# The very best tractor attachment for loading firewood into trucks with a tractor is?



## KiwiBro (Dec 13, 2011)

Biggest volume grapple bucket you can get within the SWL of the FEL?
Root rake with grapple?
Just the biggest bucket your tractor can handle and learn to use it (with a tooth bar) to not pick up too much debris?
Something else?


What would you recommend and why?

Thanks.


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## TreePointer (Dec 13, 2011)

I don't have one yet, but I like the idea of some sort of grapple with tines closer together to keep the logs form jamming in between them. My 6' FEL isn't very efficient at scooping logs and it isn't extra large or heavy duty, but it's much better than loading a truck/trailer by hand.







The grapple allows you to move longer logs to a landing or processing area without having to get off the tractor to hook up skidding chains/cables. Moving remaining brush into piles is also more easily accomplished with the grapple.


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## GeeVee (Dec 13, 2011)

Rock bucket with a grapple attached, either factory or modified.


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## redheadwoodshed (Dec 13, 2011)

I would have to say the very best is the one you can afford.:msp_biggrin:Unfortunatly, for me that's 2 poles and some chain.Look up parbuckle if you don't know what it is.Kinda hard on the trailer, but it works.


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## Rudolf73 (Dec 13, 2011)

Turkeyslayer has a nice set up, heres a link

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/116946.htm


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## 1grnlwn (Dec 13, 2011)

It takes a helper, but I like the lifting tongs on the end of our fork attachment. It works for the big/huge rounds, which is what we like. Sorry no picts, we are usually to busy working when we are scrounging wood.


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## Laird (Dec 13, 2011)

I don't load a pickup with them, but plain old forks move logs around pretty easily.


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 13, 2011)

For split wood, a chain conveyor or an articulating loader with a rock bucket. The conveyor will give a nicer clean product but it is labor intensive. Rock bucket works as long as your customers don’t mind a little debris in with the load.


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## redheadwoodshed (Dec 13, 2011)

This is my dream machine!View attachment 211301


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## KiwiBro (Dec 13, 2011)

TreePointer said:


> I don't have one yet, but I like the idea of some sort of grapple with tines closer together to keep the logs form jamming in between them.


That has been my thinking too. To keep weight down, maybe even just, say, 1/2" rod spaced at around 2" centres between the existing tines. Double thumbs to make it easier to grab uneven loads. 

Here's a bunch of grapples on one page. I'm thinking the double econo grapple with some mods. Does that sound about right?

The key thing for me is to have the maximum possible volume of split wood per lift, within the constraints of a FEL with max lift of 2400 lbs. 

Also to carry logs and to clean up slash when land owners want to see nice piles for burning when the careful and considerate chainsaw guy has been and gone.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 13, 2011)

GeeVee said:


> Rock bucket with a grapple attached, either factory or modified.



Wouldn't a rock bucket with grapple arm/s still hold debris when I'm loading split wood into trucks, which is why I've shied away from them.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 13, 2011)

redheadwoodshed said:


> This is my dream machine!View attachment 211301


la la la la....I'm not listening...la la la la la...can't hear you...la la la


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## blackdogon57 (Dec 13, 2011)

How big is your tractor ?? You need a lot of weight behind you to push a grapple or bucket into big piles of wood.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 13, 2011)

Rudolf73 said:


> Turkeyslayer has a nice set up, heres a link
> 
> http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/116946.htm


He has plenty to answer for. I blame him for my current buying spree, although I'm not convinced his bucket+tooth bar+grapple set-up is optimum but it sure is a good (possibly the best) one-attachment plan.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 13, 2011)

blackdogon57 said:


> How big is your tractor ?? You need a lot of weight behind you to push a grapple or bucket into big piles of wood.


around 6000 lbs with loader, pto winch, filled tyres.


