Skidding tongs

   / Skidding tongs #1  

B7500

Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2002
Messages
672
Location
Tupper Lake, NY
Tractor
Kubota B7500 HSD
If you use skidding tongs to move logs how well do they work? I'm thinking of buying one because just using a chain is a pain sometimes ( trying to fish it under a heavy log).
Thanks!
-Terry
 
   / Skidding tongs #2  
Terry,
I use tongs, they work well, if you don't exceed their capacity and ensure that they are set in the log. I carry a small axe with me and use it for tapping wedges and for setting the skidding tongs. There was a thread a while ago that discussed using skidding tongs attached to the 3PH for moving logs, however the best write up on tongs that I have seen is <font color="blue"> here </font>.
Bill
 
   / Skidding tongs #3  
Works great. I got tongs this spring and used them to move hundreds of logs. I put a solid bar between the arms of the 3 pt. and hung the tongs on that. That way I could raise one end of the log while dragging. With a little practice you can hook up and detach the log without getting off the tractor. That is a real time saver.

One caution. If you have heavy logs and a light tractor, you can bend the arms of the 3 pt. Having a solid bar between prevents the arms from bending inward.

Also, keep in mind that the tractor manufacturer, at least NH, says to NEVER use the 3 point hitch for pulling. They say use the drawbar. My logs were pretty light, so I thought it was OK. I couldn't see this putting on any more stress than draging my tiller, or boxblade. Maybe someone out there could let us know if this is a bad practice.
 
   / Skidding tongs #4  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Maybe someone out there could let us know if this is a bad practice. )</font> One of the main reasons for not towing with the 3 pt is rollover potential. The higher up you go on the tractor to pull, the more chance you'll lift up and over in a spit second. If one weights the front end, keeps the 3pt as low as possible and goes very slowly, it can be done, but if the log happens to catch a mound in the dirt, a large root or stump, the tractor (on its back tire fulcrum) can go over. It is always safest to pull from the draw bar, but I use a boom pole, and hook up as low as I can, closest to the tractor when pulling large trees. The tongs can be a great tool. I use my brother's successfully. Much easier than having to tie on. John
 
   / Skidding tongs #5  
Kiotijohn
Not wanting to argue with you, as pulling logs high with the 3pt whether boom pole or not, there is an inherent danger of the front end lifting up and coming back over. But realistically it is not in a split second (I interpret that as less than a second). Simply not true.

If pulling slow and steady (hard to do anything esle in the woods anyway) and the log catches, the front end will lift only as fast as the tractor is moving forward. If either of two things are done, it will stop. Either lower the 3pt, or stop moving forward. Both are reactions for which you have plenty of time, I have found since doing pulling this way for over 40 years with 3pt tractors.

Attached is how I do it now, and the FEL on the front helps to add weight. On my first 8N Ford, there was no weight on the front unless one or two guys would ride there. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I often use the tongs to grab the log in the woods, then lift it, and throw a chain around it so the log won't slip out on the drag out to the log deck.
 

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   / Skidding tongs #6  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Not wanting to argue with you, as pulling logs high with the 3pt whether boom pole or not, there is an inherent danger of the front end lifting up and coming back over. But realistically it is not in a split second (I interpret that as less than a second). Simply not true. )</font> I won't argue with you either, but I've read those famous last words on Tractor safety bulletins for years. Get on an uneven slope, one tire goes into a hole, have the log up too high and there you go. And you know yourself that many people who are not experienced try to do everything too fast in this impatient world, so I'd rather err on the side of misstating how fast it can happen and have them be more cautious than to say it can't happen. It can. John
 
   / Skidding tongs
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Actually,
These are what I had in mind to use with my bucket. The picture is my buddies I hope it comes out.
-Terry
 

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   / Skidding tongs
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Bill,
Thank you for linking that sight. Very informative. Also, thank you for serving this great country of ours.
-Terry
 
   / Skidding tongs #9  
I used skidding tong for pulling many logs out of the woods.
They work great. The tongs were mounted on a short boom pole. When the log was picked up with the tong I would the rap a chain around the log and hook the other end to the tractors drawbar. This would keep a load on the rear wheels for traction but the actual pulling was done with the drawbar.
See attached picture.
 
   / Skidding tongs #10  
Now, if you spread the chain so it makes a V with the ring that connects the clevis's lined up with the bottom lip of the bucket, you can rotate the tong's 90 degrees just by rolling the bucket forward or back. I don't know if that makes sense, but if you can decipher it, it let's you pick up a log no matter how it is oriented to your tractor. I love my tongs. Big time work saver. Get used to them and you'll be moving logs all over the place and never get off the tractor. Oh, I just realized, you have to run the chain through the ring to get the rotating effect.
 
 
 
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