Has anyone used the Log Grab? I am thinking about two - one at each end of a log, connected by a chain and using the hook on my loader to lift logs. I know that some of you have used other hooks... just wondering?
VT Chucker,by log grab do you mean a single hook on the end of a chain, you hook each end of the log??I've tried something simular it was hard to get the hooks to stay on the log until I could get back on the tractor. I've had better luck with lifting tongs suspended short under the loader bucket usally you can drop them over the log without getting off the tractor. Frank C.
If they will stay in log should work but if they jump out that is a lot of on and off if you are by yourself. Best set up I have seen is what a friend of mine did he welded two sets of ears to his bucket so he could pin on a couple fork lift forks so he can move pallets.logs or lumber. And they are quick to put on or remove
I tried a grab hook which didn't work for me. I use "end tongs".
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0290.JPG)
This is moving a 20' SYP log
Anyone got a picture of a log grab,thought it what Magic shows on his loader. Frank C.
Thanks MM, that's what I was looking for. Are your tongs a set that was separated and reworked? Looks like they would work better that the Log Grab.
I bought that grab hook and it didn't work for me. My end tong were built from broken tongs.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0283.JPG)
The top end tong was made from the broken tong pictured on top. The other from a smaller broken tong.
Bandmiller, there is a pdf link to a pic at the bottom of the first post. I remember using them to skid firewood logs behind a tractor when I was a kid.
A pair of forks would be better you could then move logs, lumber, and slabs.Swinging logs can be quite a problem
Here is pic of the log grab mentioned by the OP.
It looks a bit awkward to use (to me) and needs to be driven in with a maul to stay put.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10180/1589/Log_grab.JPG)
That Log Grab looks to be the exact one that I tried...... >:( >:( >:(
After I cut the hook off, I had a nice piece of chain..... ;D
The blue grab with the short chain is not intended to use in the end of logs for lifting. The "grabs" in the other picture of the tractor holding a log are the appropriate tool. I suppose you could call them grabs, but I've always called them swamp hooks. The blue No.1 Dixie grab is used in the top of a log, about a foot from the end, and is used in woods operations, not on a landing. It's just an alternative to a chain or choker for hooking your power source to the log. Not good for all situations, but when you need it they are godsend. I use them regularly, they require a skip hammer, also known as a grab skip, to be used properly. Skip hammers aren't made anymore, I make all of mine from sledge hammer or splitting maul heads.
Horselog, Welcome to The Forestry Forum, and thanks for the description of the proper usage of the Log Grab. I bought it to be used as intended (skidding), but found that either a choker chain or regular logging tongs worked better for me. It would be very dangerous to use it as a substitute for end tongs.
Horse, What are you calling a skip hammer?
VT Chucker,swinging loads on a bucket are less than ideal,I've tried most everything,some sort of forks are by far the best.You can buy those pricey clamp on forks or better get two pieces of truck leaf spring bolted on each end of your bucket,they can be removed easily when you want the bucket for bulk.Check past posts theirs volumes written.Frank C.
M_M's hooks may grab good enough to be safe but in old days they loaded trucks and rail cars with what was called end hooks and a spreader bar. Till they started useing tongs to load with end hooks created Lots of widows >:( >:( So we were taught they belong hanging on wall. We use to have either a set of tongs or a Swamp hook for rolling tight logs out of their beds as to get chocker around them. But a set of 40 in tongs were not much fun to drag around in brush. Them big tongs make better fire place andirons than tools ;D ;D ;D
A skip hammer has a standard sledge hammer head on one side, and a cone on the other side. I just use a cutting torch and grinder to make them from a sledge hammer. The cone acts as a wedge and pops the grab out of the log. It is annoying at best and impossible at worst to use grabs without a skip hammer, I know several people who got rid of them because they didn't know to use a skip hammer. It takes a little practice to learn to use them, you direct the cone between the grab and the log and it will pop out in 1-4 hits, depending.
I would think truck tire hammer that has a sledge on one side and a very heavy blunt hoe on the other side would be effective.
Here I am a day late and a dollar short, but I just had to tell you fellows that a skid hook (tongs) will do it all if you have a front end loader on your tractor.
I welded a chainhook on the top of my bucket, dead center
A short piece of chain (about a foot or so long) holds the skid hook on the bucket. It dangles into the bucket.
I roll the bucket forward and hook the skid hook close to the center of the log. (it doesn't have to be exact)
Then I keep the bucket close to the log as I roll the bucket under the log.
The skid hook will tighten and pull the log up onto the outside edges of the bucket where it is supported by the two edges. (just don't let it roll over the back of the bucket) It will hang there just fine.
To drop the log, I roll the bucket forward and the log hangs from the skid hook and the chain. The chain makes one point of attachment and allows the log to be turned to fit exactly where you want it to be.
then a swift kick and the skid hooks (tongs) come out.
If you weld a chain hook on the back of your hoe bucket, up there around the pins, You can move logs as if you had a crane. That's mighty handy for unloading trailers.
That skid hook and a short length of chain is a wonderful tool, especially if you have a backhoe.
Quote from: timberfaller390 on February 13, 2010, 08:53:21 AM
I would think truck tire hammer that has a sledge on one side and a very heavy blunt hoe on the other side would be effective.
That would be a good way to get yourself really *pithed off. :) I would not recommend it at all, I have tried using all kinds of things, and unless you have the right tool it's an exercise in futility. It's things like this that make people not like grabs, not the actual grabs themselves being bad.
Just my take on it....
I've used Tom's method and it worked great. Almost never dropped a log in the wrong place. However, I have to agree with jimparamedic on the forks. With forks you don't even have to get on and off the tractor. I don't know how I got by before I bought my pallet forks.
But if you load and unload a trailer with sides, you'll need to use the suspended method at times.
I need to buid me a set like M_M's. but with my A frame set up anything less than 12ft I resemble a heilicopter getting to mill ;D ;D
Here's a pair of End Hooks I found today. Made by Young. I don't know how old they are. A lot newer than the tongs though.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11541/End_Hooks.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1499564282)
Congrats on your find. It was also nice to read through this old topic. :)
Used the lifting hooks for the first time today. I had a log in the back of some lumber I needed and couldn't reach. Normally I would have choked the log and lifted the mast to 20'. They're heavy. I was going to get a mallet to drive the spikes in but they are heavy enough I just swung them at the ends of the log. The point buried itself enough to hold it in place until I applied some tension. I think these hooks were intended to be hung from a log/beam. There are release holes in the body of the hooks that if pulled would release the tongs from the log if they were rigged correctly.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11541/IMG_1347.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1500048402)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11541/IMG_1348.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1500048460)
Make sure to test all lifting devises over your sawmill. ;)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11541/IMG_1353.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1500048465)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11541/IMG_1355.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1500048471)
Be they tongs or end hooks none are 100% reliable, in other words don't have them hanging logs over anything you wouldn't want to loose. Frank C.