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## cantoo (Dec 13, 2011)

Kiwi, I have several buckets for loading firewood and I hate them all. Pics are on "My Firewood tools" thread. I have a regular bucket with a 2 tine joined grapple on it, no good, too much junck picked up with the wood. I took the grapple off and mounted it onto a stone fork type bucket, better but not what I hoped it would be. Regular bucket with a toothbar on it but no grapple, works but all the junk still. 60" manure bucket with 8 or 10 tines on it about 6 or 8" apart and about 30" long, this one works the best but is too narrow to get a good bucketful. I think the best type would be a stone fork style but one with the round tines on it and not the 1/4" flatstyle I have. Problem with it is that the brush will wedge in it. 
Save yourself some grief and rent before you buy. I'm a collector so having 10 buckets isn't an issue with me, my wife might have her own opinion.


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## ks_osage_orange (Dec 13, 2011)

I just use the clamp on the bucket pallet forks from northern tool. Move 8 to 10 foot logs from where i cut to my wood stacks and block them right where I stack them. Simple, relatively cheap, and easy off and on. you could easily use the forks to load logs on a trailer, and the trash would be minimal. Just have to have a way to unload them. To me this is where a grapple would be better.

View attachment 211412


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## cjnspecial (Dec 13, 2011)

The best is a westendorf 3-d loader. I saw a cane farmer using one and it was the cats ass.



<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/giN9rrgRwyI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


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## Diesel nut (Dec 14, 2011)

This works pretty good...


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## Diesel nut (Dec 14, 2011)

The hoe is rated to lift 7300 lbs and the bucket has no problem with it. The bucket is a "Notch" brand rock grapple bucket. It could use a little larger cylinder on the grapples as it will not hold on to real heavy things such as the root ball in the picture. But the hoe couldn't pick it up anyway so I guess it didn't matter. If I remember correctly the bucket cost around $2500.


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## mikereynolds (Dec 14, 2011)

For moving logs around I use a skidsteer with a 72" rock bucket with grapple or the same skidsteer with fork lift attachment, they both work well...just depends what is on the Bobcat at the time. However for loading firewood into the trailer for delivery, No tractor! We hand load and stack it in the trailer nice and neat. This is the only way we can make double darn sure the load is correctly measured prior to delivery. Also the customer can inspect his accurately loaded cord prior to hitting the dump button. Wish I could figgure how to load pics from my phone.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 14, 2011)

cantoo said:


> Kiwi, I have several buckets for loading firewood and I hate them all. Pics are on "My Firewood tools" thread. I have a regular bucket with a 2 tine joined grapple on it, no good, too much junck picked up with the wood. I took the grapple off and mounted it onto a stone fork type bucket, better but not what I hoped it would be. Regular bucket with a toothbar on it but no grapple, works but all the junk still. 60" manure bucket with 8 or 10 tines on it about 6 or 8" apart and about 30" long, this one works the best but is too narrow to get a good bucketful. I think the best type would be a stone fork style but one with the round tines on it and not the 1/4" flatstyle I have. Problem with it is that the brush will wedge in it.
> Save yourself some grief and rent before you buy. I'm a collector so having 10 buckets isn't an issue with me, my wife might have her own opinion.



Thank you. That's helping to eliminate a few from the line-up.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 14, 2011)

cjnspecial said:


> The best is a westendorf 3-d loader. I saw a cane farmer using one and it was the cats ass.


 wow. I've not seen one like that before, thanks. Does anyone use something like this for split firewood? It would be good to get feedback specific to the task required of it.


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## indiansprings (Dec 14, 2011)

TreePointer said:


> I don't have one yet, but I like the idea of some sort of grapple with tines closer together to keep the logs form jamming in between them. My 6' FEL isn't very efficient at scooping logs and it isn't extra large or heavy duty, but it's much better than loading a truck/trailer by hand.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Treepointer this is almost the identical set up we use in our firewood operation, tires are filled with fluid for extra weight. We drag up some monster tops with it to a central landing, we have an attachment with two four and a half foot forks for picking up cull logs, we use a heavy box blade on the rear for ballast, it allows us to pick up a max of about 2500 lbs. It is amazing what our little 47hp machine will do, we have a 125hp 4 wd 6420 and a 140hp 4440 but the little tractor is king in the woods. We have welded hooks to the bucket to allow us to also use it to pick up whatever we need to. With tractor buckets you just don't have the depth to pick up much firewood. If we are going to try go load wood with it, which we will sometimes do if we can't drag a top out of a steep ravine we manually stack the bucket full of wood and use a pallet platform on the back and stack it full. I guess if you were at a really large scale and wanted to use 100 hp + 4wd you might get a grapple bucket large enough to pick up an amount big enough to matter.
If I were doing it on that scale I'd try to find an old military surplus 5 cu yd bucket Michigan loader.


