Grappling fun - A Picture Thread....

[Gordon Gould]

Great pic Gordon! It's nice to see some snow on the ground. How far away is the mill from you? If I had one somewhat nearby I would do the same thing.

I have two close places to sell logs. A sawmill that takes softwood saw logs and pallet grade hardwood 7 miles east and a log yard 7 miles south. So trucking 500 to 700 BF at a time is a reasonable thing for me to do since I have the time.

gg

 

[fitter1]

GG, what is the cost to have the trees milled if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Jim Timber]

I think he's selling the logs to them so they can turn them into lumber for sale.

It's 7 miles to drive around my block. :laughing: Closest mill is 40 miles.

 

[Gordon Gould]

GG, what is the cost to have the trees milled if you don't mind my asking?

Well I am not exactly sure. I sell the logs for $300/MBF ( per1000 BF) or 30 cents a BF. That load in the picture should get me about $180 when my check comes next week. Seems if I go to the mill and buy some rough cut green spruce/fir lumber it costs between 50 and 75 cents a BF. Dry and planed is more. If I was going to have some wood milled for my own use I would hire a guy with a portable band saw mill. He could set up right on the landing. It would be cheaper and save all the trucking. Those guys with the portable mills can do a really good job and are very economical if you want some of your own logs turned into lumber. Their rate is usually by the BF depending on the size of the job.

gg

 

[PSEbowhunter]

Been a while since I've checked this thread. These pics you posted show perfectly how awesome a grapple is to have! Can you just imagine how many trips you would have had to take without that grapple!
Nice pics and tractor setup. Congrats and thanks for posting!
(by the way, is that PVC Pipe for choker chains? That's a good idea, how did you attach it?)

I love having that grapple. It has made moving stuff around so easy.

Yes it's a 4" pvc pipe for holding my chains. I got the idea from this tbn thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271963
Mine is attached via an angle iron bracket I made bolted to the loader frame. The upper portion is secured by plumber pipe hanging band because I didn't want to drill into the frame.

 

[IslandTractor]

I love having that grapple. It has made moving stuff around so easy.

Yes it's a 4" pvc pipe for holding my chains. I got the idea from this tbn thread http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/271963-how-do-you-store-you.html
Mine is attached via an angle iron bracket I made bolted to the loader frame. The upper portion is secured by plumber pipe hanging band because I didn't want to drill into the frame.

View attachment 452771

View attachment 452772

I like how you mounted your tool box too. I am often tempted to mount the tractor from that side and always have to remind myself about snagging my shorts on the joystick. Mounting the toolbox there is another barrier that makes sense. It also allows you to have a much larger toolbox than Kioti supplies.

 

[Snowback]

At the great suggestion of user "Piston" - I am including this info here for grins. Originally shared at EA's Original Wicked grapple thread.
-------------------------------
Today was a good day. Finally able to bring home the new addition. This is a 60" Single Lid Wicked Grapple Single Lid Root Grapple on a Mahindra 2538 Page not found | Mahindra - It is exactly what I was looking for and although I have not worked it hard yet, it has done exactly what I needed it to on its first day. (Unloading attachments and posing for pictures can't be that hard right?)

Perfectly cradles and carries factory bucket around in case of need to move dirt.​

Very useful for unloading HD Box Blade without getting off to hook up chains. Notice the leverage of the heavy blade, but light weight grapple helped tractor breathe easy during move.​

Right and Left Views

Sturdy and well built unit - perfect alignment of top lid and bottom tines​

Third function kit from EA, (WR Long Unit with EA specialty fittings seamlessly mated to grapple and worked flawlessly)
Note the position of rocker switch on loader controller which is perfectly placed for index or middle finger activation​

I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces. Thanks Ted and Travis and everyone else at EA! Also Thanks to all those on TBN who provided input and suggestions!

 

[4570Man]

Who needs to carry a chain with a grapple?

 

[Piston]

Great additions Snowback! Thanks for posting. Now we all want to see some paint scraped off of that beautiful grapple! Congrats.

By the way, since it was a repost from the EA thread, I'm curious if it is still brand new or were those photos taken some time ago? The third function valve looks like a clean setup.

 

[Gordon Gould]

A little off subject but I have to say I like those beefy front tires on the Mahindras. Wish my Kubota was setup more that way especially for grappling work.

gg