Small Scale hardwood logging with Tractor, Winch and Excavator

[blooper]

Wanted to share a video of a typical evening/weekend for me (or whenever I'm not at my real job),
It shows me using my Massey 1648 with Norse 450 winch attachment to pull out some hardwood (maple and birch) and pulpwood logs (mostly spruce and Aspen) and then cleaning up the brush and pulling some stumps with my Komatsu pc-200 to make a nice flat logging trail/road.

I also demolished an old camp on our property, captured a vid of a tough as nails porcupine escaping the demolition too!

I have about 25 cord in three or four piles and I don't know how many tonne of pulpwood cut. Pretty cold here (Nova Scotia) last week, between -10 and -20 but it makes for nice frozen ground.

 

[Snobdds]

Nice video and nice equipment.

 

[Citydude]

Thanks for posting. I will be doing the same thing your doing this spring. I need to cut a swath through ponderosa and Aspen 500' long 30' wide to get power to a property I'm developing. The only difference is my project will be going down the side of a ridge with some rather steep inclines in places. I will be using a JD160 and my little 2501 with a Farmi 351 winch. There is 3 feet of snow on it now so I have to wait until spring and when it dries up a bit. The 160 doesn't like a muddy hillside.

 

[blooper]

Thanks for posting. I will be doing the same thing your doing this spring. I need to cut a swath through ponderosa and Aspen 500' long 30' wide to get power to a property I'm developing. The only difference is my project will be going down the side of a ridge with some rather steep inclines in places. I will be using a JD160 and my little 2501 with a Farmi 351 winch. There is 3 feet of snow on it now so I have to wait until spring and when it dries up a bit. The 160 doesn't like a muddy hillside.

Awesome. The ravine definitely presents some challenges... I cleared one section that was quite steep, used the excavator to lessen the steepness in one spot for access then fell the trees so the tops were at the higher end of the banks and got them with the winch from there.

I find now, its easiest to just go in to cut 6 logs, drag them out to burn pile with the tops and branches on, then cut them there, after I have a bunch, I fire up the Komatsu and pile the trash and go take some out just the stumps that are in the way when i am winching. Then continue on to the log pile where i stack them for the log truck to pick up.

I used to clear about an acre with the saw at a time, then clean up an acre with the excavator and make piles of logs everywhere, then go in with tractor to start dragging them all out. All depends on how much time you have I guess, and how much slash you want to clean up.

 

[Citydude]

Thanks. I'm renting the 160 so time adds up . Im thinking i would just cut everything down, winch it out, and then use the 160 for stump/debris removal. Good point in felling the trees and dragging tops and all out. That makes a lot of sense. The stumps I can maneuver around, I hope?

 

[blooper]

Nice video and nice equipment.

Thanks!

 

[blooper]

Thanks. I'm renting the 160 so time adds up . Im thinking i would just cut everything down, winch it out, and then use the 160 for stump/debris removal. Good point in felling the trees and dragging tops and all out. That makes a lot of sense. The stumps I can maneuver around, I hope?

Right on.... just a thought... around here guys who own excavators will stump and level land (mostly blueberry fields here) for between $800-1000 per acre, and can cover almost an acre per day, you might want to check on that vs rental costs before you rent one (that includes fuel and the guys that do it full time are FAST!)

 

[Citydude]

That's pretty reasonable! I'll do some checking on that. Thanks.

 

[RNeumann]

Thx for sharing! I will be tackling my first site clearing this summer. I hope I learned a little...

 

[blooper]

Thx for sharing! I will be tackling my first site clearing this summer. I hope I learned a little...

Have fun!