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## Diesel nut (Dec 14, 2011)

TreePointer said:


> I don't have one yet, but I like the idea of some sort of grapple with tines closer together to keep the logs form jamming in between them. My 6' FEL isn't very efficient at scooping logs and it isn't extra large or heavy duty, but it's much better than loading a truck/trailer by hand.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is your 4600 a hydro or shuttle shift? We've got a 4710 with the same loader and its a shuttle shift nice size tractor for sure. We also have a 4700 hydro but it seems the hydro takes a lot of hp to make it go.


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## indiansprings (Dec 14, 2011)

Mine is 4600 shuttle shift, nice little piece of machinery, don't break the hood, that will set you back about 600.00, don't ask me how I know.lol


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## TreePointer (Dec 14, 2011)

indiansprings said:


> Mine is 4600 shuttle shift, nice little piece of machinery, don't break the hood, that will set you back about 600.00, don't ask me how I know.lol



LOL! The hood in that picture is actually broken, but it's still functional.

EDIT: forgot to answer your question--It's hydrostatic.


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## cantoo (Dec 14, 2011)

This is the type of bucket that I think would work good for loading firewood. Holds a good volume and debris should fall thru. Round tines seem to work better to scoop. Scoop up a bucketful. pick it up high and give it a shake, I would bet the amount would be fairly consistant so you don't have to stack it. 
View attachment 211542


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## GeeVee (Dec 14, 2011)

YES. CanToo found it. 

I had been thinking of the stonebucket, and of the skeleton bucket....

Ultimately, it has to be a combo of the skeleton/stone, but also have a grapple of something similiar, but flexible. The grapple top has to have some "give" to conform to the heap of SPLITS he was trying to load. 

He wasn't trying to pick up logs, was he?

The "ensilage" bucket, again prolly needing a grapple clamp modified to it, or possibly a "recyclers scoop" might be a place to look?

I might need to review your circumstances to understand your need, but if your needing to load that much split with a loader, you might need a conveyor, and a yard pusher.


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## budcampo (Dec 15, 2011)

Skeleton grapple, root rake grapple, it doesn't necessarily have to give, nothing is going to work perfect, but grapple buckets are awesome! If your going to invest in one, do not get a solid bottom bucket, even the skeleton/root rake buckets will hold dirt debris, but not nearly as much, and if you have your piles clean, and your not digging in the dirt when your scooping, I think you'll be very happy with a grapple!
The rock bucket pictured in this thread with a grapple on top would be best in my opinion if you are only using it for firewood and occational log moving etc., it will prevent wood from falling out the sides.
Your tractor will work fine in my opinion guessing on the weight you said, what horse power is it? What about a grapple and a conveyor? That would be cool I think? Never done it, but then you'd have speed and clean right? I don't know?


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## Turkeyslayer (Dec 15, 2011)

I also agree that a stone/root bucket with grapple would be the best for firewood loading applications. If getting a grapple make sure you get the heaviest duty bucket you can find, my bucket is heavy duty but still has a few good wows in it by the force of the clamp on the wood. 
I also agree that the most efficient way to load wood is with a conveyor. It seems that all the large firewood operations in my area use a conveyor of some sort. The coolest on I have seen is mounted on the passenger side of a suzuki samurai with the loading end at the rear powered by a gas engine and the unloading end going up over the hood.


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## Chainsaw_Maniac (Dec 15, 2011)

cantoo said:


> This is the type of bucket that I think would work good for loading firewood. Holds a good volume and debris should fall thru. Round tines seem to work better to scoop. Scoop up a bucketful. pick it up high and give it a shake, I would bet the amount would be fairly consistant so you don't have to stack it.
> View attachment 211542



This is similar to what I use. If you are picking up too much dirt, hand bomb it into any type of loader bucket. Hand loading is more work, but the wood is cleaner. I like the stone fork for loading on frozen ground, from concrete, or when I intend to reload it again anyway (let's say from where I cut or split it onto a trailer to be dumped into a pile for drying -- and I intend to reload it later, this time hand loading to avoid dirt).


