DIY logging

[MarkV]

I am curious as to how someone that does their own logging to sell logs loads a logging truck? It must be different in other areas than it is here in the south. A great deal of logging goes on in our area but it is mostly pine for pulp mills. It takes a serious piece of equipment to load the logging trucks we see everyday.

MarkV

 

[Bobvt]

I own 110 acres (90 wooded). I have carved out 30 acres that I actively manage (cut on). (Most of the 30 acres was pasture 70-80 years ago). The other 60 acres I have done by professionals (logged in 1985 and again this coming winter). I have a forest management plan, done by a professional forester.

On my 30 acres, I remove about 10 cords of firewood a year (last 25 years). Three years ago, I started an extensive cutting. Unfortunately about 75% is going for pulp. (In 30 years after I'm gone, there is going to be some valuable timber there.) I average about a day a week from the middle of December to early March. I sell around 50 - 60 cords of pulp and 5 - 15 mbf of logs. A lot of work for very little money, but I enjoy it. Last winter hemlock pulp (at landing) brought $33/cord, pine pulp brought $28. At these prices, you aren't covering your costs.

To ensure timely trucking and full loads, I have to concentate on one species at a time. This does complicate things, as it would be more efficient to completely harvest a particular area and not have to return latter. It would also make felling a lot easier, if you aren't selectively cutting a particular species.

When cutting hardwood saw logs, it is important to line up your trucker and mill in advance. Mills have differents specifications. For instance, the best market for white birch has a minimum length of 9'4". (They will take crooked logs as long as they can get three 3' pieces out of it.)

I log with a Mahindra 6500 and Norse (10,400 lb) winch. I have a root grapple on the loader (also have the front weights on). All four wheels have chains. I can pull a pretty impressive load if the traction is good. (Front end wants to come up.) In the middle of February last year, we got nearly 2' of light snow. It never warmed up enough to settle and allow the packed snow in the logging road to freeze up. This limited my hitchs to about two thirds of normal.

If you are considering logging yourself, you should be real confident about your commitment. It is going to be difficult to get a commerical logger in after you have removed some of the most valuable timber and made a mess. Logging is dangerous. I don't care to remember all the close calls and couple of time that weren't close!

Bob

 

[ore540]

I am curious as to how someone that does their own logging to sell logs loads a logging truck? It must be different in other areas than it is here in the south. A great deal of logging goes on in our area but it is mostly pine for pulp mills. It takes a serious piece of equipment to load the logging trucks we see everyday.

MarkV

Small outfits use self-loaders on the truck

MinnesotaLogger.com - Peterbuilt

 

[Youare]

Hey John Bud, how would a person drop a 30" tree with a 14" bar. I mean the only image I can conjured up is chewing around it like a beaver but still you'd have a 2 inch pieces left that the tree would teeter on . 14X2=28. Yikes!!

I'm not John Bud but I know how to cut down a 30" diameter tree with a 14" bar. Don't try this at home without professional supervision.

Once you have established the face cuts that will be your notch for the direction the tree will fall you bore directly into the intersection point of the hindge at the center of the tree cutting towards the back of the tree as far as the saw will reach. Once the saw bar is inserted all the way you may have to rotate the saw on its vertical axis to remove material behind where the back cut will be. The next step is to bore cut just behing where your hindge will be, this cut will have to meet the bore cut you just made form the front. Cut towards the hindge until it is the proper thickness and make sure it is parrallel with the notch. Go around to the other side of the tree and do the same thing. After this you can continue the back cut from the bore cut you made on the side oppsite your escape route. Once you get half way around the tree stop cutting and insert a plactic felling wedge. Go to the escape route sie of the tree and do the same thing except it would be wise to insert another plastic wedge before you finish the cut. Cut until your back cuts meet. Remove the saw and tap the wedges if necessary, once movement is detected move along your escape route.

