740 John Deere

craigc · December 08, 2012, 01:09:40 PM

I looked at this skidder on friday. It is about 15mi from are place. A farmer has it for sale he took it after the logger never paid him. It is a 740 Deere with a tilt blade, two winches and a hook that is ight before the belly pan. I assume it was originally a west coast machine. Does anyone have any information on what or how this skidder was used?

Kemper · December 08, 2012, 01:17:34 PM

I have a 640 from about that time frame, we use it every day & it's a beast. Leaks a bit of fluid here & there, but it pays for it. Mine has a grapple & only one winch & the blade doesn't tilt, but I wouldn't let it go cheap.

Mark K · December 08, 2012, 01:25:56 PM

Theres one floating around this area. Had a tilt blade but a single winch. Monster of a machine. Dont know how availible parts are. Better make sure that the farmer has clear ownership before buying.

Tree Killer · December 08, 2012, 02:18:58 PM

They call that a trail blade, its easyier building skid trails & what not with tilt. Not sure why it wood have 2 winches, Good luck

craigc · December 08, 2012, 03:02:21 PM

Building trails with it would be much easier. The owner said it has a clean title, it has been approved by the previous owners lawyer. If you look closely you can see the hook under the belly pan, it looks factory. Was wondering if they used these in tandom out west to pull each other up hill? That would be the reason for the second winch. I think this one was built with a special purpose.

Rob-IL · December 08, 2012, 03:47:03 PM

I believe I might know that skidder and a little of its history?? I haven't seen it for years IF it's the same one?? I did hear a couple years ago it was abanded around the Effingham vicinity after being involved in a divorce. Like I say, if it's the same one??

Rob-IL · December 08, 2012, 04:02:08 PM

I might be interested in it if you
decide to pass on it??

Kemper · December 08, 2012, 05:26:53 PM

Quote from: Rob-IL on December 08, 2012, 03:47:03 PM
I believe I might know that skidder and a little of its history?? I haven't seen it for years IF it's the same one?? I did hear a couple years ago it was abanded around the Effingham vicinity after being involved in a divorce. Like I say, if it's the same one??

Would love to hear the story.

Bobus2003 · December 08, 2012, 07:33:38 PM

Alot of Skidders around here have "Belly Hooks" like on most Dozers, so if ya get stuck or or need help up a hill your not pulling on the blade. From what ive seen the Dual winch thing seems too be a European thing.. but I could be wrong..

snowstorm · December 08, 2012, 07:56:21 PM

i have seen 2 of them and bolth had 2 winichs. the small one looked to be the same as a 440 winich

craigc · December 08, 2012, 08:54:11 PM

The second winch which is the one you can see in the picture is about the size of a 440's winch.

thenorthman · December 08, 2012, 11:07:57 PM

the really crazy gypos would use the dual drum skidders as a sort of poor mans yarder, one line yer skyline the other smaller winch as your haulback line, also you could rig up a boom to the tail end and use it as a boom loader, one winch to raise and lower the boom the other to lift and position logs... can't lift too much that way but you could load a dump truck with short logs in a reasonable amount of time.

Many crazy things a guy could get up to with two winches ( I suppose with wenches too...)

Okrafarmer · December 09, 2012, 12:37:46 AM

Pages 199 and 200 of "Endless Tracks In the Woods" by Young and Budy show a few photos of the introduction of Hyster double-drum winch units mounted on Caterpillar 75's and D-8's in the 1930's and 40's. Not a whole lot of explanation is given (this book has tons of great photos, but the commentary leaves a bit to be desired). The double drums (which wound up independently, essentially two separate winches in one frame unit) each had their own cable and could be hooked up independently. It would seem that one cable was used to pull down a tree that was leaning the wrong way, while the other cable would be used to hold the crawler snug against a stump to keep it from dragging back. Or possibly the second cable was attached to the butt log, and after the tree was felled (toward the tractor), the second winch pulled the log back around to where the butt end was forward. I'm not sure.