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## Turkeyslayer (Dec 15, 2011)

KiwiBro said:


> He has plenty to answer for. I blame him for my current buying spree, although I'm not convinced his bucket+tooth bar+grapple set-up is optimum but it sure is a good (possibly the best) one-attachment plan.



Lol. I am blaming this thread for putting ideas in my head.  http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/26571.htm


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## KiwiBro (Dec 15, 2011)

Turkeyslayer said:


> Lol. I am blaming this thread for putting ideas in my head.  http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/26571.htm



I read that one too. I reckon all of you lot are what's often called 'astro-turfing' robots for the great consumerism machine. Passing your testimonials, helpful advice, recommendations, and general info off as passive, general, helpful chit-chat amongst like minded posters. When all along, you are employed by various parties in the great consumerism machine to give those of us who don't need much encouragement the gentle nudge we crave to spend more money under some fragile pretence of it saving us more in the long run or becoming more productive.

When I first posted on this site I was looking for advice how to keep my near terminal Poulan wild thing from flat-lining as I was only 300 trees into a stand of about 700 and struggling to afford/justify anything else. Now I've bought 5 saws in the last year (admittedly two were presents), other gear, heaps of bits and pieces and now lining up a tractor with pto winch and extra attachments and possibly a kinetic splitter.

Can I redirect the bailiffs around to your place please, when they come knocking on my door? Thanks in advance.

:msp_w00t:


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## KiwiBro (Dec 15, 2011)

*the weight might kill this option but, for your viewing pleasure:*






from here

Notwithstanding the fact I won't be able to afford it even it it was a good weight, if I were to get one, I'd make the two grapple arms independant and also make bigger, removable (easy on/off) sides.

In addition to holding as much split firewood as possible (within the constraints of the FEL lifting capacity - 2400 lbs), it needs to pick up and hold logs and also brush. Now, if there was a cunning way to use it as a cradle when holding logs, so that I could buck the logs up without having to drop the bucket width remnants into a separate cradle to complete the bucking, then i might just be moved to giggle like a teen whilst muttering OMG, OMG, OMG.


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## Rudolf73 (Dec 16, 2011)

Here is one I prepared earlier... 

We use this mostly for clean up - logs, brush, etc. but haven't tried using it on firewood yet. With a few more ribs and sides it should grab a good load of firewood. 






You could maybe build an excavator type grapple and hang it off your FEL for bucking logs. It would probably only be 8" wide so won't interfere - just grab the log in the centre and cut from both sides.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 18, 2011)

Rudolf73 said:


> Here is one I prepared earlier...
> 
> We use this mostly for clean up - logs, brush, etc. but haven't tried using it on firewood yet. With a few more ribs and sides it should grab a good load of firewood.
> 
> ...



Good idea on the single excavator grapple. I think though it would be too much swapping and changing of gear not to mention another cost I just can't afford at the mo'. I think a root rake with double grapple arms would get more use, but I'll keep a look out for something second hand and maybe it will come up.

Any idea what your beast weighs? I doubt there's be much lift capacity left in the FEL on the lil tractor I'm looking at to actually carry much firewood if I used something like your implement. It's a juggling act between safe working loads, average volume, implement weight, implement strength, and versatility.


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## Rudolf73 (Dec 18, 2011)

KiwiBro said:


> Good idea on the single excavator grapple. I think though it would be too much swapping and changing of gear not to mention another cost I just can't afford at the mo'. I think a root rake with double grapple arms would get more use, but I'll keep a look out for something second hand and maybe it will come up.
> 
> Any idea what your beast weighs? I doubt there's be much lift capacity left in the FEL on the lil tractor I'm looking at to actually carry much firewood if I used something like your implement. It's a juggling act between safe working loads, average volume, implement weight, implement strength, and versatility.



