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Timber Harvest Methods & Equipment

Started by Ron Scott, March 24, 2002, 02:14:52 PM

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smwwoody

Ron

how many ton do they put on those things?
Full time Mill Manager
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KJ4WXC

Ron Scott

I agree. The resource damage is proportinal to the experience and care of the skidder "or forwarder" operator and also the job foreman overseeing the harvest.

If you look back through this thread, you will see cables and grapples in use also. One recent timber harvest had both type machines in full production. The select hardwood area used forwarders and the aspen clear-cut areas used grapples. A cable skidder was used as a support unit on both areas.

Soil types and soil disturbance is also a concern often overlooked as to the type of unit used.

~Ron

Ron Scott

Woody,

20-30 tons of green wood depending upon the species.
~Ron

Ron Scott

Getting A load Of Sawlogs Out. While the timber producer decks a "bunk" of pulpwood with the 230A Timberjack Forwarder.

Both sawlogs and pulpwood are harvested concurrently during the selective timber harvest. (Harris Hardwood Sale, October 2002.)

  
~Ron

Tillaway

Ron,
It seems as though you have allot of self loader trucks in your region.  Self loaders are rare in California since they usually service small landowners that do their own logging.  Lots of them comparetively in Oregon and Washington though.

Is it common to use self loaders even when a loader is available on the landing.  I ask this since the loggers out west are very concerned about truck payloads since the loader reduces this.

When a forwarder is used out here part of it's task is to load trucks.  So a self loader is redundant for this type operation.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Ron Scott

Yes, the self-loaders are very popular here with the truckers that haul all roundwood products. Some of the Sawlog only producers will have just the flat bed rig and a seperate loading machine serving at the landing.

They usually don't tie their skidders up for loading trucks. If not a self loader, the seperate loading machine is often a large fork lift.

I'll show a picture of just a log rig maybe tomorrow.  
~Ron

Tillaway

The most common loader in California is the 966 Cat wheel loader with log forks much to the disdane of some Foresters including me.  Landing are too big when these are used.  I had never seen one in the woods until working in California.  The Northwest uses hydraulic excavators (Cats, Hitachi, Link-Belt, mostly) which are much superior for sorting logs and working under a yarder.  Also landing size is greatly reduced on the ground based sytem sides using these.  I forgot to mention that self loader haul costs are considerably more compared to the long logger used here so that limits their role to do it your selfers, very small operators, and cleanup loads.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Ron Scott

Till,

How about posting some pictures of the California  or the Pacific Northwest logging operations when you can? Everthing's on a much bigger scale out there with different techniques for the "high country".

I once worked a 16 person logging crew in Oregon during my firefighting days. They were real professionals falling that ponderosa pine on those steel slopes. We traveled in there own bus which their mill provided.

~Ron

Ron Scott

On the Road Again. Load of sawlogs on flat bed rig traveling down State Highway 115.




Some more Log Hauler Names noted:

"Fast Forward II " (Not sure where Fast Forward I is??)
"Walking The Dawg"
"Gear Jammer"
"Bigger Bear"
 
These were all noted in Michigan's U.P. "Spud" was also on the road again.
~Ron

Tillaway

I've been trying Ron, but unlike you I don't often get to work with loggers.  My tasks are over long before they show up, sometimes years before.  I was trying to find time to get pictures of a yarder operation in the Sierras this summer but never got over there before they were done.  Yarders are not real common in the Sierras any more.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Paul_H





These pictures were taken in 1980,when we were logging at Woodfibre BC.
The top picture is a 1963 Madill yarder.The spar is hinged,and is raised first with a hydraulic ram,then lifted the rest of the way up with the two raising guylines on the front.As it goes up,the donkey puncher,slacks off the other four,till the spar is near vertical.Then they are slacked off & tightened till the pipe is at the desired position.
The man standing on the log pile,is my dad.The donkey puncher is Lorne Crocker.The winch on the yarder is a 110 Skagit, handjammer.It was taken off it's sleigh in 1963,and fitted on a Madill carrier.This was the last season we used it.

The bottom pic is the yarder(Back down the road) and a LS-98 Linkbelt loader.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tillaway

Link- Belt with a snorkel no less, never seen a snorkel in the US. 8)
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Paul_H

 Tillaway,
They're kind of a BC thing aren't they? Do they still run many Link-belts down there?
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tillaway

Never heard of one until I went to the Charlottes.  Never saw a grapple yarder either.  Those are unique to BC.  The company out there had a snorkel and a super snorkel on a Madill.

All most all those cable Link-Belts were converted to shotgun yarders as soon as the hydraulics started to get popular.  Some of the old boys still run them in Washington.  I've even seen some old dipper stick type there.

Have you got any shovels with tong throwers up there yet?  
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Paul_H

I haven't seen any around here.There were a few super snorkels around a few years ago,but aren't to practical anymore because of multi chart areas.It would cost to much to break down,move and reasemble.There was a 150' on a American 72-20.I saw a few working,and was impressed by them.
We have a newer LS98 now that we added a kit to the power down side of the winch.It gives us twice the line speed when needed,and we yard comfortably up to 450'.The 98 is used mostly for cherry picking,but occasionally yard and loads corners and small patches.

I will try to take some pictures of the grapple yarder this week.We mostly use the grapple,but have the dropline carriage on right now.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Paul_H





I took some pictures of the grapple yarder,and 330LL working in the fog today.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Paul_H

Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Paul_H



Looking down from the guyline stump.



View from the cab of the 330LL
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tillaway

Those pictures are  8) Paul.  When I was laying out Blocks for the grapples we try to limit the yarding distance to 200 meters.  Can you yard futher than that or is that about it.  We also tried to layout so as we could get a hoe trail around the bottom to use the hoe for a tail spar.
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Ron Scott

Some " heavy duty " logging. Great to see other parts of the country and their forests at work.
~Ron

Paul_H

This is a small block,and the maximum distance yarding is around 600-700'.The two mainlines on the yarder are 1150'.They have to be kept close in length,or one line will pull faster,and the grapple will tend to open and close at will.

600'(around 200 meters) is optimum for this machine,but we've been out to the end of the mainlines a few times.In a steep block like this,especially when it's raining,almost every log needs to be grabbed by the loader,before the GY can let go.If not ,the logs will shoot back down to the crew below.

 Tillaway,
We love it when there are backspar trails.Number one production 8) Too steep here though,the slope has no break,till the road mainline at the bottom.

Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Scott

Does anyone have any pictures or expirience with CAT crawler skidders like the 527 or 517. I like thses machines but i don't know a lot about them.

Tillaway

Lot's of them out here.  The preferred skidder in these parts, but hey it's steep.  They run them here on slopes up to 70% with with steeper pitches allowed. :o  I'm sure theres a serious pucker factor though. ;D
Making Tillamook Bay safe for bait; one salmon at a time.

Scott

Thats interesting. Unforunatly here on the east coast there really isn't any need for them but i'd really like to see someone try one just to see how it goes. You don't have any pictures of them at work do you?

Steve

So with this high lead grapple, no chokers/setters? Can the yarder operator can see what he is doing and grab the logs?

What a tough dangerous job to eliminate, if that is the case.
Steve
Hawaiian Hardwoods Direct
www.curlykoa.com

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