# Harvesting Tree tops, any ideas?



## youknowwho (Feb 5, 2007)

I am curently working for a guy doing firewood, who collects his wood from older tree tops left behind from logging. 

he uses a mid sized 4 wheel drive tractor, and myself and another guy cut the tops up where they lay, which is all over a 50 acre area. 

Then he goes around with the tractor and drives up to the cut tops and loads the fire wood blocks into the bucket, we get about 1/2 bushcord per.

Then he drives a couple hundred yards to dump the wood by a wood splitter to be split by the splitter guy. 

The thing is, there is lots of snow on the groung and the tops are fairly well covered, so i have to cut them were they are and alot of the time i cant tell if my saw is 6 inches from the dirt or rocks or is basically in the dirt.

Should this guy be pulling the tops free of snow? even a couople of feet or would that be too time consuming?

Considering that the tops are not to big and not to hard to get at. For his tractor.


Or should we cut the wood into handling lengths throw them in the bucket and cut and split them in the open? Or another way?

I need some advice cause the way we are doin it seems a little off.


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## epicklein22 (Feb 5, 2007)

*treetops*

I work at a campground and they made the dumb choice of having it logged out. Now I am working with 2 other guys to clean up the tops. We're taking all of it for firewood. We pull the tops out into the open. It makes it easier to see, cut and move the logs around. We have tried both ways and moving them is alot easier. Since you can leave the brush, just cut the brush off and then have the log dragged to a open spot so you can do the heavier sawing in the open without hassle.


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## youknowwho (Feb 5, 2007)

pulling them definatly sounds better, does the way i mentioned sound different?


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## turnkey4099 (Feb 5, 2007)

youknowwho said:


> pulling them definatly sounds better, does the way i mentioned sound different?



That method sound pretty inefficient to me. But then trying to yard tops would also be time consuming.

Harry K


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## youknowwho (Feb 5, 2007)

Any other opinions would be appreciated.


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## begleytree (Feb 5, 2007)

I would hate to second guess your boss. he has either found the best and fastest way to work in the area he is working in, or has found the way that keeps him on the tractor and out of the snow the best. either way, sounds like it works. pulling out tops can be time consuming as well, cut off the brush and chain it up, drag it out. dragging tops along the ground makes for dirty wood as well, so he may be actually saving sharpenings by cutting in place. plus he's selling a finished product and most wood buyers woud hate to see their firewood covered with dirt/mud. it's a judgement call, and sounds like he made it. maybe ask him to roll the tops loose for you with the FEL and throw a few blocks under it?
-Ralph


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## woodfarmer (Feb 5, 2007)

well you should be getting snow by now, i use my tractor and a farmi winch to skid tops to the landing, search "gone to the beech" or "farmtractor in the woodlot" to get some ideas. lets say i pull 3 or 4, 30-40' tops to the landing, thats a lot of bucket loads which equals less trips with the tractor, less loading by hand. if your good with the winch you won't do much damage. i also like to get the logs out of the bush while the snow is on and the ground is frozen. the more trips through an unfrozen bush, the more damage you do to the soil.


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## youknowwho (Feb 6, 2007)

Ya thanks, i stated in my first post that there is lots of snow. 

begely tree, its pretty obvious that the tops will get dirty when dragged across bare ground. There is alot of snow here. Second geussing my boss who has almost no experience in forestry is well called for. 


I think woodfarmer is right on the money. Pulling the tops seems best.


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## michael j (Feb 6, 2007)

Sometimes bosses aren't too bright. If I've got a bucket on a tractor I can lift a top out of the snow and drop it and clean it. Give it a push and roll it or something.

Mike


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## Kneejerk Bombas (Feb 7, 2007)

If you cut a bunch of the wood that is up in the air, then give the remaining top a good lift with the tractor, the cut pieces will tend to roll under and hold the top up.


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## IndyIan (Feb 9, 2007)

Maybe you could run shorter bars so sharpening after a touch of dirt isn't a big deal? I imagine a 16" bar would cut 99.99% of the tops in your area? I've even lightly kissed rocks that took the chrome off the front edge of a few teeth and I just sharpened the whole chain with a few extra strokes on the worst teeth. Worked just fine, and after a few more sharpenings I had the chain pretty much evened up.
Ian


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