Skidding logs

[Baby Grand]

I don't know WHY, but your tag line ONLY JUST figured itself out in my feeble little mind.
Perhaps your username has always distracted me, I am of the ebony and ivory 88 key persuasion - but as an engineer the moment/couple relationship SHOULD HAVE been obvious earlier (-:

My dad had a baby grand that he would plink away at whenever life got the better of him. He could hammer out some nice boogy-woogy, but it would drive my mom out of the house in a matter of minutes. After about a half hour, my sister and I would usually find something to do over at the neighbor's.

My L3240 is the smallest of the Grand Ls, so it's the baby Grand. And if life gets the better of me, there's no better cure than to go plink around the field on it.

The couple-moment quote is from a statics lecture. The prof was as dry as a box of hard tack and he said it without any meaning other than the physics meaning. I was dating a sweet gal and was kind of daydreaming about her during the lesson when he said it. I couldn't stop laughing, so he threw me out of class.

 

[Reg]

Why not just use chain hooks on the FEL and drive backwards? You can't do a wheelie then and you can lift the log easy enough. Has to be pretty big log to max out the FEL.

Just a few days ago I was pulling out logs from the hillside onto the road by using a choker on a 75' x 1/4" cable. I pulled at 90 deg to the log via a pulley attached to a tree on the opposite side of the road from the log. You don't want to pull in-line w/ a cable. If the cable breaks you could be sliced pretty good. Once the logs were on the road, it was easy to buck and split. (Actually, I did break the cable eventually, but we were hauling up a big tree that got caught on a stump. The 7500 lb tractor was no match for a 1/4" cable.)

Marcus

One could too do a (backwards front end) wheelie (-:
4WD required, with brain disengaged.

Speaking of disengaged brains;
Why would ANYONE pull on a chain or cable that could be broken ?

ALWAYS use cable or chain with WAY more strength than the available pulling force, or risk serious injury/death.
"Safety factor"

 

[pjbci]

I have been reading this thread along with some others and I am amazed at the complicated ways people can come up with to do the most simple and basic tasks. Ha.

 

[arrow]

I have been reading this thread along with some others and I am amazed at the complicated ways people can come up with to do the most simple and basic tasks. Ha.

Agreed but they are my most favorite kind of pictures and I can look at skidding and firewood making pictures all day long. I especially like yours Ken. This is the method I've used for almost 30 years and it has proven to be a safe, effective use for tractor stem skidding.

 

[jpm1]

I too have been reading this thread and agree totally with pjbci!
I don't want to sound like a 'mister know-it-all" but . . .skidding logs is not a rocket science. It is a common sense, manual labor job requiring a little thought first. #1 where are my chains , cable or may be rope? #2. Where is the tractor, and finally where do i want it? Yea i'm fortunate to have equipment to do this kinda work, i was basically raised this way so may be i have an advantage. Tractors are made for pullimg basically one way . . .Forward, thats why they mount the seat that way. If you go pulling with your front end loader dragging logs it will become an expensive ordeal. They are not made for this type of work.They are made for pushing, lifting and carrying.
I skidded with a farmall H for years, no 3pth, no fwd, no diff lock, just a chain, the tractor was never damaged, never broke anything and always got out a lot of wood each day. Dad always said, "don't make it more of a job than it is" Keep it simple, keep your self safe, keep it cheap! . . . John :thumbsup:

 

[woodlandfarms]

What about this?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...0oG4Bg&usg=AFQjCNGrPjwk3nPzPEd3LfMmbf2LMGPW9w

I personally use steel cable for skidding. I find cable much easier to work with but I also bundle 10 to 20 alders in a drag. Steel cable is easier to feed easier to handle and a lot lighter. But I work on slopes so.....

 

[schweizer]

re: sketch: Rorshach tractor blot?

We were using a Toyota Tacoma to pull at first, but that was just spinning its tires even in 4wd. The cable strength was much stronger than what the truck was able to pull. Using the tractor was much better. Cable is so much easier to use than chain for long lengths. Sure, if I was pulling right behind the tractor I'd use a chain. I'm also using a 7500 lb 45 hp tractor (incl backhoe & filled tires): it would be pretty hard to do a front wheelie if you keep the loader low, and the FEL on a tractor this size is big enough to handle a 12"-16" diameter log. OTOH, the cable now becomes the weak link, but the snatch-block takes away some of the danger factor. An advantage is that I have my eyes directed toward the work, unfortunately my partner didn't see the snag either. Just showing everyone another method...

That Montana Jack link was great! I'm going to look at those a little more. Thanks!

 

[Short Game]

I have been reading this thread along with some others and I am amazed at the complicated ways people can come up with to do the most simple and basic tasks. Ha.

Flat-landers!

 

[Short Game]

I was waiting for ol' Montana Jack to get spun around and dragged backwards down the hill. Downhill skidding on a little vehicle like a quad could be asking for trouble.


Here in the soaking wet hills of sunny SW Washington, stuff happens. Getting the tree on the ground where you want it, and getting it out of there, can frequently be quite challenging. Safe techniques for many situations have to be found. Expect the unexpected. Fifteen cords a year lets me get into a lot of learning experiences.

 

[Egon]

I was waiting for ol' Montana Jack to get spun around and dragged backwards down the hill. Downhill skidding on a little vehicle like a quad could be asking for trouble.


Here in the soaking wet hills of sunny SW Washington, stuff happens. Getting the tree on the ground where you want it, and getting it out of there, can frequently be quite challenging. Safe techniques for many situations have to be found. Expect the unexpected. Fifteen cords a year lets me get into a lot of learning experiences.

Gets kinda interesting when a towed log gets sideways, turns a too light tractor sideways and all wants to go downhill in a direction not chosen by the fellow sitting on the tractor!