood production about five years ago, so he was
interested to see how the Transaw 350 performed. He was particularly impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the machine’s circular sawblade.

One less obvious design feature of the hydraulic drive to the TCT blade – apart from reduced maintenance and the cost benefits offered by dispensing with the conventional belt drive – is its function as a brake. On shutdown the blade comes to a complete stop in a matter of seconds. The Transaw 350 has been some time in development and Kenny Dobson of FMS is not surprised by its innovative design features. “I’ve been associated with Fuelwood for a lot of years and it is a good company to deal with. They produce quality goods,” said enny. “We’ve sold two of these machines already and there is another sale in the pipeline. People are being drawn to British machines as they can now compete on price.”

As for the potential market for the Transaw 350 in Northumberland, Kenny is optimistic: Things have gone full circle and people are looking to use environmentally friendly and reasonably priced fuels again. Here in the county there is plenty of raw material. I really feel that the estates can add value to previously unmanaged stands where material may not be suitable for milling. They can sell it as firewood or use it themselves for fuel. The Transaw 350 is ideal for this.” Stephen Wills, who spent most of the time at the control console of the Transaw 350, explained that the cut log length is controlled by a movable laser beam and can be varied between 6 and 16 inches.

As the timber to be processed (maximum diameter 14 inches) moves in on the hydraulic in-feed conveyor the beam is broken at the set length, the conveyor stops and the log is clamped as the saw blade moves through the timber and subsequently retracts.

It is in the splitting process that the bends and bumps in the hardwood material destined for firewood production often causes problems in automatic firewood processors. In the Transaw a ‘tilt and push’ mechanism reduces the chance of the cut lengths falling sideways as they enter the splitting chamber. As the initiation of the 15-tonne splitting cycle is manual (by means of a small trigger on the fingertip control lever) a visual inspection can ensure that the cycle will not be started on a piece in the wrong position. An ejection system enables easy removal of the few cut rings that may cause problems.

The splitting knife is constructed with a 2/4/6/8-way format. Options can be varied between cycles by means of a simple control near the main operating lever, and the hydraulic shift of the knife can also raise it out of the way if splitting is not required. The 4-metre outfeed conveyor has a hydraulic lifting feature and three slew positions for evenly distributing the firewood produced. Both feed conveyors are foldable for transportation and the unit weighs 1800kg.

Although electric drive is an option, it is to be expected that the pto-powered version will prove the most popular. A tractor of at least 50hp output is required: a Case 956XL undertook the role during the Park End demonstrations. A further option, again not on show at Park End, is the companion log deck for feeding the conveyor. This, according to Stephen Wills, really leads to an increase in production and is also operated from within a hand’s reach of the main control. The theoretical output figures for the production from the Transaw 350 are impressive: 30cm diameter material can be transformed into 20cm long firelogs at a rate of over 6 solid cubic metres per hour, for example.

As Fuelwood points out, these figures are based upon a notional continuous problem-free operation of the machine. Many of the Transaw’s design features (the aforementioned ‘tilt and push’ delivery system, the visual checking facility and the splitting chamber ejector) have been incorporated to bring the output attainable in the real woodyard closer to the quoted theoretical figures.

Both Kenny Dobson and Stephen Wills admitted that they too were spending the weekend getting to know the machine. As with all machinery, really efficient operation comes with experience – especially where the raw material is so variable. The timber being processed had been hauled from Chipchase by the Ford 7810 tractor and Farmi forwarding trailer of Richard Makepeace and the firewood produced was destined, when seasoned, for Richard’s customers in Tynedale.

The short lengths required therefore took advantage of the Transaw’s half-length splitting stroke. Fuelwood is conscious, however, of the export potential of its new machine and was keen to incorporate a maximum length that would be acceptable in central European countries where standard firewood lengths are often considerably longer – hence the capacity of the Transaw to turn out produce up to 16 inches long. The company already has dealerships in Belgium and France.

Those who may not require the high volume capacity of Fuelwood’s own products have not been ignored. Both Fuelwood and FMS appreciate that they can often find the best deal for customers who have specific needs by importing machinery from abroad. Kenny Dobson does not deny that the market for the big harvesting machinery, such as harvesters and forwarders, has been slowing down lately. On the other hand, FMS has had a number of requests from contractors for logsplitting machinery. Said Kenny: “We have found that we can buy in splitters at more reasonable prices than we can build them and, of course, the machines that we bring in already comply fully with the current safety requirements.”

Both firewood processors and logsplitters from the Finnish Japa range, also supplied by Fuelwood, were on show at Park End. Kenny Dobson pointed out that a good crowd of woodsmen and foresters had turned out from all over Northumberland and beyond to see what was on offer. It is pretty certain that, when winter comes around again, products manufactured or supplied by Fuelwood (Warwick) Ltd will have played a significant part in keeping folk warm in the North of England.
Hilary Burke

The Transaw 350 is not the machine required by horse logger Charlie Parker (left) or by smallholder Les Murdy (centre). Kenny Dobson shows equipment that may be better suited to their needs – a trailer-mounted Japa logsplitter.