If I have them cut into lumber. I would cut the bottom Three feet off the log to ensure no fencing was inside it. That should it about 5 feet above the ground when including the height of the stump.
I'm so jealous you can meet good tress everywhere to make good lumber for using various purposes from south korea.. even though you spent much time to pull the log. but you had good job...^^thanks for your video.
Just my $0.02. I have a portable sawmill. For 2 or 3 logs, you will be money ahead to haul them to a mill close. Most people, including myself, have a setup fee plus a minimum rate. That can be hourly or a charge of board foot lumber made out of the logs. We tell customers to have at least 10-12 logs they would like to have milled if we saw logs on their property. It makes it worth the customer's time as well as ours. We also have a fee for blade replacement if we find metal in the logs. Our charge is $50.00 per blade if we hit metal. It's a chance taken in every log, but if you know it's there, cut it out of the tree. I truly enjoyed the video, and wish you the best in your endeavors. I hope this helps your decision-making process.
Brother, relax! As you yourself said earlier in the video, the job got done, no one was injured and nothing got broken. Success! Blessings to you & yours. : )
If you go to the junkyard and get an old car hood for really cheap, that would make a good skidding device to keep the end from digging into the ground. Thanks for the content!
If you have a long enough winch cable you can fell the trees in the correct direction - away from the tractor so that nothing catches when they are being pulled out. You pull by the trunk instead of the top.
I just discovered that there is a second type of gas powered portable winch for use in logging. Its called the Lewis Winch Portable Chainsaw Winch. I prefer a small gas powered winch rather than an electrical powered one, a lot more versatility in where to use them. The UA-cam video "/watch?v=eOEH1f2wv5o" shows one of them put to use. It costs about $900 and you have to supply a chainsaw motor to attach to it. About a 60cc/4hp motor seems to be about the size of motor that should be used. As far as I have been able to find out it is more convenient to use a chainsaw motor that has a centrifugal clutch with the chain gear to the outside. I didn't know that there was such a thing as my old Stihl saw has it on the inside due to the chain break mechanism. Just one more interesting option to consider. :-) OH! As sort of a side note, you might consider getting an arborist throw bag as a way to get your rope higher into the tree when you're using a winch to assist in bringing a tree down. I have used a slightly different idea in the past in which I use a modified slingshot with a bright orange golf ball that I drilled a hole into for attaching the string. What ever works for you.
You have a receiver hitch on the back of the tractor, buy a winch with a receiver mount and use that to skid them out. That way you'll have 50 to 100 ft of cable and you'll be able to control it from the back of your tractor and not tear up your field dragging them out.
I think you will make quite a lot of money selling for a smoker or grill. Nothing like hickory smoke meat. If the grocery stores here in Va. can get nearly $7.00 for a wee bundle of kindling wood small enough and light enough for a 5 yr. old to pick up, I can't even fathom what you would get for hickory cut to fit a smoker or grill. Your decision though. You did a great job of getting down and out to the wood shed. Have a Blessed day.
Cut the brush and saplings out of your way and make a trail large enough to get your tractor into the woods so you can get to the woods where you want to cut. Called a logging trail
Evan, build you a job box with a big winch mounted to it to winch out logs and haul your saw and stuff in that is 3pt. cut your log end to a point to skid them out.
Evan looks like you have to buy a nice pair of Belgian Horses to pull those logs out! Those widow makers are bad! Be careful, be safe. Enjoy all your vids.
What I do is this: I have 4 log dumps on my land. I haul trees to any one of these 4 dumps.. when a dump gets enough logs, I move the splitter and dump trailer out to that log dump and wale away. Once finished, when I move the equipment back to the barn, I stop by any other log dumps on the way and clean them up,if there is enough there to bother…. I set any pieces aside I want to use for wood turning, as a whole log.. and before cutting fire word out of that log, I pull my turning blanks. The trick is to keep my wife from tossing my turning blanks into the firewood dump trailer.
My Great niece asked where Reba's turkeys are .. she will be 4 on the 12th of March... It cracks me up that she refers to Rebecca as Reba. I have told her often. Apparently she likes Reba (?)
