Tractors and wood! Show your pics

   / Tractors and wood! Show your pics #20,033  
Hi all, my first post in this thread. I drove down to Knoxland Equipment today and picked up our new Fransgard V-4021. Got it mounted on our 4540 and had to cut the included PTO shaft down 2" for proper clearance.

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This is my first experience with a wood winch. I grew up cutting and processing firewood with my father and his JD 4510 for our family's home, and now I cut and process my own with a Mahindra 4540. I typically cut, process, and burn 5-6 cords/year. My property has an abundance of quality firewood available, but it is located on the side of a mountain, which can make harvesting wood challenging at times.

There are many sections of the property that I have never cut because I simply have no way to access the felled trees with my tractor, due mainly to steep inclines. So, I hope this wood winch will be a game changer for my operation. I've always wanted one, literally since I was about 15 (I'm 29 now), so I'm like a kid on Christmas today. Hoping I get many years of use out of it.

Another pic of the tractor hauling split wood. I've calculated that with the bucket stacked full and the 3PH wood box stack full, I'm hauling about 0.40 cord/load.

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If you’re going to be cutting on steeper ground make sure you pre lay the ground which means how you’re going to cut the unit. If it’s all for firewood it doesn’t matter quite as much, but start at the bottom sending them down working your way back up. Once you have the corridors established then start quartering into your corridors if possible this will give you the best chance of getting stuff out of a thinning on steeper ground.
 
   / Tractors and wood! Show your pics #20,034  
Finally got back to cleaning up the big hickory tree that fell across my access road.
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I broke out the MS362, it likes to eat hickory apparently!
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I don't expect to get any more snow, at least anything worth plowing, but I was using it to push the gravel back into the driveway from snowplowing all winter. I also used it to push this 10' section out of the path. Didn't think it was worth firing up the dozer for this little job.
 
   / Tractors and wood! Show your pics #20,036  
Finally got back to cleaning up the big hickory tree that fell across my access road.
View attachment 740199

I broke out the MS362, it likes to eat hickory apparently!
View attachment 740200View attachment 740201

I don't expect to get any more snow, at least anything worth plowing, but I was using it to push the gravel back into the driveway from snowplowing all winter. I also used it to push this 10' section out of the path. Didn't think it was worth firing up the dozer for this little job.

You should show us some pics of that Cat D3 sometime Loaderman. Would be worth firing her up just for that :)

gg
 
   / Tractors and wood! Show your pics #20,038  
If you’re going to be cutting on steeper ground make sure you pre lay the ground which means how you’re going to cut the unit. If it’s all for firewood it doesn’t matter quite as much, but start at the bottom sending them down working your way back up. Once you have the corridors established then start quartering into your corridors if possible this will give you the best chance of getting stuff out of a thinning on steeper ground.

Thank you, Skeans! That's good advice.

Not to toot my own horn, but I spent a couple years in my early 20's operating a JD 540B cable skidder for a commercial logging outfit. Loved the work, just ended leaving to pursue a better work opportunity. But regardless, I payed close attention to the knowledgeable old timers and learned lots of important tips and tricks of the trade, such as how to plan out a hillside cut exactly the way you've described.

Just waiting for the woods roads to dry out now so I can get in there and try it out. I most likely won't really put it work until next Nov./Dec., which is when I prefer to do my logging for the following season once the ground is frozen. I hate leaving ruts.
 
   / Tractors and wood! Show your pics #20,039  
Not that it means anything, but I noticed your name, I live about an hour from the original Woodstock site, and about 45 minutes from the Village of Woodstock, NY

Ha, no kidding. I actually live in the Town of Woodstock, Maine, hence the name.

Kind of confusing, since you'll notice my location is different. The main road through town runs through "Bryant Pond Village", which is the hub of the town of Woodstock. Town office/garage is located there, library, ect.. The post office and mailing addresses are under "Bryant Pond," but taxes are paid to the "Town of Woodstock."

But, since the main road through town runs through "Bryant Pond," everybody from out of town only recognizes the town under that name. Can't tell you how many times I've had the following conversation:

Them: "Where you from?"
Me: "North Woodstock."
Them: "Woodstock? Maine? I didn't know there was a Woodstock, Maine! Where abouts is that?"
Me: "You know where Bryant Pond is, east of Bethel?"
Them: "Oh yeah, I drive through there all the time."
Me: "Yeah, that's Woodstock."

Followed by the explanation above ^.
 
   / Tractors and wood! Show your pics #20,040  
^^^^^
It used to be good brook trout fishing up that way. I don’t know if that’s changed or not. My uncle had a hunting camp one town over on the Zircon Mountain* road years ago, until somebody broke in and burned it flat. They weren’t big trout, but we always had a good feed when we went up there.

*Now it’s called the Dickvale Road.
 
 
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