Do you use a cutting area for Bucked logs?

[scoutcub]

THAT is BRILLIANT!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I hope to do some cutting this weekend, I'm going to try that idea out.

Do you shut the tractor off while cutting? Do you pinch the log or just cradle it?

David

ANOTHER good reason to get a grapple.....and new tractor. :thumbsup::laughing:

 

[MossflowerWoods]

ANOTHER good reason to get a grapple.....and new tractor. :thumbsup::laughing:

Morning Frank,

My bucket has only been on the tractor long enough to drill and mount the tooth bar.

I love my grapple.:thumbsup:

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Here is my first atempt at a Bucking area...

I tested it with a handful of logs and it went well, now I'm moving the entire pile of bigger limbs and trunks out of what looks to be my 2nd pasture area and into this area. There are still a few more in the "pasture" and TONS out in the forest I need to haul in...

Any thoughts? I am very open to advice.

Be well all,

David

 

[s219]

Glad you bumped this thread up, which predated me here on TBN, but is right up my alley. I was just felling and skidding logs last Sunday in fact. Here's my routine:

After felling a tree, I attach a logger's tape to the butt end (it has a bent horseshoe nail, called a Bailey's Nail, that you can tap in with a hatchet). I then walk up the log limbing it and cleaning it up (also known as "knot bumping") with the tape pulling out behind me. The tape is attached to my tool belt, or can be clipped to a belt loop on your pants. I'll use my hatchet or the saw and mark off the log every 8 feet, with a few 4 foot sections as well (mainly at the top as the diameter gets smaller). This is because I can skid two 8 foot pieces behind the tractor at a time, plus a few 4 foot sections in the front bucket. I'll then chop any thick limbs into 16" lengths and pack them in the bucket too. That range of sizes maximizes what I can skid out with each trip -- kind of like packing the big spaces, then the small spaces, then the cracks in a moving truck.

I use a max length of 8 feet on my new property because the skidding trail (about 800 feet path through the woods) is tight with some curves. I'd probably go longer if the trail was roomier. Anyhow, the trick for me is to get the logs into some multiple of 16" for final cutting into rounds. With a 16" round, I can get three rows of rounds/splits onto a standard shipping pallet, which is what I use as a base for stacks, and it's an easy way to measure in terms of cords (which are 4'x4'x8') and 1/3-cords.

I tend to fell and skid as much as possible in one day since it maximizes use of my tractor, which I still trailer up to the new property. Once I have a stockpile of logs, I can go up there anytime to cut and split without needing the tractor. Sometimes I'll go up there for a couple hours after work to process firewood (beats any other exercise, since I split by hand, plus it's nice to be out in the woods getting fresh air).

When cutting the rounds into logs, I generally cut about 80% through all the way down the log, then roll the log with a peavey (aka, cant hook) and nip all the cuts through. If I'm cutting on a bed of pine straw and know I won't hit dirt, I might make the cut all at once. I avoid dirt at all costs, since it dulls a chain in an instant.

By the way, if anyone is looking for a good cant hook, which can be invaluable for handling logs, the best source I have found is Peavey Manufacturing up in Maine -- they are the original inventor of the tool back in the 1800s, and still make their products in the US for a very good price. I got one of their 48" hickory-handle cant hooks for about $70 including shipping, which was cheaper and better than the ones I saw locally (Stihl dealer wanted $120!!!). Peavey's website is at:

Peavey Manufacturing Company - Makers of quality logging tools, handles and dowels since 1857

They have a link to download their catalog and price list. Lots of neat tools, and a good old-time US company.

My recent log conquests have been a giant 24" beech that came down in Irene, and a bunch of smaller beeches, maples, gums, and poplars. To get the big beech out, I had to get the logs across a stream bed using an overhead line. I basically strung up my 16,000# 200 ft tree rope across the stream and used a come-along to tension it between two trees on either side of the stream. Then used a snatch block riding upside down on the rope like a trolley, and a hoist hanging from the snatch block to lift the rounds (had to keep them at 4 feet long for easy handling). That was a heck of a project, but it was a lot of good firewood. Beech is among the best you can burn. I got over 1/2 chord out of that one tree.

