Want to build a log arch

[wvwoodchuck]

I'm wanting to build a log arch.  I've searched through some of the old posts on here and found some great ideas.  My biggest hurdle is trying to figure out how or where to get the wheel axles for the small tires.  Any ideas or places to get them?

[islandlogger]

Welcome to the forum!! You will likely get alot better answers then mine, theres a wealth of knowledge on here!! What kind of production are you looking at? Hobby cuttin? Firewood? Timber? Arches are great but most of the ones used today are single log or small load capacity. For me I need to keep production up a bit to keep the wood flowing and to keep me busy which makes me happy!! I recently bought a Old School Arch like the ones they used back in the to tug behind the cats, put in a search for Wheeled Hyster Logging Arch and you can see what I mean. I rigged mine up to pull twitches with my JD 310D

islandlogger

[wvwoodchuck]

I'm just looking to build one for a single log.  I would be using it to drag the logs in for firewood or to take to the sawmill.
Thanks for the quick reply.

[islandlogger]

Then I'm sure you will have some good guidance coming soon from some folks here, like a say a wealth of knowledge and good people on here that are willing share and help point in the right directions. Where are you located and what kind of mill have you got set up??

[Tom the Sawyer]

wvwoodchuck,

When I built my log arch I got the rear stub axles from a salvage yard.  I have heard that stub axles from a Chrysler minivan or mid 90's GM front wheel drive cars work.  Mine are from a 95 Grand Am.  The stub axles, hubs, wheels and tires for $125.  There is a pic in my gallery but I can send you closer pics if needed.

[beenthere]

wvwoodchuck
Welcome to the forum.

What are you planning to pull the log arch with?  ATV? tractor? by hand?

[Piston]

Wwoodchuck,
The axle/wheel setup was the hardest thing for me to find.  I lucked out searching craigslist for any old trailers without straight axles.  I found a small sailboat with trailer and made a call, the owner questioned why I was only asking about the trailer axles and not the boat (I was going to ask if he would sell the trailer seperately) and I explained what I was looking for.  It just so happened he had another small sailboat trailer in his backyard that he told me I could have for free 


Obviously this was luck, but point being a lot of old sailboat trailers apparentely have the type of axles I was looking for, not to mention I was able to use a lot of the steel off the trailer for the arch supports/tounge which saved a lot in steel cost. 


Here is a pic of the axle/hub setup after I cut it free from the trailer. 


There are more pics in my build thread if you haven't seen it already.
http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,45388.0.html


What size logs will you be hauling the majority of the time? 

[thecfarm]

wvwoodchunk,welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a plan. You must own land with trees to cut down?

[Banjo picker]

Mine was recycled about 3 times before they ended up on the arch...cotton wagon to a bridge overhanging schaffold to an arch....Origioally some kind of old car or truck..  But you can get wheels to build trailers and such from Tractor Supply around here if you can't schavangin anything...Tim

[wvwoodchuck]

Wow.  Thanks everyone.
We have about 35 acres with about 10 having standing timber.  We had a state forester come out and he told us we have some trees that are worth something, but not enough for a logger to come in.  So....my wife and I decided to cut them and take them to the mill and sell them.  I really want to buy a bandsaw mill, but the finances are not very supportive right now.
Maybe after some logs sold, I'll have a down payment.   The other dead and non valuable trees are going into the wood stove. 

[rwc]

where in WVV do you live? I am near Elkins and just ordered a hud son HFE21

[wvwoodchuck]

where in WVV do you live? I am near Elkins and just ordered a hud son HFE21

I live near Lewisburg.  I've talked with the dealer of the Hud son mills and it sounds like a good mill.  Please keep me posted on how well you like your new mill.

[crtreedude]

One thing I have been thinking about is BIG wheels, like the old wooden wheels. The bigger diameter, the easier they pass over ruts, etc. I might try my hand at making some wooden wheels, or perhaps metal just to see how well they might work. I am thinking something a meter across or so.

The small the tire, the more likely to get it stuck in a rut, so keep that in mind.

I have made some excellent carts for behind horses using motorcycle tires. Of course, it might be a problem with too much weight, but the larger wheel sure works well.

[jander3]

For the green arch, I got Volkswagon hubs from the junkyard.  I think I gave about $30 bucks.   I also got two of the small tires used as spares for vehicles...perfect sized for an arch.

[Taylortractornut]

From  my salvage experiences, the rear axl from any of the Dodge and plymouth Caravans have some nice drop axles for woods trailers and  an arch I made.     If you want some tall metal wheels  look at an old set of tractor tires the Amish made into a set of steel wheels.  They  can take them and  make a nice thin tall rim for them.    I have a friend that bought a farm that was over run with Oasage orange  sapplings and fenches and some other kind of thorns.    He had an 806  Farmall    He ate a set of tubes the first day.   Found a set of these wheels and used them  till the mowing was done .   THen put them on an arch for  movng sme downed trees.

[Dakota]

You can get stub axels that will fit into a common size pipe or square tube from northern tool Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company.  I'm sure they are made in China but they have served me well.

