Possible opportunity - Got questions for the pros...

[Steve NW WI]

Well, you can get 14 cords of aspen on a truck. Mixed hardwood weighs in at about 4600/cord so aspen is considerably less. It sounds like you're going to be sorting bolts and in average 18" dbh aspen you might get 3, but more likely 2 per tree. Find out what bolt lengths you can make. Longer lengths will save time cutting. I would find a mill for the pulp leftovers which would amount to a couple more sticks per tree. Rapids takes aspen as well as others. $112/cord is good. $18-$25/cord fall, limb, and buck pretty average. Not to tear your hopes down but good luck on that truckload per day. Thats a lot of ####in around for full limb and buck for the occaisional cutter. Also gathering sticks will be a ##### without a grapple. Either by hand or otherwise. In a 40 acre clear cut there could be easily 4-500 cords and if you have to wedge any of them you'll be done in about 5 years. Seriously though, jackass comments aside, it sounds like fun and cutting decent aspen is, but thats a LOT of ####ing work to hand cut and skid with that kind of equipment. Good luck. I just cut a truckload of decent aspen sawlogs and pulp. Make sure your face and dutchman is the way you want it cause once you hit that back cut shes going fast and its hammer down!

Well, we put about 6 cords on the roadside Saturday in 4+ hours, I learned a few things, made a couple ugly stumps, busted a wedge, lost 2 screnches, went home dog tired, and generally had a good time doing it.

I've got some pics on my phone, I'll put em up when I find the patch cord for it.

Things I learned:

I'm still pizz poor at matching the back cut to the face cut, I seem to wind up a little low on the far side every time, but I'm getting better with each one.

The root rake the boss has on the big skidder is good at grabbing sticks, not so good at grabbing a tree length log and dragging it out into the open.

Loggers laugh at the 4-7 saws firewooders and saw nuts bring with em for a reason. I used the 7300 all day, and didn't want less all day long. A 28" lightweight bar is on the list of toys I want, but 24" was all I needed out there. My gallon gas can ain't gonna cut it either, I burned through it in half a day of cutting.

Aspen is pretty easy on chains, I filed once all day while waiting for the loader operator to get back with an empty trailer.

The trees were a bit taller than I estimated, we're getting 5, sometimes 6 100" logs out of each one.

We're looking for a pulp mill, there's a lot of wood left in the tops when you're limited to 8" on the small end.

Diesel powered wedges are much faster than plastic ones, if the tree is leaning very hard the wrong way.

I cant wait for my Spencer tape to get here from Baileys, regular construction tape measures suck in the woods. Give me a few weeks of this, and I'll be able to eyeball 100" though.

Back with pics when I find the cord...

 

[Steve NW WI]

Found my camera cord, here's some pics. This was my first attempt at a Humboldt, little too high on the back cut, and should have kept at the back cut a little longer, just a bit of pulling:

First piece going on the trailer:

The little clearing I was dropping the trees into:

First load

2nd load, unloading at the stacking area:

 

[Gologit]

Good morning's work, Steve. What did you do after lunch?

Try drilling a small hole in your scrench barrel and clipping it to the rope on your gypo jugs with a 'biner. Easy on and off and it's never far from you. Painting them bright colors helps too.

Scrench, bar nuts, carb adjustment screwdriver...they all hit the dirt and burrow in, never to be seen again.

 

[Steve NW WI]

That was after lunch, before lunch was spent getting all the equipment out to the woods, and figuring out what and how the whole process was going to work.

Headed back over there in a bit, got a half a load to finish and hope to get one more loaded before I go to my real job.

 

[Gologit]

Good deal, hang in there. Matching the cuts on a Humboldt comes with practice...you'll get it.

And you're right about not dragging seven saws to the woods...two is usually plenty. Maybe an extra bar and some extra chains. Keep it simple.