They make a logging cone to put over the leading end of a log you want to drag. It is pointed so the log will slide past trees, rocks and what ever. Check out The Outsider or Shawn James as they both have used them.
Yesterday I couldn't spell lumberjack, today I are one... Evan, Cut down more Hickory and have a large amount to make it worth it to have someone come on the property to mill the lumber. If you have enough it will cost less to get some that done. Look for some other trees that make good lumber and have it all done at once. I don't know if there is an "off season" when getting someone to do the work is cheaper or not. Any way, look for as much as you can find to make it worth it, jack
The Outsider skidded logs with his little Massey Ferguson 135 using a picking pole attachment. It seems to be a simple and reliable rear attachment that easily lifted the ends of the logs off the ground. He also used it for several other jobs and it came in quite handy. Check out his YT channel and maybe you can come up with a good idea. Great video as always Evan.
I would scout the woods and map out 2 or 3 places to put trails so you can drive your tractor right to the logs you want. I see mostly small twisted trees that will never produce timber so you would not be losing anything by cutting them down. Even small trees can be used for firewood. My dad had a 10 acre woods and we burned a LOT of wood. He never cut a live big tree down but he was wise and did things the easiest way he could.
Evan, I don’t think some folks understand the effort that goes into harvesting trees for use. My opinion, you could mill them but the one with a crook in it will cause some loss and the pith on them looks fairly sizable so that will result in some loss as well. However, you could certainly get some nice planks from those logs. Make a great table or furniture piece. Nice job!
Evan, they will have to square that hickory for lumber and you won't get that much usable boards out of those two, so it would probably be better to cut it up for firewood and sell it as bundles for smoking and grilling. You would be able to profit from the wood that way. As you said, a lot of people look specifically for hickory for the flavor.
King Kong that's about the size of it ... literally. They would first square the logs and cut off the "slabs", then what is left - not counting any rot or other bad spots - would be used for the lumber. So, you're right likely not worth it. If he had several that size or bigger maybe.
I'd try to get as much lumber out of it as possible. The scraps from squaring the cant and the limbs he carelessly tossed aside can be used/sold for smoking. Go for the lumber! Its a great wood for making strong beautiful cabinetry. And at today's wood prices, even a relatively small amount of wood should be worth quite a bit.
use your loader to pull your logs out with that way you can pick up on the front while pulling it out so its not nosing into the ground while you pull.
By the way Stihl or Husky has a video done several years ago where a cutter shows how to fall a tree. He explains why on your notch the top cut is horizontal while the bottom cut is the angled one. The butt stays much tamer. The other way the angle falls on the horizontal surface and kicks up from that impact and back. Not good. Bottom angle the force is pushing it away from you as it falls.
Greetings Evan, Lee here, here the old folks that yarded logs with a horse used to cut slants around the front end edge of the log so it would not dig in while the horse yarded it out of the woods
when i cut trees down i like to cut the wedge about 3 or so ft up the tree so im standing when cutting the tree down instead of kneeling. i also like to cut a path to the tree so i could get the tractor to it so i can drag the tree out with the least amount of chain. for me i find the tractor pulls the tree better with less chain. i lift the end of the tree up with the 3 point so its not digging into the ground and also pulls easier. and with the fence i bet the people put it up actually nailed it to the tree. my grandfather used to use trees as fence posts. just run the wire down the tree like and nail it to trees. but the tree could have also grown thru that fence.
Hey Evan how's it going my friend you were making me nervous taking that tree down.i would have just went over and knock down the other tree to 😄if that was my tractor I would have loaded tires on the back and get rid of that weight box and put a wench on the back but that's me.you need to put the pedal to the ground and jerk that tree out of the woods.when I worked in logging that's how we did it with are skidders I even had a 450 case dozed with a wench on it.like that grapple hickory makes nice fire wood hard as a rock when dryed out .good luck and be careful my friend👌
Get ya an old hood from a junkyard. Feed your chain thru the front of the hood then wrap it around the trunk. The hood will act like a toboggan on snow.
