A little logging fun

hydrogeo · Post by **hydrogeo** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 6:56 am

Had a chance to get out and cut some wood last weekend. It was 5 below when I got started so things were slow to get moving.

First had to plow the road out to my firewood yard, maybe 18" of snow:

Cut a bunch of ash and some maple. Cut for a few hours and probably ended up with 2-3 cords in the yard when I got done. A good start for next year. This was a pretty good hitch for the old girl:

Kids like having a fire going to make marshmallows, and a cup of tea makes for a nice work break.

Here's the business end of my logging setup:

It's a Carco C-1 winch that looks like it came with the 40c from the dealer. Paint looks original. I run four slides and chain chokers from a Norse tractor winch. If you've never logged with a winch before you don't know what your missing. It has to be at least twice as efficient.

Safety was clearly not a significant factor back in the day, however. I run a really heavy cable as I'm not interested in it breaking on me. The winch is really too much for the crawler. When it's pulling either whatever it's hooked to is coming or the crawler is going. I really want to build a FOPS setup with a screen on the back, and need a better saw scabbord, but alas shop time is a valuable commodity.

whiteclipse16 · Post by **whiteclipse16** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:35 am

That looks like a good time. Probably tough to find logs under 18" of white stuff. (Assuming they were already down).
I wish I could get a winch for mine that didn't cost a fortune.

notmeu · Post by **notmeu** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 9:12 am

I wish I could get a winch for mine that didn't cost a fortune.[/quote]

I second that!

Post by **Lavoy** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:16 am

What is that deep white stuff!?!?!? Somebody forgot to send us any this winter.
Lavoy

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:21 am

Nice pictures. I've been taking down and pulling in wood this winter to make room for a new post mounted photovoltaic system at the house. Frozen ground and snow make for easier pulling and less damage to the lawn. Been wading through the white stuff a bit too. Have fun. Paul

notmeu · Post by **notmeu** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:09 am

I never logged with a winch, nothing but chains here... I always thought logging with a skidding winch like this http://www.embmfg.com/Forestry/Winches/FX65.aspx
would be about as perfect as it could get.

whiteclipse16 · Post by **whiteclipse16** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:37 am

notmeu wrote:I never logged with a winch, nothing but chains here... I always thought logging with a skidding winch like this http://www.embmfg.com/Forestry/Winches/FX65.aspx
would be about as perfect as it could get.

My stepdad has one of those for his smaller tractor. It works great. He uses it all the time.
Only downfall he said was that you can't pull at much of an angle at all. He uses snatchblocks a lot so he's getting straight pulls.

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 6:06 pm

Only downfall he said was that you can't pull at much of an angle at all. He uses snatchblocks a lot so he's getting straight pulls.

When I was learning to log, One of the hardest things to learn was to take the time to position the machine so that there was a straight pull so that the cable would spool somewhat like a casting fishing reel. It often means repositioning the machine mid-winch so that the cable spools nicely and doesn't eat up the cable or winch body; fairleads and sometimes choker offsets (snatch blocks/slider) help considerably. This applies to any winch system. Paul

hydrogeo · Post by **hydrogeo** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 6:35 pm

Yup, I agree. With no fairlead and a heavy cable it is even worse in my case. I have to watch the cable pretty closely when the hitch starts to get close or it will bunch up and bind. After a few time of having to hitch the cable to a tree to get it to unspool I learned that a little more time to make sure the machine is positioned right saves a lot of time and cursing for the next hitch.

Paul Buhler wrote:
Only downfall he said was that you can't pull at much of an angle at all. He uses snatchblocks a lot so he's getting straight pulls.
When I was learning to log, One of the hardest things to learn was to take the time to position the machine so that there was a straight pull so that the cable would spool somewhat like a casting fishing reel. It often means repositioning the machine mid-winch so that the cable spools nicely and doesn't eat up the cable or winch body; fairleads and sometimes choker offsets (snatch blocks/slider) help considerably. This applies to any winch system. Paul

Scottyb · Post by **Scottyb** » Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:53 am

edited and re posted further down

hydrogeo · Post by **hydrogeo** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:19 pm

Scottyb, not sure about others but I can't see your pictures. I have thought about trying to build an arch but I was concerned about the added stress to the winch mount. My tracks have snow pads with staggered ice caulks on them, which help a lot in the woods but are not so great for the lawn, gravel drive, and garage floor (as such also not great for my marriage).

My logging is done for now until things warm up. We have well over 3' of snow on the ground. I can sort of go forward but trying to turn results in an instant stuck. Having a winch is nice for that too.

Scottyb · Post by **Scottyb** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:33 am

[/img] My set up for logging Jd winch pulls about 15000 lbs more or less depending on how much line is out of the drum.

[/img]
.I need a rops on this 350b howevet the pallet gives some protection in case of a cable brake and, is handy for using as a tool rack

[/img]

Thesebolts really work well for logging in the snow anr. they come off easy in the spring

[/img]

I use 8 sets per side, that way there is 3 sets contacting the ground at all times.

notmeu · Post by **notmeu** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:10 am

I need a rops on this 350b howevet the pallet gives some protection in case of a cable brake and, is handy for using as a tool rack

scottyb, I had a tree fall on my home built cage the other night while pulling trees out of the woods, if I didn't have it I would of had one hell of a headache today! It's a must have for logging!!!!

Scottyb · Post by **Scottyb** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:50 pm

I have a nice stack of 4 inch square pipe that is top of the list for the welder to make my fops. Hopefully it will get done soon. I have looked everywhere around here for a canopy of any kind for a 350 with no success. I should/could have converted my 450b loader into a logging machine by now instead. It has a nice rops. I have 4 350s, none with a canopy. I like the size of the 350 in the forest, around the yard, and I have a grapple for it.

Scottyb · Post by **Scottyb** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:50 pm

I have a nice stack of 4 inch square pipe that is top of the list for the welder to make my fops. Hopefully it will get done soon. I have looked everywhere around here for a canopy of any kind for a 350 with no success. I should/could have converted my 450b loader into a logging machine by now instead. It has a nice rops. I have 4 350s, none with a canopy. I like the size of the 350 in the forest, around the yard, and I have a grapple for it.

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A little logging fun

A little logging fun

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