How do you hook your Log tongs to draw bar?

[MF1652]

Nick, I've seen some pretty nice skidding set ups on this forum, but a chain with a slip hook attached to your draw bar will always get the job done. It's really cheap as well.

 

[roger 4400]

Nick, maybe you could make yourself a logging arch that tour tractor could pull it,s on wheels so less traction.( I use one with my ATV). Look into the "forestry forum" and do some search you will find some models you could do yourself . I know money is always an issue........till it happens....as I stated before, my tractor flipped almpost to the *no-return point*, I was looking at the sky, not the horizon , the sky ,when my engine stalled and the tractor hit the ground so strongly that the battery popped out from under the hood. IT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE THAT MOMENT , I felt safe and believe me it happened so fast you could not believe. I was in 1 st gear, iddling it is what cause the engine to stall (luckily), any higher rpm I would not be here to warn you and the others .....things just happens I know..but if you can avoid them and enjoy life do so. (I always felt safe on my tractor, not reckless but that day I had a humility lesson for the rest of my life....things just happens...).Enjoy your tractor, enjoy logging ( I still do with a Farmi ) enjoy life AND BE SAFE. Roger

 

[Famah]

Does anyone have a link for the "forestry forum"? There goes another chunk of my nonexistent free time! Thank you.

Nick

 

[20 20]

If you read this safety forum enough, and about tractor safety in general, I think you'd find the majority of accidents happen to well experienced operators who have become complacent.

Very well said RoyJackson, sometimes we get tired in a hurry or just over confident. I feel sometimes the over confidence can come from all the safety devices. I'm not saying safety devices are bad but, NOTHING, nothing, can replace operator responsibility.

 

[20 20]

Exactly. Which brings us back to the flip over....even experienced safe operators can run into an unexpected situation that develops far faster than any human can adequately respond to before physics takes over and all that power/momentum/mass suddenly takes us out. Cannot eliminate the risk but we sure need to try to minimize it.:thumbsup:

Agreed :thumbsup:

 

[20 20]

Does anyone have a link for the "forestry forum"? There goes another chunk of my nonexistent free time! Thank you.

Nick

See if this will work

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?PHPSESSID=fbfbf612786790f93c5f6ddd63af1530&

 

[arrow]

How long does someone have to do something with a particular method before it is deemed "suitable". So if 20-20 has logged with his 3 pt for 30 years and myself have logged this way going on 30 years without incident, I would rather look at it as a reasonable risk in line with playing baseball or hockey or whatever rather than terming it "dumb" . There are some people who regard such risk as "dumb" even with protective gear. Island makes a good point about individuals and the info going out . One's survivability depends on one's own survival instinct. Many, but of course not all, of the horror stories you read about happen to people with lower instincts while others are quite cagey, calculating and careful. There are people who I know that I would not suggest them driving at all and there are people I would suggest not picking up a chainsaw not because both things are inherently dangerous but being more concerned with the personality of the person involved with the risk. Knowing variables is key to lessening risks.There are other varibles to consider when logging with cuts. I'm in an area where it snows. All of my skidding is done in winter which reduces surface tension. If one is in an area of non snow, a good set up may be using the 3 pt with a small arch at the end of the log being skidded.
It is always wise to preface any advice because of not knowing the operator's characteristics, temperment, abilities and equipment. There are reasons my tractor has not come close to being in a dangerous situation when skidding just as there are reasons why Roger 4400 had a pucker moment. The "whys" of things go a long way to staying safe when being involved with risk no matter what the degree one wishes to partake in whether going 300 mph in AA/fuel vehicle or going lion hunting while naked armed only with a knife. The higher degree of risk, the more the whys become important until you reach a point of saying the most important why of all...."why am I doing this" That point varies for everyone.

 

[lmalcomb]

Nick, maybe you could make yourself a logging arch that tour tractor could pull it,s on wheels so less traction.( I use one with my ATV). Look into the "forestry forum" and do some search you will find some models you could do yourself . I know money is always an issue........till it happens....as I stated before, my tractor flipped almpost to the *no-return point*, I was looking at the sky, not the horizon , the sky ,when my engine stalled and the tractor hit the ground so strongly that the battery popped out from under the hood. IT NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE THAT MOMENT , I felt safe and believe me it happened so fast you could not believe. I was in 1 st gear, iddling it is what cause the engine to stall (luckily), any higher rpm I would not be here to warn you and the others .....things just happens I know..but if you can avoid them and enjoy life do so. (I always felt safe on my tractor, not reckless but that day I had a humility lesson for the rest of my life....things just happens...).Enjoy your tractor, enjoy logging ( I still do with a Farmi ) enjoy life AND BE SAFE. Roger

Thank you Roger for your submission, I for one GET it. No log is worth your life. After being employed as a firefighter for the last 26 years i can tell you the first thing people say to me on arrival at their scene is," I can't believe this is happening to me'" . It seems people always think the "bad things" only happen to someone else.

 

[IslandTractor]

How long does someone have to do something with a particular method before it is deemed "suitable". So if 20-20 has logged with his 3 pt for 30 years and myself have logged this way going on 30 years without incident, I would rather look at it as a reasonable risk in line with playing baseball or hockey or whatever rather than terming it "dumb" . .

I understand your point but would also note that you and 20-20 are survivors of this practice. The guys who did not survive are not posting on TBN. The fact that some people go a lifetime smoking two packs of cigarettes a day does not mean that there is no serious risk to the practice.

As I've stated earlier, I used the word "dumb" to insure that it made an impression on a new tractor user or a first time log hauler that might otherwise blindly adopt the practice without considering the risks. It is the type of practice that will eventually disappear just as driving without seatbelts will disappear as the public gets over the natural reluctance to change old habits and considers the costs/benefits of a new safer practice. That doesn't mean everyone who still does it is dumb but perhaps I would consider that term, lightly, for someone just starting out who studies the options and risks and still decides to do it. Put it this way, your mother would definitely give you a dope slap if she knew you were doing something risky when there are reasonable safer alternatives.

 

[roger 4400]

Thank you Roger for your submission, I for one GET it. No log is worth your life. After being employed as a firefighter for the last 26 years i can tell you the first thing people say to me on arrival at their scene is," I can't believe this is happening to me'" . It seems people always think the "bad things" only happen to someone else.

I do not mean do not log, I DO SOME LOGGING MYSELF. I meant to do it the safest way possible. ( you were a firefighter, I was a police officer in Montreal Quebec for 30 years and almost got killed by humans more than my tractor) I do some logging and will do it for a long time but trying to do it with the safest tool FOR ME. Others ( I did not want to offense anyone) do it the way they feel confortable with. I only wanted to share an experience I had 5 years ago to help other people to think of their security and to never think that it cannot happen ( sometime I have little problems explaining myself precisely in english, I,m a french talking canadian.). In woods nothing is safe, felling, logging all is dangerous but real fun. Have fun as safely as possible. Roger