# Home made logging tools and other innovations



## plasticweld (Jul 2, 2011)

After reading all of the pages of the post What Wedges to Use I figured that I am not the only one who has something different to offer, many guys had different rigs and set ups to get the job done, there were also some other cool gadgets that some of the members had. I had at one point mentioned a Sampson for tipping over trees that could not be wedged over I had offered to take some pictures to how what it was. The thread is now so long and contains so many different things that I thought a new thread based on things we as loggers have made to either save money or time or just always used. For the guys who posted up some of their gear I would ask that they post up again in this thread so that someone not interested in the banter going back and forth and see some of the things we all use. So post up your tools that you have made 

The Samson, I was shown this method more than 30 years ago by a 70 year old logger this how he tipped over trees that were too small to wedge and it was a way to get your saw out of a tree that had tipped back if you did not get a wedge in before it leaned back on you. The trick is to make one before you need it and you will be surprised at what you can actually get to go over when it is used. 










The Sampson consists of a a small tree normally about 4 inches at the base, you cut one section about 6 to 7 feet long the other about 10 feet On the base part you notch it in a couple of places to give you different contact point so that it is adjustable depending on the slope of the ground. 







You notch the tree as high as you can reach with your saw this is to prevent the pole from slipping off of the tree






You then lay the handle on the ground and push the pole up into the notch grab the handle and get under it and push with your legs, a simple fulcrum and lever.

The other topic mentioned was wedges, I have always used a combination of wood and plastic just because I am really cheap and they work really well. Using a dead piece of hardwood that has aged they will not pop out of the cut, they work really well on windy days and when the wood is frozen, takes less than a minute to make a couple and costs nothing when you wreck them











You can make any taper wedge style you like and at any size

The other thing mentioned was ways to carry your axe and wedges. I use a tool pouch with a hammer holder that orginally comes on a leather belt holder. I cut the rivits off and then attach them to the tool pouch and re-revit it back on this give me a wedge pouch and a axe holder all in one 






I bend the hammer holder up and over to hold on tight to the axe that and a combination of tape on the end of the axe keep it from coming out without me pulling on it; it beats searching through the brush in the last top if nothing else.

So post up yours..Bob


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## dancan (Jul 2, 2011)

I like the Sampson , I'll keep that one in the book of tricks !
Cleared a house lot today , although I did not use the Sampson , I did use a lever several times to get trees down on the ground and I made a couple of sacrificial wooden wedges to retrieve my plastic wedge that was jammed when I was bucking a log .
Many thanks for the pics !


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## madhatte (Jul 2, 2011)

I really like that "Sampson" trick. It's a good combination of simple physics and need-it-now application. I'll be tucking that one away for later use, to be sure.


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## indiansprings (Jul 2, 2011)

excellent post. rep sent!


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## Metals406 (Jul 3, 2011)

Subbing. . .


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## floyd (Jul 3, 2011)

I made a go devil to pick the front end of a log up for easier skidding. Couple of 13" honda rims with a bunk between them. Hook perpendicular to the log with the hitch straight up then swing toward the butt & it loads itself

I made an arch for ground under 20%. Hook onto the butt. Going downhill the butt would drag acting as a brake.On flatter ground butt would suspend. Stop foward motion & the butt drops again.


Made a needle for a log chain with a ring on the other end. Thread it under those ones that plant themselves when they hit. Sometimes a slip hook comes loose. One can hook closer with chain.


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## Metals406 (Jul 3, 2011)

floyd said:


> I made a go devil to pick the front end of a log up for easier skidding. Couple of 13" honda rims with a bunk between them. Hook perpendicular to the log with the hitch straight up then swing toward the butt & it loads itself
> 
> I made an arch for ground under 20%. Hook onto the butt. Going downhill the butt would drag acting as a brake.On flatter ground butt would suspend. Stop foward motion & the butt drops again.
> 
> ...


 
Got any pics of your stuff? :drool:


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## John Ellison (Jul 3, 2011)

Interesting thread Plasticweld. Never heard of a Sampson before.
Here is a bullhook I made. They are used to hook on to small dia.wire rope anywhere along the length of it. Will not kink the line or slip. It is for when your section of line is x long and you are wanting to hook on to something that is just fraction/x away.


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## floyd (Jul 3, 2011)

Nope. 

Maybe one of the hazzards of working alone.


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## Metals406 (Jul 3, 2011)

John Ellison said:


> Interesting thread Plasticweld. Never heard of a Sampson before.
> Here is a bullhook I made. They are used to hook on to small dia.wire rope anywhere along the length of it. Will not kink the line or slip. It is for when your section of line is x long and you are wanting to hook on to something that is just fraction/x away.


 
I found a few things online about the bullhook. . . One thing that eludes my understanding, is what is done with the tail (loose end) if the cable or rope? Is it just allowed to drag along the ground during pulling?

My neighbor invented a knotless fastener for rope that works exactly like the bullhook, which is used for tying down loads. It's made from a cast fiberglass/plastic.


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## coastalfaller (Jul 3, 2011)

Good thread!

I never posted this in the "wedges" thread, but its a simple little trick that can be very efficient. If I'm tree lengthing wood and have one leaning back that's a ways away from a pusher or a hazard that is going to get smashed after being tickled, I'll make a wooden wedge to stick in it. That way I don't have to go back and search for it later and can go on to the next tree! Small little trick but can save alot of time!


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## John Ellison (Jul 3, 2011)

Metals406 said:


> I found a few things online about the bullhook. . . One thing that eludes my understanding, is what is done with the tail (loose end) if the cable or rope? Is it just allowed to drag along the ground during pulling?


Yes


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## Metals406 (Jul 3, 2011)

John Ellison said:


> Yes


 
Have you found any issue with the loose end wanting to hang up a lot?


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## John Ellison (Jul 3, 2011)

No. I have a 15', a 50' and a 100' sections of 3/8 wire. When using my mules and a tree had to be fell into a brushy area a lot of times it was easier to stretch a line out instead of clearing a path. All of the sections have an eight in. or so pressed eye on each end. The loose or dead end never got hung up. It just drags along in the same trail as the live side.


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## floyd (Jul 8, 2011)

Most of my teams would go a little when I asked them. 1x one team didn't. They did head to the landing. Overshot it a little.

I never did make a j hook or saw one in use but it is a nice tool to have & use.

I sold a team 1x by moving away from them then asking them to step up a little then stopping them. Soon we were about 30 feet from them. He bought them.

I heard that guy fell off the hay rake & broke a hip. I never did get dumped off. I raked some hillsides I would not take a log across unless I had something to keep the tail from heading down the hill on me. That can pull the most determined team around.


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## wowzers (Jul 9, 2011)

We found a pretty cool homemade grapple that looked to be used for loading a few weeks back. I wish I had taken a picture of it.


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## jay_d (Jul 17, 2011)

idk if this is any use to anyone, but back in the day when we cut with a saw we use a 25 foot homemade pike pole to fall trees with. 

2 and a half inch scedule 40 pvc pipe with a frog gig on the end. two guys. one runs the saw and the other pushes the pike pole to guide the tree in the right direction. not very helpful on big wood, but its nice on loblolly pine trees. keeps them from turning on the stump and having to drag them out in the wrong direction


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