Sabre Samurai Cutter SSQA Mount

[bird dogger]

Since we both have a lot of hedges to maintain and border trimming for mowing around our properties, my neighbor and I invested in a Samurai Sabre Cutter between us. For now, it’ll be mounted and used on my B2650.

The standard mount is made to clamp to any loader bucket. But with the thinner material on the sides of the B2650’s loader bucket, extra mounting/stiffener plates between the clamps are useful and/or needed to minimize flexing, etc. Switching the cutter between the two sides would be tedious. A more convenient means of mounting the cutter in different positions would be nice for our situation. Especially for trimming the inside corners of our hedges.

Some removeable custom brackets mounted to my forklift's SSQA framework could be fabricated, but that was looking like a lot of work and time spent on reconfiguring that SSQA. Something simpler was needed. So here’s what I came up with to both ease the mounting of and custom configure the cutter for our various trimming duties:

2” sq. tubing is used in the “breakaway mount” for the Samurai cutter between its adjustable side plates. Thus, 2” sq. tubing fits between the side plates at the opposite end…..and conveniently, there are matching ½” holes in the spacer plates that could be used for pinning the cutter to a new mounting system.


The final design turned out to be very simple after some thinking and taking measurements. A blank SSQA plate and some 2” square tubing with matching mounting holes were welded onto it. No mods to the original break away mount were needed. The Samurai can also be rotated and remounted on its own “breakaway arm”. Now the cutter can just be slipped over those mounting posts and quickly pinned in place to cover our different cutting needs.

Here’s pics of the SSQA mount and the 2” sq. tubing posts. 7 ft. hydraulic hose length turned out to be a good fit to accommodate all the mounting positions.


Here are different tractor right side mounting positions. Either upper or lower post can be used for any of these positions.


Here’s the tractor left hand side mounting in the vertical down position. This side position just makes it easier to finish trimming the vertical sides into inside corners. But it can also be used for horizontal trimming, etc.


Future ideas:
I may cut out some holes in the SSQA plate to make it lighter.

Also thinking of making a wall bracket (inside or outside) that could hold the SSQA plate by the posts which would allow for easy "on/off" while sitting in the tractor seat.

If we wind up switching cutter positions frequently, another set of quick couplers right on the cutter itself would be handy for hydraulic hose control.

Once in use, I’ll make & attach some hose “guides” to route the hoses while the cutter is in the different positions. Plus installing some hose protection sleeves.

Will be running the cutter off of the hydraulic 3rd Function. As soon as my neighbor returns from a vacation…..we’ll be putting this cutter through it’s trial run. Until then..........Fingers Crossed!

 

[Elliott in GA]

Cool - I keep looking at the Samurai Sabre, but I do not think I have enough work for it. While I was thinking about it, I wondered about making a mounting bar/tube with a plate that could held by my grapple with some cut outs to ensure a rigid grip.

I like your SSQA plate method.

 

[Geezer3d]

I have also been looking at the Samurai Sabre. I have some hedges and other assorted brush that needs to be kept back from my 600 foot driveway and I am tired or doing it with a handheld hedge trimmer and brush cutter. I like your SSQA style mount a lot more than attaching the Sabre to the side of my bucket.

How thick is the blank SSQA that you used?

 

[bird dogger]

Cool - I keep looking at the Samurai Sabre, but I do not think I have enough work for it. While I was thinking about it, I wondered about making a mounting bar/tube with a plate that could held by my grapple with some cut outs to ensure a rigid grip.

I like your SSQA plate method.

Elliot, thanks for the comments! I have a lot of hedges, lawn area bordered by woods, windbreaks, etc. and have been beating back the growth with a gas powered trimmers, saws, pole saws, etc. for far too long. It's a never ending battle it seems. I've been thinking about this cutter for many years now. When the neighbor asked about his hedges and if I knew of an easier way to keep them trimmed ....... I had to insist that I get to pay half the cost vs. him paying the full cost! We're hoping this will be a game changer for our trimming maintenance. We'll soon find out and I'll post back.

