Fantastic information! Very thourough. This is the most detailed video I've seen on tractor logging. Thank you very much for the work you put in to it.
Hi Kelly. I am glad that you found it informative and useful and encourage you to view all three videos in the series. I also encourage you to download and read a free PDF copy of "The Farm Tractor in the Forest." The link to the download is, www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwissfCRo9OEAxVD_skDHfjaCDQQFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maine.gov%2Fdacf%2Fmfs%2Fpublications%2Fgeneral_publications%2Ffarm_tractor_in_the_forest.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1syWkQz8wRgZpeMQU767cT&opi=89978449 Don't be afraid of such a complex link. It bypasses multiple pages in the Maine Forest Service's website to give you the document download in one easy step. Be safe in the woods! Vince
Great video, thorough, and well spoken. Retired State of Minnesota DNR Forester, 38 years of service; enjoyed every day. The chains on your tractor are impressive. Thanks again for teaching, practicing, and being a good Land Steward.
Al, such a compliment coming from an experienced professional carries a lot of weight, and I thank you for it. Another series that may or may not be applicable to private woodlot owners in Minnesota is my series, "Clearcutting as a Silvicultural Tool, etc." that I embarked upon to help folks who, like me, have a gut level aversion to the wood, "clearcut," but have such abused and degraded woodlots that wiping the slate clean and starting over deserves consideration. Please view the four or five videos that I have in the series so far (I plan several more). If you feel that they might be applicable in Minnesota, please alert your yet unretired colleagues who interface with private woodlot owners. It offers some food for thought that such owners might appreciate. Thanks again. Vince
Vince, thanks for the prompt well written reply. I will pass this on for you. When I retired from state service in July 2014, I started a private consulting business, “Sharp’s Forestry Consulting LLC”. I am still actively doing private forestry consulting; having a hard time walking away from my passion. I agree with your comment on “CLEARCUTS”. There are times silviculturally the best advice is to start over. I will be following you and will be looking at your previous posts. Would be awesome if we could meet up sometime. Al
I am glad that you found it useful and informative and hope that you will also find Chapters 2, 3, and the delimbing sequel beneficial. I also encourage you to download and read Milton Nilsson's book, "The Farm Tractor in the Forest." Be safe! Vince
Jon, you are very welcome. The forest is a beautiful and wonderful place to work but very unforgiving of mistakes. It doesn't offer many second chances, so safety is #1 on the checklist everyday. Vince
Good evening Vince, I really enjoyed the information in your videos, I cut about 8 cords of wood off my property each year to feed the wood boiler. So I spend a bit of time in the woods with my tractor, and I picked up some great pointers from you. Looks like I need to put a skid plate and a cage on the tractor, I never really thought about it makes sense. I picked up a 3 pt hitch grapple last year, it works great but I see a winch in the near future. Thanks again for taking the time to put the video together it is a great educational tool. Be safe in the woods there is almost no better place to be. Dave.
Hi Dave, I am glad you found the video valuable. For the amount of wood you cut and since you already have the 3-point hitch grapple, why not consider mounting an electric winch on the front of your tractor of the sort that off-road four-wheel enthusiasts mount on their Jeeps? They are available online and through several discount tool chain stores. Yes, the cable speed is slow but that's not a big deal for what you are doing. If you decide to go this route, make sure that the winch you select has fairlead rollers. With such a set-up you'll save yourself several thousand dollars compared to a 3-point hitch logging winch. Once trail-side, you can then use your grapple to skid the trees out of the forest. Yes, a protective cage is essential. A small two or three pound branch falling from sixty feet can kill a man, and there is no chance of surviving a direct hit from one weighing forty or fifty pounds. That's why lumberjacks have called them "widow-makers" for a couple centuries or more. What you say is so true, "There is almost no better place to be." Be safe and thanks again for your feedback. Vince
Hi Vince, great video, great teacher, l grow up on a farm, and I learned with my father. I am now owner of a 200 acres woodlot. I have a old Farmi winch, same as the one you had before your Metavic. I also have a Kubota, but a bit bigger, M7950Dt. I love to work on my land so I really appreciate your videos. Enrico
Enrico, thank you for your kind remarks. My joy is knowing that you found the video tutorial useful. That's a great tractor that you have. Sometimes I wish I had more horsepower, and you definitely do. Those old Farmi winches are incredible! I think that they would survive ground-zero of a nuclear blast. Be safe, and I wish you countless more years of happiness working in your forest. Vince
I hope that you don't resist that temptation! I cannot overemphasize that for the sake of safety and effectiveness the modifications suggested both in my video and in Milton Nilsson's book are a must. You can download his book for free at www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/publications/general_publications/farm_tractor_in_the_forest.pdf. Be safe in the woods! Vince
Exactly what I needed to hear on managing a woodlot as I am currently buying a 200 acres 50-60 years old woodlot in Quebec, Sherbrooke region. I was looking for education on the use of tractor versus ATV forwarding. Great insight. Will keep watching the other videos. Thanks a lot.
Ian, Glad I could be of assistance. By the way, just outside Sherbrooke is Ascot Corner where Les Distributions Payeur is located. My radio controlled winch and forwarding trailer came from Payeur. ATV forwarding is great if you are talking about small volumes, short distances, and don't have any other need for a tractor. Our woodlot here in northern Maine is a little over 200-acres, and I have a seemingly endless need for my tractor aside from logging. I think you will discover the same with your woodlot. Regardless of logging, it's hard to tend 200-acres without a tractor. A 50-60 year old woodlot in your and my neck of the woods is at a perfect age to really make a difference in developing a terrific future forest. Most of our woodlot was about that same age when I purchased it in 1976 and still shows, below some now really majestic trees, the rotting stumps of junk that I removed thirty and more years ago that have allowed those majestic trees to be what they are today. You are about a 7-hour drive from us, and I invite you to come see how we operate in more detail. Vince
Thanks for the offer. Will keep in mind for sure. I already stopped by their shop in Ascott Corner a few weeks ago as I passed in front while visiting my future woodlot. The salesman and I discussed some tractors already which I think he wants to sell more of a 45HP + tractor instead of a lower power. But I don't think I would buy a brand new tractor and trailer/grapple, maybe yes, but starting a woodlot work in which I already invest money into the land itself and other forestry tools including an ATV. But I understand having the correct tools is a pay back on the money thrown at the purchase of the land and the tools themselves, on a long term, of course. You get along with a 34HP but I guess it depends what type of work the forester does on the land and what the tractor will pull. I sure will keep your say in mind. Take care. Ian.
Ian, Sounds like you are the right kind of guy to steward a woodlot. I'm confident that you will find valuable the can't-be-beat "Woodlot Management Home Study Program" offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. It is well over 500 pages long and presented in 13 separate lessons or "Modules." By its very length and depth it is for seriously interested students, not folks with only casual interest. The link is woodlot.novascotia.ca/content/woodlot-management-home-study-program. Also, I suggest several of the popular "Swedish Homestead" videos on UA-cam. Be safe in the woods, and perhaps we will bump into each other there someday. Vince
Thanks for the tip on the study program. When I saw it, I remembered saving the bookmark of the website and never went deep into what's written. I'll give it a shot and adapt it to the area where my forest is. There's a lot of info out there from many woodland owners and agencies building forestry and silviculture documents that sometimes you just want to assimilate all of them asap. But I think the best is to take what's in them, put them in practice, test it and see for yourself to build an opinion of the subject, backed with many many years of previous experience from owners and even back in the time since the years 1490s of colonization.
Very informative video sir,. Who would have thought the simple things like wiring lynch pins or covers over tire valves? Not I. Your experience and knowledge is invaluable.
Thank you, Grant, but I need to give credit where credit is due. I learned 99.9% of the details of this system of logging, including those simple things you mention that can result in inconvenience or tragedy if ignored, from others, primarily from Milton Nilsson and Nils Forshed's Swedish team that developed the system and published the book, "The Farm Tractor in the Forest," and two University of Maine professors whose tireless efforts brought that Swedish developed system to the awareness of small woodlot owners here in New England. Those two men are Professor Benjamin Hoffman (recently deceased) and Professor Bob Seymour (recently retired but still a powerhouse of activity). Be safe in the woods! Vince
Hi Denis, I apologize for such a delayed response, but your comment of 7 months ago somehow ended up in my spam inbox and I only discovered it today. Thanks for your feedback. By the way, I just posted today a short 6-minute video that you will likely find useful if you plan to harvest any balsam fir this winter. Its title is, "Logging with a Farm Tractor in the Boreal Forest - Sub-zero Temperatures Make Delimbing Easier." Be safe in the woods! Vince
Thank you, and I hope that you found it interesting although perhaps not as applicable to the southern pine and hardwood forests as other harvesting options. In addition to our property in Maine, we also own and operate a little less than 200 acres of forestland in northwest Georgia. I featured it for comparison and illustration in another video that may or may not interest you. The link is ua-cam.com/video/sDHL9rLzf8o/v-deo.html. Thanks again for your comment. Vince
Thanks for the very informative series, I have a suggestion for maybe another video which would be making a skid trail. Is there any special equipment you used to make those trails ( backhoe, bull dozer etc) or a lot of elbow grease and maybe a touch of luck that there are no big boulders!! Thanks again for the series!
