Starting new work area

[Deadwood]

You are better then me. We truck wood towards your country. Skowheagan, Madison, Rumford and Jay, and yes those are a long ways from Thorndike.

As for your production, I really am not surprised. I have been doing this for quite awhile and the production never really changes. The only thing I have noticed is that when I was your age, I seemed to work and work to get wood out, now the wood just comes out easier. I think its because I got so much more experience. When things go south, I know I got a few more options at my disposal and try those.

Its not easy, and I only cut wood on weekends, so I am not used to the logging life like I was, but I am not home watching TV either.

[Maineloggerkid]

I usually dont have any trouble getting wood out. Maybe 2 twitches per day give me any real trouble, but I learned from some good woodcutters, so even at my age, I already have a few tricks up my sleeve.

[zackman1801]

Another member from Maine.Welcome to the forum.Both of you update your profile to show where you are from.We'll out number them grits lovers yet.    

zackman1801,do you have a sawmill?

naw im only 16, so  no heavy equiptment yet, but dont worry im working on it!

[Maineloggerkid]

Im only 17, but i grew up around it.  You'll be in the big toys in time.

[zackman1801]

yeah i can operate a skidder (JD 440c, and a dozer  JD 350B no prob) since we use them at our tech school over in oxford hills. ive learned alot there, plus it gives you a real look at what its like. So people who take that class and think hell no arent tied in like a job or collage.  But it also gives you alot of job credentials because everything they teach over there is Game of Logging stuff by soren erricson. plus it allows you to get CLP certified too.

[Maineloggerkid]

DUDE--- Im in the CLP program at Region 3..... We probably will compete against each other in the spring competition!!!!!    WAY COOL.

how much do you cut over there??  We have been plagued with breakdowns this year, but we are going into the woods today. Maybe we'll get half a load or so cut today + tommorow.


                                                                                       Have fun over there
                     
                                                                                       Maineloggerkid

[snowman]

Easiest most accurate way I've found to cruise timber on small acerage is to walk through and menatlly log it. What I mean is if the trees look like they will be say 40 log loads, look at every tree you'd cut and start adding it up.This tree 1 log, that tree 2 logs, that tree 3 logs.Add it up when your done and you'll have a real good idea how many loads you have.Oh yeah, use a clicker it helps keep count.One other thing, what the hecks a "twitch"? I think it's great fun learning all the regional terms for things in here.Like a shovel being called a yoder on the coast. That still cracks me up. It's a stupid word and I refuse refuse to use it!

[zackman1801]

a "twitch" would be a load of logs hauled behind a skidder or tractor or dozer or horses, or whatever else your using to haul it out. basically just a twitch of logs hah. 

But yeah man i will be competing against you in the competitions thats pretty cool. were pretty much done now for the year since our dozers steering clutch is totally gone and we have hardly any steering on one side of the thing. And not to mention the roads were using to get to our cutting area are all private and now that its starting to get warm down here mud is forming and they are posting the roads. we might have to have our truck drivers come in and haul out the logs at night now. but we really dont cut alot of wood, by the time we get out into the woods and people stop D*cking around we hardly have time to get timber on the ground and out of the woods, not to mention they will only let us drive the skidder in 1st gear low. so it goes a whopping 2 mph.

[Maineloggerkid]

WEll, we got the skidder stuck today

We did cut alot of wood before that point, though. Zach, we usually cut from one month after the year starts right unitl the last 2 days of school. Even after the competition we still cut. It sucks that you can only use low gear. Our instructor says to use whatever gear we are comfortable in- even up to 8th. That might be why we do good in the skidder competition. LAst year they told me I could never make it through the course without hitting at least 3 stakes, and I never hit anything- in high gear. WE have a little bigger skidder than you guys. WE use a 540B with 8 chokers and ice chains.

We literally DO NOT practice for the competition. Taht week, we take 1-2 days, and figure out who does what by what they do the best at.

[zackman1801]

yeah last year Kyle Davis (idk if you know or remember him?) did really well in the skidder comp. he ran that thing right through the course and didnt hit anything. Although the reason we dont cut alot is because our instructor is tough about everything and he really dosent know what he is talking about alot of the time. while our vice instructor you may call him is a local logger who cuts wood with horses so hes quite the crafty old guy . he knows how to cut wood but as you may have guessed they never listen to him because hes not the top gun in the crew. its too bad we could make soo much more money for our program if he ran it. we have only hauled out 2 loads this whole year and one load was just crappy red pine that we got next to nothing for after we paid for all of the gas and trucking it cost for the saws and the contractor. its really not worth it.

[Maineloggerkid]

I dont remeber him..If I saw him I would probably recognize him.

  Our instructor is all about production. He wants us to be able to go right into the woods out of school if we so choose. I am a senior this year, so I am 3 months away from getting my CLP. THis past summer I started my own logging business and bought a tractor  with a logging winch, 2 saws, and hired part time help. Right now, I am just waiting for the snow to settle a little more so I can get back to work.

