OMEF · Grapple saw

OMEF GS400

Name: OMEF GS400
Brand: OMEF

Compact 390 kg grapple saw for 5-8 t excavators with 360-degree control and 1,500 kg workload.

7 published specificationsAustralian representation: Randalls

Positioning

Where this machine sits

The GS400 is a compact grapple saw — 390 kg on 5-8 tonne excavators, 400 mm maximum cut, a 950 mm trunk hold and 1,500 kg maximum workload, with 360-degree rotation. That combination is specified for controlled removal in confined settings rather than for production felling.

The specification worth reading carefully is the 1,500 kg workload alongside the 400 mm cut. Those two figures describe the same constraint from different directions: the saw can sever 400 mm material, and the attachment can hold 1,500 kg — and a long 400 mm green hardwood section will test the second figure before the first.

Published figures

Specifications

Indicative published manufacturer and distributor information. Confirm every figure, lift chart and hydraulic requirement with the manufacturer or authorised dealer before purchase.

Excavator class	5-8 t
Weight	390 kg
Maximum trunk hold	950 mm
Maximum workload	1,500 kg
Maximum cut diameter	400 mm
Hydraulic flow	30-60 L/min
Rotation	360-degree control

Interpretation

What the published figures actually constrain

A specification table tells you what the machine is. This is what each of those numbers means for the work you would put it to.

Published figure	What it means commercially
5-8 t excavator class, 390 kg	Sized for small carriers that can reach restricted urban and corridor sites. Access is what this class exists to solve.
400 mm maximum cut, 1,500 kg maximum workload	The two bounds that matter, and they interact. A long section at 400 mm can exceed 1,500 kg, which makes the workload figure the operative limit on heavy material.
950 mm maximum trunk hold	What the grapple can close around, which can exceed what the saw cuts. Useful for handling material already severed.
360-degree rotation, 30-60 L/min flow	Rotation is what allows deliberate placement of each section — the point of a grapple saw. The modest flow requirement suits small carriers.

Before it fits

The four checks that decide whether your carrier can run this

Each of these can fail independently, and passing one says nothing about the others. Weight class alone is the weakest of the four and the one most often relied on.

Check	For this attachment
Mass the carrier must control at reach	390 kg plus rotator and coupler, on a 5-8 t excavator. Access is what this class is for, so the smallest carrier meeting the chart is usually right.
Continuous hydraulic flow	30-60 L/min — modest, and within reach of most carriers in the class. Confirm the rotator circuit as well as the saw.
Working pressure	Verify pressure at the flow the saw and rotator draw together.
What usually binds first	The 1,500 kg maximum workload, not the 400 mm cut. A long green hardwood section reaches that weight at a smaller diameter than the saw rating suggests.

Commercial fit

Where this machine earns its cost

Right machine when

Urban and roadside removals where sections must be lowered under control
Utility and rail corridor work on a compact, easily transported carrier
Jobs where mobilisation speed and access decide profitability

Wrong machine when

Heavy green hardwood limbs — the 1,500 kg workload, not the 400 mm cut, is the real limit
Production felling measured in tonnes per hour

Before you sign

Verify these for this specific model

Beyond the standard buying criteria for the class, these are the questions this machine in particular raises.

Carrier lift chart at working radius minus 390 kg, rotator and coupler
Green hardwood section weight against the 1,500 kg maximum workload
Whether a case drain is required on your carrier

Running cost

What drives the cost of owning this machine

Grapple saws earn by changing which work you can quote, not by cutting faster. Removals beside buildings, services and traffic that would otherwise need climbing, rigging or a crane become viable with a small carrier, and that is where the return is.

Small carrier plus compact attachment is a low-capital route into mechanised removal, and the carrier stays useful for other work.

Saw chain, bar and rotator service are the recurring costs. Urban material carries grit and occasional foreign objects, which affects chain life more than clean forestry work does.

In practice

Ownership considerations in Australian conditions

The workload figure usually binds before the cut figure

Calculate the weight of the sections you intend to hold, not just their diameter. On heavy green hardwood the 1,500 kg limit is reached at a shorter section than most buyers expect.

Check the carrier's chart at reach

The attachment's workload is one limit; the carrier's lift chart with the attachment, rotator and coupler fitted is the other. Both have to pass at the geometry the work uses.

Match the class to your access

A 5-8 tonne carrier reaches sites larger machines cannot. If most of your work has good access, a larger combination will handle more material for a similar effort.

Questions

Common questions about this machine

Is a grapple saw worth it for a small arboriculture business?

The case rests on how many removals you currently decline, subcontract, or complete slowly by climbing and rigging because sections cannot fall freely. A grapple saw holds each section through the cut and places it deliberately, which is what work beside buildings and services needs. If that describes a regular share of your jobs, it changes what you can quote; if most of your work is open-site, it will not pay for itself on speed.

Which limit binds first — cut diameter or workload?

Usually workload, on heavy material. The saw's 400 mm rating describes what it can sever, but a long green hardwood section at that diameter can exceed the attachment's 1,500 kg workload well before the saw reaches its limit. Calculate section weight, not just diameter, when planning how the removal will be sequenced.

What carrier should this go on?

One in the published 5-8 tonne class that can reach the sites your work is actually on, and whose lift chart supports the attachment plus the sections you will hold at working reach. Access is what this combination is for, so the right carrier is usually the smallest one that meets the chart — not the largest one in the class.

Same class

Alternatives to compare against

Other grapple saws covered in this guide.

GMT

GMT050

420 kg grapple saw with 1,220 mm opening, 550 mm single cut and 800 mm double-cut capacity.

In service

Fleet packages that use this class

Package E

Utility vegetation management

Work for electricity networks, rail operators, road authorities, councils, mining companies, pipeline operators and renewable-energy developers. Precision and transportability matter more than raw production.