Thanks for the suggestion. Perhaps you didn't notice but I did post a video earlier this year that is more of a sales pitch encouraging woodlot owners to establish a permanent system of trails. However, it is not a "how to" video. I use no special equipment, just remove trees that are in the way, cut stumps low, and use chunks of cull wood to fill in significant low spots. Winter snowfall takes care of the rest resulting in a smooth and flat trail surface. On some occasions I use my front end loader to reshape a hump of earth. Large boulders are rare, I can usually avoid them, and when I can't I often lift them out of the way with my forwarding trailer's grapple. Thanks again for your suggestion! Vince
@@ricklarade3593 Please excuse my delayed reply. The vertical supports are 1/4-inch wall thickness 2-inch by 2-inch square steel tubing. So is the roof section's frame. The sloping front risers not seen in this video series but that do appear in my "Salvaging Spruce Blowdown" video are 1/4-inch wall thickness 2-inch by 3-inch rectangular steel tubing. When I built the structure I was a 6-feet tall young man but have shrunk by an inch or two over the years. The interior height has always been more than adequate, and that measures 64 inches from the floorboards and 38 inches from the top of the seat. Please let me know if you need more details, and I promise to respond sooner than I did this time. Vince
that rig is awesome! its like a mini me, i have a 1978 kubota m7500dt with a loader and chains all the way around, and just bought a winch a few days ago. I log a lot of big hardwood in VT and use the tractor to load logs in my dump truck so a small tractor wont cut it
@@iceflameproductionz Yes, that it is. I completed this winter's harvest on 01 February with a total of 8 truckloads each averaging between 20 and 22 tons. All told, including a few hours clearing snow, my tractor consumed about 60 gallons of diesel fuel and my saws about 8 gallons of chainsaw gas. That equates to almost 3 tons (a little more than one cord) of timber harvested and skidded to a log landing per gallon of diesel fuel and one full truckload of over twenty tons (more than 8 cords) per gallon of chainsaw gas. Because of the tedious delimbing involved, I use almost twice as much chainsaw gas harvesting a ton of fir as I do a ton of aspen. Be safe! Vince
Sir, i really enjoyed this video, i found it extremely helpful as i plan on moving to Maine and build a small homestead. Most of the logging i will do is firewood.
Hi Derek! I just posted you a more detailed reply in the "comments" section of my Chapter 3 video. What I didn't mention there is that the booklet I refer to in the final part of the chapter 3 video, the one by Professor Hoffman, is a great resource for small volume firewood harvesting. I made a digital copy in pdf. format that I hope to have posted online. It might be a few weeks before that happens, but I'll get back to you when I know more. Thanks again for your feedback and your interest.
Derek, I have some updates for you. First, the Maine Forest Service recently published Professor Hoffman's publication on its website. The webpage link is www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/working_in_the_woods.html. Under "Other Resources" you will find "Historic Forestry Notes: Woodlot Harvesting with Small Tractors." Also, I discovered a very good home study course offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. The link is novascotia.ca/natr/Education/woodlot/modules/module12/pdf/Module12.pdf. Something for you to do during the long North Dakota winter. Vince
Vince, Thank you for the update that is a lot of really good info. I have been watching auctions and sales out here for a tractor, however there isn't much of anything under 100hp out here. I will have much better luck finding something when i get to move back east. On the bright side i am headed back to the family farm in PA to get my duece and half so i can get her back in running order so that will be ready. Once again i really appreciate all your help. Derek
I love the video. I've got the same tractor and you gave me some great ideas. One thing I do disagree with is loaded tires.... I'd bet you have never had them loaded or you would not say that... Not trying to be a jerk just wanted to let you know... The weight inside the tire changes the tractor in an amazing way... Way more stable, ten times more traction... I ran mine unloaded when I got it.. L275 with 900 hours... My neibor talked me into having them loaded... New tubes filled with calcium... I got the tires in and was slimy amazed....
Quite the contrary. I have more than modest experience with loaded tires. Where loaded tires add traction and stability benefit is when a tractor is pulling a wagon or other implement that does not apply downward weight to the rear of the tractor. It is also very difficult to use a front-end loader without either loaded rear tires or something heavy on the three point hitch. Without such rear-end weight even a light load in the bucket results in spinning wheels especially in reverse gear. In the system of logging that my video series demonstrates, my tractor always has far more rear-end weight than needed to prevent loss of traction and hundreds of pounds/kilograms more than what loaded tires could provide. That weight is supplied by the winch alone, the winch plus an attached twitch of wood, or the tongue weight of the forwarding trailer. Take a look at my Chapter 3 video where I need to gear down to almost a crawl coming up an incline from the forest to my log landing pulling, on snow, a loaded forwarding trailer whose gross weight was around 10,000 pounds (approximately 4,500 kilograms). My tires never broke traction. In a higher gear I would have stalled the tractor before breaking traction. Regarding choice of liquid weight in other applications where loaded tires offer benefit, calcium is overused. Calcium's value is really for cold climates where plain water would freeze. Calcium is brutally corrosive. In warm climates water alone is better. Yes, I have eaten holes through expensive rims thanks to calcium. Ethylene glycol antifreeze is more expensive than calcium but is not corrosive. That is what I currently use in another tractor that I own that is equipped with a front end loader and often used to pull a wagon or other draw bar attached implements that do not provide downward weight on the tractor. Thank you for your comment and the opportunity for me to clarify the issue.
@@bombadiltreefarms314 Calcium is put inside a new tube... If flats are repaired calcium never touches metal at all. People that put calcium in tubeless tires are where that problem exists.... I log also and plow snow, clean land, move dirt, ... Here in Alaska its very hilly on my property.... Many places I'm on side hills or backing up steep hills with the bucket an inch from the ground ... I have weight on the 3 point also, but in my woods nothing improved the tractor more then calcium filled rear tires... Calcium when mixed correctly has almost twice the weight of beets juice.... The weight it directly over the tire tread...
You are very knowledgeable about this method of logging and tree species and characteristics of the stands you work in. Forest tech here from New Brunswick
@@trevorunderhill2043 Trevor, I must admit that few of the ideas I present are of my creation including the valve stem protectors. I learned many years ago that it didn't make much sense to reinvent the wheel but instead to seek out and learn from good wheelwrights. The threaded pipe nipples with caps were pretty much standard equipment on most makes of logging skidders going back 50 years and remain so to this day. I simply copied the idea, and it is a good one. Brace yourself for today's nor'easter! A large part of the Maritimes and northeastern Maine are supposed to get clobbered. Vince
I had never noticed them before on all the big equipment in the woods until after your video but absolutely necessary as usually these machines are working some rugged terrain and often rims are full of mud ! Yes pretty good storm here but still a very easy winter so far !
Very few folks up here still logging with chainsaw and small equipment. I play around and harvest my firewood with my ATV which I have a set of tracks for in winter. 40 ish acres behind my house and most trees are safe with my level of production hah !
Liquid ballast in the rear tires is the best way to add stability to a tractor, especially on uneven terrain. I've based my opinion on farming 200 acres of hillside farm in VT and currently own 10 tractors.
Thank you for your comment. This issue was rather thoroughly discussed several months ago when another viewer made a comment similar to yours. Bottom line is that liquid ballast in rear tires clearly has a place and a purpose, and I have another tractor that I use for different purposes and wouldn't operate without ballast in its tires. In the application discussed in this video tutorial, however, it provides no benefit. In this application, unlike when pulling a tillage implement, there is always more weight pressing down on the rear of the tractor than any additional tire ballast can provide, and the tractor is stable beyond description. Please do not think that I am advising against tire ballast in all applications. I clearly am not. Thanks again for your comment and stay safe on your steep ground! Vince
Good day sir, I truly enjoyed all three videos that you posted. Watching them a second time around today. You have a great way of explaining in detail what and how you are doing things. What a real treat to watch. I am hoping that one day , I too can log with a tractor, in the mean time I will continue getting my firewood with my truck , trailer and my trusty chainsaw.. would you have any idea where I could purchase the book " the farm tractor in the forest "? Hope to see more of your videos in the near future Kind regards from your neighbour to the north, Montreal, Canada.
