# Loading a sawmill with a skidsteer?



## Birdhunter1 (Feb 19, 2012)

I may be getting into the sawmill game with a bandmill, a local guy is really wanting me to buy it as he is aged and doesn't want to run it anymore.
Anyway I have a tractor and loader with forks and I have been skidloader shopping because I want one. My experience with a sawmill has been ferrying the log to the mill and holding it right in front while the operator (Typhoon on AS) rolled it onto the mill. 
If I were to be doing this myself it would be very difficult to hold a log at the edge of the mill and roll it onto the mill. Especially when you consider crawling out of a skidsteer while holding a log a foot or two off the ground.

So how do you bandmill guys do it with a skidsteer? Typhoon said he doesn't like setting the log directly onto the mill for fear of twisting or getting something off kilter on the frame which is why he rolls them on.


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## VA-Sawyer (Feb 19, 2012)

I have a LT40HD so mine has the loading arms. Normally I use the bobcat to move logs to the pile and roll it on the loading arms. Sometimes I will load a log directly onto the mill. It does take a fine touch to do it gently, but that will come with experience if you are new to skid steers now. I use the bobcat to remove beams that are too large to manhandle from the mill, so I don't see that as any different from loading logs.
Rick


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## Birdhunter1 (Feb 19, 2012)

I'm not new to skidsteers, I would be to hand controls but I've spent quite a bit of time on foot controls. When Typhoon had his mill up at my place I got the log to the mill and he rolled it onto the bed. This mill may have the loading arms to it, the guy uses an OLD forklift to do it now, he's 86 and his forklift is shot so he said it is time for him to quit.


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## hamish (Feb 19, 2012)

Build yourself a log deck then use the skidsteer to load the logdeck then transfer by hand or other means onto the mill.


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## CUCV (Feb 19, 2012)

I've loaded many logs onto a friends mill with my bobcat and grapple bucket.


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## porta mill (Feb 19, 2012)

I load my mill with the Bobcat with a set of fork. I have just got a grapple bucket for Christmas and have not gotten a chance to use it yet . just take your time loading the mill and you will be Ok .


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## chaikwa (Feb 19, 2012)

I never realized that some mills could be so fragile. I load mine with a front end loader with a set of grapples built onto the bucket and I'm generally not all THAT careful with loading the logs onto it. I don't slam things around, but I'll hold the log within a foot of the bunks and release the grapples, dropping the log onto the mill. Then again, I tend to 'over-build' things.


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## porta mill (Feb 19, 2012)

that is the Key phrase you built . Alot of the mill's that are manufactured are made of 1/4" 2x2 angle Iron mounted on the ground or timbers or stamped steel . I made a sub frame for my mill out of 4x4x1/4 square tube I think it is well built and I would never drop a 1000 -1500 lb log on my Mill.


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## chaikwa (Feb 19, 2012)

porta mill said:


> that is the Key phrase you built . Alot of the mill's that are manufactured are made of 1/4" 2x2 angle Iron mounted on the ground or timbers or stamped steel . I made a sub frame for my mill out of 4x4x1/4 square tube I think it is well built and I would never drop a 1000 -1500 lb log on my Mill.



I built my track subframe from 3 X 6 X 3/8 rectangular tubing. The crossmembers tying the 2 frame rails together are the same tubing, and the bunks are 10" channel. I built a lattice type reinforcing framework off the bottom of the rectangular tube frame rails using 3" channel for rigidity. The track rails themselves are 2 X 2 X 3/8 angle. I didn't want to have to worry about the frame moving around with heavy logs on it.


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## 4b316 (Feb 20, 2012)

*loading*

My friend has a woodmizer with loading arms and we have two I beams on the floor to load logs on,about 8-10 at a time and just roll them on the arms.Before he got that mill with the arms,just built a little deck that had room for 5-6 logs and rolled the logs from that onto the mill.You could use timber on some blocks or anything like that to work.I seen another friend set logs on his mill with the forks and everything was fine till he broke a hose on the loader and dropped a big log on the tracks,bent it pretty good and had to get a whole new bottom.


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## MotorSeven (Feb 20, 2012)

If your tractor is big enough to handle your logs, just use the tractor and forks. That is all I ever use on my LT15. Level the forks w/log about 2-3-inches above the bed, tilt forks slightly so they are almost touching the bed, then get off & roll the log onto the mill with a cant or peavy hook. On really big logs(26' x 28" diameter) that I can't lift at one time, I drag them parallel to the mill, roll them with the forks next to the bed, lift one end up onto the mill, chock it with a scrap slab so it doesn't roll back off, go to the other end and lift it on. 

You can also turn really big logs with the forks by wrapping a chain around the log, then lifting while backing up very slowly.


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## MotorSeven (Feb 20, 2012)

Then leave the tractor forks close and off bear back onto the forks:


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## Birdhunter1 (Feb 20, 2012)

I should have clarified, I've been skidloader shopping for a while regardless of a possible mill purchase. My tractor is great for a tractor, just not as a loader. Being 2wd and a lighter built than should be front end I'm just tired of messing with it, plus what I am in need of around my place is more suited to a skidsteer or ctl than a tractor.

FWIW my dad lives 1/4 mile up my driveway and also has a tractor so I'll still have the best of both worlds, uncle lives across the field and also has one.


