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My woods are quite thick and dense.

I have seen no sign of either. With 50 acres of woodland that’s mostly pine, I’m thankful for that.

Pine harvesting is finally in full swing. Pic 3 last log of the day about 80 feet long, left 20 feet + top in the bush!

When my loader mounted plow begins to push the tractor one way or the other I correct it with the steering brakes

4000 acres, only one operator, whew that’s a big ask. I only have 50 acres and it keeps me busy. I use a JD 450c and an M6040 for logging and road building and consider it ideal for my situation.

Yes, they will be some of the framing for a drive shed the customer plans to build.

The woods are finally dry enough to start logging again. I have a large sawmill order, 2500 bf , that I need to log for. Hauled these babies out this morning to make into 2x10x 10’s

Once I realized the the PTO shield was hinged and could pivot out of the way, it was way easier to get my hands on and align the shaft with the stub

2010 M6040 bought used with 1100 hours 5 years ago now at 2250 hrs. Used exclusively for snow removal and logging.

After living without a generator for 35+ years, I finally broke down and bought a Champion 5500 inverter genset since it seems we have more power failures these days compared to the past. I do a monthly +- run and then run it dry. Only use non ethanol fuel. Pull starts easily each time. It can...

False alarm, the hex reference was for an Allen “hex” wrench. Dohh! All is well, oil and filter changed.

Like the title says when I insert a screw driver or use a hex wrench on the drain “bolt “, the soft plastic just deforms and doesn’t move. The manual says to push and turn the entire valve CC to open but it feels tightly bolted to the engine. Any advice? Thanks

Attempting to drain the oil from this new to me mower I found that the plastic “bolt “ that opens the valve won’t move. When I put a screw driver in it and try to open it, the soft plastic just deforms. Same thing if I use a hex wrench. The manual says push and turn the entire valve CC but it...

For comparison I went from an L4630 w/glideshift trans to an M6040 geared. Totally different machines from frame and wheel size to lifting And moving ability. I mostly use it for snow removal and logging which is the main reason I upgraded to be able to handle large timber. The L was fine when...

My daughter lives 8 miles south of me and that puts here home in Amazon Massachusetts service zone. My home, 8 miles north of my daughter’s, gets serviced from the New Hampshire warehouse. Daughter’s delivery usually 2 days and sometimes less!!! My delivery invariably is 3 days or more. 🤷

Vermont rust strikes again.😩

I have been waffling about getting a chipper. I am managing 50 acres of mostly white pine and hemlock with a some mixed hardwoods. When I log an area there is always 6 inch and under tops and limbs everywhere along with the variety of blowdowns, dead and dying trees of all sizes. I don’t intend...

That’s true and the hope is for mixed hardwoods regen

“You can look but you better not touch”

The theory behind this particular action is to promote new and perhaps more varied growth. Chances are some lower growth species will happen but the plan is for a mixed species and age to emerge over the coming decades.

Looking back through the now thinned hemlock stand from today’s last cut tree. It looks thicker than it actually is because of overlap of trees in the distance. Crown Spacing of the larger trees is around 18-20 feet. Still a bunch of sub 6 inch trees to cut.

This hemlock lot had not been cut for at least 60 years and likely never before that. So it was very dense and overstocked and consequently the trees tended to grow pretty straight although the twisty turnys were far more common and many were very small. So they are all getting cut to release...

Yes, following my FMP which calls for a regeneration cut. I’m doing a modified RC, cutting all the smaller trees and poorer quality bigger stuff to get down to about 18 to 20 foot crown spacing.

More fun in the hemlock bushings

I found a used but serviceable Norse 450, 9000# pull, locally and have used the bejeesus out of it over the last5 years. With the terrain my woodlots grow on a winch is an absolute necessity.

Amazingly, after cutting 1000’s of feet of sawlogs and many tons of pulp, I have not had a single shaky tree.