Rugged Timber, now that is a terrific name! I found two copies of Milton Nillson's book available on Amazon. Just go to Amazon.com and enter the title. On my long list of things to do, I intend to contact the Swedish National Board of Forestry and the Forest Extension Service of the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources to see if they might produce a digital version that would be available online. By the way, if your access to firewood offers trails or roads safely traversed by your truck, you can utilize the same techniques without a tractor. Same applies if you have a snowmobile and tote-sled. All that you need is a winch and a snatchblock or two. I have never owned or used a Lewis Winch but am aware of folks who have. They are made out in B.C. There's at least one impressive UA-cam video showing a Lewis Winch in action. Thanks for your feedback. Vince
Rugged Timber, in addition to my comments below you may find the following UA-cam video useful. These guys use an ATV with a small forwarding trailer with boom and winch: ua-cam.com/video/VQ1Rk8YSRYc/v-deo.html
Rugged Timber, I have some updates for you. First, the Maine Forest Service recently published Professor Hoffman's publication on its website. The webpage link is www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/working_in_the_woods.html. Under "Other Resources" you will find "Historic Forestry Notes: Woodlot Harvesting with Small Tractors." Second, a Swedish friend and viewer located Milton Nillson and I have been in touch with him. Milton is now 91 years old. He encouraged me to contact the National Board of Forestry in Sweden, something I told you I intended to do but have not yet done. Milton also told me that his group had produced a film with the same title as his book. I hope that the National Board of Forestry in Sweden can access a copy of the film, convert it to MP4 format, and publish it on UA-cam. Third, I discovered a very good home study course offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. The link is novascotia.ca/natr/Education/woodlot/modules/module12/pdf/Module12.pdf. Vince
Bombadil Tree Farms Thank you so much for the update. Sorry for the tardiness but I was out of the country. I will most definitely look at the links you provided. Again thank you and happy logging.
Rugged Timber, I HAVE GREAT NEWS!!! The Swedish Forest Agency, successor organization to the National Board of Forestry, Sweden, and both Milton Nilsson and Nils Forshed granted me approval to reproduce and disseminate "The Farm Tractor in the Forest" so long as I do so for noncommercial purposes. I have prepared a PDF version of the book and the Maine Forest Service is currently reviewing it to see if they believe it appropriate to post on their website. Did you ever locate a paper copy of the book? If I encounter delay finding an organization to post the PDF version on its website, I would gladly send you a copy by email attachment. If we have to go that route, we'll have to work out a secure way for you to provide me with your email address.
Great video series! I am watching it for the second time now. I was wondering what you taught of the Kubota L2501 for doing this type of work? Would it have enough horsepower? Its the biggest model that does not have a lot of electronics and the problem prone enviromental emission filtration. It seems to be a loot of tractor for the money. Thanks
You would have enough horsepower for winching and, if your tires are large enough to provide traction, all that the lesser horsepower would mean is slower travel speed. In the woods, who is in a race, anyway? I use my old Farmi winch on the Kubota B7500 (21 hp at the engine) we have on our woodlot in Georgia. It gets light duty jobs done, but the B-series tractors are not nearly as hefty as the L-series, and our B7500 is no match at all for your L2501. What size wood are you planning to harvest and how much do you intend to cut over what period of time? Does your tractor have a front-end loader? Knowing these things would help me better answer your question. Vince
Do they make a Payeur Winch anymore? Cannot seem to find it, I was looking at a Wallenstein FX85R as it has the remote feature which is handy, Farmi only has a remote for the 501 which seems too heavy for a 35 Hp tractor.
Hi Evan. I am not certain, but Payeur's website, payeur.com/en/, doesn't show any. Their line of winches was actually manufactured by Metavic, and Metavic's website, metavic.com/en/, also fails to show any winches. It does appear that they have continued making winches, but it wouldn't hurt to give Payeur a quick phone call to make sure. I know a guy way up in Dawson in Canada's Yukon that has a Wallenstein FX85R, works it hard, and loves it. He is the only guy I know who has the radio controlled model, but I know others with Wallenstein winches and have heard no complaints. My Payeur winch has some drawbacks, and I replaced it last year with a Tajfun EGV 45 AHK radio controlled unit that I love. It was a toss-up between it and the Wallenstein FX85R, but there were various seemingly unimportant features of the Tajfun that showed every little issue had been considered by its engineers. Please let me know if I can be of any more help. Vince
I have a question about your Kubota 34hp. Do you have Standard rear tires or larger? Can you extend the wodth of the front end as well as the back for stability?
Hi Jerry. I like technical questions like yours very much. I'm running, both front and back, the standard agricultural tires that came on the tractor from the factory back in 1982. The front tires are 9.5-16 and the rear are 13.6-28. I cannot adjust the tire position width on the front axle and am not aware of any 4-wheel drive tractors that allow that option. Tractors that are only rear wheel drive commonly do allow adjustment of front axle tire width more for the purpose of matching their width to the rear tire width so as to keep them in the same tracks for the purpose of tending agricultural row crops. Anyway, I'm not sure how much additional stability you'd gain during forestry use where most of the stability issues relate to the lateral pull on the rear of the tractor by the logs or trees that you are winching or skidding. In any case, you want to keep your skid trails as straight as possible and never travel on side slopes. Hope this helps, and thanks for your questions. Vince
Hi your tractor looks great, do you have videos doing repairs on your tractor, i have a l295dt and i haven't seen any videos on changing hydraulic oil or anything else if you do have one can you let me know please thanks
Hi Carlos. No, I do not have any maintenance videos but, now that you mention it, making one or two would be a good idea. Do you have an owner's manual for your tractor? Mine has very good photo illustrations for all routine maintenance, and I could scan and send you specific items that you need. Only problem is that I won't have a chance to do that before May. Just let me know and I'm sure that we can work something out. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 thank you vinve for the quick response and yes that would be great too, your tractor looks great almost brand new my is old but i still will like to keep it running its a good like machine
Thank you, Canaan, and a Merry Christmas to you, too! Regarding more videos, I believe there is an educational benefit to be gained by expanding on the additional benefits of having an established system of trails in a woodlot. It does take considerable time and effort to prepare trails, and many woodlot owners may not feel it's worth the time and effort considering the volume or value of wood that they envision harvesting. So, I have already started shooting footage for such a video and hope to complete it before next winter. I shot the footage for the 3 chapter series you are now watching over a period of three years. My next video shouldn't take so long. Thanks again! Vince
Bombadil Tree Farms I'm glad you will continue with the videos. I was in conventional logging for about two years and I have recently gone off on my own with tractor logging. There are a few of us in East Tennessee that do this and I'm learning quickly that the market is wide open for the small woodlot logger. Stay safe, productive and may the the Good Lord bless you in all you do.
Canaan, we also own and operate a couple hundred acre working forest in western Georgia, a few miles south of Rome. It consists mostly of loblolly pine plantations and is like picking daisies compared to logging very selectively in natural stands in the boreal forest of northern Maine. In eastern Tennessee you face some very different and unique challenges than what I have to deal with in northern Maine or in Georgia. I would love to learn more about your operation and, with your permission, possibly visit to make an educational film focusing on how you log with a farm tractor in the southern Appalachians. If you might be interested, please email me at vrsmd@yahoo.com. Happy New Year! I hope to hear from you. Vince
Not only in forestry but also science and engineering, not to mention mundane things like grocery store weights and measures. You may or may not know, but there are only three countries in the entire world, the USA being one of them, still using the antiquated British system. Even the UK went metric more than half a century ago. In many areas we in the USA are slow learners. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 Yeah, I am actually Canadian but my family and I live in NY state in the Catskills now. Grew up with metric and worked in forestry for 8 years in Canada. Metric apparently is the official system of the USA, but I cannot understand why no one uses it. It's completely intuitive and easier than doing fractions. A real head-scratcher for me why the country does not just switch overnight like Britain did. I suspect that if they did, many US-made products could be sold abroad, which would be a great side-benefit as well. Maybe some day.