 At school, I think we are only pushing 6 loads, with 2-3 going out in the next week or two. We could do alot more, but we have had many, MANY, breakdowns this year. I have replaced two heater cores on our service van, thermostat on the van,2 thermostats on the skidder, sheet metal work on the blade, new seat in the skidder last week, new gauges last week, 3 fuel leaks on the van, re-welded our snow plow 4 times, and repaired 4 saws. Last year I totally rebuilt the motor in our 350C dozer. I and one other kid have done all of this, because noone else will do anything.

[zackman1801]

nice. seems like alot more work than we have had to do. i do know that the skidder is getting pretty close to being unusable because the U joint that holds the drive shaft is starting to come off. and the steering clutch in the dozer is totally gone and we cant steer to one side. Although our instructor talks up and down about production but he couldent show anything for it if he tried. he is just about the opposite. He says he wants this this and this but when we get there something or the other isnt right and we just cant do it today guys. that seems to be what happens most commonly.
On a second note im trying to start my own small buisiness atleast for this summer because ive  got some pines on my land that are about 36-40" DBH that look just too good to leave.  but i face 2 key problems how do i haul them to the mill, and how to i get them to the landing. looks like im going to have to hire a contractor and pay the outrageos price for the skidder, unless i can buy one for less.....but that seems doubtfull.

[Maineloggerkid]

 

Ya. I have done all our mechanic work for the last 3 years. OUr teacher doesn't like down time. We go out no matter what the weather or temperature




I stared my business last summer. ONe thing I can tell you is to look around for the cheapest trucking you can find. And the highest log prices. If you have real "money wood" to cut you may be able to rent a skidder by the cord for a reasonable range, or buy one if you can justify it by having enough work to pay it off. I bought a $32,000 john deere last summer and hired a part time sawyer to help "boost production". ( although I dont think I will have him return this summer, do to some issues we had that interfered with his ability to do his job.) DOnt go in over your head in payments like me. I am 17  and have a $530 monthly payment, so I really have to work my machine for all its worth. I was working 6 and 7 day weeks this summer to pay payments, my employee, fuel, parts, etc.. It will all work out though cause I was paying 2-3 payments a month, and have already lowered my rates one notch!!

ONe thing I have learned- here in Maine, it doesn't seem to pay to good to cut Pinee in the summer. It seems that the mills take a better price in the winter. I have some to cut as well, but I am cutting cedar and fir this summer, as this is where I made my best money this summer. I was getting $1100 for a wheeler load AFTER trucking. Keep posting up to inform me how its going over there.

                                                                                       Good luck in the woods,
                           
                                                                                       Maineloggerkid

[Ed_K]

 Both of you keep posting, I'm enjoying this big time. Sounds like we have two good logger's coming into the woods. I'm glad your really interested in the forest products industry.

[timberfaller390]

as another young logger (23) I think I'll jump in here. I started my company a couple of years ago but I've been running the family farm since I was 16. I have tried to buy equipment that I could work the woods and the farm with. I skid and load with a John Deere 5103 I bought new last year and can take the bunks off my '74 chevy log truck to haul hay,feed,produce,etc. I had to put it all to work to make it pay for itself when my grandpaw said the place is yours he meant it. starting small and cheap is key when your young and on your own but it sounds like you boys are doing fine. I would love to find a small cable skidder like a 440 Deere but I just can't afford it right now. Yall must be getting better prices up north than we are in georgia. 

[Dave Shepard]

You guys are really go-getters, glad to see it! Never let anyone use your age against you, if you have confidence in yourself, put your head down and charge!


Dave

[Maineloggerkid]

Thanks for all the compliments!!!

I work the farm, too. WE have 2 farms that have been in the family since the 1800's. ONce I pay down the tractor, my next purchase will likey be a 4020 tractor or something of the like,as we are in the proccess of adding on more feilds. I have been very fortunate financialy, and it seems to be paying off. I am able to make more money than my dad does working my logging operation part, and it also pays for my farming stuff, which adds a little milk money.  I actually can produce a lot of wood in a day with my tractor. in a 7 hour shift, I was producing about 17-18 twitches at about 3/4 a cord per twitch.

[zackman1801]

im hoping that after i get the pine around me out i can have enough for a tractor or something of that nature. i have a Massey Harris Pony 10hp tractor. my greatgrandfather used it a LONG time ago to skid out huge pine Butt logs.  so mabey it can get some use but im most likely going to hire a skidder to do it. does anyone know what a good price would be to pay or offer someone for a few weeks of work at the most.   

BTW loggerkid are you in any of the FFA programs at your school? because coming up here in Orono there is going to be an FFA forestry competition and an AG Mechanics competition you would prob win at.

[Dave Shepard]

I am amazed there are programs that allow teenagers to be anywhere near power tools never mind trees and skidders. In my school we had a woodshop. They were afraid to let even the shop teacher look at it. (We didn't have shop by the time I got to high school. )


Dave

[thecfarm]

At Mt Blue high school in Farmington,ME they have the same course that those two are taking.Been going on for years,long before CPL.Like the instructors say,It's easier to teach the young kids than the old guys.The young kids don't have any bad habits to unteach.   One year the Forestry class needed a skidder,so they found one that got burned up and bought it and rebuilt it.That CPL program probaly saved the forestry progarm.I have heard one of the kids say,they have to talk the tree down before they can cut it down.