Thinking about logging

[IndyIan]

Also there are the "Game of Logging" courses available on how not kill yourself working in the woods. If the OP hasn't spent some time in the ForestryForum, I suggest its a good read for someone wanting to do some logging for personal use or for commercial sale.
I took a short 2 night and 2 days in the woods chainsaw course and its the best thing I ever did for learning to run a saw safely and basic maintenance like sharpening in the field. It's too bad there isn't a similar course for CUTs.

 

[Dead Horse]

I log my property with a Hesston 100 - 90 and a Farmi 601. I run the chipper and splitter on the back of a 3710. I fell, skid, buck, split and stack an average of 25 cord a year on my property in the White Mountains. There is very little "flat" ground on my 100 acres.

Some of the trees I am skidding are easily 30 inches at the butt and run as long as 30 feet.

The farmi is a 16,000 # winch (and I have maxed it out). The Hesston can easily drag 24,000# of dead weight.

My counsel is hitch up "right and tight", get the butts off the ground juuuuuuust a tad and proceed to the log yard slooooooooooowly.

A very old, wise man, once told me the fastest way to move a heavy load was SLOWLY. He was right, yes he was!

You have more than enough tractor........ make sure to engage brain!

Good luck and enjoy your work.:thumbsup:

 

[RosseauK]

Thanks for the input. Do you guys think Ag tires will be alright or should I look into some chains

 

[mdelmarcelle]

I used to pull logs like that with an old Massey Harris (same as Massey Fergueson) 50. Probably about 35hp. I agree with what others have said, hook up a draw bar to 3pt hitch and sinch up the log with a chain close to the bar so you can lift the front side a bit. You should be able to pull it without a problem. Should be a fun project.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Thanks for the input. Do you guys think Ag tires will be alright or should I look into some chains

Chains help but I would try it w/o the chains if there is no snow. I have chains but except for a few areas only use them in the winter. If you are talking about running in snow try it w/o but be prepared to get chains because you will most likely need them. Snow tuns to ice when packed. I use a studded H pattern chain.

If there is no snow the ag tires might slip in gooey mud or if you have some smooth wet ledgey hills to climb. They will also slip on a big wet root you try to climb over. Don't forget to use your diff-lock when you need it. If you get stuck drop your log. Move ahead a chain length or two. Hook back up and pull the log ahead through the bad spot, then back into it again and pick it up. In the rough woods with a stiff framed 4WD tractor a lot of the time you really only have two diagonal wheels on the ground because nothing is flat. After a while you will know how to pick where to go for the best traction.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I would feel guilty if I did not add what I said before. And this is just from my experience, others may disagree. But if you are logging with a small tractor and a chain and just starting out then taking 24" trees will make for a very steep learning curve. You haven't told us much about your site but I expect you will have your hands full.

It is to bad you can't take some smaller stuff for firewood or something just to get a feel for how things work. It will save you a lot of frustration.

Please be very very careful out there.

 

[Grandad4]

+1 what Gordon said. A lot to go wrong. Please be careful.

 

[Boombollie]

There's quite a lot to running saw and falling timber out there. It's not just firewood at that point. I run saw as a wildland firefighter out west, and the best advice I can give you is that DEATH COMES FROM ABOVE. Do not underestimate that. The smallest tap on that wedge down below can shake all sorts of fun man killers out of the tops. Make sure your face cut is clean and you have enough HP to pull that chain through your back cut as quick as you need to.

As far as yarding goes, I recently took a nice sized doug fir down on my land and was skidding out saw logs about 10-15 ft with my JD 855 (25hp), with FEL for front ballast. Used a cable choker, about 10 ft long, with the end loop end connected to the rear of the tractor using the upper link hitch pin (3/4"). No problem, but fir ain't oak. The best way I've yarded logs with a CUT is with a 3 point hitch mounted boom pole. Back up as close as you can, lower your boom, get your chain or choker as short as possible, raise the butt of the log just slightly, and off ya go. If you can't get close, get long with that choker and drag it to where you can back up to it.


Be safe, take 'er slow, and HAVE FUN.

 

[gabby]

There's quite a lot to running saw and falling timber out there. It's not just firewood at that point. I run saw as a wildland firefighter out west, and the best advice I can give you is that DEATH COMES FROM ABOVE. Do not underestimate that. The smallest tap on that wedge down below can shake all sorts of fun man killers out of the tops. Make sure your face cut is clean and you have enough HP to pull that chain through your back cut as quick as you need to.

As far as yarding goes, I recently took a nice sized doug fir down on my land and was skidding out saw logs about 10-15 ft with my JD 855 (25hp), with FEL for front ballast. Used a cable choker, about 10 ft long, with the end loop end connected to the rear of the tractor using the upper link hitch pin (3/4"). No problem, but fir ain't oak. The best way I've yarded logs with a CUT is with a 3 point hitch mounted boom pole. Back up as close as you can, lower your boom, get your chain or choker as short as possible, raise the butt of the log just slightly, and off ya go. If you can't get close, get long with that choker and drag it to where you can back up to it.


Be safe, take 'er slow, and HAVE FUN.

I use a boom pole too, with an old fashioned log tong instead of a chain. Works great as long as you don't hook the tong to the very end of the boom pole. Hook it as close to the tractor as possible. Lots of times you can carefully lower the tong around the log and grab it without getting off the tractor.

 

[Chilly807]

I have a log frame I built a couple years ago, it's essentially a log winch without the winch. You hook off the chokers to the hooks at the top, lift the butt up so it's tucked in behind the frame and can't hook on anything, and away you go.

It is about as safe as skidding logs can be, which is to say you've got a decent chance of surviving.

I use a skidding cone to get the logs out to where I can get at them without them hooking on everything along the way.

I finally got tired of fooling with ropes and snatch blocks, and bought a second-hand logging winch this fall. If or when I'm ever finished with it, I should be able to recover most of my investment.

Sean