iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Custom Log Arch/Loader

Started by Mcgeezer, December 05, 2017, 06:20:04 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Mcgeezer

Hi Gang,

I am hoping to see some photos of your homemade log loader/arches.  I remember searching the 100's of pages of great reading material here and over different topics saw some amazing home built custom tow-behind log arch/loaders.  A few in particular actually lifted the entire log off the ground which made for easy loading on the mill using an electric winch. 
This system would be ideal for me, and I have some plans drawn-up, as I won't have any heavy equipment initially for my operation.  Ideally, I would like to lift a 16' log 3-4' off the ground.
Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Brucer

Scott, I got your message but my obsolete browser won't send replies to PM's (they just disappear). Click on the e-mail icon (envelope) to the left and send me a quick e-mail. That will automatically give me your e-mail address to reply to (without plastering it all over the internet).
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Kbeitz

Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

TKehl

This may work for you.  Tall enough to lift high to load the mill.  Removable platform low enough to not tip on a side slope.   ;)

In the long run, you make your own luck – good, bad, or indifferent. Loretta Lynn

Magicman

There are many custom built log arches here.  The easiest/simplest thing would be to use the "Search" function.  I quickly found 16 pages of arch related replies.
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

WV Sawmiller

   I use my log arch with my ATV. On steep slopes I usually lift the front and let the rear drag for extra stability. On more level areas I add a rear dolly like a separate pulpwood truck axyl concept.


 


 


 
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Crusarius

I will be building something eventually.I like the idea of being able to set it on the bed using the arch. Will definitely have to keep that in mind.

PineHill4488

Here's mine, peep the sketch in the Sept/Oct 1985 Mother Earth News of a straddle-legged log hauler.

Original Version

Modified this past weekend
Fall 2013 purchased Stihl MS 660 and an Alaskan 36" mill, am happy with the setup, hobbyist not a volume producer, have milled oak, hickory, yellow pine, and power poles.

WV Sawmiller

   Looking at some of the log arches shown here got me to thinking - the size and style of the log arch needs to conform to the intended use. The smaller, more maneuverable arches tend to be used to haul logs out of the woods and to a log landing. The larger, heavier arches seem to be used to move large logs around the yard and sometimes to transport them down the highway.  Also, what is your prime mover? By hand? ATV? Truck? Tractor? It all matters.

    I could never pull some of the big arches shown behind my ATV up and down the mountainside and between the trees on the trails where I use mine. It would be nice to have a second, larger arch to move the logs once I get them down to the log yard/mill site. In some cases I have found it easier to just relocate the mill to a new site where the log is located than to move the log.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Kbeitz

My arch is on the large size. I use a 50hp Kubota or my jeep to move it.
I take it in the woods and it has a 100 foot 1/2" cable on a gas powered
winch to pull the logs up steep banks to the arch. This was so I don't need
to take it off the road.



 
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

21incher

I agreewith you VW Sawmiller. I made my arch as small as possible to be able to handle the max log size that my mill can handle. Tracks nice behind my 20 hp compact tractor. Watch the center of gravity if you have sidehills. Use bigger wheels and tires so it can transverse roots and holes in the woods without hanging up. Proper lighting and emblems if it will be used on a side road. If I build another it will have electric emergency brakes. Here's a pic of mine.


 
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Crusarius

You put a lot of time and detail into that. It looks beautiful. The log holder on the tongue is really a nice touch. What else you got? :) Love to see that in person some day.

Sixacresand

 

 
Not pretty but it get logs to the mill and pallets of lumber away from the mill.

I like this one I saw on You Tube: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vo2jarQLEA
"Sometimes you can make more hay with less equipment if you just use your head."  Tom, Forestry Forum.  Tenth year with a LT40 Woodmizer,

Crusarius

Nobody said functional had to be pretty.

21incher

Quote from: Crusarius on December 07, 2017, 07:10:59 AM
You put a lot of time and detail into that. It looks beautiful. The log holder on the tongue is really a nice touch. What else you got? :) Love to see that in person some day.

My whole arch was built around the front lift that I feel is a necessary feature . You are only a couple miles south of me take a ride when the glaciers melt.  :)
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

Crusarius

I am wondering if  the glaciers are going to come this year.

Thank You Sponsors!