New Favorite Tool

YellowHammer · January 10, 2015, 10:35:22 PM

I had a new tool delivered this weekend and it has already become one of my favorites. A barely used Cat indoor/outdoor forklift. I have a lot of gravel (I have a small gravel pit on the property), pavement and asphalt surfaces, and move our sawmill and finished lumber on pallets from the mill to and from the air drying area, kilns, planer, trailer, lumber racks, in and out of buildings and loading customer vehicles. So I move a lot of lumber and was getting frustrated using my farm tractor loader for this precision and high cycle work. After lots of deliberation and searching, I finally found a not too big, not too small, side shifting, professional grade forklift for these jobs. Here it's carrying about a thousand Bdft of walnut without flinching.
Not only is it pretty, but it's got the chops to get er done in a fraction of the time of my old piece of equipment.

4x4American · January 10, 2015, 10:40:47 PM

Heck yea nice! Make sure you keep her well greased and when you service her there's some sort of propane valve in there you gotta clean out at least on the Toyota's I used to work on there was.

wetdog · January 10, 2015, 10:41:52 PM

Don't it feel good to have the proper tool for the job?

Magicman · January 10, 2015, 10:49:29 PM

Yes, I agree that it is pretty too. Congrats. 8)

customsawyer · January 10, 2015, 10:59:48 PM

That is nice. Now you are going to be fussing at yourself for not doing it sooner.

Privacyleech · January 11, 2015, 12:18:17 AM

That is awesome! While we are on the subject of equipment does anyone have any suggestions of a good starter piece of equipment for around the mill? I have a manual LT28 with the log loading/turning package, but it sure would be nice to get a small tractor or something to use. Just looking for suggestions. . . Congrats on the forklift YH!

drobertson · January 11, 2015, 06:28:24 AM

8) smiley_fiddler 8) Nice!

bandmiller2 · January 11, 2015, 07:37:45 AM

Nothing like a piece of equipment that made for a job. Now you just have to learn where the ends of the forks are. Frank C.

Peter Drouin · January 11, 2015, 08:31:59 AM

Nice one 8) 8) 8) 8)

Bruno of NH · January 11, 2015, 09:40:43 AM

YH
That's a nice unit !
It will move some wood !
Jim/Bruno or NH

78NHTFY · January 11, 2015, 09:46:24 AM

YH--bet your smiling like a Cheshire CAT :D :D. Thought I would make it three guys in a row from NH to congratulate you! ;D All the best, Rob.

backwoods sawyer · January 11, 2015, 12:33:07 PM

Nice 8)

I can hear it now:
It's been getting late for a while now, time to put your new toy up for the night before it turns into morning :D

Life just got easier, side shift is a big plus, will make more time for making sawdust ;D

Do I see a new forklift shed in your future?

woodworker9 · January 11, 2015, 12:39:07 PM

I am so jealous............

Ohio_Bill · January 11, 2015, 07:08:06 PM

Very nice, and I am sure a lot easier to move around in .

StimW · January 11, 2015, 08:01:32 PM

It's a lot harder to find a forklift that will go off road. It seems most smaller ones have little hard warehouse tires.

I got this beauty on CL for $800.00 not running !! Seller said he wanted at least scrap price for it.
It had some stuck valves and distributor was frozen and could not be adjusted. It didn't run when I got it.

WDH · January 11, 2015, 08:49:22 PM

Nice, Robert. Now you can load the kiln twice as fast.

YellowHammer · January 11, 2015, 10:07:26 PM

Quote from: customsawyer on January 10, 2015, 10:59:48 PM
That is nice. Now you are going to be fussing at yourself for not doing it sooner.

That's a fact, especially after using the dog stew out of it this weekend, and wondering why I didn't do this sooner. Even though we are a mom and pop log to retail lumber operation, this year alone, 2014, we moved, transported and lifted 1.15 million lbs of wood, in the various processes going from logs to finished lumber product, and we looked at, and demoed quite a few different pieces of equipment including telehandlers (almost bought one), rough terrain lifts, skid steers, slick tired lifts, even order pickers, used and new. I finally decided one "do all" piece of equipment wouldn't do everything I needed. So after looking at several pieces of equipment, even getting site visits from local lift companies to make suggestions, we decided on this Cat forklift for the part of our operation that is on hard surfaces, gravel and close quarters, and then another piece of equipment that hasn't come in yet, from New Holland, to do the muddy and rough terrain parts.

Next week, the CAT service guys are coming out to put new tires on it and swap the forks out for specialty "lumber" forks.

Quote from: WDH on January 11, 2015, 08:49:22 PM
Nice, Robert. Now you can load the kiln twice as fast.

You're right, the dad gum thing moves a lot of lumber real fast.

YH

Jemclimber · January 12, 2015, 08:29:54 AM

Very nice. I'm curious what specialty lumber forks are?

backwoods sawyer · January 12, 2015, 10:40:29 AM

Thinner and wider ;)

Jemclimber · January 12, 2015, 10:51:36 AM

Thx!!

4x4American · January 12, 2015, 12:29:05 PM

Quote from: Privacyleech on January 11, 2015, 12:18:17 AM
That is awesome! While we are on the subject of equipment does anyone have any suggestions of a good starter piece of equipment for around the mill? I have a manual LT28 with the log loading/turning package, but it sure would be nice to get a small tractor or something to use. Just looking for suggestions. . . Congrats on the forklift YH!

An old farm tractor with a FEL is a good start. They are cheap/reliable. I got a 1981 70 horse john deere 2640 for $6k off a local farmer. My other farmer friend thinks I gave too much but I needed a tractor asap. I can skid logs with it, plow out the sawmill area + driveway, load logs, off load lumber, stack slabs neatly, I will start stacking my firewood on pallets so I can move it with the tractor, unload/load trucks, you can put attachments on the back with 3-point hitch ie a buzzsaw... etc. so much you can do with one. I wouldn't go smaller than 70 horse. I was moving some 19" diameter small end 16' pine logs with it and it was doing about all it could to move them. Later on down the line I can see myself getting a payloader, I can get an old Fiat-Allis off some old boys down the road for probably 8 grand.

blade69001 · January 12, 2015, 12:41:13 PM

Love my forklift, I can not imagine what it is like trying to work without one.

Tom the Sawyer · January 12, 2015, 04:37:16 PM

Very handy for working around the mill. Forklift capabilities, 5000 lb capacity, no "small tire" problems, turns on a dime, moves logs or pallets of lumber. Add a chain and a pair of tongs and it'll snatch logs out of a trailer or pickup bed.

YellowHammer · January 12, 2015, 09:38:08 PM

Quote from: Jemclimber on January 12, 2015, 08:29:54 AM
Very nice. I'm curious what specialty lumber forks are?

Unlike standard forks or pallet forks that generality have a short taper which ends midway down the fork and then goes to a solid rectangular cross section at the heel to make entering pallets and standard loads easier, "Lumber" forks have a constant gradual taper and a distinctly sharp edged tip, and have polished surfaces. This geometry is intended to make entering and penetrating tight packs of lumber very easy, and allows separating and breaking apart stickered stacks. Its kind of like the difference between a stiletto and a kitchen knife.
YH