Evan, the right mill can definitely make lumber out of those 2 logs. However to make it worth your time and efforts you should probably cut a few more to have sawn. I know there are Amish in your area to the west that run mills and are very good at making something from nothing. Good luck
I don't care for the guy's content anymore, but wranglerstar has used an old jeep wrangler hood to help skid logs out, might be useful to see if a local junkyard has one, probably cheaper than other alternatives as well.
We used to use the hood off an old car ... roll the log onto a hood turned upside down and use it as a skid under the front of the log. Worked great, and when the hood got so bent it didn't work ... go get another hood! And yes, mill those logs!
I love these type of videos. Cleaning out the hard to reach stuff. Making a heathy forest and developing your property into something amazing. Love the videos!!
Hickory was our wood of choice when we operated a meat smoker. The only wood that we used more of was Wild Cherry. Hickory makes the meat real gray where Cherry made it brown.
A good channel to get info about what diameter makes good boards is "Out of the Woods", he has a sawmill in Tennessee. A good channel for cuts that drop a tree exactly where you want is "August Hunicke", he has a tree service in Oregon. Both are interesting and knowledgeable, and bonus... entertaining. 😉
The spot where you hook the chain back to itself….. if you put that on the underside of the tree as much as you can and hook high on the tractor it’s going to want to pull up and out instead of hooking at the top it wants to drag it into the dirt.
I wonder if repurposing old plastic barrels and strapping them to a trunk of a tree would make skidding much easier?? Seems like half of one at the front end would help a lot. I greatly appreciate your content and being willing to share. I can relate to how a project never is simple around the property
A skidding dolly is much easier to pull. Think of an A frame with wheels that straddles the log. The pull end is winched under the A that gets the log off the ground and the wheels make it easier to pull. Not too difficult to fabricate. Put one on both ends and you could use an ATV to tow the log.
Next time take one of the 4 inch logs you moved, cut a notch in the top, about 10 feet from big log to be towed, put chain in notch and dig in small log other end. When you pull small log lifts, lifting chain getting nose of big log out of the ground. Rinse and repeat.
That’s a lot of hard work. I’d recommend using a pressure washer and clean up the logs before cutting them up. It will save your chainsaw blades. As a woodturner, I’d make bowls out of the logs.
You have to out way the cost of getting them milled, If you are looking for where you can get the most bang for your buck, Can you make more money in firewood or Lumber? I wood ask for the slabs back to cut up as fire wood, If I had a saw mill I would come and do it for you, I thought about buying one a few years back. Great video as always.
Yep! And haul all your equipment on the wagon. Don't put your saw in the grappler or bucket. To easy to forget and try to move brush or tree on the way out to the job or tree. Neighbor tore up a new saw that way.
Watching this, I totally agree with your summary. The safety was compromised by standing in a front of a tree that was cut. Standing right where it could have fallen. You may have unknowingly tried to use the tractor (man power) more than the correct action by using the physics. Also, I have seen people in UA-cam who use a chain saw with a simple jig instead of saw mill with good result.
Nice that you show everything honestly. Because there is always something wrong with the chainsaw, I use it as little as possible. I show this in my latest video. Greetings from the Netherlands.
It's definately good for firewood and BBQ! If you wanna grow hickory for lumber that's a whole other industry you may or.may not wanna get into given the trees on your property and the time on your hands.
I think what you need is 100’ of steel cable with hooks on both ends, and a snatch block. Add a skidding cone and everything becomes so much easier than just using chains and the tractor. I haven’t even needed the cone yet, just use the snatch block to change the direction you’re pulling as needed. Way faster and easier than the come along because you can use it with any pulling method, and if your tractor can’t pull it you’re in trouble. About $150 for cable and snatch block (pre-pandemic) eBay and harbor freight respectively. Mine is 7/16 cable and rated for maybe 6000 lbs. skidding cones make life easier but are not necessary for an occasional log skid.
You can use a log skidding cone to keep it from digging in. And like I said before, a winch which that mounts into a hitch receiver or can be chained (to anything, like the tractor weight). This allows the tractor to remain stationary and not tear up your hay fields. It also could have been used instead of the come along.
I made my log dolly from the front half of a riding lawnmower . I welded the spindles to the from axle so the front tires didn’t turn . I cut the frame of the lawn mower where the engine once sat . Works pretty good !!