On the 740, maybe the second winch was just for back-up in case the main winch broke down. >:(

I'll bet the 740 can drag some serious timber. Wonder how much it weighs.

Rob-IL · December 09, 2012, 04:56:10 AM

On this 740 winch setup the small winch was known as a gathering winch for getting logs up to the skidder to be rehooked to the large 1"+ mainline of the large winch. Deffinitly for or a young healthy skidder operator that enjoys a workout!!! If this is the skidder I'm thinking of????? and without mentioning names, a sawmill in Indiana had it for awhile and sold it to a local longtime (actually lifetime) logger in 1988. The hood had several rifle holes from vandelisim and the rear tires were wore out. He (the local logger) bought a new hood along with new rear tires. After having the engine hp turned up the engine let go and had to be majored. It worked ok for awhile but then became plaged with other mechanicial issues and sat for several years as the logger retired from logging and went into raising turkeys. It was more of a spare skidder as his main skidder was a 1972 240D Timberjack that he purchased almost new and that he worked hard for many years. I was told that 2-3 (maybe more) years ago a guy from the Marshall vicinity bought the 740 but then got into a relationship problem and fowarded the skidder or let some other logger(s) use it in which is was abandoned at a site. It was a very sharp skidder in the late 80s & early 90s!! I'm "NOT" 100% sure this is the same skidder though!!

thecfarm · December 09, 2012, 07:52:47 AM

Okrafarmer,I have the same book. I brought it for my Father in '94 for Christmas.it's been a few years since I have looked through it again.

Okrafarmer · December 09, 2012, 08:07:58 AM

I get it. A haul winch plus an accumulator. ;)

cutter88 · December 09, 2012, 02:34:12 PM

ive seen a couple with the double winch its very uncommen but i was told it was used one for gathering and one for hauling kind of overkill in my opinion

lumberjack48 · December 09, 2012, 03:52:08 PM

Be a nice clear cut skidder, I'd put 6 to 8 chokers on each winch, pull a double hitch every turn. It would do the same work as 2 small skidders.

In a nice patch of Aspen, 3 cds a hitch, 20 hitchs a day, 60 cds a day, this would have kept me busy.

Okrafarmer · December 09, 2012, 03:57:51 PM

Sounds like you'd definitely need a full-time feller or two to lay them down-- way too big for a one-man operation.

I grew up around the one-man guys, using a JD 440, TJ 2-series, or similar sized machine. They would go in the woods, cut, limb, and pull out a few twitches a day, all by themselves. Rough, very rough work. I'm not sure how many twitches they would get that way, seems like maybe around 5-7 a day.

lumberjack48 · December 09, 2012, 06:50:41 PM

I would have had no problem keeping up, i fell for two skidders a few yrs.

The wife and me pulled 10 twitches by 10 AM, we called-em turns or drags.
We ran 6 or 8 chokers, i like to make 30 twitches a day, some days i had to settle for 20.

When i worked along i made 20 twitches a day or a 100 to 120 trees.

We were logging nice Swamp Spruce with 2 skidders, 1 faller and a landing man. Our goal was to make 80 twitches a day, 40 apiece, if everything went good no problem. I kept the skid short, made road in the swamp as we went. We limbed each others trees with the skidders, averaging 1/2 a cd a twitch, pulling 40 cds a day.

I loved to move wood the fastest easiest way i could do it. I've seen guys work like dogs and get nothing done. In nice Aspen and a short skid, running over the pile, no decking we've made 7 an hour, the wife loved to hustle like that. Sometime she didn't ever turn the skidder around, drop, unhook, and back, back up where i was falling, i'd grab the line and hook.

redprospector · December 09, 2012, 10:17:29 PM

Quote from: lumberjack48 on December 09, 2012, 06:50:41 PM
I would have had no problem keeping up, i fell for two skidders a few yrs.

The wife and me pulled 10 twitches by 10 AM, we called-em turns or drags.
We ran 6 or 8 chokers, i like to make 30 twitches a day, some days i had to settle for 20.