 

[slowp]

Instead of a carpenter tape, do what da other cheeseheads do. cut a stick to 100" and use that. No, I don't know how they didn't lose it. Paint? Flagging? :msp_smile:

 

[northmanlogging]

use an extra starter cord to tie yer gypo jugs together, I just run the cord through the opening in my scrench, no need to drill holes, and knots arn't to bad to untie if'n you know which ones to tie... I also keep a scrench in my wedge pouch and a saw file, nothings fell out so far... except wedges.

 

[Fuzly]

Instead of a carpenter tape, do what da other cheeseheads do. cut a stick to 100" and use that. No, I don't know how they didn't lose it. Paint? Flagging? :msp_smile:

Do what my Dad did, recruit a kid and give him the title of Stick Man and make him responsible for keeping track of it.

 

[bitzer]

Steve- Glad to hear things are shaping up! Yep on the stick until you get the tape. Also a 75' tape is nice on all pulp. Mark your pulp lengths on the tape 8' 4", 16' 8", 25' and so on with a black permanent marker. Saves looking. A tape on each hip is nice too. No getting tangled up. If you are really clear cutting, wedgeing much of anything shouldn't be an issue. It will take time to figure lay-outs. Don't beat yourself up on stumps-just takes time. Hitting the lay is more important. So are you bucking in the woods or tree lengths? Also some truckers will have their own pulp contracts and may buy the wood on the landing for $40-$50 cord. Otherwise contract trucking should cost $25-$30 per cord depending on how far its going. Also if you sort out sawlogs 12" diameter small end larger you could be getting around $280-$300 per thousand or $140-$150 per cord. Popple can make some decent sawlogs, 8'8", 10'6", 12'6", 14'6", 16'6" and so on. Send the bolts to the bolt mill for $112 per cord (may want to check around for a little higher- its $120 per cord down here) and the pulp to the pulp mill. Carry extra sharp chains with you, tie up anything you will lose because you will lose it. Whatever cuts will put wood on the ground fastest and safest are the best ones. Nip out the heart to avoid pull there. Popple likes to pull. Hand bunching pulp works well for picking the wood up with equipment, but is tough on the cutter. You also may be able to find a forwarder owner/operator to run the wood out for you at $15-$20 per cord if the skid loader thing doesn't work out. Expenses and down time are the biggest killers to profit. Time is the enemy. There is little wiggle room between a productive day and a #### day. Sharpen, sharpen, sharpen at night. Oh, and have fun! Whereabouts are you up north? I may know a trucker or a mill.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Bitz, thanks for the advice, and the boss is looking for other markets as well. We're up around the Osceola area - just across the river from MN north of the Cities.

Right now, we're dropping em, topping em, skidding the logs out to a clearing, bucking and loading. Mostly real short skids, 100 yards or less. I did get to lay 4 of em down side by side in the open yesterday, made a lot of wood in a hurry that way.

The boss is toying with buying a harvester and reselling it when he's done with it, I think he's a bit nuts there though.

We got into some bigger stuff yesterday - 20-24", but with bigger wood came a lot of rotten hearts for the first 8' or so. No pics yesterday, the camera was at home, and my dog chewed the battery to my good cell - don't ask.

Might not get much done this week, got a funeral later in the week, and a bunch of stuff that needs to get done at home as well.

 

[johnnycompost]

100 yard skid

if you were cutting and they were that short of skid and the price of fuel was there what it is here Id say find a team of logging Horses cut down layem out and skid to the landing and buck them up actually goes quick if you get the system going right

 

[Hddnis]

Maybe I missed another thread somewhere, but just wondering how this all turned out?



Mr. HE

 

[Steve NW WI]

Didn't miss anything, winter showed up early and hard, and left late, and the owner kinda lost interest over the winter. The logs still sit by the roadside.

He's trying to line up a truck right now, but it might be a bit yet before the road restrictions come off.

Maybe I'll have an update soon.

(Missed your post somehow, just found it digging thru old subscriptions looking for another thread)

 

[Hddnis]

I did wonder about old man winter, has a way of getting in the way sometimes.



Mr. HE