I've gone after firewood like that. A huge oak I should have left alone but hated to see it go to waste. Made no sense as far as firewood goes. I could never charge enough to sell for firewood for the labor and splitting I had into it. You'll have trouble with heavy trees digging in a bit but a side by side won't touch it. Your tractor is the only way to go. I don't dilly dally though. once I have a log moving.. I trying to go a nice fast (but safe) pace. As soon as I can, I try to remove chains too. ultimately you want to hook as close to the log as possible so it helps pick the end up out of the dirt.
I have tried dragging the whole tree or logs. I find it way faster to just cut it up where it is & haul it in a trailer behind the four wheeler. You have got to cut it up anyway. A lot easier to move 16in. pieces. Better on the back too.
Heck of a job cutting that big shagbark hickory. Hickory is very hard tough wood, they used to make tool handles out of it. I have my dad’s old hammer and it has a beautiful hickory handle that has never failed.
hire one of those saw mills that come to you, he can flat saw the logs and you should get 20 4/4 goard of varyng widths from each log you can edge them in your workshop. chalk line and skill saw works well. you use the entire log for hickory
The be best cutting that up for firewood it might cost you more too Get them milled and you might consider looking into a lot dolly to help drag the logs out
You did it on your own and no one was hurt. Good job! Impressed with the helpful and sound advice in the comments. One concern I do have is all the old boards with nails pointing to the sky aiming at yours and Rebecca's feet?
Evan, If you have a plastic barrel you can cut a hole in the bottom 3-6 inches for a chain to go through. Wrap the chain as you normally do around the log then through the hole at the bottom of the barrel. Slide the barrel over the end of the log and to the 4 wheeler. Basically making a skidding cone, it'll prevent the log from digging in and will slide very well.
You really need to paint the cut ends of your lumber with special paint to prevent the timber from splitting and drying too much prior to cutting into lumber. You'll get money back and better quality. It will keep longer too. Watch either Oout off the Woods or Outdoors with the Morgans and they'll give you good advice.
If I have them cut into lumber. I would cut the bottom Three feet off the log to ensure no fencing was inside it. That should it about 5 feet above the ground when including the height of the stump.
I'm so jealous you can meet good tress everywhere to make good lumber for using various purposes from south korea..
even though you spent much time to pull the log. but you had good job...^^thanks for your video.
Even, the reason you had such a problem is inexperience. You will learn. You create a lot of work for yourself.
Just my $0.02. I have a portable sawmill. For 2 or 3 logs, you will be money ahead to haul them to a mill close. Most people, including myself, have a setup fee plus a minimum rate. That can be hourly or a charge of board foot lumber made out of the logs. We tell customers to have at least 10-12 logs they would like to have milled if we saw logs on their property. It makes it worth the customer's time as well as ours. We also have a fee for blade replacement if we find metal in the logs. Our charge is $50.00 per blade if we hit metal. It's a chance taken in every log, but if you know it's there, cut it out of the tree. I truly enjoyed the video, and wish you the best in your endeavors. I hope this helps your decision-making process.
Brother, relax! As you yourself said earlier in the video, the job got done, no one was injured and nothing got broken. Success! Blessings to you & yours. : )
An old junk yard car hood makes an awesome tree skid
you earned that firewood, glad your safe and God bless
thanks for your videos
If you go to the junkyard and get an old car hood for really cheap, that would make a good skidding device to keep the end from digging into the ground. Thanks for the content!
Cuting wood only wen the ground is frozen and you it two peices like tree times .Iwood left it in one peices less work . like the video Evan .
If you have a long enough winch cable you can fell the trees in the correct direction - away from the tractor so that nothing catches when they are being pulled out. You pull by the trunk instead of the top.