The 2" square tube almost fits too tightly inside the adapter. It turned out to be a very solid mounting method.

David

I have also been looking at the Samurai Sabre. I have some hedges and other assorted brush that needs to be kept back from my 600 foot driveway and I am tired or doing it with a handheld hedge trimmer and brush cutter. I like your SSQA style mount a lot more than attaching the Sabre to the side of my bucket.

How thick is the blank SSQA that you used?

Thanks for the compliments, Geezer! Sounds like we're in similar situations. Hand held gas trimmers and pole saws are a real workout. And even more so, now that our kids are gone and the duty all falls on me.

The blank SSQA plate I used is 3/8" thick......but only because it was readily available and not that much more expensive than a 1/4" plate. Pretty sure the 1/4" plate would be plenty stout enough for this duty, and easier to mount on the loader. But a dedicated "hanger bracket" in a convenient location would eliminate the need to lift the plate onto the loader by hand. That's going to be next on the project's agenda!!

David

 

[Daferris]

I like your idea. Yes I think 1/4" plate probably would work as well. For your 2" square tube what gauge (wall thickness did you use)?
I would love to hear how the Samurai Sabre works. I have a lot of branches and brush that are starting to become an issue but most of them are more than 8' off the ground and the pole saw gets to be a pain after a while. Plus all the kids have moved out years ago....
I have looked at that cutter off and on for a year or so but just not sure how well it works. My concern is that the brush unless it's stiff will just get pushed around rather than getting cut.

Please let us know how well it works!

Only challenge is if I get much more "tractor" stuff I am going to run out of room in the barn!
Dave

 

[bird dogger]

I like your idea. Yes I think 1/4" plate probably would work as well. For your 2" square tube what gauge (wall thickness did you use)?
I would love to hear how the Samurai Sabre works. I have a lot of branches and brush that are starting to become an issue but most of them are more than 8' off the ground and the pole saw gets to be a pain after a while. Plus all the kids have moved out years ago....
I have looked at that cutter off and on for a year or so but just not sure how well it works. My concern is that the brush unless it's stiff will just get pushed around rather than getting cut.

Please let us know how well it works!

Only challenge is if I get much more "tractor" stuff I am going to run out of room in the barn!
Dave

Dave, it's a lighter gauge tubing. I believe 16 gauge. It was from a short length that I found in the scrap bin and figured in the short lengths welded to the SSQA it would be plenty strong. And it appears it will be adequately strong enough. Plus, the Samurai mount has a break away action that will activate long before that tube breaks.

The cutter is heavy so I won't be traveling along in road gear with it bouncing and stressing the tube. For around the farmstead it should work just fine.

I won't be able to retire my pole saw but this cutter will sure make the majority of the trimming much much easier. There are a few Youtube videos out there with one in use. From those videos it seems the trick is not to rush the cutter, but to let it do the cutting as you ease into the work. We shall see.

I agree, finding a spot to store this new attachment is going to take more time and effort than making the SSQA for it!! But that's a good problem to have, isn't it?
David

 

[civlized]

Hi gentlemen,
I, very recently, purchased the Sabre Samurai and have been trolling the internet looking at what others have been doing with it and different ways to mount. I'm not in the Kubota club, I have a Massey Ferguson GC1723eb. I read this thread and felt like we were all siting in my shop telling stories. I wanted to join and give you my experience with the Samurai and my small tractor, just to help give everyone another opinion.

I have around 12 acres of land that I have to maintain and, as all of us, I'm getting older. I'm all into smarter not harder. So, I bit the bullet and ordered this Samurai. What used to take me 5 or 6 weekends was accomplished in less than 4 hours! And I didn't have to beg my wife for a massage, no pain pills needed.

