Harvesting Firewood

[Anonymous Poster]

I went from a walk-behind 21" Honda to a BX2200 after we moved to a larger property two years ago. Skidding some logs and hauling cut firewood is something I'll need to do on our hilly seven acres. We've got heavily wooded land with a lot of elevation changes. Looking out the back second story window I can see about four upcroppings (ridges) in about 100 yards. I doubt I'd be skidding logs very far - just to move them off slopes to be cut to length.

As a beginner, I'm in need of basic info:
- where do you buy your chain/cable for skidding logs?
- any 3pt attachment needed or just hook the chain to the frame?
- had anybody mounted a power winch to pull logs (and extract BXs from mudpits)?
- can firewood carts articulate enough to go up and down short steep slopes?
- considering the tight spaces and relatively short distances, should I just do three runs with the FEL filled instead of trying to pull a firewood cart?
- tool + chainsaw carrier?
....thanks, Rich S.
p.s. I HIGHLY recommend the Jotul Oslo woodstove.

 

[Boondox]

Rich -- Harvesting firewood is an art, and you'll get plenty of different responses on this one. I actually got into this whole tractor thing to make my firewood gathering simpler. Started out with a small chainsaw and a Honda ATV. My thought was I could skid logs out of the forest (we're also quite hilly), but between getting hung up on stones and stumps it was just plain hard work. Oh, and did I mention the thrill of having a log start to roll the other way while you're riding? Next thing I tried was a power kit for the quad, and the addition of huge, gnarly tires for a better grip. I was still getting hung up on stumps, so in the end I cut them double stove length and lashed the logs to the racks, but that was unsafe.

So I bought a little B1750 Kubota. It was a great little tractor, but I was simply asking too much of it. Not enough power to pull logs unless I was able to hoist the butt end off the ground; and if I did that the tractor was so light even with a bucket of dirt that it became uncontrollable. So it was back to using the chainsaw and filling the FEL bucket with logs. At least with the Kubota I was able to cut the logs into four times stove length for the trip home. But did I mention how light the tractor was? And how unsafe it is to wrestle something around when it outweighs your tractor 2:1?

So I started shopping around. Was going to go for a B2710, but got some excellent advice from Steve Carver regarding mass vs power. Finally settled on an L3010. I've been enormously pleased with this tractor (her name is Clementine), though even with the weight of the tractor, loader (full of dirt), loaded tires, and 500# blade on the back more times than not I was having trouble pulling large logs off the pile or out of the forest. If you ever visit Luce Hill in northern Vermont, those huge holes you see in the forest floor are from my loaded Ags spinning free. And let's face it...pushing the towing envelope while dodging trees and boulders on a steep slope is not the safest way of doing things.

So just last month I broke down and bought a logging winch. With 165' of 10mm cable there aren't many trees out of reach. What's more, I can reach them from firm and level ground! Makes a world of difference. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago I was able to skid a large cherry trunk over the side of a huge granite face and thru 250'+ of forest using some spare cable to extend my reach. There's no way I could have driven Clementine up that forest path, and had I tried she'd still be stuck up there in the mud! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Sorry to be so long winded, but for this activity there are few shortcuts, and even fewer safe shortcuts. Don't exceed your tractor's capacity. Cut em short and buy a winch.

You can find chain pretty much anywhere (Home Depot has it) as long as you keep an eye on the grade. I tend to buy from the local tractor/chainsaw dealer just to keep him in business

I have a Jotul Alpha and agree with you wholeheartedly about their quality!

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[Egon]

Hauling out logs:
Sometimes lots of cable, a few snatchblocks and several double blocks can do wonders to get a log to a point where it will easy to handle.
Also rember things pull downhill easier and if you hook to high going uphill the greasy side may be the up side.
Egon

 

[cp1969]

If you want to get by cheap, you could just drag the logs using your FEL. Hook the chain around the log towards one end and FEL, raise it, and drag the log to where ever you want it.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by cp1969 on 11/24/01 05:24 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[MossRoad]

They make some small loggin arches that are very safe and easy to use. Do a search for logging arch. There are several posts in the forums concerning this.

<font color=green> MossRoad </font color=green>

 

[Boondox]

Be really careful with this. Remember he described his property as hilly...and few things are as dangerous as a heavy load shifting in a small tractor's bucket as you traverse uneven ground!

Been there, and wish I hadn't done that! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Pete


www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[cp1969]

Not talking about lifting the log off the ground with the bucket...only one end, and then only just enough to make dragging easy. It won't tip over, because any tipping would just lower the end of the log back down to the ground.

But, as you say, I wouldn't do much dragging of logs on steep slopes because I wouldn't want the tractor hooked to anything that could take off downhill. But that applies to any method that connects log to tractor unless the tractor is MUCH heavier than the log.

Edit: Here is a site about a family logging business which I found interesting.
http://www.vannattabros.com/<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by cp1969 on 11/24/01 09:03 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Youare]

I have gathered my firewood and done some light logging for the past 27 years with a Ford 8N and a Farmi winch. This past summer I purchased a Kubota L3000DT to give the old Ford a break.

I learned the hard way about moving logs with a FEL on hills. Only drag a log with the FEL if you are backing down the hill. If you drive down the weight on the front end makes the rear end lighter, the end with brakes. Backing down gives you more control, it lets you drop the log to slow you down without running over it.

There is a winch made by Lewis Co. that uses your chainsaw motor to power it for pulling logs and other things out of the woods. The best thing is a 3PH mounted winch sized for your tractor.

As far as chain or cable goes, the best cable is what is called wire rope. It is flexible and easier to manage than cable. Any industrial equipment or farm supply business should have some.
I have the best service with 3/8" chain. They all wear if you drag it along the ground. I have three chokers made out of chain that I have used for years.

There are times when I have pulled my tractor backwards out of a stuck condition with the winch, just be sure to pull straight back. I have pulled other tractors and trucks out of the mud with my tractor and winch.

Randy

 

[theboman]

My two cents of info. Don't lift those logs with your FEL if you are on hills, you're asking for trouble. Drag those suckers to level as possible ground. If you ain't got an even terrain, haul road, etc to tow a buggy full of firewood becareful one could easily flip and depending on the hillside/trailer height etc it may flip the tractor. BE CAREFUL, ditto on using the chainsaw.

Use as short a chain as possible to skid logs, that way the tractor has more control, and hook the chain to the tractors drawbar (not the 3pt hitch) to keep the center of gravity low and constant.


Bo McCarty
Bluegrass, Pick It Up!