new to the site have a question

[riggin rat]

I have looked at alotta the post and the word tractor is used alot, are you guys really using farm tractors for yarding. I am from wa. state so maybe it's a where your at kinda thing. we say cutter instead of fallers. the term highlead gets mentioned alot, but see alot of you are talking tractor winche type set up. just wondering as we use big yarders up here. that cost alotta money. maybe i am missing out of a more cost effictive way. thanks

[Ianab]

A lot depends in what you are cutting, and where.

The big yarders that you are familiar with are sometimes used here in NZ, but only on large plantations planted on some big hills. Places where you can set up on a hilltop and look out over 100 acres of trees to be cut.

Smaller plantations would be done with a variety of machinery, depending on the conditions. Normal skidders, Bulldozers, tracked excavators etc. I was watching a crew work a small plantation on neighbouring farm today. It was a fairly steep hillside about a small river and they had all three machines working, depending on where the actually trees ended up. Some leaners they were having to winch back from the river with the Dozer. Others they could just haul out with the skidder, others the excavator would reach down and lift them up to the skid trail.

Normal farm tractors can be rigged up for small scale logging. It would mainly be where guys are harvesting their own smaller lots on good terrain, and with smaller trees than your West Coast softwoods.

Different techniques for different conditions for sure.

Ian

[Maineloggerkid]

I use a 4WD john deere farm tractor with a logging winch every day. It is not as fast or powerful, but my overhead is low; meaning I don't have to cut as much a day to make ends meet.

[thecfarm]

Welcome to the forum,riggin rat.
I have a 2120 Ford 4wd 40 hp tractor with a Norse winch to twitch out my wood with.





Not the best picture.I will have to take some of it.Farm tractors do OK,but nothing on a big scale.They are mostly used for a land owner.There are some like Mainelogger around that cut for other people.My Father and me bought it back in '92 to cut wood with.I have twitched out some good size white pine with it.Does take more time,because you have to go slower and can not haul out as much as a skidder could.It also no where near as safe unless you make it safe.Have to plan out the roads better and take your time.
I did bring in a guy to do some logging for me.I have some pictures in my gallery.Click on to"Link" by my photo on the left side and it will take you to my gallery.Click on to "georges logging" and there are pictures of his skidder and forwarder.He was here twice,2 separate albums.Once in the summer and once in the winter.He does have a harvester but my trees were to big for it.That's his truck too.
This thread will keep you busy and answer some questions that you may have too.

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,13313.0.html

I did watch Axman and was fascinated to see how things was done out your way.

[Banjo picker]

I use a M7040 Kubota with a front end loader.  Its 4 WD. 

We have a mill set up.  Mainly cut RR ties.  I can pull a custom made logging wagon to the woods, unhook from it.  Cut some trees.  Pull them to the landing with it.  Cut them to 9 ft.  Load them on the wagon.  Hook back to the wagon, pull it to the mill .  And then unload the wagon with it, if I don't want to crank the knuckleboom.  Put the logs on the roll ramp to the mill.  Then when they are cut into ties, pick up 5 at a time and load them on the trailer. 

I am careful where I go, but have pulled a 27 footer through some pretty wet places.  Thats a sweetgum with at least 3 ties in it. 

But like has been stated, that here on my place.  I wouldn't leave the Kubota in the woods anywhere!  Too many thieves, vandels, and people with mixed up sence of whats right.  Tim

[woodmills1]

I use a Kioti set up by payeur.com for the woods with a metavic forwarding trailer behind it.

[snowman]

This forums not really about big time industrial logging. It's more about what I always called farmer logging and portable sawmills.I used to look down my nose at this stuff when I was working with yarders and helicopters but now that I'm semi retired with a tractor and a sawmill, I've never had so much fun. My only regret is not getting out of the big shows sooner. Life is good!

[Woodhog]

You can skid quite a bit with an outfit like this, the tractor is only 72 HP and use it for a lot
of other jobs when not in the woods  losing money. The winch is rated around 9000 pounds.

Here it has a pull of Red Spruce cut to length...