Got an order to saw a load of hemlock lumber and beams on my sawmill. Perfect use for the pile of sawlogs sitting on my landing. It’s turning into a busy retirement hobby😎

I did notice that the 3ph did not raise up all the way with that heavy load on it. I suppose that load was possibly over the capacity of the 3 ph

With a 52 foot long hemlock log on the pto winch and the 3ph hitch in the up position, the loader doesn’t respond to power down. It will power up and drop when in float. When I drop the logs off the winch the loader operates normally. I calculated the log weight at about 3000 lbs total. I...

The hemlock lot is the highest point on my property so most of the trees are in dry areas but some of my skid roads are in lesser drained locations so they tend to be muddy but not so bad as to prevent hauling. With the pine market collapse, I am lucky to have access to the hemlocks as much of...

Been logging my hemlock stand since June. A load of pulp and another of sawlogs sent to the mills. I half or so into a 2 nd pulp load and maybe a 1/4 in sawlogs.

Luckily I had planned to cut hemlock pulp and still have a market for that, also buyers for the hemlock saw logs that I always end up with and I’ll keep an selection of logs to saw with my sawmill. I will eventually cut some pine pulp for the pellet mill as long as it stays open. I’ll let-the...

I work mostly mornings and evening plus the M has AC so I can get relief when skidding and stacking

Large local mill just went out of business and apparently the other log buyers are holding off for now. I have heard no explanation for this.

Been cutting hemlock pulp and the odd sawlog from the innermost part of the stand. It’s finally been dry enough to log but it’s a rough narrow, twisty skid road into the woodlot the the M would have a hard time negotiating with a load on. Slow going as I have to twitch the trees out with the...

I know this is a ghost thread but I have a similar issue with my t1460 40 inch deck. I hit something hard enough while mowing that it broke the center out of one of the blade drive pulleys and for the life of me cannot remove the top nut that is holding the remainder of the pulley on. I tried...

I have been logging my 50 acre woodland for 30+ years and have left most of the slash on the ground cut down to 3 or 4 feet deep. After a few seasons of snow, rain and dry, everything is pretty much on the ground and starting to rot and the old stuff has dissolved back into soil. Lately I have...

We’ve had the same HPWH for 5 years with absolutely zero issues. It’s true that it’s noisy and sucks the heat out of whatever space it is in. But since it sits next to the wood boiler in the basement it has a minimal noise effect and has a ready source of heat to use. Consequently, for the 2 of...

i have had the odd hardwood sawlog that I just couldn’t relegate to firewood and ended up sawing them out. Of course I have no need or plan for them but I enjoy running the mill and sawing logs and they are available just in case😎

No center rib on my winch and like you, I am concerned about a butt welded receiver getting abused by logs. Cutting a hole and recessing the receiver is probably how I would have to do it.

John_Mc, well said concerning grapples. I want to put a receiver on my Norse450 winch but am not sure of placement. Could you post a pic of your setup? Thanks

M6040 for real tractor work and T1460 for mowing and towing the wood splitter. I guess the JD 450C qualifies as a crawler tractor 😊

I also found my winch the same way and it was only 20 minutes away from my house😊

I was lucky enough to find my mill used about an hour away. Had 45 hours on it. Saved about $1k

Since I planned on using my grapple almost exclusively for logging I got a Frostbite bypass grapple. It does pickup brush and the like but logs are its strong suit. It is only 29” wide and weighs about 360#

I have the same mill but it is the trailer mounted model. That puts the deck at about thigh height. Mill your own 6x’s. I love my mill and while I didn’t plan to run it commercially, I found that there are a lot of folks want/need lumber. I pick and choose the ones to saw so it doesn’t become...

All our snow is gone and the swamps that used to be my woodlands will be frozen on top and soggy underneath with the cold weather for the next few days, and then more rain is expected next week.😱

And no snow or frozen ground and water flowing everywhere in the woods

E0 is $6/gal by me so I have started adding Stabil additive to all my small engine fuel. The cars go through gas weekly and they are 2019 models so I suspect they handle the. E10 just fine.