I designed it to be 'light' so that it can also be used on smaller tractors and skid steers if necessary, but total weight is around 220kgs from memory. I have the SWL rated at 1000kgs just because of OH&S but it is designed to lift several tonnes. The total cost was approx. $1300 AUD excluding labour.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 18, 2011)

Rudolf73 said:


> I designed it to be 'light' so that it can also be used on smaller tractors and skid steers if necessary, but total weight is around 220kgs from memory. I have the SWL rated at 1000kgs just because of OH&S but it is designed to lift several tonnes. The total cost was approx. $1300 AUD excluding labour.


That's much lighter than I thought it would be.


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## cedar (Dec 19, 2011)

I have a Swinger articulated loader with a WR Long root grapple. The root grapple has dual independent grapples and there are extra rails welded in to reduce the spacing to about 3 inches. It works very well for moving logs but it difficult to near impossible for me to grab a grapple load of split firewood from the pile to load onto my truck. Next year I will probably buy a conveyor to load split firewood.


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## cantoo (Dec 19, 2011)

cedar, not sure how you use your load but I find it works better if I lift the loader up high and drop down on the pile and grab a load of firewood. Kind of like opening your hand and reaching down into a candyjar and grabbing a handful. I usually handload anything that is on contact with the ground. My wood falls off my conveyor onto old skids.


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## KiwiBro (Dec 19, 2011)

Chainsaw_Maniac said:


> This is similar to what I use. If you are picking up too much dirt, hand bomb it into any type of loader bucket. Hand loading is more work, but the wood is cleaner. I like the stone fork for loading on frozen ground, from concrete, or when I intend to reload it again anyway (let's say from where I cut or split it onto a trailer to be dumped into a pile for drying -- and I intend to reload it later, this time hand loading to avoid dirt).



Thanks for your post. Sorry I didn't acknowledge it earlier. I'm leaning the way of a rock bucket like that with double grapples. They do seem considerably dearer than normal root rakes though, so I may not be able to afford it. Hopefully sometime soon something used that I can mod' turns up for sale locally, but I am running out of time.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 1, 2012)

*What do you think of this westerndorf brush crusher with the optional tines?*

Looking at one of these now. Pricey but have a good name. Not sure what sort of volume of split firewood it would be able to pick up and carry and they are having trouble giving me some guidance on that. I like that they are saying they are unsure rather than just pulling numbers out of thin air. i just wish I could find someone who uses one for firewood.

[video=youtube;iwI3xsPKAgw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwI3xsPKAgw[/video]


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## Rudolf73 (Feb 1, 2012)

KiwiBro said:


> Looking at one of these now. Pricey but have a good name. Not sure what sort of volume of split firewood it would be able to pick up and carry and they are having trouble giving me some guidance on that. I like that they are saying they are unsure rather than just pulling numbers out of thin air. i just wish I could find someone who uses one for firewood.



I would say that this attachment is more suited for brush, branches and logs. Seeing as it is a more 'vertical' design I don't think it would be very effective at picking up split firewood. You need more of a scoop design to pick up small pieces of wood.


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## Manatarms (Feb 1, 2012)

I use a standard root grapple with double arms and extra tines welded into the bottom. I like this style because it can also be used to move sticks around the yard. Some wood does get stuck in the bottom tines, but its not enough to interfer with loading a truck or trailer. Most of the debris falls out of the bottom. The amount of debris you pick up somewhat depends on what surface the wood is sitting on.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 2, 2012)

Rudolf73 said:


> I would say that this attachment is more suited for brush, branches and logs. Seeing as it is a more 'vertical' design I don't think it would be very effective at picking up split firewood. You need more of a scoop design to pick up small pieces of wood.


Thanks. I was wondering if there was a mod that could be made to lock the grapples together and provide some linking tines so there could be a part scoop but also the top claws coming down on the wood if need be. With just the grapple arms there's lost purchase against the middle top wood, if you get my drift.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 2, 2012)

Manatarms said:


> I use a standard root grapple with double arms and extra tines welded into the bottom. I like this style because it can also be used to move sticks around the yard. Some wood does get stuck in the bottom tines, but its not enough to interfer with loading a truck or trailer. Most of the debris falls out of the bottom. The amount of debris you pick up somewhat depends on what surface the wood is sitting on.