Randy

 

[SFish]

Just to add a little to what Youare posted. Whether or not you are using a small saw, if you are not sure of the direction the tree is leaning, and especially when you are trying to get the tree to fall in a direction different from how it is leaning, it is best to tap wedges frequently while cutting. What you want is to move the tree in the direction of the notch while the hinge (the narrow section between the notch and back cut) is still strong enough not to break before the center of gravity is shifted in the direction of the notch. Also, in this circumstance you should have more than one escape route.

When the direction of fall is really critical (e.g. my house is in range), I hook up the winch as high on the tree as I can get, before I start, and just pull it over while the hinge is strong.

Steve

 

[john_bud]

Botabill,

Follow Youare's instructions.

You can learn more from the saw manufacturers sites.

Remember a light saw with a short blade will tire you out much less than a heavy saw with a long heavy blade. Most accidents happen after a long day and the person is tired. Light equipment keeps you from getting tired as quickly and is easier to manipulate safely when you are getting tired. That's why a real pro's saw can be smaller, lighter yet more powerful than a "homeowner" saw from a box store. I prefer to match the bar/blade to the saw so when held by the top handle, the saw is level. Most saws will be nose heavy when the longer bars are attached.

But, that's just me.


Think about this, at full rpm about 300 chain teeth pass by every second. That can cause a big boo boo.


Back to advice. It help skid out logs, get a nose cone to mount on the front of the log. That will help keep it from snagging on rocks/stumps.

jb

 

[Rara Avis]

Amazing. I never thought piloting or navigating a boat was all that dangerous.

You forget they have to travel out in rather small Pilot boat and then TRANSFER to the ships that are inbound...The outbounds they have to exit back to the Pilot BOAT...and they get to do this in all forms of weather...10 foot seas could make that transfer pretty interesting...

 

[SnowRidge]

You forget they have to travel out in rather small Pilot boat and then TRANSFER to the ships that are inbound...The outbounds they have to exit back to the Pilot BOAT...and they get to do this in all forms of weather...10 foot seas could make that transfer pretty interesting...

Ah, but I don't forget, and I suspected someone would come back with that, but it's not always the case. The people of whom you speak are a rather tiny percentage of the pilots out there.

A pilot is someone who navigates a boat along a coast line, as opposed to the open sea. Pilotage is the art of coastal navigation.

Therefore, a seaman who is at the helm of any vessel while is proceeds along a coastal route is a pilot. By extension, this includes lakes, rivers, and harbors, so your buddy driving his bass boat to his favorite fishin' hole is also a pilot.

How safe he is probably depends on how well stocked the cooler is/was, and I ain't talking about the one that holds the fish.

 

[Iowachild]

I am curious as to how someone that does their own logging to sell logs loads a logging truck? It must be different in other areas than it is here in the south. A great deal of logging goes on in our area but it is mostly pine for pulp mills. It takes a serious piece of equipment to load the logging trucks we see everyday.

MarkV

Here is an interesting article on that subject. The article states it is quite common in Scandinavian countries.
Farm Tractor Logging for Woodlot Owners

 

[hayden]

I'm not John Bud but I know how to cut down a 30" diameter tree with a 14" bar. Don't try this at home without professional supervision.

Once you have established the face cuts that will be your notch for the direction the tree will fall you bore directly into the intersection point of the hindge at the center of the tree cutting towards the back of the tree as far as the saw will reach. Once the saw bar is inserted all the way you may have to rotate the saw on its vertical axis to remove material behind where the back cut will be. The next step is to bore cut just behing where your hindge will be, this cut will have to meet the bore cut you just made form the front. Cut towards the hindge until it is the proper thickness and make sure it is parrallel with the notch. Go around to the other side of the tree and do the same thing. After this you can continue the back cut from the bore cut you made on the side oppsite your escape route. Once you get half way around the tree stop cutting and insert a plactic felling wedge. Go to the escape route sie of the tree and do the same thing except it would be wise to insert another plastic wedge before you finish the cut. Cut until your back cuts meet. Remove the saw and tap the wedges if necessary, once movement is detected move along your escape route.

Randy

Or you could get a 20" bar. Keep in mind that the actual working length is around 2" shorter than the nameplate length.