SKIDDING LOGS WITH TONGS ;QUESTION

[arrow]

Here is a set up from SmallWoodlotTools.com. This cost around $450 but incorporates several ideas talked about here. I think those little attennae sticking out of the tongs helps with removal as they seem to help the tongs open up wider when hitting the ground.

 

[pat32rf]

Most of my chains have grab hooks on one end and slip hooks on the other. No problem choking with a slip hook. I can always lift the log to pass the chain under it with the FEL, or bump it over onto the chain with the lifter assembly on the 3pth....
When you lower the log back onto the ground the chain comes loose.

 

[Baby Grand]

Here is a set up from SmallWoodlotTools.com. This cost around $450 but incorporates several ideas talked about here. I think those little attennae sticking out of the tongs helps with removal as they seem to help the tongs open up wider when hitting the ground.

Nice rig, Arrow. It seems a little light for what I'm doing, but the ideas are clever and address two topics discussed - tong closure & pulling from the drawbar. The "whiskers/antennae" serve not only help the tongs open up - they also act as counterweights on the arms to close them back together once the tongs are in position. Maybe that's a better way to get the closing action than using a spring. It depends on gravity, so it works best when the tongs are vertical - a spring would work regardless of how the tongs are positioned. Have to mull that over a bit ... thanks for posting!

-Jim

 

[arrow]

Nice rig, Arrow. It seems a little light for what I'm doing,

-Jim

Not sure what you're skidding. An oak stem at around 20" at the base and 15-16' long will weigh in at around 2000#. This easily picks that up. It has a vertical weight capacity of 500# which is a pretty hefty stem. If you are talking about the chains, a 1/4" chain of any decent quality can skid 2000#'s all day long.

 

[Chilly807]

If you are talking about the chains, a 1/4" chain of any decent quality can skid 2000#'s all day long.

I'd have to agree with you. I use 1/4" grade 70 transport chain for my chokers, no problems at all. If I were hauling really big stuff as in commercial logging, I might go to 5/16, but I like the 1/4 for what I do.

I made them about 6 feet long, with a ring in one end, and a "feather" on the other end for threading under logs in snow or mud. A feather is a piece of 3/8 round stock about 12-14 inches long, slightly curved and welded to the last link of chain.

The second pic was with 1/4 galvanized chain, not the grade 70. It didn't hold up.

This works well for me, I rarely lose any wood out of a choker, or a choked bundle. Once in a while one gets loose, but usually that's because there wasn't enough tension to hold it tight, like others have said.

Chilly

 

[Baby Grand]

Not sure what you're skidding. An oak stem at around 20" at the base and 15-16' long will weigh in at around 2000#. This easily picks that up. It has a vertical weight capacity of 500# which is a pretty hefty stem. If you are talking about the chains, a 1/4" chain of any decent quality can skid 2000#'s all day long.

I dunno ... it seems to me if you try to pick up one end of a uniform, 2000# log at the very end, and the other end is resting on the ground, then you would be lifting 1000#. If you try to pick it up anywhere toward the center, then you have to lift more. Once you get it up to a considerable angle (over 10 degrees from the horizontal) you'd start to get some weight transfer to the end on the ground. If the log isn't uniform (if the butt end is bigger than the end that's on the ground) then you'd be lifting even more.

Quick weight check:
Assume log is uniform, 18" diameter = 1.5 [ft]
Volume = (PI*1.5^2/4)*15 = 26.5 [ft^3]
Assume log floats, but not much is above the water line,
therefore density of wood is about = density of water
water weighs about 62.4 [#/ft^3]
26.5[ft^3] x 62.4[#/ft^3] = 1654[#]

I have a lot of oak & maple that's over 20" diameter, so I don't think a max lift of 500# is well suited to my needs, but it may work well for many other folks.

I would be fine with the 1/4" chains for choking, especially after reading everyone's comments. I just happen to have all 5/16". That's what I bought, so that's what I buy when I buy more chain.

-Jim

 

[Gordon Gould]

Stick with the 5/16" choker chains. Although the 1/4" will work and
will also bite better into lighter logs it always scares me when
I am using 1/4" for heavy work.

 

[arrow]

I dunno ... it seems to me if you try to pick up one end of a uniform, 2000# log at the very end, and the other end is resting on the ground, then you would be lifting 1000#. If you try to pick it up anywhere toward the center, then you have to lift more. Once you get it up to a considerable angle (over 10 degrees from the horizontal) you'd start to get some weight transfer to the end on the ground. If the log isn't uniform (if the butt end is bigger than the end that's on the ground) then you'd be lifting even more.

Quick weight check:
Assume log is uniform, 18" diameter = 1.5 [ft]
Volume = (PI*1.5^2/4)*15 = 26.5 [ft^3]
Assume log floats, but not much is above the water line,
therefore density of wood is about = density of water
water weighs about 62.4 [#/ft^3]
26.5[ft^3] x 62.4[#/ft^3] = 1654[#]

I have a lot of oak & maple that's over 20" diameter, so I don't think a max lift of 500# is well suited to my needs, but it may work well for many other folks.

I would be fine with the 1/4" chains for choking, especially after reading everyone's comments. I just happen to have all 5/16". That's what I bought, so that's what I buy when I buy more chain.

-Jim

Well Jim I am not sure of your math asscociations as I happen to be a guy that goes by experience (not saying you are incorrect). I am wondering if what you say is correct the more you lift that weight higher saying a 2000# pound log would weigh 1000# at lift when raised to a 45 * angle? The reason I say this is because the 3 pt I have on my tractor is rated at 850* at the draw bar. This lifts 2000* logs with ease which I think it could not do if that area of the log weighed 1000# Of course my tractor is only lifting this height maybe 6 to 8". I'm also going by the fact that in my prime, I could dead lift the end of a 20' 14" oak off the ground a few inches to get a choker under it. This is a log that would weigh close to 1000# and I do not think I was lifting 500#
I guess you'd know for sure of this tool's design functions if you called the company should you be interested in either purchasing or copying the design.

 

[Chilly807]

I have some information on chain strength for those that are interested, it's an eye-opener in some respects.

http://www.nacm.info/Downloads/NACM_Welded.pdf

1/4 inch Grade 70 transport chain is rated at 3150 lbs working load, proof tested to 6300 lbs, and minimum failure strength is 12,600 lbs.

5/16 Grade 70 is rated at 4700 lbs working load, 9400 lbs proof test, and breaking strength of 18,800 lbs.

That's a lot of weight. I can hear the L3400 shaking in the garage at the mere mention of that kind of weight.

Normally, chain designed for forestry use is Grade 43 which falls in between Grade 30 and Grade 70.

When I got the Grade 70, I wasn't aware that 43 even existed, I just knew that 1/4 inch Grade 30 wasn't up to the job. I had a couple of chokers break with some bigger wood in them, that's when I switched to Grade 70.

With a 100 horsepower tractor and a 3PH that would lift 6000 lbs, I'd be using 5/16.

Chilly

 

[tlbuser]

HI,
Got a set of tongs from NORTHERN,for the back of my tractor.They work pretty decent

I made up a set to eliminate some of those problems. As long as pulling force is exerted on the hook, the tongs grip tighter. releasing pressure opens the tongs. I have the a-cad files if interested.