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Building a Logging Arch (With Pictures)

Started by DeepWoods, March 13, 2011, 08:29:53 PM

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DeepWoods

Decided to build me a logging arch about a year ago but things have taken longer than expected finishing my shop.  So after getting the ceiling and insulation in last month, I started the arch about a week ago.  I had most of the steel and parts so things went faster than I thought.

I did a lot of research on the FF and decided that I would use Logrite's ATV Arch as a good place to start.  I also liked a few things from other members that have already built one so I used their idea's as well. 

To start with I had purchaced the spindles, but they were to short so I found if I used two pieces of tubing, all fitting inside each other I would have a spindle that was stronger and longer.  I drilled a couple holes through the tubing and into the spindle a little bit so I could put a bead of weld to lock the two together.













Then I put a bead all the way around the wheel end to make things solid



After a days work, I had most of the arch steel cut and welded.










More to come, but I was wondering about using the roll on bedliner material to coat the arch instead of paint.  Has anyone used this material before on their truck and do you think this would work for my arch?
Norwood LM2000 with 23 HP Briggs and 21 foot track, Hand Built Logging Arch, Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener and Setter. 48" Xtreme Duty Logrite Cant Hook.

shinnlinger

I like it!  Was welding a winch up for my tractor today too after way too long.  I don't know if the bedliner is a good idea.  For one,  doubt your arch will see too much abrasion other than the inside of the wheels and I have seen it trap moisture.  On the other hand It's not like it would cost too much to do and worst case is you will have to wire brush it off 5 years from now and paint so why not?
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

Magicman

I will be closely following this arch build.  There is one in my future
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

caveman

The arch looks really good and the welds are impressive.  I used herculiner roll on bedliner on the inside of my bronco several years ago. It has held up well inside the cab but if I were doing an arch (and I am), I would just paint it with oil based paint.  It would be easier to grind off and less expensive to touch up if you ever decide to weld something else on the arch.  If memory serves, the metal will need to be scuffed fairly well to get good adhesion from the bedliner mixture.  I think I used a DA with 80 grit to prep the area.  Good luck and hope to see a log hanging from it soon.
Caveman

shinnlinger

Deep,

Can you give a rundown on what you plan to pull this baby around with?
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

tonto

Very impressive welds. Looks like you have some experience with this sort of stuff. Also will keep a close eye on this one. Tonto.
Stihl MS441 & Husqvarna 562XP. CB5036 Polaris Sportsman 700 X2. Don't spend nearly enough time in the woods.

thecfarm

Looks like we have a building spree going on with members.  ;D Looks good. What are you going to pull the arch with,4 wheeler,tractor,hp size?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

bandmiller2

DW,some fine beads,welding through the holes is called plug welding.Are you planning to truss that frame? Isn't that tube nice stuff to work with, more expensive than pipe but easier to form.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

DeepWoods

To answer some of the questions, I plan on pulling it with my Sportsman 500 ATV.  I have used a skidding cone in the past and it is just to hard on the atv and the ground.  I also wanted to get the logs back to the mill without the dirt in the bark. 

I was fortunate to have a neighbor where I grew up that took me in and taught me to weld when I was 11 years old.  Started out with a stick, and then with a wire feed.  It is something I have been greatful for all these years.  I wish I could return the favor to some young guy, but now days liability is a real issue. 

I figured that the arch would have to be sandblasted before the bedliner material was applied, so Im not sure I will pursue that thought.  I just wanted something that would be durable for years to come.

I don't know if it would be needed, but I wondered if I should weld some tubing from where the wheel spindles are, to the front of the arch and attach to the tounge.  Kinda like the large propane tank carriers have.  This would make it so it pulls from the wheels to the coupler and not put so much strain on the backbone of the arch.   






 

Here is an ajustable yoke that was used on other FF members arch that I though would be usefull in securing the front of the log from swaying





Winch mount for a Warn 3700 winch. 





Just about finished, trusses and tounge jack in place




I need to get some #4 cable for the winch, I also want to use quick connects on the cable so I can switch back and forth from the arch winch to the front winch on the atv for lifting the snowplow.  This will allow me to use the same tethered remote for both winches.
Norwood LM2000 with 23 HP Briggs and 21 foot track, Hand Built Logging Arch, Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener and Setter. 48" Xtreme Duty Logrite Cant Hook.

ChuckinVa

I wish I was your neighbor. I would sign a release....

kelLOGg

I like the down-yoke. I saw an arch on the road with one and thought I should copy that idea on my arch.  what size tubing did you use?
Bob
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

bandmiller2

DW,those two braces are a real good idea,especially when you consider a one ton log with one wheel getting pulled over a rock or ditch.Buy trussing I mean around the outside of the inverted "U" so the weight dosen't tend to spread the legs,all thats holding now are several 2" welded tube joints.The small commercial arches use the truss system.Probibly some good old fashioned Rustolium oil base paint would do her proud.Fine work. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

pineywoods

DW the pictures of your welds are causing me some grief. I may just have to go delete any pictures of my stuff that involves welding. :(  Super job...
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

flibob

Nice welding, nice pics, and nice project.  Thanks for sharing.  My welding looks terrible and the quality is worse than the looks.  I beat on it with the sledge and if it doesn't break I am good to go.
The ranch is so big and I'm such a little cowboy

mad murdock

very nice fabrication work there DW! 8) 8) for the finish, one way to go that works well is after proper bare metal prep, apply a good  primer, followed by a couple coats of alkyd enamel.  The alkyd enamels wear like iron, and are the base for the paint that goes on name brand stuff, like JD, Cat or what have you.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

captain_crunch

Guys that heavy coat paint hides a lot of welder opperator error ;D ;D That is why most of my welds get painted before pics :D :D I have got to where I don't seem to be able to see good enough anymore for shiney welds ::) ::) But I never was that good even back when
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

