Better keep your mind on your business

[Haytrader]

The operator appears to have very good /hand/foot cordination.

[tim1234]

Haytrader

I love watching machinery work but so much for low impact logging.

That guy is cutting the toothpicks down too!

Why wouldn't they leave the smaller trees for later? 

Tim

[Haytrader]

tim

I think this must be an example of CLEAR CUT.

[Nate Surveyor]

That is one neat meachine!

I know  they were pulpwood sized logs, but that sure beats chain saw.

Wow!

N

[sawguy21]

He sure can process a lot of wood in a hurry. He may be clear cutting for a development or the land owner may be planning to re plant. If he high grades and leaves the immature growth, it would be vulnerable to damage from wind, erosion, disease etc.

[CLL]

I would love to just set and watch that. Only trouble here is so many limbs on the cedars and the oaks could present problem with the large limbs. There is a man at springfield that uses one on cedar, but he admitted it wasn't profitable.

[Texas Ranger]

That is pretty much the way plantation management was going here in Texas, cut every thing around 15 -20 years, and replant.  That looks like other than southern species, would be curious on what part of the country it was in.

[Gary_C]

From the caption at the end of that and because of the length he was cutting, I believe that video was from Europe, probably Sweden or Finland. That machine is a Timberjack but it is now painted green because John Deere bought Timberjack.

There are many of those harvesters around here in Minnesota and they are mostly Ponsse's, John Deere's, and a few Valmets. I have an older Valmet Harvester and it is not quite as fast nor powerful, but it will do the same thing as that John Deere. I was running today removing all the aspen from a small wood lot. Probably cut about 10 to 15 cords this morning before a stick got up in the rotator hoses and broke a small fitting.

Running one of those machines is very automated and is mostly done with your hands using two joysticks. The main thing the operator does is reach out and grab the tree and then hold the auto button down. After the tree is felled, you move the tree where you want the pieces to fall and back to auto till it is gone. One of those newer harvesters in the hands of a good operator can cut over 100 cords per day.

[WDH]

I had the chance to go to Sweden and see the logging systems over there.  It is all cut-to-length and clearcut and re-plant is the norm.

[SwampDonkey]

That's pretty much how it is done up here, all mechanized on crown forests. They sent the skidder crews out of the crown land woods 10 years ago. Some guys process 10 - 14 cords an hour.

[Rocky_Ranger]

Most of these CTL machines have to have some pretty good timber to cut to pay for themselves, I had one used on a sale in Colorado.  Fun to watch, and they guy was doing multiple product and species sorts so I think he made a little money.  He sold it pretty soon after that sale, just too expensive to run.  I got some pics of it running.  Down here now it's all Hydroaxes and Belsaws.  Fast, efficient, maneuverable, etc. We don't have hardly any chainsaws working here anymore, all mechanized.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah there is a lot of down time with those machines and around here there is no local dealer, so you have to travel a 100 miles or more for parts. That adds up especially since the forest companies want it done for cheap.

[pineywoods]

There's one of these monsters sitting in the yard of a local equipment repair shop here.  Been there for several months. Must be waiting for parts or just too expensive to repair....
Or could be the locals (not JD shop) can't figure it out.

[beenthere]

There's one of these monsters sitting in the yard of a local equipment repair shop here.  Been there for several months. Must be waiting for parts or just too expensive to repair....
Or could be the locals (not JD shop) can't figure it out.

Or... who owns it doesn't have the money (cash flow) to get it fixed...  some shops can't invest the time & materials without some assurance they will get their money back..  Just a thought...

[Woodhog]

They are fun to watch...

Makes you feel like throwing your chainsaws in the dump....

However most of them around here end up broke after a while, the machine wears out before they even get it paid for, if they get it paid for its just a pile of junk with huge repair costs.

The owner has someone run it 6 days a week 24 hours a day and then runs it himself on the 7th day to try and make a little profit.

The  huge initial investment vs the $ return doesnt work around here for that stuff anymore in the primary industries.

Then the young fellows see them sitting there in the big processor seat and dont want to use the chainsaw anymore and all head for the oilfields.

The mill has an almost impossible quota to run thru the machine per day, when your machine
starts to get to much downtime they just hire another with stars in their eyes , until they too run out of money.

I dont think big is the long term way to go anymore.

[pineywoods]

There's one of these monsters sitting in the yard of a local equipment repair shop here.  Been there for several months. Must be waiting for parts or just too expensive to repair....
Or could be the locals (not JD shop) can't figure it out.

Or... who owns it doesn't have the money (cash flow) to get it fixed...  some shops can't invest the time & materials without some assurance they will get their money back..  Just a thought...

I have a sneaky feeling this one belongs to the local bank

[SwampDonkey]

I see a lot of these machines repo'ed as well, most are simply warn out and hard to sell. If your working on private woodlots you have to be very confident you have wood lined up to invest in them. That is why skidders, tractors and horses are working most woodlots here. You simply cannot afford a machine that is worth more than the wood. You have to ask yourself, why did the forest companies give up on purchasing and maintaining their harvesting equipment. If they can't afford it, neither can the loggers.

[WDH]

If you (the logger) can produce the loads that the machine is capable of producing, the payout is good.  However, many times loggers are not allowed to produce what they are capable of because of lack of orders for their wood or because they are on a quota that is less than they can produce.  Mother nature also plays a part in the productivity equation. 

In logging, it is essential that the logger have good relationships with the mills so that they will let the logger produce what the logger is capable of.  This is easier said than done.

[SwampDonkey]

Haytrader

I love watching machinery work but so much for low impact logging.

That guy is cutting the toothpicks down too!

Why wouldn't they leave the smaller trees for later? 

Tim

It might be that those small sticks are as old as the big ones and they have small crowns due to suppression and may not respond to well or be wind firm.

[Woodhog]

If you (the logger) can produce the loads that the machine is capable of producing, the payout is good.

This wont work around here,  I was talking yesterday to a friend cutting studwood (8 foot) ,minimum 5 inches on the small end.

He was getting 107.00 per cord for prime stud wood with no defects.

They used to pay around 170.00 per cord for the same stuff 3 or 4 years ago...