@@DanielBelzil Daniel, your comments are right on the mark. There is a bit of history behind the story of the USA going metric. Way back in the 1920s a federal office was created to investigate the issue, and I believe but have not researched if it is still in existence continuing to waste taxpayer money in the face of decisive action that, a century later, has yet to come from the federal legislature. During WWII virtually all industrial capacity in the USA shifted to wartime armament production. Following the war, American industrial leaders informed Congress that as they prepared to retool for peacetime production, then was the ideal time to go metric. American industry, business, and engineering clearly recognized the practical and economic value of converting to metric, but our shortsighted and arrogant politicians at the time refused. After all, the USA had just freed the world of Nazi and Militant Japanese tyranny so it was only right that the world should change and adapt to the "American Way", or so the arrogant thinking went. Feeble attempts by the automobile industry in the 1970s were faced by intransigent resistance on the part of the federal government. I believe the furthest that went were metric disc brake caliper fasteners. More than senseless. It's shameful. Vince
Awe, good question! I used what I had laying around, and it is about 1/8-inch thickness (3.2 mm). However, that would bend if not for the reinforcements I welded not only along the front sides but also along the bottom. Take a close look at that section of the video and you will see what I mean. An advantage of thinner steel plate with welded reinforcing ribs is not only cost but weight. Where weight matters is removing and replacing the belly pan for cleaning and tractor maintenance. Mine is already too heavy to allow me to do that without a floor jack. If it was made from thicker steel plate, I would have a bear of a time. I could have used even thinned steel plate like 275-gallon heating fuel oil tanks are made from. Such tanks are readily available in my area for free when they need replacement for various reasons including developing pin hole leaks in their bottoms. The bottom is where condensation settles and causes rust. The flat sides will have no rust and I cut them up for many uses. Angle iron for reinforcement is also readily available for free in the form of old bedframes that people throw away. If you are anywhere near northern Maine, I can give you everything that you need. Vince
While on the subject of the cage, I built a cage, including the front slanted members, on my tractor and put on a skid pan. I also built a type of wire wall using wire rope on the right hand side of the cage with only about 2 inches of space between the wire running both horizontal and vertical around the operators part of the cage to keep the smaller brush from slapping me. I use my tractor only for mowing and clearing trails on my farm that is a forest of planted pines in the SouthEast
Wow! Sounds like an excellent protective structure. If you have some photos, I'd love to see them. Better yet, I'd love to see your rig in person. Where are you located in the Southeast? Although I am currently in northern Maine, I will be in northwest Georgia for most of July. You may contact me here on my channel or at vrsmd@yahoo.com. Be safe! Vince
Love your forestry practices, you must own the land. I have seen cuts where the logging company knew they were never coming back, and they damaged so many young trees just to get a few high value trees. I have nothing against logging, just stupid waste!
Thanks for your comment, and you are correct in that we own our woodlot. We purchased the initial acreage in 1976 and an adjoining parcel in 2006. I share your aversion to "stupid waste" and, like you, have seen abundant shameful logging jobs. Far too often those shameful harvests occurred on small, privately owned woodlots like ours whose owners, unlike us, were forestry-naive, short-sighted, and greedy. Contrary to an instinctive and very prevalent bias against anything that is "a corporation," my personal experience and observations over the past 40-plus years have generally leaned in favor of the management practices of large corporate timberland owners who have a long term vision and purpose and willingly devote a significant portion of their timber harvest revenues to improving their forestland. Unfortunately, far too many small private owners, despite claims to the contrary, value the timber harvest income above all else. The parcel that we purchased in 2006 is a perfect example of this, and I invite you to view my recently posted video, "Clearcutting as a Silvicultural Option in Family Forests of Northeastern USA." There you will see forestland that was never held in corporate ownership, only by private individuals, and what several generations of private ownership did to degrade the forest. Thanks again for your comment. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 Thank you Vince for taking the time to write your real lived experience. I have found small woodlot owners often have very little education in trees and resource management. I live about 100 plus miles above the Carolinian zone in Ontario, and as a certified tree seed collector, I pay close attention to the indigenous tree species. I have spotted woodlots with Shagbark Hickory and asked if I could collect seed (nuts) on their property. The wood lot owners generally have no idea that they have hickory in their woodlot, and some even thought those trees were sick and that is why the bark was shaggy. But the good part is I have never had a land owner object to my doing a conscientious seed harvest. I think we need to cultivate two things, that trees are a good thing and that they can be a sustainable resource for this generation and the next. Many thanks for the great video! Peter
what size tires is your Kubota ? do you know chain length you use. I found a set of Trygg chains and I know their length but not sure if they will fit my 295DT with 24 rims thanks
My rear tires are 13.6-28. I don't know my chain lengths but they are Trygg #603903. Trygg chains have a very clever yet simple way of adjusting the side chain lengths to fit your tires that works flawlessly if you start with an set of chains that have not already been played with, know their Trygg stock #, and match the Trygg stock # to the tire sizes in the Trygg application chart. The Trygg chart doesn't give lengths, only stock numbers. Also, there are at least a dozen different tractor tire sizes that fit 24-inch rims. You'll need your tire size to match it to the correct Trygg chain #. This is not to say that you can't make the set of chains you found fit your tires, it's just that going by my comments above makes it easy. Good luck! Vince
Yes, it is a L345DT. The B6100 is a good tractor but of about half the horsepower of the L345. We also have a B7500 that we use on our woodlot in Georgia. Thanks for your comment. Vince
I'm mostly looking for something to do and to learn nothing more than that don't really need money really unless it was just for gas expenses but yeah it's kind of like what I've been looking for and nobody wants to do anything everybody says I wish I had some help every now and then but nobody wants to actually do it I'm willing to work for free I wish somebody would take me up on it imagine that a grown man willing to work for free for the experience to gain experience and knowledge can you even imagine that you probably never had anybody say that to you before to create a friendship that's all I'm looking for
Dave, please accept my apologies. You are absolutely correct. I should have said "in the USA's lower 48 states." Thanks for making this needed correction. Vince
Yes. The broad-leaf tree in the center and the one about halfway from it to the left border of the frame at time point 1:44 are called by various colloquial names including "poplar." Here in northern Maine "poplar" has been corrupted to "popple," but mill specs commonly refer to it as "aspen", that term having wider geographic acceptance and is the preferred colloquial term out west. The Populus genus has several members. The two seen at time point 1:44 are quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), but elsewhere in this video trilogy bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) appear. Here in Maine and adjacent New Brunswick both are commonly called "popple" and are accepted without distinction by engineered product oriented strand board (OSB) mills. Where markets exist for aspen lumber, bigtooth is not only preferred but often the only populus species accepted. Vince
you're a fantastic teacher! thorough, humble and clear. Thank you so much!
Hi Tanya, I thank you for your far too kind remarks. My joy rests in knowing that you found the tutorial useful. Be safe in the woods! Vince
This is a fantastic video! Thank you for the effort.
Kyle, glad that you found it useful. Be safe in the woods! Vince
Thank you for this video. Great advice and one of my favorite logging videos now. Good work.
You are very welcome! Be safe in the woods! Vince
Fantastic information! Very thourough. This is the most detailed video I've seen on tractor logging. Thank you very much for the work you put in to it.
Hi Kelly. I am glad that you found it informative and useful and encourage you to view all three videos in the series. I also encourage you to download and read a free PDF copy of "The Farm Tractor in the Forest." The link to the download is, www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwissfCRo9OEAxVD_skDHfjaCDQQFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maine.gov%2Fdacf%2Fmfs%2Fpublications%2Fgeneral_publications%2Ffarm_tractor_in_the_forest.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1syWkQz8wRgZpeMQU767cT&opi=89978449
Don't be afraid of such a complex link. It bypasses multiple pages in the Maine Forest Service's website to give you the document download in one easy step. Be safe in the woods! Vince
Great video, thorough, and well spoken. Retired State of Minnesota DNR Forester, 38 years of service; enjoyed every day. The chains on your tractor are impressive. Thanks again for teaching, practicing, and being a good Land Steward.
Al, such a compliment coming from an experienced professional carries a lot of weight, and I thank you for it. Another series that may or may not be applicable to private woodlot owners in Minnesota is my series, "Clearcutting as a Silvicultural Tool, etc." that I embarked upon to help folks who, like me, have a gut level aversion to the wood, "clearcut," but have such abused and degraded woodlots that wiping the slate clean and starting over deserves consideration. Please view the four or five videos that I have in the series so far (I plan several more). If you feel that they might be applicable in Minnesota, please alert your yet unretired colleagues who interface with private woodlot owners. It offers some food for thought that such owners might appreciate. Thanks again. Vince
Vince, thanks for the prompt well written reply. I will pass this on for you. When I retired from state service in July 2014, I started a private consulting business, “Sharp’s Forestry Consulting LLC”. I am still actively doing private forestry consulting; having a hard time walking away from my passion. I agree with your comment on “CLEARCUTS”. There are times silviculturally the best advice is to start over. I will be following you and will be looking at your previous posts. Would be awesome if we could meet up sometime. Al
@@Ranger-Al Al, yes, it would be terrific to meet you sometime. Please stay in touch! Vince
Outstanding video, well presented and very informative. Many small details that I had not considered. Thank you for posting this.
