$500 Bulldozer=Red Green Wood Splitter/PIX

[wyld thang]

In the spirit of fall woodcutting, here's a few tools we use...

A 1950's TD14 bulldozer, a real bucket of bolts. It runs though! It's a logging dozer, the winch(wench?! haha) on back is for securing it to a tree when working on a hillside. We use it to drag trees around, pull down hung up stuff, and groom the MX track.


Hub decided to add a wood splitter attachment. You put the round on the arm under that rectangular splitter blade, then raise the blade. You have to hold the round on(very carefully) as it rises up, while avoiding the occasional glurp of hydraulic fluid from above(you can see the leak). Yes I wear goggles, no the squirt is not forceful(this thing is 50 years old, hahaha, needs some viagra). It will split those nasty oak tree crotches(the 24" kind ;0)


Obviously this will never pass through DEQ, it starts on gas, then you change over to diesel and it barfs a toxic cloud awhile(run away!). Hub wears a filter mask when running it.


We'll put it to bed soon for the winter. It's nasty old, but it still works miraculously. It's relatively easy to work on though...no tricky modern techno-junk!

So any guesses what this thing is actually worth? It does have a few leaks(hydraulic and coolant), but nothing unmanageable. The blade is stuck cocked a tad(It goes up and down, it's just tipped up about 6" on one side), ha but can't complain!!

[watcher]

Its worthless and a danger for anyone near it. . .and I'll take it off your hands, no charge, just because I'm a good guy

As my dad used to say, its worth just as much as you are willing to sell it for.

[fantasymaker]

its worth more as scrap than as a Dozer........except to you!

[wyld thang]

Ha, I'll sell it to you for a buck, and that'll be, hmmm, 15,328$ for shipping and handling, plus an extra crating fee.

Yeah, that's what we figured too, if it seized or threw a track we could sell it for scrap ;0)

[fordson major]

you can often find them cheap, in order too go for scrap they have to be cut up, least round here! friend bought a td 14 pipe layer, awsome under carrige but moter cracked, he will repower with a cummins and find a blade. he paid a grand for it and 300 shipping.

[fantasymaker]

even if it throws a track it would still make a fine wood splitter! I can see it now with a dozen baldes on each side splitting a rick of wood at a time! or maybe a roller bed on top of the blade rail so that each time ya raise the blade another chunk rolls down to be split!

[Wayne02]

Father inlaw has an old D4 that we have been using on our place. It is indispensable for punching through heavily brushed/treed areas for fence lines, access roads etc. The winch, and a huge, stout stump has saved our bacon at least 7 times in the last couple of weeks. Without that winch the dozer would still be buried back there somewhere I suspect.

Be careful with these things though, as you can get in trouble pretty easily. Make sure if your dh is working by himself in the back forty he has a phone or radio to call for help if needed, and a first aid kit on the dozer (it's usually back at the truck when you most need it).

One of the most unsuspecting things is the smaller trees that bend as you are moving forward then release and come whipping back at the cage. Most times the cage will protect the operator, but occasionally one of these trees will be of just the right height that they can hit the operator in the face/head and just about knock them clean out. Another thing on these older dozers with the lift arms outside of the tracks is to make sure when you are operating the blade controls to be in the seat. I've seen people who have almost sheared their foot off by standing on the blade arm or tracks and lowering/raising the blade.







Oh, and when your intuition says, "ground soft, dozer heavy", listen to it...

[wyld thang]

yeah! kind of an Edward Scissorhands thing goin on! um, Ol' Bessie Splitterhands?

We figure it was one of the best 500$ we ever spent. We've much more than paid for it with the firewood, and hub has done some basic dozer and logging work for neighbors(no delivery fee!), and a little road repair. It seems we can't kill it! (ha knock on wood!)

We used to have a blue heeler that loved to ride with hub. She loved hopping all over it, and no her demise was not from being squashed.

[wyld thang]

Hey Wayne, thanks for the pix--what is it about a guy in a bulldozer? ;0)--yes, he does those things you suggested, he also takes his gun to shoot if the radio fails. He always sits in the seat(he had to make a seatbelt for it!). A kid(well I mean a young adult type kid)rolled a dozer down a hill at the neighbors a few years ago, thank goodness he was strapped in, he was fine. Course he thought it was cool after he got over being scared.

You're right, having one sure makes quick work of clearing and shoving dirt around and unstumping!

[texican]

I know what I want for Christmas!

[watcher]

Originally Posted by wyld thang

Ha, I'll sell it to you for a buck, and that'll be, hmmm, 15,328$ for shipping and handling, plus an extra crating fee.

Yeah, that's what we figured too, if it seized or threw a track we could sell it for scrap ;0)

I'll take it, don't worry about S&H or crating I'll just drive it home.

[canfossi]

It's quite a beast, I'll take it off your hands also. Well, as long as it works I'm sure it's worth it's weight in gold for you. Chris

[Cornhusker]

Originally Posted by Wayne02

Father inlaw has an old D4 that we have been using on our place. It is indispensable for punching through heavily brushed/treed areas for fence lines, access roads etc. The winch, and a huge, stout stump has saved our bacon at least 7 times in the last couple of weeks. Without that winch the dozer would still be buried back there somewhere I suspect.

Be careful with these things though, as you can get in trouble pretty easily. Make sure if your dh is working by himself in the back forty he has a phone or radio to call for help if needed, and a first aid kit on the dozer (it's usually back at the truck when you most need it).

One of the most unsuspecting things is the smaller trees that bend as you are moving forward then release and come whipping back at the cage. Most times the cage will protect the operator, but occasionally one of these trees will be of just the right height that they can hit the operator in the face/head and just about knock them clean out. Another thing on these older dozers with the lift arms outside of the tracks is to make sure when you are operating the blade controls to be in the seat. I've seen people who have almost sheared their foot off by standing on the blade arm or tracks and lowering/raising the blade.







Oh, and when your intuition says, "ground soft, dozer heavy", listen to it...

Good grief the trees are thick there. Looks like a jungle.

[elkhound]

wyld thang.....i am in love with your dozer....it is a nice addition for the homestead and our rural lifestyle.good for you guys....now lets see the shed full of split firewood....keep up the good work ...and be safe...always wear a hardhat in the woods.

[ET1 SS]

I just looked at a 1950 dozer here locally for sale.

He had the scrap iron price for it, and that was how much he wanted for it.

[wyld thang]

Hey ET, my hub says he likes the old dozer because its fairly easy to work on. I think he'a a pretty handy mechanic (he tore the suburban engine apart to repace that big gasket, he replaces brakes and rotors, replaces struts and springs, he's getting ready to replace the engine in the camry, and works on our motorcycles and the chainsaws). He didn't know much about dozer mechanics, and his knowledge of how to drive one was from watching his dad drive stuff on the farm--but he picked up everything real quick. Anyways, my point is (and I've heard other people say this) is that the older dozers are much more straightforward and simple in the levers and works--just like pick up trucks! and easier to fix, although sometimes you have to jerry rig parts!

watcher, how far do you have to drive (hmmm, how many gallons per mile...)I'm in western OR (the jungle)

happy-getting-in-the-wood y'all!

[js2743]

you said the blade was a lil cockeyed lol well im guessing its because some one splits wood on one side of the thing. and that puts a lot of strain on the blade its gonna make it twist, its the people who use its fault lol not the old dozers. but would love to have one like that it would make work alot easier around here.

[wyld thang]

well, it's always been cockeyed, maybe the splitter will even it out? ;0) (tee hee!)