Using lifting tongs on bucket

[tjones59]

5 acre lot with 2+ acres of woods. I pull out mostly fallen trees with a JD 2305. I’ve always skidded them from woods to woodpile down the legnth of the property which usually leaves ruts so I’ve been looking at some 4 claw skidding tongs to hook on the bucket and do less damage to the yard. The pics for these always show the bucket extended down with cylinders all the way out. I’m guessing that’s to use a hook on top of the bucket. None of that seems safe since that hook is a small point to be carrying that much weight and I’ve always been told not not to back drag with cylinders extended as that can damage them. Does anyone use these type of tongs and if so how do you mount them?

 

[Xfaxman]

Like these? Heavy Duty Solid Steel 28" 4 Claw Log Grabber Tongs (44026)

 

[Roadworthy]

I know nothing about this but would it be possible to rig something to the three point? It may be more substantial than the front loader.

 

[BlueKnife]

5 acre lot with 2+ acres of woods. I pull out mostly fallen trees with a JD 2305. I’ve always skidded them from woods to woodpile down the legnth of the property which usually leaves ruts so I’ve been looking at some 4 claw skidding tongs to hook on the bucket and do less damage to the yard. The pics for these always show the bucket extended down with cylinders all the way out. I’m guessing that’s to use a hook on top of the bucket. None of that seems safe since that hook is a small point to be carrying that much weight and I’ve always been told not not to back drag with cylinders extended as that can damage them. Does anyone use these type of tongs and if so how do you mount them?

I've owned and used a wide variety of tongs and various other things to lift, drag and otherwise move logs. (20 years doing tree work). You should not use tongs connected to a bucket. Your chances of damaging the bucket are real high, especially with the light buckets used for small tractors. Have you considered getting forks? Or preferably making forks, if you have fabricating capabilities.

 

[Xfaxman]

Check this thread: Loader Log Grapple?

 

[WranglerX]

I usually cut logs in multiples of 16 inches (actually 4 feet) and use forks to move them to "log deck" where they are later cut and split for fireplace size... For anything other than forks or a grapple, you need a swamper to "harness" logs to tractor....

 

[MossRoad]

5 acre lot with 2+ acres of woods. I pull out mostly fallen trees with a JD 2305. I’ve always skidded them from woods to woodpile down the legnth of the property which usually leaves ruts so I’ve been looking at some 4 claw skidding tongs to hook on the bucket and do less damage to the yard. The pics for these always show the bucket extended down with cylinders all the way out. I’m guessing that’s to use a hook on top of the bucket. None of that seems safe since that hook is a small point to be carrying that much weight and I’ve always been told not not to back drag with cylinders extended as that can damage them. Does anyone use these type of tongs and if so how do you mount them?

Unless you can balance the log in the middle you're sill gonna drag it. And you'd have to carry it perpendicular to the trail, so the trail has to be wide enough. If it's wide enough and that's what you want to do, I'd skip the tongs and use wide forks.

 

[CobyRupert]

I know nothing about this but would it be possible to rig something to the three point? It may be more substantial than the front loader.

…like on a small 3pth boom pole. Goldilocks length: not too short so tongs can raise high enough, not too long that front of tractor gets light. Seems like I’ve seen pictures of people use the boom from a post hole digger.

OP should also consider using skidding cone to reduce ruts, as the leading butt edge is the usually the biggest rut digger.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's how I gather my firewood...

 

[John_Mc]

Before I got my logging winch, I used tongs on my 3 point hitch. I had a little frame made up to hold them. Most of the time I was just lifting one end of the log, so balancing it was not much of a concern.

Someone here on TBN gave me a great tip for using them on the loader: if you use. chain to hang them off the upper lip of the loader and get the chain length set up just right, the tongs will hang in one orientation with the bucket curled forward. OR if you curl the bucket backwards, the cutting edge of the bucket presses against the chain, causing the tongs to rotate 90˚. This saved me a lot of trips on and off the tractor to set the tongs: since the tongs tend to close under their own weight, I can just lower them down over the log, then lift and they would grab. I have not used them much, since when I'm in logging mode I now have a forestry grapple on the front, and either my logging winch or forwarding trailer on the back.

FWIW: I much prefer a good set of 2-point tongs to the 4-point ones. The 4 points always just seemed like a gimmick to me. They don't make finding the balance point any less critical, since the whole thing will still pivot at the linkage if you grab the log off-center.