I don't like the original mount and I did get the deluxe bracket. The clamp on the side of a bucket leaves a lot, A LOT, to be desired. I'm in process of making a SSQA plate for mine, also. I want to have it slide out 2-3 feet, because it leaves you too close to the angry bugs and sharp sticks if just clamped to the bucket. I want it to be able to slide up and down, because I have a small tractor and sometimes, just a little further reach is necessary. Also, I want to be able to adjust the angle of cut from my seat, because I am lazy! When doing all of these functions, I'm leaning toward using linear actuators and a wireless remote instead of hydraulics, mainly cost and weight. Hydraulics would take quite a bit of plumbing, valves, hoses, and basically stopping the cutting action while moving any cylinder due to my low hydraulic flow. I think I can do what I want for a little less weight, a lot less money, easier to control, and no loss of cutting while repositioning by using 12 volt actuators. Also, I've been looking at building my own extended limb saw with a battery powered chain saw, so the wireless thing has been a bug in my ear for a while. I'll save that for another thread.

Also, a note for us small tractor guys that might be interested in the Samurai, if you are around 3GPM on hydraulics, it will work. However, if you use 1/2 inch hoses, your flow rate might be reduced. I found this after my initial install. My tractor has 3/8 hoses for the 3rd function. I used 1/2 hoses to the Samurai, thinking more flow volume, without thinking about the supply hoses. The Samurai worked, but it was just a little too slow and got stuck several times. I felt like if the speed was just a little higher, it may not stall as bad. So, I got to thinking that a smaller hose might increase the pressure and flow rate a little, then I noticed my 3rd function hose sizes. Changed the hoses to 3/8 and it works much better! I'll be honest and confess that 1/4 may be a test in my future.

I ordered several spare cutting teeth, bolts, and nuts when I ordered the Samurai. I think I will need the teeth fairly soon. I did put it through a stress test cutting my property. I ended up getting the teeth stuck on a large limb. While reversing the tractor very slowly and working my 3rd function back and forth, I've been able to get out of any bad situations, so far. Being able to reverse hydraulic flow QUICKLY is very important with this attachment. However, in one situation (previous mentioned limb), I reversed the tractor too much while still stuck in the limb and bent 2 teeth. When I got out of the limb, the Samurai would only half cycle in either direction. It took a few minutes to see the two teeth that were bent into each other. I didn't change the teeth, I just broke off the bent part of the teeth and went back to work. It still cut just fine this way.

I'll get back with pics of the mount if anyone is interested. So far, I'm thrilled with the Samurai except for the mount.
I think I'll have about 2/3 the cost of the cutter just in the mount! And that is with me doing all of the work. Tractors and toys are expensive.

 

[Smokeydog]

How big a limb will it cut?

 

[civlized]

How big a limb will it cut?

Hi Smokeydog,
It's rated for 1.5 inch. Experience so far, that is a bit of a stretch. Yes, it will cut 1.5 inch, but not fast. Pine or some other soft wood is no problem, but has to take several bites to eat through it. Hard woods, not so much. It's too slow for my liking on larger hardwood. Luckily, most of my land is either pines or smaller diameter limbs, so it is working well for my use. Probably won't throw the pole saw in the trash just yet, but I sure am glad to not be using it much.
I've gone through a few that were around 2 inches, but slowly. Around 1.25 and down is fast and seemingly effortless.

 

[GrizBota]

Those trimmers look just like the sickle bar mower I used to use with the old Ford 8N, but vertical vs horizontal. Relative to a flail mower, I suppose these samurai mowers require less flow?

 

[civlized]

Those trimmers look just like the sickle bar mower I used to use with the old Ford 8N, but vertical vs horizontal. Relative to a flail mower, I suppose these samurai mowers require less flow?

Hi GrizBota,
I'll be honest and confess that I'm not very familiar with the flow requirements on most sickles or flails. If I recall correctly, I think most of them are around 10GPM. If that is true, then yes, the Samurai is lower. Its flow rate is 3.5-4.5GPM and between 500-2000psi.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I'm not in the Kubota club, I have a Massey Ferguson GC1723eb. I read this thread and felt like we were all siting in my shop telling stories. I wanted to join and give you my experience with the Samurai and my small tractor, just to help give everyone another opinion.

