The Woodcracker® CS510 crane grapple saw from the Upper Austrian forestry machine manufacturer Westtech was attached to a timber trailer belonging to the contractor “Holzschlägerungen Summereder” for this application. The task for Roman Summereder was to fell and clear 1.2ha of poplars in short rotation.

There are (almost) no limits to the possible attachment variants for the Woodcracker® CS510 crane. Thanks to its technical features, this grapple saw can be attached to any standard crane, such as timber or recycling cranes or loading cranes. It is also possible to attach them to excavators, timber trailers, trucks or telescopic handlers.

On this job site, Roman Summereder used the CS510 crane attached to a timber trailer. This attachment variant is suitable due to the low tare weight of the grapple saw. The use of the grapple saw on a timber trailer saves time as you can fell, saw and clear with just one work tool. In addition, you don’t need a second vehicle for logging.
This method of working is therefore particularly suitable for short-rotation plantations in order to keep efficiency as high as possible.

Despite its low tare weight of approx. 370 kg, the CS510 crane has a cutting diameter of up to 540 mm, with a gripper opening of 1270 mm. The machine has been equipped with a strong 3-finger gripper that presses down during the sawing process and thus holds the cut material securely. But the heart of the grapple saw is the saw unit. It has an automatic chain tensioner that always ensures that the chain is correctly fitted and thus prevents it from jumping off. Regardless of whether the machine is just being started or has been in use for several hours.

Thanks to the sophisticated hydraulic control system, it is possible to operate the grapple saw with only one double-acting hydraulic control circuit, depending on the requirements. If the carrier vehicle has more than one hydraulic circuit, the tilt function can be controlled independently of the gripper. This feature makes it possible to remove sections of the tree standing up. Therefore, unlike other gimbal grapple saws, the Woodcracker® CS510 crane is also suitable for use in safety tree felling in urban areas or settlements.

The poplar short rotation planted in 2015 was harvested in three days and yielded enough firewood for the customer for the next two years.