Yea make that log arch that will be a awesome video can't wait.👌
I just discovered that there is a second type of gas powered portable winch for use in logging. Its called the Lewis Winch Portable Chainsaw Winch. I prefer a small gas powered winch rather than an electrical powered one, a lot more versatility in where to use them. The UA-cam video "/watch?v=eOEH1f2wv5o" shows one of them put to use. It costs about $900 and you have to supply a chainsaw motor to attach to it. About a 60cc/4hp motor seems to be about the size of motor that should be used. As far as I have been able to find out it is more convenient to use a chainsaw motor that has a centrifugal clutch with the chain gear to the outside. I didn't know that there was such a thing as my old Stihl saw has it on the inside due to the chain break mechanism. Just one more interesting option to consider. :-)
OH! As sort of a side note, you might consider getting an arborist throw bag as a way to get your rope higher into the tree when you're using a winch to assist in bringing a tree down. I have used a slightly different idea in the past in which I use a modified slingshot with a bright orange golf ball that I drilled a hole into for attaching the string. What ever works for you.
Suggestion......Take tools and supplies you MAY need to complete the job so you won't be running back and forth. Saw logs.
I see much saw dust, after you file the cutters you need to file the rakers down. I like your videos.
You have a receiver hitch on the back of the tractor, buy a winch with a receiver mount and use that to skid them out. That way you'll have 50 to 100 ft of cable and you'll be able to control it from the back of your tractor and not tear up your field dragging them out.
I'd say that it's just been one of those days. We all have them, of course when we're done, we think of all the different things we could've done. lol
You’ve got a nice start on a useful trail.
I think you will make quite a lot of money selling for a smoker or grill. Nothing like hickory smoke meat. If the grocery stores here in Va. can get nearly $7.00 for a wee bundle of kindling wood small enough and light enough for a 5 yr. old to pick up, I can't even fathom what you would get for hickory cut to fit a smoker or grill. Your decision though. You did a great job of getting down and out to the wood shed. Have a Blessed day.
The fence wire in it is a no-no for saw mills. I have one and metal in a log gets costly.Enjoy your videos. Keep em coming!!!
Evan you are to hard on yourself. You are learning while enjoying something you like doing. You always make it happen no matter what problem you have.
Great video
Cut the brush and saplings out of your way and make a trail large enough to get your tractor into the woods so you can get to the woods where you want to cut. Called a logging trail
Evan, build you a job box with a big winch mounted to it to winch out logs and haul your saw and stuff in that is 3pt. cut your log end to a point to skid them out.
Evan looks like you have to buy a nice pair of Belgian Horses to pull those logs out! Those widow makers are bad! Be careful, be safe. Enjoy all your vids.
What I do is this: I have 4 log dumps on my land. I haul trees to any one of these 4 dumps.. when a dump gets enough logs, I move the splitter and dump trailer out to that log dump and wale away. Once finished, when I move the equipment back to the barn, I stop by any other log dumps on the way and clean them up,if there is enough there to bother…. I set any pieces aside I want to use for wood turning, as a whole log.. and before cutting fire word out of that log, I pull my turning blanks. The trick is to keep my wife from tossing my turning blanks into the firewood dump trailer.
You know what they say Murphy's Law. It was fun watching anyway and you got it done, good job.
Lesson for the day ,it’s easier to drag a long delimbed tree approx 30ft than a 10-15ft log the short log gets hung up on everything.
My Great niece asked where Reba's turkeys are .. she will be 4 on the 12th of March... It cracks me up that she refers to Rebecca as Reba.
I have told her often. Apparently she likes Reba (?)
Horse loggers use a sled or a skid to pull logs out of the bush
A couple of spare tire doughnuts from scrap yard for the wheels on the arch should work a treat. I think the arch is the way to go
portable saw mill interesting and some people do that for a living very interesting and cut it into timber wow being self sufficient
They make a logging cone to put over the leading end of a log you want to drag. It is pointed so the log will slide past trees, rocks and what ever. Check out The Outsider or Shawn James as they both have used them.
Yesterday I couldn't spell lumberjack, today I are one...
Evan,
Cut down more Hickory and have a large amount to make it worth it to have someone come on the property to mill the lumber. If you have enough it will cost less to get some that done. Look for some other trees that make good lumber and have it all done at once. I don't know if there is an "off season" when getting someone to do the work is cheaper or not.
Any way, look for as much as you can find to make it worth it,
jack
The Outsider skidded logs with his little Massey Ferguson 135 using a picking pole attachment. It seems to be a simple and reliable rear attachment that easily lifted the ends of the logs off the ground. He also used it for several other jobs and it came in quite handy. Check out his YT channel and maybe you can come up with a good idea. Great video as always Evan.
