Rolling rounds behind garden tractor?

[JackJ]

I've got some 22" sycamore rounds that I can't split by hand, and I don't have a splitter. Usually I would noodle them into manageable pieces, but I want to move them back to the woodpiles first so I don't have a mess of noodles near the house. I've rolled a couple by hand, but it's hard on my back going up some small inclines. And they're too heavy for me to lift into a cart.

So now I'm thinking about towing them one by one behind my yard tractor, as if they were were a lawn roller. The rounds are 16" long, so I'm thinking an inexpensive 20" skidder tong might work:

With the log acting like the cylinder in one of these:

Has anyone tried this? Will the rounds roll freely enough with the tong's teeth embedded near the center of each end? I'll be towing with a 24hp yard tractor with ag wheels + weights.

Now I'm dreaming that with a nice smooth long round (and a bigger set of tongs) I can flatten all the mole tunnels in the yard. Please tell me I'm right.

 

[Cody]

Would you happen to have a drill, some lag bolts and a loop of light duty chain? I can't see that tong having enough pull on it to keep it engaged but I could be wrong. I would think some 6" lag bolts and the chain might be cheaper, a little more work maybe but it's fool proof.

 

[Del_]

Not going to work out like you planned. It will drag them though.

 

[JackJ]

Would you happen to have a drill, some lag bolts and a loop of light duty chain? I can't see that tong having enough pull on it to keep it engaged but I could be wrong. I would think some 6" lag bolts and the chain might be cheaper, a little more work maybe but it's fool proof.

Thought about screwing some lag bolts into either end, but seems like I'd need a frame of some sort to keep the chain from catching on the edges of the rounds? At some point it becomes more trouble than it's worth, but maybe I'm missing an easier way to do this.

 

[Mad Professor]

steel wedges and 8lb sledge/maul

 

[JackJ]

Not going to work out like you planned. It will drag them though.

Yeah, I could drag them, but it's across my back yard and I don't want to tear up the grass.

If the rounds are close to cylindrical, where do you think the plan will fail? Not enough bite from the tongs into the ends? Too much friction? I'm far from convinced that it'll work, and even the cheap tongs are too expensive for me to just experiment with unless I'm pretty confident. But I'm tempted.

 

[JackJ]

steel wedges and 8lb sledge/maul

Yeah, I've done that to a couple, but this sycamore is tough. Hard to get the wedge started, and then I can bury one without getting it to split all the way. I can split oak by hand all day long, but this tree has been fighting back.

 

[Del_]

Yeah, I could drag them, but it's across my back yard and I don't want to tear up the grass.

If the rounds are close to cylindrical, where do you think the plan will fail? Not enough bite from the tongs into the ends? Too much friction? I'm far from convinced that it'll work, and even the cheap tongs are too expensive for me to just experiment with unless I'm pretty confident. But I'm tempted.

The tongs likely will not reach to the centers of the sides of the rounds without hitting the edges. Hence no roll.

Tongs need to be applying pulling force in order to bite in and hold. An easily rolling round isn't going to provide much resistance so the tongs will probably fall out as the round rotates.

 

[NSMaple1]

If you wanted to roll, I would go for the lag bolts & chains. With a piece of steel (angle or whatever laying around) a couple inches longer than the rounds, spanning the chains right in front of the round so the chains don't catch the round. Like the crossbar right in front of the roller in the above pic. Could bolt the ends of the steel to the chain, once done shouldn't have to re-do. A cordless impact gun would get the lag bolts in & out really easy. It should work pretty quick & slick, actually - just impact gun the lag bolts with chain attached to the centre of the split on each side, throw the other end of the chain (loop?) over a hitch ball (or whatever) on the tractor, and away you go. Not sure if you'd have to drill a pilot hole for the bolts or not, not sure how hard sicamore is.

EDIT: might have to re-think a bit if you're going downhill any, and make everything solid rather than use chains, just like the roller above. Don't want to run yourself over or something tragic of the like...

 

[byron2]

How about a rubber tire hand truck ...Home depot sells some for around 40/50 dollars ..useful for a lot of things around the house.... should be able to come up with a way to pull it behind the tractor
I have one like this I put 6 or 8 splits on it at the wood pile and pull it in the house...

 

[turnkey4099]

I first thought it would work but after the other posts, nope. Lag bolts and chain? nope, no way to keep it rolling straight. Bottom line is to noodle them and haul in a cart. Less time an nuisance.

 

[tla100]

Sled...

 

[cmsmoke]

If the tongs will reach the center with room to spare, that is half of the battle. Weld a small chain to the inside of one of the legs, and a single link on the other. Hook a spring from the single link to the chain. Make your chain long enough, so it is adjustable. Hook your tongs to the log. Stretch the chain, (which you have welded far enough forward not to interfere) and hook it to the spring on the other leg. Now your tongs will hold tension. A plain set of tongs wil have a hard time dragging a round because when the round flips or rolls, the grip releases. I did this to my tongs and they work perfectly. I have never tried to roll them as you have suggested, but if the tongs are large enough, I believe it would work.

 

[flotek]

More trouble than it's worth . 22x16 I'd just noodle it with the saw .why mess around

 

[Kingfisher30]

I'd get a tarp and noodle them close to where they currently sit.

 

[NSMaple1]

Lag bolts and chain? nope, no way to keep it rolling straight.

Well, there might be some intermittent directionally-correcting skidding going on too at the same time. Get enough speed up & you'd never notice a thing.

 

[mijdirtyjeep]

I would noodle them where they sit. Then I would put the bagger on my rider, grab a beer or two and just suck up the noodles.

 

[cantoo]

Get a bigger stove?
Old car hood, children's sled. Any Scottish neighbours?

 

[Cody]

Sled...

I think that's the best idea so far, could load at least two if not three rounds onto one of them rectangular sleds, piece of rope or twine and he's in business.

I first thought it would work but after the other posts, nope. Lag bolts and chain? nope, no way to keep it rolling straight. Bottom line is to noodle them and haul in a cart. Less time an nuisance.

I'm bettin I could keep it rolling straight with my idea, I've done things like this before. Adding to that idea though a 2x4 is cheap and a few screws you could make a sort of frame with a tongue to keep it straight, hell you could even back it up into a spot of you're liking if need be.

I'd get a tarp and noodle them close to where they currently sit.

I really like this idea too, tarps can be inexpensive. Hell if he didn't care about trashing it, he could noodle them and have the rounds piled up on the tarp, grab a rope and drag the tarp as well.

 

[thomasjf]

simple. I use a half sheet (4x4) 3/4 plywood. Cut/drill a hole centered on one side about 6" from the edge. Pass a light chain(or bolt it) thru the hole and connect it to your lawn tractor. It will slide quite easily across the grass, gravel, etc. My little 18hp will pull several hundred pounds this way. And no lifting, roll on and roll off. And no damage to your yard.