I am glad that you found it useful and informative and hope that you will also find Chapters 2, 3, and the delimbing sequel beneficial. I also encourage you to download and read Milton Nilsson's book, "The Farm Tractor in the Forest." Be safe! Vince
Being retired USAF, I noticed your Fatigue jacket with the USAF Patch. If appropriate, thank you for your service.
Hi Gary. Yes, I'm also retired USAF. 25 years, 2months, 27 days, but who other than ARPC was counting! Vince
I really appreciate the emphasis on effective safety tips.
Jon, you are very welcome. The forest is a beautiful and wonderful place to work but very unforgiving of mistakes. It doesn't offer many second chances, so safety is #1 on the checklist everyday. Vince
Good evening Vince,
I really enjoyed the information in your videos, I cut about 8 cords of wood off my property each year to feed the wood boiler. So I spend a bit of time in the woods with my tractor, and I picked up some great pointers from you. Looks like I need to put a skid plate and a cage on the tractor, I never really thought about it makes sense. I picked up a 3 pt hitch grapple last year, it works great but I see a winch in the near future.
Thanks again for taking the time to put the video together it is a great educational tool.
Be safe in the woods there is almost no better place to be.
Dave.
Hi Dave, I am glad you found the video valuable. For the amount of wood you cut and since you already have the 3-point hitch grapple, why not consider mounting an electric winch on the front of your tractor of the sort that off-road four-wheel enthusiasts mount on their Jeeps? They are available online and through several discount tool chain stores. Yes, the cable speed is slow but that's not a big deal for what you are doing. If you decide to go this route, make sure that the winch you select has fairlead rollers. With such a set-up you'll save yourself several thousand dollars compared to a 3-point hitch logging winch. Once trail-side, you can then use your grapple to skid the trees out of the forest. Yes, a protective cage is essential. A small two or three pound branch falling from sixty feet can kill a man, and there is no chance of surviving a direct hit from one weighing forty or fifty pounds. That's why lumberjacks have called them "widow-makers" for a couple centuries or more. What you say is so true, "There is almost no better place to be." Be safe and thanks again for your feedback. Vince
Yes very good video and i can relate to this as a tool for my own self and the way i do my logging thanks for the post
John, you are very welcome. Be safe in the woods! Vince
Hi Vince, great video, great teacher, l grow up on a farm, and I learned with my father. I am now owner of a 200 acres woodlot. I have a old Farmi winch, same as the one you had before your Metavic. I also have a Kubota, but a bit bigger, M7950Dt. I love to work on my land so I really appreciate your videos. Enrico
Enrico, thank you for your kind remarks. My joy is knowing that you found the video tutorial useful. That's a great tractor that you have. Sometimes I wish I had more horsepower, and you definitely do. Those old Farmi winches are incredible! I think that they would survive ground-zero of a nuclear blast. Be safe, and I wish you countless more years of happiness working in your forest. Vince
I have a Ford 8n and I’m tempted to mod it out with all of these things! Great video!!!!
I hope that you don't resist that temptation! I cannot overemphasize that for the sake of safety and effectiveness the modifications suggested both in my video and in Milton Nilsson's book are a must. You can download his book for free at www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/publications/general_publications/farm_tractor_in_the_forest.pdf. Be safe in the woods! Vince
That is a great video! Thank you for sharing what you habe learned.
Nathan, you are very welcome, and be safe in the woods! Vince
Excellent info and so well presented. Thank you!
Kevin, you are very welcome! Vince
Exactly what I needed to hear on managing a woodlot as I am currently buying a 200 acres 50-60 years old woodlot in Quebec, Sherbrooke region. I was looking for education on the use of tractor versus ATV forwarding. Great insight. Will keep watching the other videos. Thanks a lot.
Ian, Glad I could be of assistance. By the way, just outside Sherbrooke is Ascot Corner where Les Distributions Payeur is located. My radio controlled winch and forwarding trailer came from Payeur. ATV forwarding is great if you are talking about small volumes, short distances, and don't have any other need for a tractor. Our woodlot here in northern Maine is a little over 200-acres, and I have a seemingly endless need for my tractor aside from logging. I think you will discover the same with your woodlot. Regardless of logging, it's hard to tend 200-acres without a tractor. A 50-60 year old woodlot in your and my neck of the woods is at a perfect age to really make a difference in developing a terrific future forest. Most of our woodlot was about that same age when I purchased it in 1976 and still shows, below some now really majestic trees, the rotting stumps of junk that I removed thirty and more years ago that have allowed those majestic trees to be what they are today. You are about a 7-hour drive from us, and I invite you to come see how we operate in more detail. Vince
Thanks for the offer. Will keep in mind for sure. I already stopped by their shop in Ascott Corner a few weeks ago as I passed in front while visiting my future woodlot. The salesman and I discussed some tractors already which I think he wants to sell more of a 45HP + tractor instead of a lower power. But I don't think I would buy a brand new tractor and trailer/grapple, maybe yes, but starting a woodlot work in which I already invest money into the land itself and other forestry tools including an ATV. But I understand having the correct tools is a pay back on the money thrown at the purchase of the land and the tools themselves, on a long term, of course. You get along with a 34HP but I guess it depends what type of work the forester does on the land and what the tractor will pull. I sure will keep your say in mind. Take care. Ian.
Ian, Sounds like you are the right kind of guy to steward a woodlot. I'm confident that you will find valuable the can't-be-beat "Woodlot Management Home Study Program" offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. It is well over 500 pages long and presented in 13 separate lessons or "Modules." By its very length and depth it is for seriously interested students, not folks with only casual interest. The link is woodlot.novascotia.ca/content/woodlot-management-home-study-program. Also, I suggest several of the popular "Swedish Homestead" videos on UA-cam. Be safe in the woods, and perhaps we will bump into each other there someday. Vince
Thanks for the tip on the study program. When I saw it, I remembered saving the bookmark of the website and never went deep into what's written. I'll give it a shot and adapt it to the area where my forest is. There's a lot of info out there from many woodland owners and agencies building forestry and silviculture documents that sometimes you just want to assimilate all of them asap. But I think the best is to take what's in them, put them in practice, test it and see for yourself to build an opinion of the subject, backed with many many years of previous experience from owners and even back in the time since the years 1490s of colonization.
Lots of valuable information here.
Thanks for your feedback! Vince
Very informative video sir,. Who would have thought the simple things like wiring lynch pins or covers over tire valves? Not I. Your experience and knowledge is invaluable.
Thank you, Grant, but I need to give credit where credit is due. I learned 99.9% of the details of this system of logging, including those simple things you mention that can result in inconvenience or tragedy if ignored, from others, primarily from Milton Nilsson and Nils Forshed's Swedish team that developed the system and published the book, "The Farm Tractor in the Forest," and two University of Maine professors whose tireless efforts brought that Swedish developed system to the awareness of small woodlot owners here in New England. Those two men are Professor Benjamin Hoffman (recently deceased) and Professor Bob Seymour (recently retired but still a powerhouse of activity). Be safe in the woods! Vince
Lots of real good information. Well worth watching if you are starting to work your woodlot.
William, glad you found it useful. Be safe in the woods! Vince
I'm north of you in N.B. great video thanks, please keep them coming...
Denis
Hi Denis, I apologize for such a delayed response, but your comment of 7 months ago somehow ended up in my spam inbox and I only discovered it today. Thanks for your feedback. By the way, I just posted today a short 6-minute video that you will likely find useful if you plan to harvest any balsam fir this winter. Its title is, "Logging with a Farm Tractor in the Boreal Forest - Sub-zero Temperatures Make Delimbing Easier." Be safe in the woods! Vince
Lots of wisdom thanks
You are very welcome! Glad you found it valuable.
Excellent video on tractor logging sir!
