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Old guy new to the forum Old time logger that can not quit

Started by plasticweld, February 21, 2010, 03:51:07 PM

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plasticweld

I started logging in 77 I was 18 years old, working for a sub contractor who worked on Scott Paper land up in northern Maine. I was paid by butt end scale and lived in a logging camp, I am not sure if they even exist anymore. I remember the deep snow, the black flies and being exhausted all of the time. I did this for a year before getting a job with a old guy,"my age now" in Nobleboro Maine cutting pulpwood and logs. He taught me all of the finer points of logging. We became partners after a year or so and I bought a 68 440 A we worked together until the early 80s when we could not sell enough wood to keep busy, we were on quota for logs and pulpwood, it was the days of 18 percent interest and no one was building anything.

I had a friend who I used to work with who logged in Up-state New York and was selling hardwood logs to an over seas buyers. I got in the truck and came down to check it out, I bought  stand of timber and moved down. I up graded to a Clark 666 Ranger and  a bigger dozer. I worked for a few mills and cut my own timber when I could. I got out of the logging business with no regrets in 86. It did not last long, I worked construction and started a side business doing tree service work and selling firewood on the side. I have since edged my way back into being more of a logger, I am too old to climb trees anymore and hang from a rope all day

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I have a 30 ton winch that attaches to my skid steer, it used to have 300 feet of cable it now has about 110, it has way more power than needed and takes a delicate hand

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I built a bumper on the back of the skid steer and have a 3700 Warn winch for gathering

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My answer to tracks the slide on the ice and do not bite

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taken today some of the walnut and oak I am cutting

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While it is no skidder it has the one quality that makes me love it.."paid for"  someday I would like to get another skidder, this works well and I seem to be able to keep it busy...Bob

mr T

   Welcome bob Just joined myself acouple days ago Tried the tree climb thing once 1 day   Retired from truckin now  enjoin g cuttin for fun

Dave Shepard

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beenthere

Welcome to the forum.
Look forward to seeing your pics. Go to the "Behind the Forum" board (click Home button above) and read how to post pics in your own gallery on the Forum. The Java Uploader below this posting window and the preview button will help you get the pics loaded the way you want them.
Glad you joined.  8)
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habaneroeater

Welcome All! i hope i can learn from you and enjoy your stories, stephan

Mark K

Welcome to the forum. I bet that skid steer is handy in the woods with a winch. Must be easy to bunch logs. You still in NY?
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fishpharmer

Plasticweld welcome to Forestry Forum.  Don't give up on the pictures.  It was only recently that i figured how to consistently load pictures.  The Java loader button on the photo gallery page helped immensely.  We look forward to hearing more about your experiences. 
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Don K

Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing all those neat pics.

Don
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SwampDonkey

Hi plasticweld and MrT. I can remember logging camps in the woods here until the early 90's. I'm in New Brunswick, so lots of black flies, skeeters and deer flies as well. Any of my stays in the New Brunswick camps was when fishing. When you go fishing with those old timers like my grandfather, you got invited into camp for the stories. :D I did stay in camps on the west coast, but no flies out where we stayed, but lots of deer and geese, both which leave lots of entrails in the camp yard. An occasional bear would stroll by the cook shack. :D :D It was weird to have no snow. We did get some but it never lasted. Geese stayed at the camp all year 'round.



"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

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2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

jdtuttle

Welcome Bob, What part of upstate NY? I'm in Candor, close to Ithaca.
jim
Have a great day

forest.c

my brother works out of telos camp up the golden road for pelieter logging in millnocket. :) :)
forest.c

plasticweld

Quote from: jdtuttle on February 22, 2010, 06:29:11 AM
Welcome Bob, What part of upstate NY? I'm in Candor, close to Ithaca.
jim

Jim I am in your back yard in Montour Falls only about 35 miles away. Would you be interestd in trading some logs for some mill work, I got some real nice white oak on the  job I am on now plus some short walnut logs less than the 8 ft 6 they need to be. I also have plenty of red oak logs that you might be able to do something with. I am going hard on veneer and a few ones but from what I it looks like there is no market for the number twos. I also have a bunch of white pine, and few blue spruce that are a decent size that you might be able to do something with. You are more than welcome to take a trip up and see if there is anything you might be interested in, there is going to be a lot of stuff that is going to go to pulp wood that might make nice molding. Send me Pm if your intersted and I will give you my cell.

I am still trying to figure out the picture stuff, as soon as I hit the up load button to get my pictures out of the photo album that I down loaded to my computer kicks me off of the web site and sends me a error message..Bob

plasticweld



This is the winch I use, a 30 ton winch that was used to pull in rail road cars off of the train tracks at one time, I basically built a table an arch that I use the skid steer fork to move around, it is chained to the forks. This works as a portable yarder, with the aid of a snatch block and a tall tree I have winched some trees out of some the deep gullys where I live, I also use this as a way to bunch logs on rough terrain so I can get them in a pile and then put the bucket back on and then skid the logs down to the landing




I built this bumper so I could skid logs, I have a 3700 pound warn winch which will let me bunch logs or get the ones just out of reach. I can back up to a log, use the bucket to lift the front end of the machine, this lowers the bumper right down to the ground, when I raise the bucke to drive it lifts the logs up enough so they do not dig in when skidding




I picked up a used set of tracks on ebay for $250 and did some mods to them so they would work in the ice and snow, they work very well and got rid of the sliding sideways problems that comes with steel tracks, it is just re-bar welded in a X pattern




The New Holland 180 LS in front of the logs I cut this weekend, real nice walnut and red oak veneer, taken from a gully and some gentle sloping land that I am now working on.




While this is not a log skidder with some effort you can still pull out a decent load with the machine, while I miss my old Clark Ranger this was somthing that I had that I made work, it is easy to transport, gets into tight spots and has low impact on the woods best of all it is paid for...Bob

Dave Shepard

I like the mod on those tracks. I used to run a Case with tracks (with no rebar) like that and it was really interesting on frosty ground. :D
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

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