 

[deezler]

My recent log conquests have been a giant 24" beech that came down in Irene, and a bunch of smaller beeches, maples, gums, and poplars. To get the big beech out, I had to get the logs across a stream bed using an overhead line. I basically strung up my 16,000# 200 ft tree rope across the stream and used a come-along to tension it between two trees on either side of the stream. Then used a snatch block riding upside down on the rope like a trolley, and a hoist hanging from the snatch block to lift the rounds (had to keep them at 4 feet long for easy handling). That was a heck of a project, but it was a lot of good firewood. Beech is among the best you can burn. I got over 1/2 chord out of that one tree.

Holy sh*t... that is some dedication right there! Awesome ingenuity. Or maybe you're just crazy. :laughing:

I like this thread, as I will be starting to harvest the blow-downs and standing dead wood on my new 19 acre parcel later this summer and fall. Had always planned on skidding 8-16' logs to a cutting area to buck them down further, but haven't gotten to try anything out yet. Still cutting in some basic access trails and getting my tractor tuned up.

 

[cqaigy2]

Im not much into skidding firewood logs because the get dirty in my type of soil and i don't like subjecting my chain and bar to the abrasion. I try to drop the trees on top of each other in such a way as to hold them off the ground if possible. Mostly fir though and i probably wouldn't do that with deciduous trees because of their larger crowns but then again, id probably try it to see what happens. I start at one end and typically clean toward the top of the tree then reverse direction and start the bucking process. I leave the limbs on the bottom to hold up the log and cut them as i cut back toward the stump. Stack the boughs in a pile oriented in the same direction. Pick up the rounds and load the trailer and bucket on the tractor, dump in the wood shed to be split and stacked. Go back to boughs, machete on both side to leave a clean stick/limb. Stack limbs to cut to length for fire starting. Nothing goes to waste, i even eat the pine needles, just kidding.

 

[General Lee]

Beech is among the best you can burn. I got over 1/2 chord out of that one tree.

I agree. I love burning beech, I consider it a hard wood that seasons must faster then oak, gives decent burn times and splits very easy. I burn beech, oak, maple, hickory, pine, popular and by far beech is my favorite. Only negativity is it doesn't leave a nice bed of coals to reload on, like your oak, or locust.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Glad you bumped this thread up, which predated me here on TBN, but is right up my alley. I was just felling and skidding logs last Sunday in fact. Here's my routine: ...

WOW! What an awesome & informative post.

Thanks,
David

 

[s219]

Im not much into skidding firewood logs because the get dirty in my type of soil and i don't like subjecting my chain and bar to the abrasion.

That is definitely a concern, but if you elevate the fronts of the logs, only the back tip drags and the middle stays pretty clean. I have a combo skidder/trailer hitch for my 3-point that lets me lift the front of logs a good 8-12" off the ground. I'd like to find a cheap kid's sled for the back of the log at some point, just to minimize tearing up my trail when the ground is soft.

Some people keep a brush handy to sweep dirt off logs, but that can be a lot of work, so I find it's easier just to keep them dirt free.

 

[NHmitch]

I am working on a log skid right now that is very inexpensive. The main thing is while you are cutting, make sure that you wear protective chaps that are made to stop a chain saw blade. Also make sure that you wear a helmet, eye protection, and ear protection. Not to sound like a safety nut, but cutting wood is so dangerous. A lot of people are killed every year, so be very careful when you raise the logs up to cut them at chest level. Anyways, this may work well for a log skid, I will let you know.

From my earlier post:


I am making a homemade log skid using two tractor draw bars. I am attaching a steel skidding tong to my 3 point draw bar, and then at the other end of the log, I am going to use another draw bar that I have lying around, and I am putting tires on the part that would attach to the lift arms. This end, I will put under the log at the oposite end away from the tractor, and attach it with a ratcheting tie down strap. This should allow me me to skid larger logs out of the woods, without dragging the log in the dirt, and dulling my chain when I cut it. Hopefully it works.