Carving a Path did it with a Ford 8n.
I would scout the woods and map out 2 or 3 places to put trails so you can drive your tractor right to the logs you want. I see mostly small twisted trees that will never produce timber so you would not be losing anything by cutting them down. Even small trees can be used for firewood. My dad had a 10 acre woods and we burned a LOT of wood. He never cut a live big tree down but he was wise and did things the easiest way he could.
For having to do most of the work by yourself I think you do a great job. Keep up the great videos 📹
Evan, I don’t think some folks understand the effort that goes into harvesting trees for use. My opinion, you could mill them but the one with a crook in it will cause some loss and the pith on them looks fairly sizable so that will result in some loss as well. However, you could certainly get some nice planks from those logs. Make a great table or furniture piece. Nice job!
Evan, they will have to square that hickory for lumber and you won't get that much usable boards out of those two, so it would probably be better to cut it up for firewood and sell it as bundles for smoking and grilling. You would be able to profit from the wood that way. As you said, a lot of people look specifically for hickory for the flavor.
King Kong that's about the size of it ... literally. They would first square the logs and cut off the "slabs", then what is left - not counting any rot or other bad spots - would be used for the lumber. So, you're right likely not worth it. If he had several that size or bigger maybe.
@@gitatit4046 the rot would be cut out when squaring....there is plenty of lumber there, and he probably has some more hickory on his property.
@GABRIELLA Jesus saves. And time is running out.
I'd try to get as much lumber out of it as possible. The scraps from squaring the cant and the limbs he carelessly tossed aside can be used/sold for smoking. Go for the lumber! Its a great wood for making strong beautiful cabinetry. And at today's wood prices, even a relatively small amount of wood should be worth quite a bit.
Evan just get the plastic nose cone that slides over end of the log helps with pulling the log out
use your loader to pull your logs out with that way you can pick up on the front while pulling it out so its not nosing into the ground while you pull.
By the way Stihl or Husky has a video done several years ago where a cutter shows how to fall a tree. He explains why on your notch the top cut is horizontal while the bottom cut is the angled one. The butt stays much tamer. The other way the angle falls on the horizontal surface and kicks up from that impact and back. Not good. Bottom angle the force is pushing it away from you as it falls.
Greetings Evan, Lee here, here the old folks that yarded logs with a horse used to cut slants around the front end edge of the log so it would not dig in while the horse yarded it out of the woods
Clydesdale, I always say ...
You got a lot of work in this!!
The Outsider and My Self Reliance have a lot of good videos on skidding logs.
when i cut trees down i like to cut the wedge about 3 or so ft up the tree so im standing when cutting the tree down instead of kneeling. i also like to cut a path to the tree so i could get the tractor to it so i can drag the tree out with the least amount of chain. for me i find the tractor pulls the tree better with less chain. i lift the end of the tree up with the 3 point so its not digging into the ground and also pulls easier. and with the fence i bet the people put it up actually nailed it to the tree. my grandfather used to use trees as fence posts. just run the wire down the tree like and nail it to trees. but the tree could have also grown thru that fence.
Make a little skid plate to go under the front of the log.so it doesn't get stuck.
Hey Evan how's it going my friend you were making me nervous taking that tree down.i would have just went over and knock down the other tree to 😄if that was my tractor I would have loaded tires on the back and get rid of that weight box and put a wench on the back but that's me.you need to put the pedal to the ground and jerk that tree out of the woods.when I worked in logging that's how we did it with are skidders I even had a 450 case dozed with a wench on it.like that grapple hickory makes nice fire wood hard as a rock when dryed out .good luck and be careful my friend👌
Your wood cuttin' day is a picture of my health. So I know how you feel. Regardless, I always enjoy your wood cutting adventures.
Get ya an old hood from a junkyard. Feed your chain thru the front of the hood then wrap it around the trunk. The hood will act like a toboggan on snow.
I had a walnut and an oak slabbed up. When it's cured I'll cut it up into the lumber I want for my projects or just sell it.
Evan you did just fine getting the logs out! Enjoyed watching!