We got the same storm but didn’t get so many downed trees except for an 18 inch diameter hemlock that took out our power for a day. I have had my eye on it for months knowing that it would eventually be taken down by a wet snow storm. I have already salvaged the top 15 feet and the butt 20 feet...

I buy direct and only buy dividend paying stocks. I buy and hold as long as the company continues to pay dividends. I also reinvest the dividends in a high yield mutual fund that pays a decent rate of interest. Have been using this formula for about 10 years and while the market has been very...

T-bills offer liquidity, security and higher rates. I ladder 4, 8 and 13 week bills to create a continuous flow of income. Current rates are pushing 5.5% and income is direct deposited into your checking account. And you have control over it all.

Was my first tractor forum since my first tractor was K. Found this site later on. Both are good.

I’m pretty much 100% FB as I find in my rural part of Vermont CL just doesn’t have the coverage where FB is more locally oriented. There’s always scammers, you just have to be alert.

my M6040. also has cable operated loader valve and over the years I have become pretty proficient when needing precise movement. I generally keep rpm’s fairly low and Maintain focus during the operation. I am getting a lot of practice loading and turning logs on my sawmill which really has no...

I hauled a few 16 foot hemlock logs from my landing to my house maybe 1/3 mile on the narrow gravel town road and when I met a car I pulled over as far as possible and then lifted the logs till the car could pass beneath them.

I have been “laddering” treasury bills for years. Usually just 4 week bills. With laddering you schedule them to mature a week apart so you always have a consistent income. You can have them automatically renew if you don’t want to pay to much attention to them. I also occasionally buy 8 and 13...

I can wait for it since it’s usually a mix of frozen precipitation and rain. Winter ain’t what it used to be.

The pine pellet mill is only about 25 miles from my landing but the hemlock paper mill is an hour and a half. My trucker is a straight shooter and charges a fair rate. And with the triaxle and pup trailer he can haul a big load

I got a pleasant surprise today. My log trucker sent me the hemlock pulp check for the pulp we cut a few weeks back and gross pay is up to $49/ton. Quite an increase compared to pine which was $30/ton last year.

I’m guessing any chain is better than no chains but your use should dictate what type would be most effective. I live in steep, sloppy snow country so lugged Euro chains were the only choice for me. And thanks to LouNY for the mounting tip that makes installing those 150 pound suckers a breeze.

I have been running the same Black and Decker 6 inch angle grinder for about 30 years and the only problem was the shaft lock failed so I have to use a pair of wrenches to switch out wheels.

Are you going to lay the metal directly on the deck or will you put wooden strapping horizontally everrt 16 to 24 inches? That is how we do it where i live. that gives you a "roof ladder " to climb up as you srew the metal down.

Another thing to try tomorrow thanks

Well coolant level is right to the top of the filler neck😩 I’m am about done.

Thanks for that information. I will check it out tomorrow. I hope I can track this down before the really cold temperatures are here.

I pulled the seat out to access the heater control lever and was able to get it off the electric control unit. Then with a good stout push was able to move it to the open position. I thought I was home free but not to be still blowing cold. Temperature gauge Is at normal temperature and the rad...

Ball valve has been open and coolant level is good, so checking airbound is next. Thanks for the info.

I unscrewed the valves on a couple of 100 pounders, let them sit for a while before sawzalling them in half and then scrapped them at the local yard. No drama just that funky smell they put in the propane.

I bought a set of pallet forks from them and was told they would come in 2 deliveries and the tines arrived first and the frame arrived a day later and everything fit so they sometimes get it right. They also were on sale and got them for $200 off!!

The wheels did spin on one loose gravel spot but at <10 mph I wasn’t too concerned.