DeepWoods

Thanks for all the compliments on my project.  Just so you know, I do make some poor welds on occation, and I never have been able to weld aluminum very well.  My welding helmet has a magnifiying lens in it that helps me see what I am doing.  Eyesight aint what it used to be ya know.

kelLOGg, the tubing I used for the yoke was 2" square 1/8" walled that slides into 2 1/2" square 1/4" walled.  I am hoping that all it takes to hold the log in the yoke is just a piece of chain from one hook to the other. 

Bandmiller2, Yes, I did put some extra plates on the corner joints.  Hopefully this will be enough to keep the corners from being torn apart.





Here is a shot of the back end.  I intend to use the back chain to take the weight off the winch cable while transporting.







Pretty much done for now, Need to go to town for more stuff to complete the electrical for the winch




I have decided from all the suggestions to give it a good coat of Orange paint to match my Norwood Sawmill.  I was even able to get the cable disconnects in Orange to match. 
Norwood LM2000 with 23 HP Briggs and 21 foot track, Hand Built Logging Arch, Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener and Setter. 48" Xtreme Duty Logrite Cant Hook.

sdunston

Nice job on that rig, I think the warn winch is a great idea, I have a hand winch on mine and a large log wakes you work to hard.What color is it going? 8)
great job
Sam
WM LT28, American fordge 18x8 planer,Orange and white chainsaws, NH TC33, IHT6 dozer, IH-H tractor and alot of other stuff that keeps me agravated trying to keep running

GF

Excellent build, I think I may have to build one for myself in the near future.

GF

chelle

Great job on the log arch build. I built mine to haul 16' x 30" but I have hauled 20' with it too. I started towing with my Sportsman 800 but now I tow with a Chevy Tracker. The little truck gets into some tight spaces.

One thing I would suggest is a mount for tools. I always carry a Peavy, a long pry bar and some cables / straps. It always seems like I have to move the log one way or another for pickup. Oh and a first aid kit.

My arch, the pic is not great but you can see the top of the peavy sticking up near the front.




Then once I finished the arch I built this so I could bring home more sticks at once.



mad murdock

Chelle, is that boom trailer all manual on the hydraulics?  that is a pretty cool looking trailer setup.  Nice job! 8)
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

chelle

Hi MM, ya I've been meaning to do a writeup on that trailer for a while now.

It's not hyd at all, yet. I built it so that I could add hyd later if I wanted to.

The outriggers are 2.5",1/4" wall tube within a 3" activated by 12v linear motors.

The boom is raised by a 24" bottle jack.

The boom rotates with a 10:1 gearbox, manually.

There's a 4000lb winch on the boom with a set of tongs.

The axel is a walking beam and is adjustable to suit the length of logs.

It allows me to bring home 5 pcs @ 12' at once.


Beefie

Wow there is some really talented welders on this site. I love the log arch good design. Also like the log trailer that seems really handy. More pics of both please to get the creative juices flowing.

Beefie

DeepWoods

Time for an update on the logging arch progress.  I took some time to think about how things would work while out picking up logs and one of the first things was what would I do when I wanted to pick up a 20 foot log without dragging the log in the dirt.  So I figured since my Norwood had removable axles, I would incorporate them into a tag axle that could be put under the long end of the log.  I had used the Norwood axles last fall to move a birch from my neighbors to the mill but wasn't happy with the way things worked so I knew some improvements were in order. 

I also wanted to be able to take the tag axle into the woods with me without having to carry it on the atv.  So I had to come up with a way to mount the whole thing to the arch.


Here is the start of the mounting system for the tag axle.






Here is the tube to slide the Norwood axles into sitting in the mount




Some heavy duty brackets to hold the straps that will hold the log to the axle





Here is the removable tongue and its mounting bracket on the top of the arch




A shot of the completed tag axle with the Norwood axles installed.



And here is the entire axle mounted to the logging arch.



You may notice that I also added more bracing on the arch.  I figured it couldn't hurt to add some more strength in that area. 

And thanks to chelle's post, I have a tool box that is in the works that will fit on the front of the arch ahead of the winch.  I will be starting on that tomorrow.  So stay tuned for further developments.
Norwood LM2000 with 23 HP Briggs and 21 foot track, Hand Built Logging Arch, Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener and Setter. 48" Xtreme Duty Logrite Cant Hook.

Dakota

Nice fabrication.  Only problem I can see is that you have to lift the tag axle on and off the arch.  I took a little different route with my tag axle.







I'll wait to see how you plan to attach your tag axle to the end of the log, before making a suggestion about something I found to be a problem with the tag axle tongue while hauling a log.
Dakota
Dave Rinker

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