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## MotorSeven (Feb 20, 2012)

In that case, I think a skidsteer w/forks would work fine. What is the general lift capacity of your average 'steer? My loader can lift 2700lbs and 20% of the logs that I pick on are too much for it.


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## Birdhunter1 (Feb 20, 2012)

I was thinking in the line of a 773 Bobcat. My tractor is probably rated for 2500 lbs or so, and I can verify that it will pick up a whole lot more than it should or is able to move with (back end comes off the ground). 
I simply don't like the tax that the front end of this tractor is getting.
I know a 773 isn't as high a lift of yours but I figure it can handle most of what I'll put it to use for and a neighbor has 6 ranging from T 180's to a T 300 and would come over if needed. I'd hate to ask that but he's been very good at sending stuff to me as I clean it up when I'm done. Aside from that this mill has the log loader lift, it is a Woodmizer (unsure of size) with a 16' bed, 36" log capacity and is all electric. 
yes I know a 773 won't handle a 36" log 16' long, but neither will my tractor and rarely do you see stuff that big around here. Also everything where I'd have a mill set up is flat.


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## Sawyer Rob (Feb 20, 2012)

I've been loading logs on my Lumbermate ever since i bought it, like this 30 incher,







I've yet to bend or break anything because of it. As far as i'm concerned, a tractor is ideal for use around the mill, as i can skid the logs out, load the logs on a trailor, and pull the loaded trailor to the mill site. Then use the tractor to load the logs on the mill, all without getting stuck in wet conditions or tearing up the ground when i turn! How much more versatile can a tool be?

Rob


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## Birdhunter1 (Feb 20, 2012)

Yes that would be a great tractor, I'll still have a tractor on site.


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## MotorSeven (Feb 20, 2012)

It looks like the 773 will lift the same as your tractor(2500-ish lbs), so you should be good to go. Forks will work fine, but I'd love to have a grapple someday.


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## Typhoon (Feb 29, 2012)

Rick, actually I do load them directly onto the mill now with my forks. The first several months I didn't because I wasn't quite used to the mill and the new tractor. But now, most of the time I drop em directly on the bunk.. gently of course. :msp_thumbsup:


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## millpro (Apr 14, 2012)

*woodmizer*

I have the woodmizer LT 40 hydraulic and I set my logs on the mill with my new holland 170. Th mill is plenty strong to handle the occasional bump. Noob has been loading them of late and he is :msp_smile:good but still gets rough from time to time. Noobs, they keep the job interesting.


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## millpro (Apr 14, 2012)

I used a tractor some, but the ass end kept coming off the ground . Skid steer is balanced better for big loads


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## psgflier (Apr 15, 2012)

I just got a Bobcat 220. I decided on it over a tractor because it is short coupled and can get around better in tight areas. You need a pretty good sized tractor to get the lift capacity of the bobcat. Because it is short coupled. it tips forward with a big log. You need counterweights to take full advantage of its capabilities. One other disadvantage is the heavy weight and low ground clearance. One with tracks gets around pretty good, but wheeled machines get stuck pretty easy. I got a wheeled one so I could use chains for plowing snow. Tracks suck on snow and ice.

I wasn't sure if this was the right machine for me, I've watched the work over the years and wasn't too impressed, but now that I have it, I wish I'd have gotten one years ago. It's handier than a six legged mule.
I can switch from the bucket to forks to grapple to blade in seconds. I got a plate with a receiver hitch mount, and move trailers and equipment around, and I mounted a mile marker hydraulic winch to it that is handy for skidding logs. This is a ling to us using the bobcat to skid out a yellow cedar log last summer. logging time lapse mitkof island alaska - YouTube

A grapple is the way to go for moving logs, also useful for handling slabs and brush

Carl


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## Cody Colston (Apr 15, 2012)

If your mill will be stationary, then build a log deck and load the logs onto it. You can then roll them off the log deck onto the mill. Most folks will incorporate pivoting or removable deck extensions on the mill end to allow walking between the log deck and the mill.

A log deck also lets you stage several logs at a time so that your sawing isn't frequently interrupted to load a log with a tractor or skidsteer.


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## Guido Salvage (Apr 20, 2012)

A log deck would be the way to go. I had a live deck on my Frick, but also have one that is made out of a couple of frame rails from a school bus. This is the live deck buried under stuff:







You can see the other deck in the upper left side of this picture.






Or you can just build one out of wood. Cut off 4 pieces of a large telephone pole and plant them in the ground. Bolt a couple of oak 6 x 6 runners on the top with long lag bolts and you are all set.


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## Dave Boyt (Apr 25, 2012)

Probably a little late on my reply, but here goes... I have used an old 8N Ford with a trip bucket to load my Norwood mill. As long as the mill is well supported so that a dropped log doesn't bend the frame, you can get by with it, though it is hard to imagine anything bending the Norwood frame. 






My objection to tractor loading is that you have to stop milling and be a tractor operator each time you finish a log. It saves a lot of time to load a half-dozen logs on the deck at a time. I use a flatbed trailer to bring in the logs and bridge across to the mill with a couple of 6" by 6" beams. It works like a portable log deck so I can load it up with logs out in the woods, bring them up alongside the mill, and roll them across the bridge right onto the bed. In the photo below, I'm getting ready to cut them two-up.


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