 Thanks. What volume of wood could you pick up when driving into a pile to collect, on average? I may not be realistic but my FEL could lift 35 cubic feet of split wood OK so that's about what I'm aiming for, provided the attachment doesn't get excessively heavy by itself.


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## Manatarms (Feb 2, 2012)

KiwiBro said:


> Thanks. What volume of wood could you pick up when driving into a pile to collect, on average? I may not be realistic but my FEL could lift 35 cubic feet of split wood OK so that's about what I'm aiming for, provided the attachment doesn't get excessively heavy by itself.



I couldn't say. I don't think you could reliably get the same quantity each time. It varies by the "bite". You get the most when you can engage the claws and pinch the wood...it doesn't really scoop like a bucket very well as the wood will fall out over the sides. I would think an even more effective design would be a rock bucket skeleton bottom with two top claws...it would have sides and be a bucket of a sort, but still maintain the ability to pinch the wood and get a heaped load.


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## firewood guy (Feb 3, 2012)

*Late as usual to post*

We use a 84" wide rock bucket w/ 4" spacing on the tines. It is a bobcat-style quick attach that is on a Kubota L48TLB. We just under cut the pile a bit to get a full bucket, pull to the end of the trailer or stakebed with the bucket end just at the very edge of the bed and shake it with the loader control while dumping to let most all of the dirt and debris to sift through the bucket landing on the outside of the bed. The only time we have to be more carefull is when the load is delivered on someones concrete driveway . Then we might be able to process from seasoned logs (If we have them) and load into a 2 yard loader bucket and then transfer to the haul vehicle. Seems to work OK for us, short turn around times on deliveries in the peak season.


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## owbguy (Feb 3, 2012)

Manatarms said:


> I use a standard root grapple with double arms and extra tines welded into the bottom. I like this style because it can also be used to move sticks around the yard. Some wood does get stuck in the bottom tines, but its not enough to interfer with loading a truck or trailer. Most of the debris falls out of the bottom. The amount of debris you pick up somewhat depends on what surface the wood is sitting on.




Nice tractor. It looks so new....for now. I have the 32 horse L-Series compact utility with loader. It works for me. I wish I had a grapple bucket, although then I'd wish I had a bigger tractor and.....


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## Manatarms (Feb 3, 2012)

owbguy said:


> Nice tractor. It looks so new....for now. I have the 32 horse L-Series compact utility with loader. It works for me. I wish I had a grapple bucket, although then I'd wish I had a bigger tractor and.....



LOL. That pic was from 3 years ago. She now has 650 hours on the clock and guess what...still looks pretty new! I know how you feel about wanting more power, sometimes I wish I did..but the M59 is quite powerful for it's size and I can get most things done. Now a mini-excavator is my new dream toy! 

It's funny though, I often would like to have a smaller tractor, maybe a B or an L for smaller chores and 3-pt work.


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## owbguy (Feb 3, 2012)

Manatarms said:


> It's funny though, I often would like to have a smaller tractor, maybe a B or an L for smaller chores and 3-pt work.



That is why I went with the L-Series. I needed something with decent power but on the smaller side for access and maneuverability. I can squeeze into tight spaces and not tear up the ground. Its power is decent but probably a little too low. I put on clamp-on bucket forks and can move decent sized but not huge logs that way. I have an old, heavy-duty boom pole on the 3-pt for dragging big logs and pulling out snares. The boom pole is an amazingly simple, yet incredibly effective tool. If I add some ballast to the bucket I can pick up and skid some pretty big logs.

Anyway, that's a nice set up you have.


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## owbguy (Feb 3, 2012)

Manatarms said:


> It's funny though, I often would like to have a smaller tractor, maybe a B or an L for smaller chores and 3-pt work.



Here ya go, I'll trade ya....


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## KiwiBro (Feb 11, 2012)

*Hmmmm, I wonder...*

stone / skeleton buckets at auction


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