Thank you, and I hope that you found it interesting although perhaps not as applicable to the southern pine and hardwood forests as other harvesting options. In addition to our property in Maine, we also own and operate a little less than 200 acres of forestland in northwest Georgia. I featured it for comparison and illustration in another video that may or may not interest you. The link is ua-cam.com/video/sDHL9rLzf8o/v-deo.html. Thanks again for your comment. Vince
Thanks for the very informative series, I have a suggestion for maybe another video which would be making a skid trail. Is there any special equipment you used to make those trails ( backhoe, bull dozer etc) or a lot of elbow grease and maybe a touch of luck that there are no big boulders!! Thanks again for the series!
Thanks for the suggestion. Perhaps you didn't notice but I did post a video earlier this year that is more of a sales pitch encouraging woodlot owners to establish a permanent system of trails. However, it is not a "how to" video. I use no special equipment, just remove trees that are in the way, cut stumps low, and use chunks of cull wood to fill in significant low spots. Winter snowfall takes care of the rest resulting in a smooth and flat trail surface. On some occasions I use my front end loader to reshape a hump of earth. Large boulders are rare, I can usually avoid them, and when I can't I often lift them out of the way with my forwarding trailer's grapple. Thanks again for your suggestion! Vince
very informative Vince, thank you!!
Hi Rick! Glad that you found it valuable. Be safe in the woods! Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 thanks, what is the size of your cage, as far as tubing and roof goes, i need to make one of them as you said for the woods.
@@ricklarade3593 Please excuse my delayed reply. The vertical supports are 1/4-inch wall thickness 2-inch by 2-inch square steel tubing. So is the roof section's frame. The sloping front risers not seen in this video series but that do appear in my "Salvaging Spruce Blowdown" video are 1/4-inch wall thickness 2-inch by 3-inch rectangular steel tubing. When I built the structure I was a 6-feet tall young man but have shrunk by an inch or two over the years. The interior height has always been more than adequate, and that measures 64 inches from the floorboards and 38 inches from the top of the seat. Please let me know if you need more details, and I promise to respond sooner than I did this time. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 thank you very much fine sir!!
that rig is awesome! its like a mini me, i have a 1978 kubota m7500dt with a loader and chains all the way around, and just bought a winch a few days ago. I log a lot of big hardwood in VT and use the tractor to load logs in my dump truck so a small tractor wont cut it
Yes, loading big hardwoods onto a truck with a front end loader needs a bigger tractor than mine and you certainly have one! Be safe! Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 I really like your rig , nimble and must be real fuel efficient.
@@iceflameproductionz Yes, that it is. I completed this winter's harvest on 01 February with a total of 8 truckloads each averaging between 20 and 22 tons. All told, including a few hours clearing snow, my tractor consumed about 60 gallons of diesel fuel and my saws about 8 gallons of chainsaw gas. That equates to almost 3 tons (a little more than one cord) of timber harvested and skidded to a log landing per gallon of diesel fuel and one full truckload of over twenty tons (more than 8 cords) per gallon of chainsaw gas. Because of the tedious delimbing involved, I use almost twice as much chainsaw gas harvesting a ton of fir as I do a ton of aspen. Be safe! Vince
Sir, i really enjoyed this video, i found it extremely helpful as i plan on moving to Maine and build a small homestead. Most of the logging i will do is firewood.
Hi Derek! I just posted you a more detailed reply in the "comments" section of my Chapter 3 video. What I didn't mention there is that the booklet I refer to in the final part of the chapter 3 video, the one by Professor Hoffman, is a great resource for small volume firewood harvesting. I made a digital copy in pdf. format that I hope to have posted online. It might be a few weeks before that happens, but I'll get back to you when I know more. Thanks again for your feedback and your interest.
Derek, I have some updates for you. First, the Maine Forest Service recently
published Professor Hoffman's publication on its website. The webpage
link is www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/working_in_the_woods.html.
Under "Other Resources" you will find "Historic Forestry Notes: Woodlot
Harvesting with Small Tractors." Also, I discovered a very good home study course offered by
the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. The link is novascotia.ca/natr/Education/woodlot/modules/module12/pdf/Module12.pdf. Something for you to do during the long North Dakota winter. Vince
Vince, Thank you for the update that is a lot of really good info. I have been watching auctions and sales out here for a tractor, however there isn't much of anything under 100hp out here. I will have much better luck finding something when i get to move back east. On the bright side i am headed back to the family farm in PA to get my duece and half so i can get her back in running order so that will be ready. Once again i really appreciate all your help. Derek
Thank you all ur information
You are very welcome! Be safe in the woods! Vince
I love the video. I've got the same tractor and you gave me some great ideas.
One thing I do disagree with is loaded tires.... I'd bet you have never had them loaded or you would not say that... Not trying to be a jerk just wanted to let you know... The weight inside the tire changes the tractor in an amazing way... Way more stable, ten times more traction... I ran mine unloaded when I got it.. L275 with 900 hours... My neibor talked me into having them loaded... New tubes filled with calcium... I got the tires in and was slimy amazed....
Quite the contrary. I have more than modest experience with loaded tires. Where loaded tires add traction and stability benefit is when a tractor is pulling a wagon or other implement that does not apply downward weight to the rear of the tractor. It is also very difficult to use a front-end loader without either loaded rear tires or something heavy on the three point hitch. Without such rear-end weight even a light load in the bucket results in spinning wheels especially in reverse gear. In the system of logging that my video series demonstrates, my tractor always has far more rear-end weight than needed to prevent loss of traction and hundreds of pounds/kilograms more than what loaded tires could provide. That weight is supplied by the winch alone, the winch plus an attached twitch of wood, or the tongue weight of the forwarding trailer. Take a look at my Chapter 3 video where I need to gear down to almost a crawl coming up an incline from the forest to my log landing pulling, on snow, a loaded forwarding trailer whose gross weight was around 10,000 pounds (approximately 4,500 kilograms). My tires never broke traction. In a higher gear I would have stalled the tractor before breaking traction. Regarding choice of liquid weight in other applications where loaded tires offer benefit, calcium is overused. Calcium's value is really for cold climates where plain water would freeze. Calcium is brutally corrosive. In warm climates water alone is better. Yes, I have eaten holes through expensive rims thanks to calcium. Ethylene glycol antifreeze is more expensive than calcium but is not corrosive. That is what I currently use in another tractor that I own that is equipped with a front end loader and often used to pull a wagon or other draw bar attached implements that do not provide downward weight on the tractor. Thank you for your comment and the opportunity for me to clarify the issue.
@@bombadiltreefarms314 Calcium is put inside a new tube... If flats are repaired calcium never touches metal at all. People that put calcium in tubeless tires are where that problem exists....
I log also and plow snow, clean land, move dirt, ... Here in Alaska its very hilly on my property.... Many places I'm on side hills or backing up steep hills with the bucket an inch from the ground ... I have weight on the 3 point also, but in my woods nothing improved the tractor more then calcium filled rear tires... Calcium when mixed correctly has almost twice the weight of beets juice.... The weight it directly over the tire tread...
You are very knowledgeable about this method of logging and tree species and characteristics of the stands you work in. Forest tech here from New Brunswick
Trevor, it's always a pleasure to receive such a compliment from a professional in the field. Thank you. Vince
Your tips on rigging the tractor are awesome as well. The threaded pipe and cap over the valve stem is a great simple idea.
@@trevorunderhill2043 Trevor, I must admit that few of the ideas I present are of my creation including the valve stem protectors. I learned many years ago that it didn't make much sense to reinvent the wheel but instead to seek out and learn from good wheelwrights. The threaded pipe nipples with caps were pretty much standard equipment on most makes of logging skidders going back 50 years and remain so to this day. I simply copied the idea, and it is a good one. Brace yourself for today's nor'easter! A large part of the Maritimes and northeastern Maine are supposed to get clobbered. Vince
I had never noticed them before on all the big equipment in the woods until after your video but absolutely necessary as usually these machines are working some rugged terrain and often rims are full of mud ! Yes pretty good storm here but still a very easy winter so far !
Very few folks up here still logging with chainsaw and small equipment. I play around and harvest my firewood with my ATV which I have a set of tracks for in winter. 40 ish acres behind my house and most trees are safe with my level of production hah !
Liquid ballast in the rear tires is the best way to add stability to a tractor, especially on uneven terrain. I've based my opinion on farming 200 acres of hillside farm in VT and currently own 10 tractors.