Hauled hemlock saw logs back to mill for a guy. I probably should post this in pics of people hauling something wrong. It was only about a third of a mile from the landing to my house.

Hemlock pulping

Is there any one familiar with the under seat climate control on the M6040. the heat stopped blowing hot air and only blows cold. I’m guessing that the heater control valve has failed closed. A few years ago it stuck open and I put a manual ball valve on one of the heater water lines so I could...

I just picked up a set of CAT 2 Pats the other day for a C note and mounted them on my M. So now along with the lower extendable arms, hooking up my winch and box blade is a snap.

I use an 8 foot PA plow on the front of my M6040 and a 6 foot box blade on the rear and it’s a good combo for my tight twisty driveway. Rear euro chains are essential. To counter the occasional front end wanting to push to one side or the other I use the steering brakes on the rear wheels which...

I bought an L4630 Kubota from a fellow down near Brooksville Fl and among the implements that came with the tractor was an AB Eagle box blade very similar to yours. It has been a solid and useful tool for me over the years.

I still will sell the bulk of the harvest to a mill but now will keep some for myself and I still need to get rid of the pulp so that will be sold to the pellet mill

Someone else grabbed the other road log so I headed into my woodlot and cut this pine to get a 16 footer and some shorter stuff

This 26” pine blew down and took out a power pole and wires about a mile down the road from me. The town cut it into pieces and left it by the road side. I went down today and brought home the 10 foot butt log and have begun to process it. There still is a 12 foot second log that is waiting for...

I bougt a used Norse 450 winch for my M and it has performed well and dependably except for the times I allowed slack in the cable ad ended up with a tangled mess that ultimately required me to replace the badlt kinked cable. I bought an igland SR snatch block but after more than a year have yet...

I am finding the foibles of the mill and learning how to adjust for them.

I got the 1.5 inch stone spread and used one of my milled beams as a solid base for the front most jacks which I screwed to the beam and then used rebar "pins' to secure the beam to the ground. I am really having a good time with the mill.

Found a few hemlocks that blew down in the last storm and recovered them for the sawmill

To get back on track here’s a picture of my next sawlog. It was in one of the few dry spots of my woods. It was half dead with the bark peeling off one side and still tight on the other. Got a 20 foot stick before the top forked and cut 2- 10 footers to make hauling home easier

I bought my mill used from a guy who assembled it with the help of two friends. Said it took a day and a half because there was too many chiefs. Anyway, I got it home and started milling. The first stuff I sawed was all over the place. I took a look down the guide rail and found it to be 1/4...

Mine is also temporarily setup but with the trailer it is dead easy to move, reset and level if necessary. I ordered a load of 2 inch stone to dump on the bare dirt/muddy ground to help dry things up and also level the site which drops about 2 feet over the 30 feet I plan to use. Just for...

So far about 6 hours of milling and have sawn a few hundred board feet of 1 inch boards and a dozen or so random cants that I will custom cut later into boards and timbers. A pic of the mill and cants and the remaining pine logs that I have been milling

I was wanting one and have been looking for one for a few years and finally found this mill an hour and a half away and jumped on it. Was worth the wait.

I bought a frostbite grapple to replace the greens machine thumb on my forks since my primary grapple use is for logging and timber handling. It is perfect for that use far superior to the grapple forks and not excessively heavy though it is very solidly built.

I bought the mill and have been sawing pine😊

I’m checking it out tomorrow!

I need some advice about a used woodland mills h26 woodlander trailer mounted sawmill. According to the owner it has about 50 hours on it with the 14.5 hp recoil start motor. He’s asking $5500. Any feedback will be appreciated

Getting firewood for 2025 winter burning but my woods are still too wet to use the M for log hauling and this particular site is much too small to even get a full size machine into. So, a wagon and the T1460 made the job easy

This is a good suggestion if the trucking distance is reasonable. They were paying $30/ton split with the trucker near me. Not a big pay day but it would make it up in sheer volume of wood.

