Using skidding tongs

[knute_m]

Gosh, I'm not sure what to say. I've got tongs that go back more than 100 years. I've also got some recently purchased Chinese tongs.

I grew up logging and farming where we were still using a team of Belgian horses for a lot of our daily work. As a pre-teen, teen, and into my 20's, I cut, skidded, and loaded/unloaded innumerable cords of wood. I couldn't even begin to estimate how many logs I've hooked with tongs.

Just this evening, I loaded my old F700 dump truck with more than a full load of 12-ft by 16-22 inch oak logs with the loader bucket on my tractor/backhoe (yeah, I know, no lifting with skidding tongs - but 60 years of doing it ...). The lifting was all done with several tongs, ranging from relatively new, to some that are well over 100 years old. Except for paint on the newer sets, it would be difficult to determine one set from another.

My feeling is, the problems mentioned above are coming from inexperience. Find a crusty old dude like me to work with you for a while. I still can out work most with my "cordless armstrong" tools vs., today's battery operated cordless tools -- yet, I have a lot of good modern tools.

Old Fart,
Knute

 

[knute_m]

ol.com/shop/tools/product_200426733_200426733]I invested in this pretty heavy duty tong, which has fairly sharp points on it.

Never used one before. If the wood is a little soft, will this bury itself in so it's hard to get it off the log.
Does one need to carry a mallet or hand sledge.

.

Yes, carry a small sledge or "engineer's" hammer with you. A quick rap below the chain hook will quickly drop the points out of any log.

 

[pjbci]

Dropping your tongs on top of the log then pulling is a sure way to bend then. The tongs need to pull at the end of the log. If you are going to drop them over the top, then place them close enough to the cut that when you start to pull, the arms can pivot past the butt of the log. If they cannot pivot past the butt and pull inline there will be a tremndous amount of leverage sideways on the arms that will bend them everytime.

 

[TomSeller]

Dropping your tongs on top of the log then pulling is a sure way to bend then. The tongs need to pull at the end of the log. If you are going to drop them over the top, then place them close enough to the cut that when you start to pull, the arms can pivot past the butt of the log. If they cannot pivot past the butt and pull inline there will be a tremndous amount of leverage sideways on the arms that will bend them everytime.

Good reminder.

 

[daugen]

Dropping your tongs on top of the log then pulling is a sure way to bend then. The tongs need to pull at the end of the log. If you are going to drop them over the top, then place them close enough to the cut that when you start to pull, the arms can pivot past the butt of the log. If they cannot pivot past the butt and pull inline there will be a tremndous amount of leverage sideways on the arms that will bend them everytime.

:thumbsup:

thanks, I'll definitely remember this good advice.

 

[TLR15]

Mine are sharp and I caught one tip on my brand new muck boots. Tore a hole right through 'em:duh:

 

[gizmo111]

Where can I buy a set of tongs?

 

[luvmexfood]

Picked up a set at tractor supply Monday. They were sort of hard to find but were with the chainsaws. Good price compared to the internet price.

 

[TLR15]

Try baileysonline.com

 

[JHTFarmer]

@daugen


Those are light duty tongs (the ones from TSC). You can easily tear them up with that 59hp Kubota skidding a decent sized tree.

They do work well if used gently. Don't need a hammer as the points are fairly sharp.

Be very cautious with making a sharp turn when skidding something heavy (that's how they get bent)

I had a set a ways back and bent them the first day (like some of the others have said). I was excited about pulling a heavy log with ease and went around a corner and bent them up real good. And that was with a little 40hp case DX40.