Thank you for your comment. This issue was rather thoroughly discussed several months ago when another viewer made a comment similar to yours. Bottom line is that liquid ballast in rear tires clearly has a place and a purpose, and I have another tractor that I use for different purposes and wouldn't operate without ballast in its tires. In the application discussed in this video tutorial, however, it provides no benefit. In this application, unlike when pulling a tillage implement, there is always more weight pressing down on the rear of the tractor than any additional tire ballast can provide, and the tractor is stable beyond description. Please do not think that I am advising against tire ballast in all applications. I clearly am not. Thanks again for your comment and stay safe on your steep ground! Vince
Very nice job 👍
Thank you! Vince
Good day sir,
I truly enjoyed all three videos that you posted. Watching them a second time around today. You have a great way of explaining in detail what and how you are doing things. What a real treat to watch. I am hoping that one day , I too can log with a tractor, in the mean time I will continue getting my firewood with my truck , trailer and my trusty chainsaw..
would you have any idea where I could purchase the book " the farm tractor in the forest "? Hope to see more of your videos in the near future
Kind regards from your neighbour to the north, Montreal, Canada.
Rugged Timber, now that is a terrific name! I found two copies of Milton Nillson's book available on Amazon. Just go to Amazon.com and enter the title. On my long list of things to do, I intend to contact the Swedish National Board of Forestry and the Forest Extension Service of the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources to see if they might produce a digital version that would be available online. By the way, if your access to firewood offers trails or roads safely traversed by your truck, you can utilize the same techniques without a tractor. Same applies if you have a snowmobile and tote-sled. All that you need is a winch and a snatchblock or two. I have never owned or used a Lewis Winch but am aware of folks who have. They are made out in B.C. There's at least one impressive UA-cam video showing a Lewis Winch in action. Thanks for your feedback. Vince
Rugged Timber, in addition to my comments below you may find the following UA-cam video useful. These guys use an ATV with a small forwarding trailer with boom and winch: ua-cam.com/video/VQ1Rk8YSRYc/v-deo.html
Rugged Timber, I have some updates for you. First, the Maine Forest Service recently published Professor Hoffman's publication on its website. The webpage link is www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/working_in_the_woods.html. Under "Other Resources" you will find "Historic Forestry Notes: Woodlot Harvesting with Small Tractors." Second, a Swedish friend and viewer located Milton Nillson and I have been in touch with him. Milton is now 91 years old. He encouraged me to contact the National Board of Forestry in Sweden, something I told you I intended to do but have not yet done. Milton also told me that his group had produced a film with the same title as his book. I hope that the National Board of Forestry in Sweden can access a copy of the film, convert it to MP4 format, and publish it on UA-cam. Third, I discovered a very good home study course offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. The link is novascotia.ca/natr/Education/woodlot/modules/module12/pdf/Module12.pdf. Vince
Bombadil Tree Farms
Thank you so much for the update. Sorry for the tardiness but I was out of the country. I will most definitely look at the links you provided.
Again thank you and happy logging.
Rugged Timber, I HAVE GREAT NEWS!!! The Swedish Forest Agency, successor organization to the National Board of Forestry, Sweden, and both Milton Nilsson and Nils Forshed granted me approval to reproduce and disseminate "The Farm Tractor in the Forest" so long as I do so for noncommercial purposes. I have prepared a PDF version of the book and the Maine Forest Service is currently reviewing it to see if they believe it appropriate to post on their website. Did you ever locate a paper copy of the book? If I encounter delay finding an organization to post the PDF version on its website, I would gladly send you a copy by email attachment. If we have to go that route, we'll have to work out a secure way for you to provide me with your email address.
Great video series! I am watching it for the second time now. I was wondering what you taught of the Kubota L2501 for doing this type of work? Would it have enough horsepower? Its the biggest model that does not have a lot of electronics and the problem prone enviromental emission filtration. It seems to be a loot of tractor for the money. Thanks
24 hp at the engine
19 hp at the pto
2100 LB machine.
I would think heavier machine would be better
Also only has a 65” wheel base. Kinda short.
You would have enough horsepower for winching and, if your tires are large enough to provide traction, all that the lesser horsepower would mean is slower travel speed. In the woods, who is in a race, anyway? I use my old Farmi winch on the Kubota B7500 (21 hp at the engine) we have on our woodlot in Georgia. It gets light duty jobs done, but the B-series tractors are not nearly as hefty as the L-series, and our B7500 is no match at all for your L2501. What size wood are you planning to harvest and how much do you intend to cut over what period of time? Does your tractor have a front-end loader? Knowing these things would help me better answer your question. Vince
Do they make a Payeur Winch anymore? Cannot seem to find it, I was looking at a Wallenstein FX85R as it has the remote feature which is handy, Farmi only has a remote for the 501 which seems too heavy for a 35 Hp tractor.
Hi Evan. I am not certain, but Payeur's website, payeur.com/en/, doesn't show any. Their line of winches was actually manufactured by Metavic, and Metavic's website, metavic.com/en/, also fails to show any winches. It does appear that they have continued making winches, but it wouldn't hurt to give Payeur a quick phone call to make sure. I know a guy way up in Dawson in Canada's Yukon that has a Wallenstein FX85R, works it hard, and loves it. He is the only guy I know who has the radio controlled model, but I know others with Wallenstein winches and have heard no complaints. My Payeur winch has some drawbacks, and I replaced it last year with a Tajfun EGV 45 AHK radio controlled unit that I love. It was a toss-up between it and the Wallenstein FX85R, but there were various seemingly unimportant features of the Tajfun that showed every little issue had been considered by its engineers. Please let me know if I can be of any more help. Vince
I have a question about your Kubota 34hp. Do you have Standard rear tires or larger? Can you extend the wodth of the front end as well as the back for stability?
Hi Jerry. I like technical questions like yours very much. I'm running, both front and back, the standard agricultural tires that came on the tractor from the factory back in 1982. The front tires are 9.5-16 and the rear are 13.6-28. I cannot adjust the tire position width on the front axle and am not aware of any 4-wheel drive tractors that allow that option. Tractors that are only rear wheel drive commonly do allow adjustment of front axle tire width more for the purpose of matching their width to the rear tire width so as to keep them in the same tracks for the purpose of tending agricultural row crops. Anyway, I'm not sure how much additional stability you'd gain during forestry use where most of the stability issues relate to the lateral pull on the rear of the tractor by the logs or trees that you are winching or skidding. In any case, you want to keep your skid trails as straight as possible and never travel on side slopes. Hope this helps, and thanks for your questions. Vince
Bombadil Tree Farms Thank you Vince Sir for your thorough answer to my question. Look forward to your videos. Y'all have a Merry Christmas.
Bombadil Tree Farms Thank you Vince Sir for your thorough answer. Look forward to your videos. Y'all have a Merry Christmas.
Hi your tractor looks great, do you have videos doing repairs on your tractor, i have a l295dt and i haven't seen any videos on changing hydraulic oil or anything else if you do have one can you let me know please thanks
Hi Carlos. No, I do not have any maintenance videos but, now that you mention it, making one or two would be a good idea. Do you have an owner's manual for your tractor? Mine has very good photo illustrations for all routine maintenance, and I could scan and send you specific items that you need. Only problem is that I won't have a chance to do that before May. Just let me know and I'm sure that we can work something out. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 thank you vinve for the quick response and yes that would be great too, your tractor looks great almost brand new my is old but i still will like to keep it running its a good like machine
Will you be producing anymore videos? Hope you and all that see this have a Merry Christmas.
Thank you, Canaan, and a Merry Christmas to you, too! Regarding more videos, I believe there is an educational benefit to be gained by expanding on the additional benefits of having an established system of trails in a woodlot. It does take considerable time and effort to prepare trails, and many woodlot owners may not feel it's worth the time and effort considering the volume or value of wood that they envision harvesting. So, I have already started shooting footage for such a video and hope to complete it before next winter. I shot the footage for the 3 chapter series you are now watching over a period of three years. My next video shouldn't take so long. Thanks again! Vince
Bombadil Tree Farms I'm glad you will continue with the videos. I was in conventional logging for about two years and I have recently gone off on my own with tractor logging. There are a few of us in East Tennessee that do this and I'm learning quickly that the market is wide open for the small woodlot logger. Stay safe, productive and may the the Good Lord bless you in all you do.
Canaan, we also own and operate a couple hundred acre working forest in western Georgia, a few miles south of Rome. It consists mostly of loblolly pine plantations and is like picking daisies compared to logging very selectively in natural stands in the boreal forest of northern Maine. In eastern Tennessee you face some very different and unique challenges than what I have to deal with in northern Maine or in Georgia. I would love to learn more about your operation and, with your permission, possibly visit to make an educational film focusing on how you log with a farm tractor in the southern Appalachians. If you might be interested, please email me at vrsmd@yahoo.com. Happy New Year! I hope to hear from you. Vince
Bombadil Tree Farms sounds great.