When i worked along i made 20 twitches a day or a 100 to 120 trees.

We were logging nice Swamp Spruce with 2 skidders, 1 faller and a landing man. Our goal was to make 80 twitches a day, 40 apiece, if everything went good no problem. I kept the skid short, made road in the swamp as we went. We limbed each others trees with the skidders, averaging 1/2 a cd a twitch, pulling 40 cds a day.

I loved to move wood the fastest easiest way i could do it. I've seen guys work like dogs and get nothing done. In nice Aspen and a short skid, running over the pile, no decking we've made 7 an hour, the wife loved to hustle like that. Sometime she didn't ever turn the skidder around, drop, unhook, and back, back up where i was falling, i'd grab the line and hook.

We alway's called them turns, or drags too. I guess different places, different lingo.
I've never got to do a clear cut, it's always been thinning or selective cuts. Last year I was on a job that the turns were so long that we couldn't get 2 in an hour. I put 10 chokers on the little 440 and tried to double up on every choker possible. The trees weren't big so we averaged about 15 logs a turn. We were only able to pull 8 or 10 turns a day. It was hard on the skidder, and operator but I did put a guy on the landing to work up the logs while the skidder was gone. We had to deck the logs high because of limited landing space.
I'm glad that one's over, but since everything has slowed way down around here I'd like to have another job just like it right now.

Andy

Okrafarmer · December 10, 2012, 12:24:28 AM

I don't really know how many turns or twitches these guys would make in a day, when I said 5-7 a day, it was just a guess. But these guys were 100% on their own, doing selective cutting. That means they cut all their trees, limbed them (not always possible with the skidder, depending on species, size, and logging plan limitations), attached them to the winch one by one, and sometimes not all from the same spot, skidded them to the landing, got off, unhooked, and headed back for more. Depending on species and end use, they sometimes also had to buck them at the landing.

The firewood guys, like BW who did some logging on my parents' land in the 80's, would then also sometimes cut and even split the firewood on the landing too. BW eventually went to a firewood processor and that sped things up.

lumberjack48 · December 10, 2012, 11:36:02 AM

I've worked alone in selective cut pine, i fell and limbed, hooked and run the skidder. Sometimes i'd have to stop 4 times to get 6 trees, I'd pull and deck 5 twitches before a lunch break, i did this 4 times a day.

I worked for my father one summer, he did the skidding, my job was to fall, limb and buck up on the landing. He payed me $10. a cd., he all so furnished the saws. We were cutting Aspen pulpwood, saw bolts, Birch pulp and saw bolts and White pine saw logs. We average a 100 cds a week, this is the best money i ever made in the logging industry, $1000. a week carrying a lunch bucket. [ this was in the 70'ds ]

Okrafarmer · December 10, 2012, 11:59:08 PM

In the 70's that was some serious money!
8)

Too bad people can't seem to make money like that now. I have to think it would be the equivalent of $3,000-4,000 / week nowadays considering inflation. I doubt very many non-owners make anything like that these days.

HiTech · December 15, 2012, 06:48:45 AM

A 740 would pull the whole woods at once. lol Where I work 5 to 7 hitches a day would be good. We select cut hardwood. I call it weeding the garden. Cherry, maple, beech, ash, etc. We skid whole trees with some limbs left on, big enough for firewood. Believe me they pull harder than just hauling the log part out. Beech seems to be the heaviest. The cherry with the rough bark pulls hard on dry ground. Yellow birch with it's huge crown takes time to put up. A gazillion limbs and many firewood size. 2 skidders, a C5 with a Deutz and a C4 with a big Ford engine. They both sort of sip fuel. If it wasn't for the firewood there would be little money in it. An old guy told me that to end up with a little money in today's log market, you have to start out with a lot. lol Seems to be truer everyday. I would just guess a 740 would be in the 20 ton range weight wise. My neighbor has a 640 and he says it is around 17 ton.