How do you hook your Log tongs to draw bar?

[MF1652]

I bought the same pair of tongs from Northern. I used them once and hung them in the barn. For some reason they didn't grab the logs hard enough and hold on. I had to keep getting off the tractor and reset them. Each time they would just slip off. I tried grinding a sharper point and even setting the points with a hammer into the log. None of this worked. I gave up and went back to using a chain with a slip hook and attached the chain to the draw bar with a clevis. It's a littler more work, but it always works. I'm also able to pull multiple small trees and brush out of the woods with this method. The only draw back is the wood gets dragged through the dirt. Much harde on the chainsaw and 3pt saw buck.

 

[20 20]

the guys who had an "issue" didn't live to tell about it.

I am not naive and we all take chances but my point remains that pulling anything attached to the tractor above the rear axle is dumb. Chose to do it if you like but don't represent it as safe on a public forum.

Getting in a car and driving 70mph{or more} on an interstate is probably just as dangerous if not more.

I don't think using what one has at hand and being SAFE is dumb! Folks are dying even with all of todays self save devices just like they were yesteryear. It all comes back to being an operator and paying ATTENTION to what one is doing. As far as your example of a tractor going up a hill and being jerked to a suden halt, I believe it could happen especially with an INEXPERIENCED operator that probably should NOT have been doing this type of work in the 1st place. Just because my car has a seat belt and air bags doesn't mean I'll let a 13yr old take it for a cruise

 

[20 20]

IslandTractor; I understand your point and believe it is a good one. What I didn't care for was the "dumb" word added. Our ancesters were not "dumb" nor were their methods of getting a job done. Some folks don't have all the goodies that others do, infact if we really want to get technical we could say the ONLY proper and safe way to remove logs is with $200,000 logging machinery. How many of us have a skidder sitting in the back yard??????? for those that don't you'd be "dumb" for trying to move a log. SEE WHAT I MEAN?

 

[20 20]

Hi guys. My log tongs are due to arrive today :thumbsup: anyway I'm trying to figure out the best way to hook them to my draw bar because they have a chain hook on them. I would like to keep the swivel. and I would like to keep them as close to the tractor as possible so I can lift the front of the logs. Thanks Swivel Grab Skidding Tongs | Log Skidding | Northern Tool + Equipment

Iplumb: I have to ask have you been hauling logs with a chain this? If so this might help clear up the debate. Many folks have hauled logs this way for years without injury or accident. As was pointed out slow steady ready for anything driving will get the job done.

I also bought the same tongs you're getting, you're probably going to want to sharpen the tips. As someone else pointed out it still may not be what you were wanting.

 

[IslandTractor]

SEE WHAT I MEAN?

I understand your point. My use of the word "dumb" is intentional however and aimed at newbies who might be looking on TBN for advice on how to drag a log. For a newbie to follow the advice to hook up a drag load to a topping lift attachment point would be dangerous and "dumb". I am aware that people do this and survive but it is exactly the inexperienced operator who would fail to understand the physics and risk and therefore might very well 1) go too fast, 2) head up an incline, 3) fail to scan for stumps/rocks etc that might snag the load or 4) be overconfident in their ability to quickly stop the tractor or remove power. I would argue that #4 applies to all of us as evidenced by many very experienced tractor operators who have been killed in flip over accidents when a load is chained up higher than the drawbar.

I doubt going 70mph on a freeway in a modern vehicle with a sober driver is anywhere near as dangerous as the aforementioned dragging practice though. Yes you can die in a car accident but proper safety devices have consistently lowered that risk so that risk of death per mile traveled is now about a third of what it was 50 years ago. I'd consider the drawbar to be equivalent to a modern auto safety device (take your pick: seatbelts, airbags, antilock brakes, stability control, safer tires, better brakes, crush zones etc etc). I might choose to drive down the highway at 70 in a Model A with none of these devices but no one should think that is as safe as doing the same in a 2011 Ford sedan equipped with all those devices. I'm just trying to make sure newbies are not equating the two risks.

You don't need a fancy logging machine or even a logging winch to safely move logs out of the woods. It might take a little more thought and time but there are alternatives. A skidder device (car hood or cone) is one very simple example. Without careful consideration of the physics, Baby Grand's method seems superior to using the topping lift point too. For short distances, lash the log to the FEL and back out. Etc Etc.

 

[20 20]

IslanderTractor; I'd say we have our debate solved about pulling with a tractor. I believe we both would feel strongly about operator experience, even at pulling the simplest of logs etc....

Now as far as your opinion on vehicles going down a highway being very safe........ I'll have to see if I can find a video that IMO every single driver in America and elsewhere should watch. I have debated about putting it on here because it is graphic and it would probably put many in shock. I'm not saying it is of bad nature just VERY serious photo's and skits of what happens EVERY SINGLE DAY on our roads. I drove tractor trailer for many yrs and can say not everyday on the road was just a beautifull site seeing trip. Folks can be sober have all the safety features and be crusing along at a safe speed, in less then a blink of a second lives can and will be changed. No matter how safe we think we are THINGS CAN {and will} HAPPEN.

 

[IslandTractor]

No matter how safe we think we are THINGS CAN {and will} HAPPEN.

Exactly. Which brings us back to the flip over....even experienced safe operators can run into an unexpected situation that develops far faster than any human can adequately respond to before physics takes over and all that power/momentum/mass suddenly takes us out. Cannot eliminate the risk but we sure need to try to minimize it.:thumbsup:

 

[RoyJackson]

Exactly. ....even experienced safe operators can run into an unexpected situation that develops far faster than any human can adequately respond to before physics takes over...

If you read this safety forum enough, and about tractor safety in general, I think you'd find the majority of accidents happen to well experienced operators who have become complacent.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

If you read this safety forum enough, and about tractor safety in general, I think you'd find the majority of accidents happen to well experienced operators who have become complacent.

I tend to agree with you. Small tractors add risks in my view because the load to tractor weight can be much closer.

July 2008 my BIL died on a Ford 600 picking up cross ties off the side of the railroad track when the tractor rolled. Had he been using his IH with ROP he would not have rolled I expect but if he had been wearing a seat belt should have be OK if he had of.

My guess was the low side rear wheel dropped into a hole but did not visit the site.

Few people pull large logs with tractors with out some understanding of risk if they fell the trees and all.

It can be a pain to work around but even leaving on the box blade can offer a lot of protecting if the tractor nose comes up because the rear tires will loose pulling traction at some point.

ROP's and seatbelt use is key to staying alive.

 

[Famah]

Greetings Learned Forum:

I have read this thread with great interest, because the majority of my tractor use for the next couple of summers will be skidding logs. For those of you who do this routinely, what are you opinions on the best log pulling set ups? Sure, a Farmi skidding winch would be great, but I don't have the $5K for one. Keeping it simple (hooks, chains, lets say under $300) what is the best combination of safety and effectiveness?

As always, your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Nick