We had a micro-burst blow through here a while back. It touched down in our back forty and took down a swath of white pine then continued across the hills and knocked down 2 neighbors entire forests surrounding their homes. Miraculously neither house was damaged. It continued on for another...

The culvert in front of my Mom's home washed out twice. It started as an old steel 18" which was quickly overwhelmed, replaced with a 24" which washed out the next day, finally stuck a 36" in which has withstood the latest torrent but the state inspector has not issued a ruling on it an will...

Cleaned out the town road ditches by my house after they all washed out or silted in during the torrential rains we have still been getting. No pics as it was pouring rain:eek:

Could not live where I do without the machines. I've done some driving recon the last few days and the damage is severe. Definitely will take month's for some of the major road repairs and travel from here to there, which was never in a straight line in the best of times, is now even more...

You may or may not know about the catastrophic flooding w've had here over the last few days but I got the chance to do some repair to my mothers driveway after the culvert plugged and washed out the road. Alot of the washed out gravel ended up in my pond, which is usually dry[don't ask]. So I...

I have numerous Li-on battery powered tools and we ride ebikes, had them for years, all name brand quality stuff and have never had a battery fire.

I have been completely rained out of my wood lots and fear I may not get in at all this year. Most is low lying with a lot drainage coming into them.

I used this outside installed stem: QuikStem - Replace Broken Tire Valve Stems in 60 seconds - No Need to Break the Bead. Literally took 5 minutes to install including removing the old stem and this was on fluid filled rear tire.

When I bought my 562 XP AT the dealer emphasized making sure the brake was off before removing the side cover

Got the broken pine out of the pond. You can see the remaining stub on the bank. It was about 14 inches where it broke off. Had to cut it into 3rds to get it out and the first cut was from a paddle boat [unfortunately no pics since it was a comical set up.]

Got a"round" to processing the red oak I skidded in last month. Heavy stuff and ant infested.

I have the same set up as Oosik and I do occasionally have to drive on the lawn but only after an extended dry spell. and then I try not to run in the same track twice.

I have had good luck with my Ryobi 14 inch saw.Picked it up used for $75 with bat and charger

They have gone up about 40% since I got mine:eek:

The 2 oak logs en route to the woodpile.

My 3 y.o. grandson's first fruit was a lemon and at he still likes 'em:eek:

I like it, compared to using the thumb on the forks it is true logging tool. With the bypass, it can grab the smallest stick and hold it while the grapple forks could only hold a log if I could stick the grapple teeth in the log and pin it against the forks. he forks can carry more stems with...

This caught my eye in a local parking lot. Odd sized receiver or small hitch?

I used one of those "quick stems" when the valve failed on one of the loaded rear tires on my M. Literally took 5 minutes to fix. Well worth the price as the tire weighs 700 # so moving it to repair is not an option.

This red oak blew down having begun to rot in the butt. It made a higgledy piggledy mess, knocking down a half dozen or so other trees including a 12 inch pine and 8 inch ash. With the sprangly tops that these oaks have, it was well tensioned in a few places. To safely buck it into...

First use of the new Frostbite grapple, bringing in last years cut firewood for next winters burning.

Yes but it's a Diesel!

Thanks for the write up, I am considering a setup like that.

Bummer that the mill shut down. I have not looked into where I can sell any near me. Guy who has trucked for me in the past had a pulp connection but I have not talked to him in a few years. Pine pulp is still being bought fairly locally for pellets so that's good since I have 30+ acres of...

After 2 years sitting stacked on skids on the landing, the 70+ 8 foot hemlock logs, I had started cutting for pulp, sold to a guy who wants to saw 4x4 posts out of them. I had planned on cutting a full tri-axle and pup load but got sidetracked with other projects and never cut any more. This...

Finally dry enough to start stacking next seasons splitter wood, still to wet to bring the tractor and splitter over.

