Abstract: A firewood stack retainer is used with standard 2×4 lumber to retain a stack of firewood sticks in a neat and tidy arrangement. The retainer is made of a stiff rectangular frame. The longitudinal members have a length similar to a width of a normal stack of firewood. The longitudinal members are spaced apart a distance equivalent to a hypotenuse of a right angle isosceles triangle with sides having a dimension equivalent to a thickness of a standard 2×4 piece of lumber. The rails and posts of the stack are mounted to the retainer in a relaxed fit. A relax tolerance of +10-15% of the hypotenuse, is preferably used so that the posts can lean back and remained in a locked position pending the stacking of firewood sticks on the rails and against the posts.

Abstract: A tool to dewire a bale of dry pulp, waste paper or the like. The tool grabs the wire, cuts it and retains the cut wire. The same sequence of operation is repeated for other wires. The tool then coils the cut wires and discharges the coils as waste. The tool comprises a support casing in which is rotatably mounted a vertical cylindrical tube. This tube includes at its bottom end a pair of opposite slots having a lower portion spiralling for about a quarter of a turn, and an upper portion which extends longitudinally of the tube. A grabber arm, operated by a hydraulic cylinders, is mounted within the tube for up-and-down movement. Wire bending elements and a cutter blade are also mounted within the tube. In operation the tool tube is positioned over a selected wire and applied on the bale. The tube is rotated about one-quarter of a turn to pick up the wire in its spiral slots and raise the wire off the bale. The grabber arm then hooks the wire and pulls the same up.

Abstract: A machine for untying bales, such as bales of paper in a papermill, and characterized by being adapted to hold the ties, such as wires or metal bands, until after cutting and disposal of the bundle of material from the ties such as to separately dispose of the ties to avoid the ensuing damages and maintenance and to reduce manual labor. The present machine comprises a trolley, a frame suspended to the trolley such as by a hoist, a plurality of cutting heads, one for each tie of a bale, movably suspended to the frame, with each cutting head characterized by a combination of a cutter and a pair of catch members arranged to sequentially catch and hold the ties during cutting and until after the bundle of material of the bale has been disposed of to separately dispose of the ties harmless of the equipment processing the bundle of material.