Hope you guys made this collaboration work.
Appreciate the metric conversions. Most of the world's forestry is done in metric.
Not only in forestry but also science and engineering, not to mention mundane things like grocery store weights and measures. You may or may not know, but there are only three countries in the entire world, the USA being one of them, still using the antiquated British system. Even the UK went metric more than half a century ago. In many areas we in the USA are slow learners. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 Yeah, I am actually Canadian but my family and I live in NY state in the Catskills now. Grew up with metric and worked in forestry for 8 years in Canada. Metric apparently is the official system of the USA, but I cannot understand why no one uses it. It's completely intuitive and easier than doing fractions. A real head-scratcher for me why the country does not just switch overnight like Britain did. I suspect that if they did, many US-made products could be sold abroad, which would be a great side-benefit as well. Maybe some day.
@@DanielBelzil Daniel, your comments are right on the mark. There is a bit of history behind the story of the USA going metric. Way back in the 1920s a federal office was created to investigate the issue, and I believe but have not researched if it is still in existence continuing to waste taxpayer money in the face of decisive action that, a century later, has yet to come from the federal legislature. During WWII virtually all industrial capacity in the USA shifted to wartime armament production. Following the war, American industrial leaders informed Congress that as they prepared to retool for peacetime production, then was the ideal time to go metric. American industry, business, and engineering clearly recognized the practical and economic value of converting to metric, but our shortsighted and arrogant politicians at the time refused. After all, the USA had just freed the world of Nazi and Militant Japanese tyranny so it was only right that the world should change and adapt to the "American Way", or so the arrogant thinking went. Feeble attempts by the automobile industry in the 1970s were faced by intransigent resistance on the part of the federal government. I believe the furthest that went were metric disc brake caliper fasteners. More than senseless. It's shameful. Vince
What thickness of plate would you suggest for the belly pan?
Awe, good question! I used what I had laying around, and it is about 1/8-inch thickness (3.2 mm). However, that would bend if not for the reinforcements I welded not only along the front sides but also along the bottom. Take a close look at that section of the video and you will see what I mean. An advantage of thinner steel plate with welded reinforcing ribs is not only cost but weight. Where weight matters is removing and replacing the belly pan for cleaning and tractor maintenance. Mine is already too heavy to allow me to do that without a floor jack. If it was made from thicker steel plate, I would have a bear of a time. I could have used even thinned steel plate like 275-gallon heating fuel oil tanks are made from. Such tanks are readily available in my area for free when they need replacement for various reasons including developing pin hole leaks in their bottoms. The bottom is where condensation settles and causes rust. The flat sides will have no rust and I cut them up for many uses. Angle iron for reinforcement is also readily available for free in the form of old bedframes that people throw away. If you are anywhere near northern Maine, I can give you everything that you need. Vince
While on the subject of the cage, I built a cage, including the front slanted members, on my tractor and put on a skid pan. I also built a type of wire wall using wire rope on the right hand side of the cage with only about 2 inches of space between the wire running both horizontal and vertical around the operators part of the cage to keep the smaller brush from slapping me. I use my tractor only for mowing and clearing trails on my farm that is a forest of planted pines in the SouthEast
Wow! Sounds like an excellent protective structure. If you have some photos, I'd love to see them. Better yet, I'd love to see your rig in person. Where are you located in the Southeast? Although I am currently in northern Maine, I will be in northwest Georgia for most of July. You may contact me here on my channel or at vrsmd@yahoo.com. Be safe! Vince
what's the steepest slope you use that on?
Sam, my terrain is relatively flat with no sustained slopes of more than 5 or 10%. Vince
Love your forestry practices, you must own the land. I have seen cuts where the logging company knew they were never coming back, and they damaged so many young trees just to get a few high value trees. I have nothing against logging, just stupid waste!
Thanks for your comment, and you are correct in that we own our woodlot. We purchased the initial acreage in 1976 and an adjoining parcel in 2006. I share your aversion to "stupid waste" and, like you, have seen abundant shameful logging jobs. Far too often those shameful harvests occurred on small, privately owned woodlots like ours whose owners, unlike us, were forestry-naive, short-sighted, and greedy. Contrary to an instinctive and very prevalent bias against anything that is "a corporation," my personal experience and observations over the past 40-plus years have generally leaned in favor of the management practices of large corporate timberland owners who have a long term vision and purpose and willingly devote a significant portion of their timber harvest revenues to improving their forestland. Unfortunately, far too many small private owners, despite claims to the contrary, value the timber harvest income above all else. The parcel that we purchased in 2006 is a perfect example of this, and I invite you to view my recently posted video, "Clearcutting as a Silvicultural Option in Family Forests of Northeastern USA." There you will see forestland that was never held in corporate ownership, only by private individuals, and what several generations of private ownership did to degrade the forest. Thanks again for your comment. Vince
@@bombadiltreefarms314 Thank you Vince for taking the time to write your real lived experience. I have found small woodlot owners often have very little education in trees and resource management. I live about 100 plus miles above the Carolinian zone in Ontario, and as a certified tree seed collector, I pay close attention to the indigenous tree species. I have spotted woodlots with Shagbark Hickory and asked if I could collect seed (nuts) on their property. The wood lot owners generally have no idea that they have hickory in their woodlot, and some even thought those trees were sick and that is why the bark was shaggy. But the good part is I have never had a land owner object to my doing a conscientious seed harvest. I think we need to cultivate two things, that trees are a good thing and that they can be a sustainable resource for this generation and the next. Many thanks for the great video! Peter
what size tires is your Kubota ? do you know chain length you use. I found a set of Trygg chains and I know their length but not sure if they will fit my 295DT with 24 rims thanks
My rear tires are 13.6-28. I don't know my chain lengths but they are Trygg #603903. Trygg chains have a very clever yet simple way of adjusting the side chain lengths to fit your tires that works flawlessly if you start with an set of chains that have not already been played with, know their Trygg stock #, and match the Trygg stock # to the tire sizes in the Trygg application chart. The Trygg chart doesn't give lengths, only stock numbers. Also, there are at least a dozen different tractor tire sizes that fit 24-inch rims. You'll need your tire size to match it to the correct Trygg chain #. This is not to say that you can't make the set of chains you found fit your tires, it's just that going by my comments above makes it easy. Good luck! Vince
thanks
Old Tom bombadil was a merry fellow bright blue was his jacket and his boots were yellow
Yes, and his eyes blue and bright, and his face red as an apple! Ben, I am happy to see that you recognized the allusion. My best wishes. Vince
A loader / blade is essential to me .
Yep, once you have them it is hard to go back. Be safe! Vince
Hi I'm also from Maine is your tractor A L345 Kubota I had a B6100E
Yes, it is a L345DT. The B6100 is a good tractor but of about half the horsepower of the L345. We also have a B7500 that we use on our woodlot in Georgia. Thanks for your comment. Vince
11:10 minimum damage would be “no” damage
I'm mostly looking for something to do and to learn nothing more than that don't really need money really unless it was just for gas expenses but yeah it's kind of like what I've been looking for and nobody wants to do anything everybody says I wish I had some help every now and then but nobody wants to actually do it I'm willing to work for free I wish somebody would take me up on it imagine that a grown man willing to work for free for the experience to gain experience and knowledge can you even imagine that you probably never had anybody say that to you before to create a friendship that's all I'm looking for
:27 “....very little in the usa....” except for the 107 million acres in Alaska
Dave, please accept my apologies. You are absolutely correct. I should have said "in the USA's lower 48 states." Thanks for making this needed correction. Vince
whats the model of tractor?
Trevor, it is an L345DT. Vince
1:44 poplar?
Yes. The broad-leaf tree in the center and the one about halfway from it to the left border of the frame at time point 1:44 are called by various colloquial names including "poplar." Here in northern Maine "poplar" has been corrupted to "popple," but mill specs commonly refer to it as "aspen", that term having wider geographic acceptance and is the preferred colloquial term out west. The Populus genus has several members. The two seen at time point 1:44 are quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), but elsewhere in this video trilogy bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) appear. Here in Maine and adjacent New Brunswick both are commonly called "popple" and are accepted without distinction by engineered product oriented strand board (OSB) mills. Where markets exist for aspen lumber, bigtooth is not only preferred but often the only populus species accepted. Vince
I'm looking for work, I'm retired so i don't need a hole lot of money and I can travel a bit.... so give me a shout...
I appreciate your offer. However, my limited volume annual harvests are well suited for a one-man operation. Thanks, nonetheless. Vince
lets not overreact.