We have typical bony, stony, silty Vermont soil and the moles still manage to tunnel. I took a different tack and began pouring urine down every hole I could locate regularly. Since I use a bucket to pee in at night [too lazy to walk to the bathroom so I always have a supply. Over time the...

Are the blend doors electrically controlled by the climate switches?

The heater is located under the seat so access is somewhat ok. I need to get a breakdown of the system to locate the potential problem areas.

This is in my M6040 cabbed

So I had the opposite of this issue a couple years back where I would get heat all the time when I tried running the AC or even just the fan. I was told I had a failed heater valve and instead of finding and fixing it, I put a ball valve in one of the heater lines and used that to turn of the...

Did not raise the 3PH enough or at all and hit a rock or the like .

I also have found most plow trucks tend to be low mileage for whatever reason.

I see it has had a plow on it, What is the front end parts looking/feeling like. I see a lot of rusty trucks in Vermont that have plowed and sanded and by and large they have more ongoing work than I would want to do at any price. This is coming from a long time plow truck owner who now uses...

I used one on a leaking rear stem on my M. Worked like a charm

4 week t-bills are paying 4.5%+. I have been laddering them so I get a pay off every week, direct deposit into my bank account. These are a very safe bet and the rates have continued to increase coincidentally with the Fed raising interest.

Nice clean looking wood.

My 08 Frontier was not happy at -16 and instead of 3 quick revolutions and fire, it was 6 very slow cranks and it did fire My wife's 19 Subie started about the same. Didn't even consider starting the M or the 450c. I don't start easy at that temp either:)

My concern with chinese based companies as not so much product quality but scam companies. I once ordered knowingly [sometimes they disguise the company location] from a chinese company and never received the item. I have since ordered once more from a chinese outfit and did receive the item...

It was worth it as I also harvested sawlogs at the same time and the removal of the junk trees was a bonus. This was on a road accessible, relatively flat 8 acre lot with no skid longer than a few hundred yards. I used my M6040 with a Norse 450 winch and front grapple forks and JD 450c dozer...

I also have a lot of low grade timber mixed in with the better quality stuff. During one seasons harvest I cut a lot of firewood and advertised it as log length for sale at a low price. A local firewood seller bought some, cut it on site, loaded his one ton and hauled it away. Have you looked...

We got just our 3rd 6 inch snow fall since Thanksgiving 2 of which melted with the rainy mild Dec/Jan weather. This is the first snow that has lasted more than a day before starting to melt. Still too wet in our woods to consider logging.

That is exactly what I had my L4630 with attachments hauled from Florida to Vermont in. I paid a friend in Florida to drive it up and then paid to fly him home. It was a smidge under 1400 miles and i think with all expenses it was $2000. Had to deflate the rear tires to get it in and out of the...

January moose hunting in Northern Ontario in at -40*. So cold that I literally had to run along our game trails just to avoid freezing. Needless to say, the moose were a lot smarter and were nowhere to be seen. BTW, the only reason I went out was that our food supply was very low and needed...

My mother has been leasing a 2019 Buick Encore and when the lease was up we decided to buy it and were pleasantly surprised to find the buyout price was below average "blue book". It has low miles [29k] and was dealer serviced for the lease period. Should last her the rest of her life.:)

I smashed a huge ragged hole in the cab roof on my M and first just used bituthane roof sealant then later on used West system 2 part epoxy and fglas matt to make an ugly but serviceable repair. That was 3 years ago and I notice it is beginning to lift a little in spots. I have since punched a...

gg, are you selling that to a mill or cutting it yourself?

I run Euro style chains on the rear all winter and have rarely on occasion put v-bar on the front. If you have separate brakes however you can assist steering when plowing by using one or the other when needed.

If that happens then a grinder makes for quick and easy repair of the damaged cutters. Much faster and less work than hand filing.

You realize that almost all legit outfits will send a letter if there’s any issues concerning your business be it IRS, bank, credit card etc. They rarely if ever call. I don’t give any caller or emailer the time of day.

