Moving logs

[Highbeam]

"or cut them small and carry them out by hand to my FEL"
That sound slike too much work.

If you have time and a logging chain or three, just hook on and drag them out. You either need to push them, pull them, or pick them up. Pushing is fine for short distances like into a heap to clear the road. You might aas well try dragging them if you have a chain, it's free.

 

[rk246]

You might look into a toothbar also, you can get one pretty reasonable and it will make more of a place to pick the wood up onto with your FEL and give you something to just rake the little stuff with. I ordered mine from Markham welding and am still waiting on it....

 

[tawilson]

I have two different sizes of skidding tongs, and they save me a lot of work. I can hook up, drag, set where I want, and unhook the tongs without getting off the tractor.

 

[Farwell]

Once in a while I run into a situation where there is no other option than to cut them small and carry the logs by hand. I have a bunch of dead and dying trees in my swamp mixed in with living trees. Many times I can not get my tractor into a position where I can pull the tree with out it getting hung up and damaging a healthy tree or my running into another tree with the front end of my tractor. I have been thinking about getting a winch so I can control the pulling better. I also love good old manual labor (if I can't get out of it). I am always a little nervous pulling the trees behind the tractor because of all the horror stories of guys getting killed doing it. Eventually I am going to make something to keep the base of the tree elevated so it can't dig into the dirt or get hung up on a rock or buried stump.
Farwell

 

[George2615]

I cleared a 2.6 acre building lot of downed trees with the attached 3pt lifting device I built along with a pair of logging tongs. (I think Northern tool sells logging tongs) I put the tongs on the tree, attached a chain from tongs to the hook on the 3pt device and lifted the end of the tree just high enough to clear the ground and dragged away. When I got them to the area cleared out for burning I chainsawed them smaller and used the bucket to pile them in the burn pit. Most trees were about 12-16" diameter and up to 30-40' long and my 26HP had no problem dragging them.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

<font color="blue">(grapples look pretty cool too but expensive ). </font>

Hiya gthag, how goes it?

I have a well-deserved reputation for loving to spend other people's money, but I feel that it's been slipping a bit lately, so here goes: /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

A front grapple has got to be one of the most useful attachments I can think of - a great big powerful hand, right in the palm of YOUR hand. It makes dealing with logs and brush an absolute joy, but has so many other uses as well. You can pick up and move just about anything - stumps, your bucket, trailers, rocks, construction debris, annoying neighbors, uninvited guests, you name it.

A lot of tree guys around here started out with pallet forks, but graduated to grapples ASAP. To me, moving logs with forks is like eating hot dogs with chopsticks - yeah, you can do it, but ....

My Bradco cost $2,800, but man, is it worth it. I know, I do this for a living, I hear that loud and clear. And $2,800 starts to sound like $2.8 million real quick - been there, fairly recently in fact. But grapples are NICE - ask SkyPup. (Of course, he owns an Autogyro too - it's good to be da Pup LOL).

But it's a really good item for any "wish list". I remember the time I had to move about 200 logs and I blew out the hydraulics to the top jaws on my grapple, and I had to use it "as is", just using it like forks. Almost lost my mind, I did.

Lastly, in my own sorry defense, I hope I never come across as advocating WASTING money. There's a huge difference between spending it and wasting it.

You've probably seen this thread, but just in case, here it is again: To grapple or not to grapple - to which my answer would of course be - "Grapple" /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And one more old "chestnut" about hydraulics, solenoids and "human nature" - Remotes and Top and Tilt? - it's a doozy /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Honorable mention to the Farmi 501 skidding winch, the Beaver Squeezer, the Implemax SmartGrapple, the Anbo and Pirhana grapples, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Good luck, John D.

 

[cisco]

A 4-in-1 FEL is optimal, but expensive. There are all sorts of FEL attachments, but the most common (and you may have one) is a toothbar. It takes 2 folks, and requires easing the toothbar under the log, and then having your helper apply pressure on the log as you "roll" the FEL bucket to scoop up the log.

 

[PILOON]

Farwell:

"Eventually I am going to make something to keep the base of the tree elevated so it can't dig into the dirt or get hung up on a rock or buried stump."

I obtained a protective end from highway guard rails from local scrap yard.
It is curved and kinda like the end of a ski, also shaped like with 2 grouves or humps.

I welded a couple of 1/2 rings to each side to attach the log butt with a looped chain.(a small binder might be better)
On the underside of the curved end I welded a ring to attach the row chain.
Now when I tow a log it does not 'dig in' or get snagged on rocks or roots, simply rides over. Like a ski tends to ride up and over the snow.

 

[1bush2hog]

Sounds like a good idea - Got any pics you can post?

 

[Farwell]

Sounds like a great idea. I have been racking my brains to come up with something that would do exactly what you did. I will keep my eyes open for some old guard rail at my local scrap yard.
Thanks.
Farwell