Evan u need too make a trail and bring in the tym and use the grapple,make life easy Evan.Good video though.☘️🇨🇮🐕🐕
It is nice to see your loyal dogs staying around you. Faithful sentinals, especially for Rebecca.
Evan, the right mill can definitely make lumber out of those 2 logs. However to make it worth your time and efforts you should probably cut a few more to have sawn. I know there are Amish in your area to the west that run mills and are very good at making something from nothing. Good luck
I don't care for the guy's content anymore, but wranglerstar has used an old jeep wrangler hood to help skid logs out, might be useful to see if a local junkyard has one, probably cheaper than other alternatives as well.
Sapwood & heartwood make lumber. Sapwood is the whiter color. Your skidding plan sounds sound.
if you do that again put the chain around the log and it well turn for you.
There is nothing easy about logging. It is darn hard work. Hats off to you for taking it on. Hickory is such good stuff to burn.
We used to use the hood off an old car ... roll the log onto a hood turned upside down and use it as a skid under the front of the log. Worked great, and when the hood got so bent it didn't work ... go get another hood!
And yes, mill those logs!
I love these type of videos. Cleaning out the hard to reach stuff. Making a heathy forest and developing your property into something amazing. Love the videos!!
You got it done, thats all that matters.
Hickory was our wood of choice when we operated a meat smoker. The only wood that we used more of was Wild Cherry. Hickory makes the meat real gray where Cherry made it brown.
A good channel to get info about what diameter makes good boards is "Out of the Woods", he has a sawmill in Tennessee. A good channel for cuts that drop a tree exactly where you want is "August Hunicke", he has a tree service in Oregon. Both are interesting and knowledgeable, and bonus... entertaining. 😉
I can relate to this vide- was just doing the same thing today- cleanup and sawing after the ice storm last week in Western TN Good job
Watch for wire at the base. Nice job
The spot where you hook the chain back to itself….. if you put that on the underside of the tree as much as you can and hook high on the tractor it’s going to want to pull up and out instead of hooking at the top it wants to drag it into the dirt.
Taking excellent care of the tractor .Looks 👀as if it came right out of the showroom! 👍
I wonder if repurposing old plastic barrels and strapping them to a trunk of a tree would make skidding much easier?? Seems like half of one at the front end would help a lot. I greatly appreciate your content and being willing to share. I can relate to how a project never is simple around the property
Old car hood?
Search for "skidding cone" to see what I think would be a more functional device.
A skidding dolly is much easier to pull. Think of an A frame with wheels that straddles the log. The pull end is winched under the A that gets the log off the ground and the wheels make it easier to pull. Not too difficult to fabricate. Put one on both ends and you could use an ATV to tow the log.
Next time take one of the 4 inch logs you moved, cut a notch in the top, about 10 feet from big log to be towed, put chain in notch and dig in small log other end. When you pull small log lifts, lifting chain getting nose of big log out of the ground. Rinse and repeat.
That’s a lot of hard work. I’d recommend using a pressure washer and clean up the logs before cutting them up. It will save your chainsaw blades. As a woodturner, I’d make bowls out of the logs.
You have to out way the cost of getting them milled, If you are looking for where you can get the most bang for your buck, Can you make more money in firewood or Lumber? I wood ask for the slabs back to cut up as fire wood, If I had a saw mill I would come and do it for you, I thought about buying one a few years back. Great video as always.
Do not forget there is metal fence in the biggest piece.
Nice work
Pull your hay wagon behind the tractor, and bring the logs back all at once.
Yep! And haul all your equipment on the wagon. Don't put your saw in the grappler or bucket. To easy to forget and try to move brush or tree on the way out to the job or tree. Neighbor tore up a new saw that way.
Watching this, I totally agree with your summary. The safety was compromised by standing in a front of a tree that was cut. Standing right where it could have fallen. You may have unknowingly tried to use the tractor (man power) more than the correct action by using the physics. Also, I have seen people in UA-cam who use a chain saw with a simple jig instead of saw mill with good result.
Nice that you show everything honestly. Because there is always something wrong with the chainsaw, I use it as little as possible. I show this in my latest video. Greetings from the Netherlands.