That is also my method and I have an Oregon grinder that has a little slop in the grinder head.

I would be leery about buying anything advertised on TV especially something as critical as health insurance. We switched from an advantage plan to medicare supplement after speaking to my insurance agent who laid out all the pitfalls and plusses of both type plans. While the advantage plan...

I also have a Tarm wood/oil boiler hooked up to a 650 gallon water storage system. You can set it to automatically switch to oil when needed or do it manually. It will occasionally smoke when loading wood but I have an extractor fan built into my basement door to remove the smoke quickly. With...

Say what you will about electric bench mounted grinders, if you know what you're doing you can minimize the amount of material removed. When I am logging I take 2 saws and carry extra chains into the woods; then at the end of the day will spend the time to sharpen all of them, tune the rakers...

My splitter has a removable 4 way wedge that under the right circumstances has popped of the main wedge. Usually due to an angled cut on on end of the log the allows the piece to slide up. Have not had just the log pop free though. I pay close attention to this and stand well clear when...

If I have to disconnect a taped fitting, I wire brush any remaining strands out of the threads before retaping.

This is my setup

I picked up a Ryobi 40 volt 14 inch saw on FB marketplace for 75 bucks with battery and charger; also found 2 more 40 volt batteries for 50 bucks. It is a great little saw which my wife loves as she has difficulty starting the gas saws and hates the noise and smell of them.

Works good for small tires but my loaded rears weigh 700+ lbs

Chains mounted using the “roll them on” method. No more heavy lifting and dragging. These chains were originally sized to fit my old L4630 with industrial tires so they were way too small for the M6040 with ags. I had to jury rig them to fit. the bigger, taller tires.

We got about 4 inches of heavy wet stuff and I only had the bucket and winch mounted so I missed a lot trying to avoid digging up the soggy driveway

The 450 is operational again 1 month later, after a lot of running around, 2 remanned starters and some struggles with the starter mounting bolts. I brought it back to the homestead to help get down a large, partially broken at the stump maple tree that is hung up in its neighbors arms. I rode...

I have a well used Norse 450 ;probably 15-20 y.o. It has paid for itself many times over with the saw timber and pulp I have pulled out in the 3 years that I have owned it. Other than operator error [tangled cable insanity] it has not had any mechanical issues and it has been worked hard.

I also tend towards smaller size wood these days though I hate to waste wood. While logging there is always collateral damage and it’s usually small stuff so it all gets burned

Load heading out. Grandson loves trucks!

My initial wedging is to anticipate the initial lean. A pinched bar is no fun.

I will give that a try next time out.

Cut and wedged, tree down, limbs trimmed, log hauled:D

With all the pulp cut and trucked out, I am continuing cutting my 5th and likely final load of pine sawlogs for this year. I am back in the big stuff so it is adding up quickly:)

Lately this little saw has been a difficult starter. Normally it would start when it popped after choking and then then fired with no choke on. Now it will almost never pop on choke and I have to pull many times with the throttle wide open, which is the method used when the saw is flooded. If...

I have found that with decreasing strength, balance etc., one has to practice more methodical movement, focus and concentration on the task at hand to avoid injury. I am particularly aware of this when doing inherently dangerous activities; in my case , logging. There are numerous areas of...

When I bought the last one , I mentioned how quickly the previous one had self destructed and the tech did admit that they had gotten a bad batch at one time but the new stock was good. If I had a receipt for the bad one i likely could have gotten credit but I had bought that one years before...

That's too bad about the rotting fir, I do consider myself lucky to have an outlet for all the junk pine and I have a lot of it. Will likely take a few years to cut it all. Keep me out of trouble. We are also getting the first tinges of color here.

My scenario almost exactly, the first one went 11 years and I have had 2 more in the last 5 years

Mine is from 2005. By bowl do you mean the refractory tunnel? I have replaced mine 3 times in 17 years

And some of mine too!

