Brand-new brand name: contractor Shawn MacPhee got Timberjack's first John Deere machines in North America. His latest purchase, the 1063 harvester, has his new commercial thinning operation humming

Canadian Forest Industries, Jul/Aug 2002 by McCallum, Bruce

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Shawn MacPhee likes things hot off the press. When Timberjack produced its first machines under the John Deere name and colours - 1263 harvester and 1158 forwarder - the contractor from Upper Rawdon, NS, was the first in North America to snap them up (see CFI, February 2002). In December, he bought a second John Deere harvester, this time a mid-sized 1063 commercial thinning machine - also the first off the line from Scandinavia. MacPhee bought the latest machine at the request of his employer, Bowater Mersey Nova Scotia, and set up MacPhee Commercial Thinning. Bowater Mersey has been doing pre-commercial thinning (PCT) in natural stands of mainly red spruce and balsam fir in Nova Scotia for about 20 years.

"We knew that thinning these PCT stands would increase productivity and reduce future harvesting costs," says woodlands operations manager Robert Oxenham. "And we knew that we needed a mid-sized harvester with a long reach that could thin from the trail. We have pretty rough terrain down here with a lot of slope and rocks. We have done trials with small harvesters working in ghost trails, but found our terrain to be too limiting."

The John Deere 1063 first appeared in Europe in 2000 as the Timberjack 1070. In spite of the yellow and black colours, there is no doubt that the 1063 comes out of the Timberjack stable. At first glance, it looks to be a clone of the 1270, but closer examination reveals that, while the machines have the same cabin, the 1063 is a smaller brother of the 1270: in length, 6 600 mm for the 1063 versus 7 205 for the 1270; width, 2 620 mm with the standard 600 mm tires versus 2 860; weight, 13 800 kg versus 16 900 kg; engine, Cummins 6BTA 5.9 L 123 kW versus Cummins 6CT 8.3 L 163 kW; parallel crane, lighter TJ 180 H97 versus TJ 200 H.

In spite of the differences, the 1063/1070 shares many components with other Timberjack machines including: the TMC (Total Machine Control) system, the same electrical system and crane valve and the balanced bogies. John Deere engines are reported to be coming in Timberjack machines in 2002.

Three Options

The 1063/1070 replaced the smaller, 4WD Timberjack 870 harvester, which was widely sold in Europe as a second thinning and small-tree clearcut machine, but which was deemed unsuitable for the North American market. Deere offers three heads for the 1063: the lightweight but powerful 742 thinning head; the 745 used by MacPhee, which is a similar but more robust thinning head that can deal with tougher delimbing requirements; and the larger and considerably heavier 752, which can delimb trees up to 550 mm and be used for clearcutting as well as second thinnings. All three heads have four feed wheels, two moving and two that are fix-mounted on the chassis.

By the middle of June, MacPhee's new harvester had 1 850 hours on the meter. "It's absolutely the right machine," he declares. "In fact, I have another one specked out that I will mainly use on private land if I can line up enough work." MacPhee finds that the production of the machine in a thinning averages about 2 cords per hour. "The range is 1-3.5 cords per hour, but 2 cords is typical. We also did a small clearcut and there was no great difference. Fuel consumption is 10-12 litres per hour, which is only slightly lower than the 1263. The 1063 has less horsepower, but the engine runs at a bit higher RPM."

Gets Better Grip

Operator Jaimie Church is also keen on the 1063. "I actually like it better than the 1263. There are lots of storage compartments on this machine - you don't have to store anything in the cab. The noise level is about the same. It is more stable with the light 745 head and it seems to travel easier than the 1263."

MacPhee feels that the new Hultdins tracks on this machine help its traveling because they get a better grip on the rocks. The 1063 has an effective reach of 10 metres off the trail. "You can reach in and fell a good sized tree at full reach," he says. "You can't lift it, but you can pull it in and process it at the trail." And Deere has taken some considerable care to make the new machine more user-friendly. "The 1063 is easier to service. The access to filters and the oil discharge and fill spouts is much better on this machine."

MacPhee is also happy with the performance of the 745 head. "The delimbing is good. The 4WD with the extra two feed wheels on the chassis helps, too," he says. The delimbing knives and the feed wheels are all close together, which helps the head delimb somewhat curved trees.

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And Bowater Mersey is happy, too. "This is still a developing operation, but we are more than pleased to date with the performance of the John Deere 1063 and Shawn MacPhee," Oxenham says. "Shawn is a very organized and competent contractor. His thinning operation has not suffered from the same learning curve that many would have. His production is pretty much on target. In less than six months, he has produced more than 50% of his projected annual production of 15 600 tonnes."