Quickie log-drag, (paper-thin MIG weld)

Sodo · Nov 4, 2014

Agreed, I don't see how its possible even with ten horses.

More than numbers,,,,, notice the snow covering all the grass. Just feeding the horses seems an insurmountable task. Could they arrange hay bales to be delivered out to the forest back then? Do horses eat (drink) snow for their water?

Anyone who's dragged just a few logs around their property has to be impressed by the old guys who drug 5 foot diameter logs several miles to a mill, using horses, or even with steam. Or 7,8,9, 10 foot diameter logs. Transporting a steam donkey out to the forest, and feeding it hand-chopped wood is more effort than I can imagine, and just a tiny part of it.

arrow · Nov 4, 2014

If you notice the harness set up, the chest bar is right there for only two horses. Snow acts like a million ball bearings and as I said, two things were going on: 1. distances were short 2. This is not a typical load. They'd have contests to see who acquired the largest "hitch". If you think all those men just stood around watching horses start the load, you haven't been in the woods long.

All of you nay sayers look up "Horses pulling logs"

Sodo · Nov 4, 2014

arrow said:
If you think all those men just stood around watching horses start the load, you haven't been in the woods long.

This pic is 121 years old I wonder if anybody "above ground" has been in the woods long enough. :laughing: Anyway if these methods didn't work then it would be hard to believe that by 1920 people were saying "all the good timber has already been cut."

k0ua · Nov 4, 2014

arrow said:
If you notice the harness set up, the chest bar is right there for only two horses. Snow acts like a million ball bearings and as I said, two things were going on: 1. distances were short 2. This is not a typical load. They'd have contests to see who acquired the largest "hitch". If you think all those men just stood around watching horses start the load, you haven't been in the woods long.

All of you nay sayers look up "Horses pulling logs"

At your suggestion, I did just that. I found dozens of similar photographs, of huge loads of logs being pulled by 2 to 4 and occasionally 6 horses. The loads looked so large as to defy belief, but they can't all be photoshopped.

arrow · Nov 4, 2014

Sodo said:
This pic is 121 years old I wonder if anybody "above ground" has been in the woods long enough. :laughing: Anyway if these methods didn't work then it would be hard to believe that by 1920 people were saying "all the good timber has already been cut."

I hope I didn't give away my vampire ancestry. I should have said "you've been in the woods too long"

arrow · Nov 4, 2014

k0ua said:
At your suggestion, I did just that. I found dozens of similar photographs, of huge loads of logs being pulled by 2 to 4 and occasionally 6 horses. The loads looked so large as to defy belief, but they can't all be photoshopped.

James the only thing i have to go by is that when i was professionally logging, winter hitches on skidders were enormous compared to any other season. Main reason was because of snow. It was also when the most trouble occurred out in the field as straight line paths were fine but any side slope with it's potential "wheel dips" were cantankerous to deal with as some hitches weighed more than the skidder. I've seen pics like this for the first time 60 years ago and must admit, I stand in disbelief every time I see one. Those poor animals.

MillWeld · Nov 8, 2014

With a set of mobile home axles and some rudimentary welding skills I made this log arch. Log is lifted via a chain hoist. Capacity is 40" dia which is bigger than my sawmill can handle but I have also carried multiple logs on the arch.

Sodo · Apr 9, 2015

xtn said:
Couldn't your 3-point just lift up one end of the log? If there is a reason not to do it this way, please educate me!

The reason is I forgot (until recently) to build an attachment for the 3-point.

This project is not done yet - haven't figured out the pull-chain yet. I have Tongs but they're maxxed at 16 inches, this log is about 20.