 



 

[rick f]

find some mobile home axels and tires.

[caveman]

I used mobile home axles and tires when we built our arch.  They will carry a fair load and sometimes can be had for free.  I have less than $100 in my arch (pulleys, hooks, cable).  Most of it was built from salvaged stuff.  At times, I have been able to pick up junk trailers to make into other projects at the county landfill.  Caveman

[tapper2]

I built one in an afternoon with a bunch of scraps on the property. Driving mower wheels, an old trailer tongue and pieces of a snow plow frame. Works awesome. If you need to haul good distances or kind of fast, you should definitely use hubs with sealed bearings. Mine just uses greasable shafts. I don't go too fast in the sugarbush, so it does fine.





Are you looking to build bigger??

[mrpink]

I'm in the process of gathering the stuff to build a log arch myself. mine will be to pull behind my tractor and to completely lift the log instead of dragging it. that should keep a lot of dirt off the log and be easier on the land. for axles I will be using mobile home axles. I have a couple laying around not being used and should be able to support 2'-3' pine logs that I need to move around.

[Taylortractornut]

I helped build one a few  years ago that  was a heel type as the man I was helping called it.     It was a bit longer than a regular arch.       We made a heel like a knuckleboom has on the stick.   THis ewn near the  front of the  tongue. 
You backed over the log and     got the  heel over top of the  butt of the log and     hooked the choker off center of the log.   When the winch lifted it up  the front came off the ground first and  then heeled up and  then the end would raise.  This was a big arch made with the spindles and tires off a 2 ton truck.   

[kelLOGg]

I used mobile home axles, too. A chain hoist lifts the bulk of the log and a come-long lifts the remainder so I can get a 16 foot log completely off the ground to avoid dirt in the bark. Has a 40" throat.

Here's a pine going to the mill.

[Piston]

KelLOG,
That thing is a monster! 

[wvwoodchuck]

I didn't expect all the replies.  This is great and a lot of great suggestions and tips.  Thank you all very much.

KelLOGg...that thing is a beast!!

[Banjo picker]

I am glad I didn't put a pic. of my whimpy looking thing on this thread...KelLOGg I think maybe that is the strongest looking arch I have seen....   I like it....Tim

[kelLOGg]

I did build it big - it weighs 500 lbs - at the time I thought arches should be huge. Even though I can saw a max dia of only 32" I made the throat larger so I could carry several logs at once. I even put tail lights on it because I planned to take it to a farm we own an hour away but I have never done it. I took it on the road once for a short test drive and at 45 mph it bounced like a ping pong ball because it has ~100 psi in the tires; I watched the following traffic back up to a safer distance   Never took it on the road again. I'll transport it on a trailer.

It would be nice to make a smaller one, too - one that can be pushed by hand over a log, pivot up and lift one end and winch it out. that project is a long way off - if ever.  Thanks for the amazement, I think.
Bob

[thecfarm]

I like the tractor. Looks like an old Ford.

[kelLOGg]

I like the tractor. Looks like an old Ford.

It's a 641 year 1958. 6volt is the only thing I don't like about it but haven't taked time to convert it.
Bob

[Ron Scott]

A good selection of arches.

[caveman]

Kellogg, nice arch and high voltage pine.  Caveman

[kelLOGg]

Kellogg, ... high voltage pine.  Caveman

   Yeah, it was my neighbor's tree. They wanted to wait and see if it survived the strike even though all the needles were brown in the spring . The tree went through the summer and fall picking up larvae and when I milled it, it was soft on the outside and solid on the inside. I cut them some fence rails for fence repair.
Bob

[Furu]

kelLOGg

You said you used mobile home axles.  How exactly did you do it?  I assume you cut the axle leaving a short stub of axle and then connected that to the square tubing.  I am not seeing how that works without undue torque on the short axles that would break them or the connection.  Do you have any close up photos of the joint of axle to upright?  I am planning on doing something very similar only with 3" pipe that I have laying around.

[Spalted Dog]

I used standard trailer spindle, and hub and dot tires.  Local farm store.  No chasing parts in a yard.  $200 max w all new.  If I had more time I probably would have scrounged parts.  It has paid for itself many times.  I set it up somewhat like a decked out slighty oversized Logrite Fetching arch.  Its not as pretty though.  I can move logs around yards by hand, tractor, or atv.  I can pick a 30" log.  I have also used it at the small end of tree length trees with th tractor and winch.  I would use caution hauling at road speed, if the log isnt rock solid, bad things can will happen (i got lucky)

[rogdan]

 A couple of other designs:
 By a fellow Mountaineer using an engine hoist http://myfrenchforest.blogspot.com/2010/10/log-arch.html:

 winchless
Out of the box  http://www.bercomac.com/accessories-30-skidder.php
Another forum member http://www.forestryforum.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=2254

[Lud]

I built my arch out of an old transport disc.  The split axle  lets me straddle the log, lift with my tractor mounted winch and back over the manual mill as well.

 
I've hauled good size sticks on the country roads in 4th gear high range up to 6 miles.  Just showing that a bigger arch can have it's uses.