skidding a REALLY big log

[dfkrug]

It's funny, but even with your description and dimensions, it did not dawn on me how big that tree is until I saw you (I'm guessing it's you) standing beside it. That tree is huge and you did some nice work to move it in a controlled and safe manner. Nice job!

Thx, Jim. Yeah, that's me....the only photo of me on the internet...ever. I
used it for scale, as you see. I try to keep my ugly mug as anonymous
as possible.

As for safety, I am not a daredevil....indeed I think of myself as somewhat
of a chicken. But...a carefull analysis of the forces involved, plus a bit of
common sense, and many big tasks are doable safely. IF you have the
right equipment. I do NOT cut these big trees down myself.

I used a 100-ft cable and a 50-ft cable along with my homemade snatch
block and some chain. This allows me to be well away from danger.

 

[beenthere]

dfkrug
Nice job getting it cut, and moved off your road. Obvious you knew what you were doing, and went about it in a controlled way. Don't need to be afraid of such things, as long as you have the experience and knowledge to release it and let it move where you want it to go.
Looks like the quality isn't very high, due to the large limbs that were trimmed off. May appear that there is some butt rot as well. Did you find any when bucking the stump off (if you did that yet)?
What length log is possible to get out of this butt cut?

 

[dfkrug]

Looks like the quality isn't very high, due to the large limbs that were trimmed off. May appear that there is some butt rot as well. Did you find any when bucking the stump off (if you did that yet)?
What length log is possible to get out of this butt cut?

There is a good 40-ft of straight trunk on this log. If it were milled, it would
have to be cut at least in half because it would have to be skidded down the
road to a work area or loading area. That's about 300-400ft away and
down a 13-15% grade. The road in that section (only used by my 2
neighbors) is in poor shape. The section I use, plus parking areas, is all
paved with asphalt and in excellent shape. I think that log will be there
for years, esp since it will take a 36" chainsaw to do some of the cuts. It
is up to the neighbors if they want to remove it.

DF trees have no tap roots, and this one had a bad uphill root. The rest of
the tree's insides look good. It had a few mushrooms on the sides, which
is an indicator I look for to know if you have a problem tree (inside rot).
Maybe more TBN folks know about looking for "toadstools" on the sides
of DF trees.

 

[Carykong]

If milling remains an option, I am thinking that a swingsaw mill could accomplish the task with minimal movement of the log,no lifting or skidding. Lucas Swingsaw is one of the brands. Here's a youtube on a homemade swingsaw in action. YouTube - Homemade swingmill sawmill

 

[JoelD]

Nice work, big tree, I'm thinking I would've moved, not the tree, but the family

I don't see trees that big around here.

Thanks for the before and after photos.

Joel

 

[20 20]

Shame it is not going to be milled, hard to find decent logs like that. The loggers around here are scalping everything taking tiny trees 8" diameter. This is why the lumber at lowes home depot and such is crap, bad harvesting pratices. Seems like a logger in the area would have no problem taking that from your neighbor?

 

[dfkrug]

Seems like a logger in the area would have no problem taking that from your neighbor?

I don't how it works back East, but here in CA anyone who brings logs to
a mill has to show them that it came from land that had a Timber Harvest
Permit, which comes from the the CDF (CA Dept of Forestry). To get a
THP, you have to hire a licensed Forester. Only DF and redwood have
value to a logger, and you have to have at least a few truckloads of trees
to make it at all worthwhile for a logger to do the work. Unless you have
many truckloads of trees, the landowner won't get paid anything. My
18 DF trees in 1996 sold for about $30K at the mill, and that was enough
for a crew of 3 to rent their equipment and do the work for the trees.

There is a huge unintended consequence to the extreme difficulty of
getting a permit and finding a logger willing to do the work: we have many
rural areas that have unmanaged forests that have become fire hazards.

My 19 acres was fully logged 100+ years ago, but now has many trees
that are over 100 ft tall.

This photo is my biggest redwood stump from over 100 years ago. It was
cut at about 10ft off the ground and must have been over 200 feet tall. In
another 200-300 years, maybe it will rot away.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I don't how it works back East, but here in CA anyone who brings logs to
a mill has to show them that it came from land that had a Timber Harvest
Permit, which comes from the the CDF (CA Dept of Forestry). To get a
THP, you have to hire a licensed Forester.

WOW, no wonder our country is in such bad shape.

 

[dave1949]

WOW, no wonder our country is in such bad shape.

It is true, it can be a PITA, but without those controls, we would, and did, say, WOW, look at the barren hillsides washing down to subsoil. The problem is to find a happy medium, and as long as there are people in the business for short term gain only, it's hard to find and keep that sensible common ground.

Regulations pile up on themselves because there is always somebody who follows the exact letter of a simple rule but manages to violate the spirit of the reason the reg was made in the first place. So, more detail and sub-clauses follow. It's a vicious circle once started. In many ways, blaming the state forestry management people is shooting the messenger. Why not get mad at the folks who created the problem to begin with?

I have slope sides on my lot that have no topsoil. This area was clear cut and used for sheep and cattle pasture from the mid-1800's until about 70 years ago. It's been logged over at least twice since then. It can take a long time for a forest floor to recover.

Dave.

 

[dfkrug]

It is true, it can be a PITA, but without those controls, we would, and did, say, WOW, look at the barren hillsides washing down to subsoil.