True, though my operating costs are relatively low and of course,we don't get paid for our labor; it does cover our expenses. It doe clean up the woods and opens up the canopy in hopes of regeneration of higher quality trees in the future. This particular woodlot was mostly open 50 years ago...

Started in on the 4th load of pulp. These are some ugly pines!

My Tarm boiler with heat storage calls for 5 inches max

Fired up the wood boiler; fall is here and it is supposed to be 40-50* tomorrow day and into the 30's at night. Still have a cord or so yet to cut & split but have plenty stacked and dry.

I'm not making much more since I split the load with the trucker; seems like that is the going rate to haul pulp. I still have to do the work so I might as well cover my costs. At least on this particular woodlot the skid is pretty short since I have a ring road; it's only a few hundred yards...

I think using them on the big wood out west is more likely.

This is true.

One issue I have with cable chokers is that there is usually too much slack [or length] remaining after choking the log and after winching in they will still drag; whereas a chain choker can be shortened up to the log butt and the winch will then lift the log off the ground for easier...

There is a wood pellet mill nearby that is still buying, I guess as long as oil and gas stay expensive, more people will be burning wood in some form. There are some pretty gnarly knots and multiple stems on many of these trees bot the mill don't care.

Yes, w pine is paying well and I negotiated straight through pricing so I get more for some of the lower grade logs. Pulp is another story but I have a lot; it pays expenses, keeps the logging waste to a minimum.and meets the requirements of my forest .management plan

Start of 4th load of sawlogs and 3rd load of pulp. This particular wood lot is filled with wolf, bully and other "trash" trees so mostly pulp coming out with the odd sawlog. This is part of our forest management plan which encompasses our entire 50 acre parcel.

Was a broken cable that I was able to locate locally and get it installed and adjusted.

I was picking up a log with the loader when I felt a "pop"in the joystick control and the loader stopped lifting. I still have curl function and downward movement. I have not opened up the control cover yet. I was looking for a blow up pic of the loader system but can't locate one; anybody have...

The starter in my450c dozer was going out and the cable attached to the starter was getting quite hot. Reman starter solved it; along with easy starting once again.

I bought a Thumb for my forks and find them very useful. Not as "grippy" or heavy duty as a pure grapple but light weight and low cost were a plus. Winter shot with a small pile.

If it is 12" at the small end it would be about $40

Comes out of my check and we start up again tomorrow. Supposed to only be in the 70's and less humid.

It seems to be and I could probably held out for a higher number but this allows me to get more of the lower grade logs out and sold at a decent price

Well, just got off the phone with the log buyer and he offered me $415/mbf straight through. I can live with that:)

Truck came by at 7:15 this AM and the load is gone:D Premium pine down here is $500/mbf and straight through should be about $400/mbf

I have no complaints about the heat, like you say it is a short season. Just have to work smart and hydrate.

Mill prices are definitely up and from what I hear they are crying for wood. If I can get the time, I will go for another load and hopefully the weather will cool down a bit. These hot temps sure take it out of me and a morning of work is about all I can take.

First load ready to haul to the mill

It does have and arch but a 4.5 foot butt is pretty much about the height of the roller in the arch. That doesn't include the choker length.

I would like to see that pic. Getting the butt off the ground might be a problem;)

Chaps, boots, gloves and helmet all come off along with my sweat soaked shirt and pants:cool:

It easily pulled out the 20" dbh pines I cut yesterday; they were about 500 feet per hitch. I tried to pull them tree length but had to cut them in half to make it around some of the turns on the skid road. You are right about a straight truck load, no pup. It can usually handle about 4000-4500...

gg, The lot is somewhat open owing to the initial road work I have done and you are correct as to the fun of road building. It would just take the time to deal with the many overhanging trees and limbs that endanger the cab on the M and widening some of the turns to allow for the greater length...

The M does have AC:)