Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Von Ruden Hydra-flex chainsaw


We visited the Wheeler Maple Products (located slightly south of the middle of Nowhere, Ontario) on the weekend. Certainly a backwoods business done right. Pancakes and sausages were great but part of the attraction is the forest-farm (chainsaw) museum. Lots of old mechanical things to admire and ponder.

 This device is a whole ungainly saw system that would attach to the back end of a tractor. The pump would be run by the PTO, tank hung wherever was convenient and any log within 10 or 15 feet could be cut. Setup time would suggest it would not be for casual use, but if you were the kinda guy that hated pulling starter cords... Made by the Von Ruden Manufacturing company in Claremont, Minnesota, which is still in business today, located in Buffalo. Another one here.






Ebay


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reminds me about an article I once read about Amish religious practices. The local bishop(?) was opposed to using electricity and gasoline engines, but thought diesel engines and hydraulics were permissable. A small, local woodworking factory was built with a stationary diesel engine running a hydraulic pump and the machinery was converted to run on hydraulic motors.

Mister G said...

That is interesting. Don't want to go down the Amish/religious road, but a few years ago I was driving through Pennsylvania and saw some Amish men using a weedwacker. I didn't ask.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that anybody manufactured diesel powered weedwackers!