I certainly want to see SOME regulation of the lumber industry. I have
seen close-up the devastation left behind by logging....AND by forest fires.

Unfortunately, regulation of logging impacts those who just want to
protect their homesteads from wildfires.

 

[dave1949]

I certainly want to see SOME regulation of the lumber industry. I have
seen close-up the devastation left behind by logging....AND by forest fires.

Unfortunately, regulation of logging impacts those who just want to
protect their homesteads from wildfires.

Well, that's the sensible but missing middle ground. You folks have a real issue with fires, we can only see the news clips and I'm sure that doesn't compare at all to seeing it in person. Anything scary on video taken from a mile away is REALLY scary.

We are on the same path with harvest regulations. If you want to sell to most mills, it will really help to have the sustainable forest certified harvest. Plus, we need an approved harvest plan for anything over a couple of acres. To get that, you need to hire a certified forester who draws up a management plan. Oddly enough, here where large forest fires are pretty rare - about non-existant, we are encouraged to keep trees away from our buildings, etc.

They watch shoreline zone harvests here like a hawk. There is a formula you need to comply with that specifies the remaining tree basal area that must be left intact even to improve your view of the lake/river/stream. It all makes some sense, but I agree, it usually gets carried to an extreme and feeds on itself.

Maine collects alot of property tax on waterfront homes, they protect that income stream
Dave.

 

[20 20]

DFKrug; That's a shame, if a tree has fallen and there is good timber in it then it should be allowed to be milled. I understand about bad loggers/logging going on, but 2 wrongs don't make a right. Too many stupid laws is just as bad{if not worse} as no laws. Regulate this, regulate that, mean while nothing is helping, laws, laws, laws but not a lick of common sense .

 

[dfkrug]

That's a shame, if a tree has fallen and there is good timber in it then it should be allowed to be milled.

OK, since you mention it, here is the real irony:

I am allowed to cut, according to my zoning in this county, up to 10%
of all of my large trees, and I CAN let them rot, or burn them, or haul
them to the dump. What I can NOT do is SELL them to a licensed sawmill.
What THAT means is no pro logger will cut them and take them to the
mill without a permit from the state. So you can't economically cut them
if you can not sell them to a mill. Make sense?

 

[dave1949]

OK, since you mention it, here is the real irony:

I am allowed to cut, according to my zoning in this county, up to 10%
of all of my large trees, and I CAN let them rot, or burn them, or haul
them to the dump. What I can NOT do is SELL them to a licensed sawmill.
What THAT means is no pro logger will cut them and take them to the
mill without a permit from the state. So you can't economically cut them
if you can not sell them to a mill. Make sense?

I could maybe see timber lobbyest behind that rule. The argument would be they don't want to compete with no permit wood cuts as they would be at an economic disadvantage. Other than that, no clue.

It is a shame it is very difficult to sell small amounts of logs. There are a few buyers around here that offer roadside pickup for a truck load of logs. They have a grapple arm on the truck. But for less than a decent load, nobody can afford to run around picking up a tree here and there.
Dave.

 

[SPIKER]

I second the SWING MILL idea on these large logs like this that are in inaccessible areas. the swing mills can cut pretty good lumber quickly but they are not cheap either. maybe a nitch market for people/someone who owns one to cut/mill for property owners. You can probably look locally for a swing mill owner, check at the Forestry Forum, and maybe even local want ads. or craigslist. craigslist: california classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events not sure what city is close to you (I lived in CA for 2 years in Edwards AFB, (only got up north once to the redwood/sequoia nat forest back in 1992.) trees i wont forget that is for sure....

Mark

 

[jimmyj]

I am allowed to cut, according to my zoning in this county, up to 10%
of all of my large trees, and I CAN let them rot, or burn them, or haul
them to the dump. What I can NOT do is SELL them to a licensed sawmill.
Make sense?

Un-freaking beleivable.

 

[scoutcub]

krug;

Couldn't use that CAT in your avatar to tackle the tree? That is one monster log. I thought I had some whoppers up the street in WA state.....

 

[archerm3]

OK, since you mention it, here is the real irony:

I am allowed to cut, according to my zoning in this county, up to 10%
of all of my large trees, and I CAN let them rot, or burn them, or haul
them to the dump. What I can NOT do is SELL them to a licensed sawmill.
What THAT means is no pro logger will cut them and take them to the
mill without a permit from the state. So you can't economically cut them
if you can not sell them to a mill. Make sense?

Could you "give" the log to the mill (not the logger) for free, they can come out and get it, then they could owe you a "favor" in the future?

 

[newbury]

That tree is awesome!
Your local forester should be able to find someone to help take it off your hands.
I don't know about any $$ but I would be surprised if there wasn't someone local.
Or try both Forestryforum and Arboristsite if you want to find someone maybe reliable. Versus craigslist bag of nuts.

 

[archerm3]

That tree is awesome!
Your local forester should be able to find someone to help take it off your hands.
I don't know about any $$ but I would be surprised if there wasn't someone local.
Or try both Forestryforum and Arboristsite if you want to find someone maybe reliable. Versus craigslist bag of nuts.

Newbury, I found your statement funny, in as much as there is just as many nuts on any given forum as there might be on craigslist...generally speaking