Also, I've been looking at building my own extended limb saw with a battery powered chain saw, so the wireless thing has been a bug in my ear for a while. I'll save that for another thread.

Welcome aboard! Most of us will treat you right, most of the time.

I started a battery eLimbinator project some time ago, but got sidetracked. I wanted to use my 40v brushless Ryobi chainsaw. I got as far as modifying the saw. See the pretty picture

That jack over the B is the interface. There is a small relay inside the saw that, when activated with a 12v signal, turns on the saw. I thought that using an active signal would be safer than just closing a contact. So I ran a wire from the power outlet on the dash, through a trigger switch on the joystick, to the jack. The Ryobi has a variable speed control, so a potentiometer has to be shorted for full speed as well as the on-off switch.

I got that part sorted out, but never mounted the saw on the loader. If anyone needs details on that Ryobi saw, let me know and I'll dig it out.

 

[Smokeydog]

Having forward and reverse on a LimbSaw is essential. It lets the saw crawl out of cut if in a bind. Try not get ever bind but it happens and don’t want loader force on the saw. Be advantageous if you could figure out how an electric saw could be reversed. Don’t know if it rugged enough for LimbSaw type work.

Many hours spent on managing forest encroachment. So any tooling to help reduce effort and time appreciated.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Having forward and reverse on a LimbSaw is essential. It lets the saw crawl out of cut if in a bind. Try not get ever bind but it happens and don’t want loader force on the saw. Be advantageous if you could figure out how an electric saw could be reversed. Don’t know if it rugged enough for LimbSaw type work.

Many hours spent on managing forest encroachment. So any tooling to help reduce effort and time appreciated.
View attachment 102166

Yeah, I saw posts on here of somebody building a hydraulic saw and using their third function to power it. That looks a lot better and not too hard to do. When I started, I didn't have third function, but now I do.

I don't think there's a reverse control function on the Ryobi, might could swap a couple of the output power wires.

 

[civlized]

Welcome aboard! Most of us will treat you right, most of the time.

I started a battery eLimbinator project some time ago, but got sidetracked. I wanted to use my 40v brushless Ryobi chainsaw. I got as far as modifying the saw. See the pretty picture
View attachment 102154
That jack over the B is the interface. There is a small relay inside the saw that, when activated with a 12v signal, turns on the saw. I thought that using an active signal would be safer than just closing a contact. So I ran a wire from the power outlet on the dash, through a trigger switch on the joystick, to the jack. The Ryobi has a variable speed control, so a potentiometer has to be shorted for full speed as well as the on-off switch.

I got that part sorted out, but never mounted the saw on the loader. If anyone needs details on that Ryobi saw, let me know and I'll dig it out.

Hi PoTreeBoy,
Thanks for the welcome.
I haven't been on any kind of board in a while, probably since my motorized bicycle days. Sometimes I get the bug to tinker and share with others, steal ideas, etc! I want to do something very similar with my Ryobi 40v. I've been using the 14in saw for years and recently bought the 18in. I use these in my bucket truck most of the time. No need to lean out and try to crank a gas saw. I lost a good Husqvarna that way. Now, I also tether my saws to the bucket!

Anyway, I'm going to use wireless with a voltage converter and let the saw battery power the wireless receiver. The wireless unit is 4 channel, so I could potentially use 2 channels for the saw and another 2 channels to power either a directional change or angle change linear actuator. Not sure which I would prefer at the moment. I'm leaning toward angle control over directional. I'm not in the tree business, most of the time, but just moonlighting on my property.

Thanks for sharing your project up to this point. I do plan on doing something similar and will get to that after I finish the mount for my Samurai saw. I hope to wrap up most of the work on the Samurai this coming weekend.

