Issues with harvesting tbis wood

[gocards1177]

When we had our road put insist year we were left with one massive and two smaller brush piles. What are the concerns with trying to salvage some logs from this? Pile shifting? Mud and gravel dulling saw? Is there a safe way to proceed? Just skip it entirely? One of the "piles" is really just one large tree that was pushed over and dragged out of the way. That one would be easier but i hate to get rid of the large pile. It's a mix of oak and cedars. About 30 by 50 feet and 10 feet tall.
Thanks.

 

[Western]

As far as dirt and mud on the wood, you will have to make that call since you can visually "see" it, but I have cut wood from many wood piles like you have. The good thing would be if the dozer operator "rolled" the logs into the pile to remove most of the dirt.

When I have to cut wood from a wood pile, I try to locate the uppermost logs (usually the cleanest), chain up to one and my tractor and drag it free, then cut away, dirty logs can be left out to "rinse" in the rain over time. It's a slow process, but you will be amazed at how much wood can come out of a pile.

Number one thing is your Safety, use a good strong chain and keep bystanders well clear.

 

[Jstpssng]

Have you ever played the game of "Jack Straws?" That's what your piles remind me of.
I would be tempted to carefully drag the pile apart one tree at a time, and bring it to a safe place to saw it up.

If you have any plans to buy a winch, now would be a good excuse- er, I mean a good time to do it.

 

[studor]

Whenever I have a pile like that , I cut four foot lengths for firewood from the bigger pieces and slowly work my way through the pile.Cedar of post size gets left in 8 foot lengths. Bigger logs I lift with tongs on the FEL and block as I go. Anything too dirty,narly or punky gets left in the pile.The upper stuff is porbably fairly clean by now and the pile might shift a bit but with common sense and selective cutting you can work your way down with surprising speed.

 

[turnkey4099]

I've worked piles like that using just a 2x F150 to pull logs loose. As for the dirt, no matter how long you wait, you will be cutting some. One jusst "sucks it up" and sharpens the chain(s) more often.

Dunno if it is still going on but te Corps of Engineers used to build huge piles (size of 3 story big box stores of stuff they pulled out of thepond behind the last upstream dam on the Snake River - much of a jackstraw problem trying to find logs that could be cut or pulled out safely. I only did it one year. The 2,000 ft climb out of the canyon with a full load took all the "fun and profit" out of it.

Harry K

 

[gocards1177]

Thanks for all of the advice! I'll play around with it sometime in the next few weeks. Worst case scenario I'll just burn it all if it becomes too much trouble. Just seems wastefull.