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Logistics of Small Scale Therapuetic Logging to Make Up a Load

Started by g_man, January 29, 2011, 12:01:57 PM

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g_man

I am just an old guy who works in the woods for therapy, mental and physical. I  try to improve my woods too. I have alot of old balsam fir which has stump rot or is stunted which I am cutting and getting what I can out of it. The stunted stuff goes as  pulp or I just let it lay. The better stuff I cut  saw logs from. The mill will take 10 and 12 footers from small local guys like me. This is how a typical load goes for me:

This is my equipment. 30 hp 5000 lb Kubota. 6400 lb Farmi. Husky 359 and 346XP




Here is a tree with rot. I usually lose 2 to as much as 9 feet off the butt. Average loss is 4 feet.




Where I am cutting now down over a bank so I winch it up and make a hitch.




My skid trail is about 1500 feet long. This is a section of RR tie corduroy I put in last summer. I spend alot of time pushing the snow off. If I get off the packed snow I go right to the bottom in powder.




I have a small landing up by my road.




I cut and sort 10 and 12 footers on the landing. Here is a load ready to go.




Loading my one ton with the tractor and bucket grapple.




All loaded.




500 BF headed to the mill 7 miles away.




The mill is paying me $275 MBF for spruce and fir right now.
To get the 500 BF I cut 7 trees, made 5 turns skidding them out, and will net about $10 per hour after fuel expenses. That money all goes back into the equipment.
Not getting rich but having fun in the wood and with the camera.


rbhunter

"Said the robin to the sparrow, I wonder why it must be, these anxious human beings rush around and worry so?"
"Said the sparrow to the robin, Friend I think it must be, they have no heavenly father, such as cares for you and me."
author unknown. Used to hang above parents fireplace.

lumberjack48

Nice pic, looks likes a very professional operation, well done
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

Banjo picker

Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

dsgsr

I'm doing pretty much the same thing for the same reasons. Boy wouldn't I like too have fir that big & healthy, A really big one for me is 10" dbh and 80% butt rot. Not doing any logs, just all pulp but still fun. :) Thanks for the pic's.

David
Northlander band mill
Kubota M59 TLB
Takeuchi TB175 Excavator
'08 Ford 550 dump
'87 International Dump
2015 Miller 325 Trailblazer Welder/Gen

Ironwood

There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

thecfarm

Like to see the small guy make a dollar.I'm still in the woods too.Just firewood.Not too much snow yet.I can go just about where I want to go.Another foot will slow me down some.It's great to work and help your wood lot grow better wood.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

g_man

Quote from: Ironwood on January 29, 2011, 07:44:21 PM
I like the over bucket thumb.


Ironwood

That little bucket grapple really helps. I used to load with chains. Took a lot of the fun out. But I could scramble up into that truck like a monkey with all the practice I got.  :D

mad murdock

nice show ther g-man! great pics, and wow, that corduroy road took some doing I bet!  Did you fabricate that bucket-grapple, or buy it off the shelf.  Neat addition to a nice tractor 8)
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

g_man

Quote from: mad murdock on January 30, 2011, 02:35:44 PM
nice show ther g-man! great pics, and wow, that corduroy road took some doing I bet!  Did you fabricate that bucket-grapple, or buy it off the shelf.  Neat addition to a nice tractor 8)

Thanks. The grapple is made by ATI . I welded  some rebar nubs onto the fingers to give it some bite. The road wasn't to tough. I traded the RR yard guy a case of bud for 60 used ties and just set them in the mud leveling best I could as I went. Then I filled the cracks with some crusher run to keep them from rolling. The hardest part was loading my truck at the RR yard. Had to do it by hand. Took 3 loads.

Banjo picker

I just layed slabs down in a bad spot I have to cross and it has held up well...just a little rough...Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

treefarmer87

1994 Ford L9000
2004 Tigercat 718
1998 Barko 225
1999 John Deere 748G
FEC 1550 slasher
CTR 314 Delimber
Sthil 461
Sthil 250

paul case

that all looks alright to me too! i am pretty familiar with running in with a little load of small logs. matter of fact it is what convinced me to buy a sawmill! thanks for the pics.  pc
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

tapper2

Great set-up!! I have quite a bit of the Balsam Fir "bottom rot". Usually I cut off the ends in 16"-24" pieces up the trunk to get a good log, then use the short pieces to fuel our evaporator at the sugar bush. Usually the rotted sections are quite dry inside. Seems to make a good fire without too much effort.
We try to get the most out of it. Thin the sugar bush, saw the logs on the sawmill, and burn the butt pieces in the sugar house, quite satisfying!!
That balsam fir makes some good boards.
Belsaw m14, 1992 Ford 1720, Homebuilt  bandmill, Franklin 120b & a bunch of worn out, banged up stuff........gotta love it.

CX3

I love it.  Looks like some nice sawlogs to boot.  Does the dodge have a dump bed for the unload?
John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

g_man

Quote from: CX3 on January 30, 2011, 11:00:29 PM
I love it.  Looks like some nice sawlogs to boot.  Does the dodge have a dump bed for the unload?

Yup, Its a 2001 Ram 3500 with a 360 or 5.9L.
The grand kids pick up some of the ends I cut off with the wheeler and trailer and haul them back for bon fires out back.

nhlogga

That's a nice little operation you have there. Small and simple. They way it should be imo.
Jonsered 2260
Husky 562xp

BCtimber

I agree you are livin' the life!   Low overhead is great!! 

clww

Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
18-Wheeler Driver

oldbones

g_man,

i'm over in addison county, 64, like you, and like you, pulling out logs with a tractor (39-hp john deere) and a 25-year-old farmi. mostly i pull out firewood. this year my kid and i have taken out a couple loads of sawlogs, mostly ash and maple. we've got several loads of pine in our sights.

some of the logs are about all my equipment can handle--16-foot maple, 20+" dbh. i'm looking at a bigger tractor. i can't justify it, but god wouldn't have made big machines if she didn't want me to have one.

thanks for the photos of the corduroy. i've got a short section of wet going that needs similar attention.

and that grapple is nice.

g_man

The corduroy road is working out pretty good. It is heavy enough so I can skid over it when there is no snow. I built it in August when it was dryest. Here is a couple pics back then. I like your attitude about bigger equipment. I wish I could find a tractor size skidder. Some thing that can handle rough terrain. It's hard to get traction with a stiff framed tractor with only two wheels on the ground cross corner from each other. Have fun and stay safe. It was fun opening that road yesterday after the storm. yikes, I could definately use something bigger doing that.

gg






oldbones

that corduroy is dam near an interstate. impressive work.

Stephen Alford

  Hey g-man, great thread, thanks for taking the time to post.   :)
logon

Norm

I have to chuckle just a bit about your "just an old guy" statement. You've got 10 years on me and I'm pretty sure you'd work me in the ground logging beside you. I pussed out on the spot I was logging some black locust from our back forty when the last blizzard moved through.

I'm making darn sure my wife doesn't read this thread.  :D

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