 

[civlized]

Having forward and reverse on a LimbSaw is essential. It lets the saw crawl out of cut if in a bind. Try not get ever bind but it happens and don’t want loader force on the saw. Be advantageous if you could figure out how an electric saw could be reversed. Don’t know if it rugged enough for LimbSaw type work.

Many hours spent on managing forest encroachment. So any tooling to help reduce effort and time appreciated.
View attachment 102166

Hi Smokeydog,
Thanks for the input. From everything I've read about hydraulic saws, and my experience with cutting trees, I would agree that reverse would be great if it is possible with an electric saw. I am going to experiment with that and see what I can do. I'm pretty sure the dc motor in a battery powered saw can be reversed. We shall see. I'll try to not let the smoke out. Amazing how smoke is what makes stuff work. As soon as you let it out, it doesn't work any more!

How long of a pole saw is that in the picture? And is the angle adjustable near the end of the pole?
Thanks,

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Hi Smokeydog,
Thanks for the input. From everything I've read about hydraulic saws, and my experience with cutting trees, I would agree that reverse would be great if it is possible with an electric saw. I am going to experiment with that and see what I can do. I'm pretty sure the dc motor in a battery powered saw can be reversed. We shall see. I'll try to not let the smoke out. Amazing how smoke is what makes stuff work. As soon as you let it out, it doesn't work any more!

How long of a pole saw is that in the picture? And is the angle adjustable near the end of the pole?
Thanks,

As I recall, the brushless Ryobi is not a conventional DC motor. It has permanent magnets in the rotor and the controller converts DC to 3-phase variable-frequency and -voltage to produce the magic. You might be able to switch 2 of the outputs for reverse. Reverse in the controller would have been easy to design in (like a drill/driver) but it probably wasn't since it wasn't needed for a saw. Keep us posted.

 

[Smokeydog]

Hi Smokeydog,
Thanks for the input. From everything I've read about hydraulic saws, and my experience with cutting trees, I would agree that reverse would be great if it is possible with an electric saw. I am going to experiment with that and see what I can do. I'm pretty sure the dc motor in a battery powered saw can be reversed. We shall see. I'll try to not let the smoke out. Amazing how smoke is what makes stuff work. As soon as you let it out, it doesn't work any more!

How long of a pole saw is that in the picture? And is the angle adjustable near the end of the pole?
Thanks,

About 13’

About 25’ reach.
The end is hinged, foldable and adjustable.
Important!!! The weight of the saw moves carries it thru the cut not the hydraulics.

The <1.5” diameter face slappers can be cut moving slowly down the road. 2” cuts less than half second. Generates piles of limbs quickly.

 

[civlized]

As I recall, the brushless Ryobi is not a conventional DC motor. It has permanent magnets in the rotor and the controller converts DC to 3-phase variable-frequency and -voltage to produce the magic. You might be able to switch 2 of the outputs for reverse. Reverse in the controller would have been easy to design in (like a drill/driver) but it probably wasn't since it wasn't needed for a saw. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to look for that. Mine is not brushless, but I'll check it out. You now have me curious on the electronics in there.

 

[civlized]

About 13’
View attachment 102198
About 25’ reach.
The end is hinged, foldable and adjustable.
Important!!! The weight of the saw moves carries it thru the cut not the hydraulics.

The <1.5” diameter face slappers can be cut moving slowly down the road. 2” cuts less than half second. Generates piles of limbs quickly.

Thanks!
Yes, I've looked at some of the off the shelf versions. I think I can get what I want for less than $100, compared to over $2K for the built units. I already have most of the parts and saw. I just need the voltage converter, depending on what I find for needing reverse.
I have noticed the hinged part and the weight of the saw pushing through the cut while looking at other units. I plan to use a gas cylinder, like a car hood or hatch support to help with that problem.
I think I remember looking at this saw on another post. You built that, correct? If so, good job! It looks great.