If the distance is too long or if the mill is growling about dirt on the logs you can get a forestry trailer and loader and get the stuff out.








You have to be prepared to woods proof the tractors under sides and other places unless you want to smash it all  up working in the woods as they were made for a flat field.

[Tom]

This Forum actually represents the Forest Industry from the top to the bottom.  Some of it is well represented because the people are more apt to share, or have the time to share.  Some of it is not represented too good because the people feel that their society is too small to be interesting or they are too busy to be involved.

If you dig a little, you will find conversation about the big stuff too. Paul, an admin who was one of the owners of the family company Halverson Logging, tells us a lot of tales, now and again of big timber logging.

You can read this thread "Logging Equipment" for an interesting stroll through equipment used around the country, even if most of it is in the Mid West.

[snowman]

Dang woodhog, nice riggin, wouldn't call THAT farmer logging.

[missourilogger]

we use a duetzs farm tractor pulled an 5' thick 14 foot long pin oak with it. I'll put it this way it was a lot better than watching a tractor pull

[riggin rat]

those are some pretty interesting setups, The tractors would be pretty limited in our area we have a lot of steep ground bigger timber, and the mills pretty much take mostly long logs. I like the small scale logging, but we are forced to go big time high speed low drag, even though it's sometimes not cost effective. I think you guys got a good thing going. as for the axmen it was a pretty good show i have a cousin who was filmed last year,they just wrapped up filming season 2, they are supposed to have a crew from wa. this year. thanks guys, i also have a firewood proccessor thats pretty small scale that i love.

[Maineloggerkid]

I yard trees whole length with my tractor. It is 43 horse deisel, and I can haul 4 medium sized spruce and fir trees at once. average diameter is probably 16". Most I ever hauled was 15 cedar logs. On the bigger ones like 2 feet, I have to bump it down to about 2. I get good usage from my tractor, but try ont to hurt it. I feel as though if I am going to the yard, I might as well make it look pretty.

[DanG]

What Tom said!  The folks on this forum run the gamut from the smallest to the largest.  The common denominator is that each one does what he needs to meet the goals he has set, with respect to the conditions he must work under.

[wi woodcutter]

riggin rat welcome to the forum! Hope you have as much fun as I am having here. Those cable logging outfits look really neat, you guys look like you work pretty hard out there. What type of yarder do you work around? Keep up the good work and stay safe. 

[riggin rat]

thanks for the welcome. I own a washington 88 swing yarder. I have been logging for the last 20 years as an owner. before that I lied about my age and was bucking old growth fir when i was 16 till about 18 so i got in on the tail end of the old growth days.

[snowman]

When I started logging all we cut was old growth. Three log loads were the norm,great fun and I'm glad I was able to be there. I kinda miss the days when logging was king, when several crews were spread out over a 20 million foot sale each crew pumping out 40 loads a day and log trucks seemed bumper to bumper on the haul road. Now I'm at the other extreme, a 42hp tractor small trees,  and my crew is me myself and I  I call it micro logging and I think it's the future. Move in easy, get a few loads,move out. Like maine said, low overhead. Also it's very pure logging, pulling line, taking a tippy canoe tractor where it was never meant to go, getting by with minumum power. This means where you fall your timber is extremely important, you arn't gonna power your way through a falling error. I'ts almost like back to horse logging and as i said earlier, I'm having the time of my life.

[Maineloggerkid]

You got that right about not being able to power through. My faller dropped some trees the wrong way once and I couldn't get them out full length. Instead of getting nice logs, I got short peices of pulp wood. I work alone now though, because of my employee have some medical issues. I can't blame anyone but me now.

Also a good point about taking a tractor where it shouldn't be. I have mine on 2 wheels all the time. Not condoning it, just saying that it is more dangerous then with a heavier, purpose-built skidder. You learn trail layout and pre-harvest planning real quick.

[missourilogger]

we usually take whole tree after we cut the top off of it. We tried that for that 5 footer but it didn't work  . And all we cut are hardwoods so we don't see great big logs either. Though my grandpa cut cottonwoods on the Mississippi river that you could drive a truck through.