It's definately good for firewood and BBQ!
If you wanna grow hickory for lumber that's a whole other industry you may or.may not wanna get into given the trees on your property and the time on your hands.
when you drag a log in the ground .you well put sand in the bark.so when you cut well..the blade..you know
Them 2 logs are more then big enough for sawing into lumber. Y'all can get some nice 8 inch boards outta them.
I think what you need is 100’ of steel cable with hooks on both ends, and a snatch block. Add a skidding cone and everything becomes so much easier than just using chains and the tractor. I haven’t even needed the cone yet, just use the snatch block to change the direction you’re pulling as needed. Way faster and easier than the come along because you can use it with any pulling method, and if your tractor can’t pull it you’re in trouble. About $150 for cable and snatch block (pre-pandemic) eBay and harbor freight respectively.
Mine is 7/16 cable and rated for maybe 6000 lbs.
skidding cones make life easier but are not necessary for an occasional log skid.
Go to the junk yard and get an old VW Beetle hood, is got a nice curve to it.
You can use a log skidding cone to keep it from digging in. And like I said before, a winch which that mounts into a hitch receiver or can be chained (to anything, like the tractor weight). This allows the tractor to remain stationary and not tear up your hay fields. It also could have been used instead of the come along.
I made my log dolly from the front half of a riding lawnmower . I welded the spindles to the from axle so the front tires didn’t turn . I cut the frame of the lawn mower where the engine once sat . Works pretty good !!
I've gone after firewood like that. A huge oak I should have left alone but hated to see it go to waste. Made no sense as far as firewood goes. I could never charge enough to sell for firewood for the labor and splitting I had into it. You'll have trouble with heavy trees digging in a bit but a side by side won't touch it. Your tractor is the only way to go. I don't dilly dally though. once I have a log moving.. I trying to go a nice fast (but safe) pace. As soon as I can, I try to remove chains too. ultimately you want to hook as close to the log as possible so it helps pick the end up out of the dirt.
I have tried dragging the whole tree or logs. I find it way faster to just cut it up where it is & haul it in a trailer behind the four wheeler. You have got to cut it up anyway. A lot easier to move 16in. pieces. Better on the back too.
Snatch block and cable would make it easier.
Heck of a job cutting that big shagbark hickory. Hickory is very hard tough wood, they used to make tool handles out of it. I have my dad’s old hammer and it has a beautiful hickory handle that has never failed.
hire one of those saw mills that come to you, he can flat saw the logs and you should get 20 4/4 goard of varyng widths from each log you can edge them in your workshop. chalk line and skill saw works well. you use the entire log for hickory
The be best cutting that up for firewood it might cost you more too Get them milled and you might consider looking into a lot dolly to help drag the logs out
You did it on your own and no one was hurt. Good job! Impressed with the helpful and sound advice in the comments. One concern I do have is all the old boards with nails pointing to the sky aiming at yours and Rebecca's feet?
Evan,
If you have a plastic barrel you can cut a hole in the bottom 3-6 inches for a chain to go through. Wrap the chain as you normally do around the log then through the hole at the bottom of the barrel. Slide the barrel over the end of the log and to the 4 wheeler. Basically making a skidding cone, it'll prevent the log from digging in and will slide very well.
You really need to paint the cut ends of your lumber with special paint to prevent the timber from splitting and drying too much prior to cutting into lumber. You'll get money back and better quality. It will keep longer too. Watch either Oout off the Woods or Outdoors with the Morgans and they'll give you good advice.
Definitely suggest a skidding cone it will allow the logs to move more freely and not dig in
Things don't always go as planned but thats the way it goes sometimes. Fantastic video as always though keep it up
If you have access to an old plastic 55 gallon barrel, make yourself a cone and place it over the front of the log.
Get an old car hood and use it as a skidding cone. Check out some of Wranglerstars old videos about logging and skidding.
Where is Buckin' Billy Ray when you need him 😜
Yeah Evan, some days it don’t pay to get out of bed.
I love the grapple on my TYM I use it pretty much all the time also I do firewood the exact same way I love your videos I watch them wen I can
You should have TYM come out and move out your rear wheels to the next outward setting for better stability.