Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[MountainHigh]

No wood today but I got a bit more welded up on the RonCo ver.1.0 loghauler .

Painted pics tomorrow.

- - -

Looking GOOD Dan! Well done!
I'll be interested to hear how much wood you can carry on your new rig.
I assume you're going to make a winch of some sort?
- - -

 

[dancan]

It measures out to a little better than 2/3rd of a cord with 12' logs and the stakes I've made , not sure if I'll try that with the atv ,if use longer stakes and the tractor it'll be over a cord lol
Polly make a small boom and hand winch for loading ease.

 

[MustangMike]

Why not hook up an electric winch to the back of the ATV, and make a ramp to slide it up.

 

[mikey517]

Some maple from a friend. This is the second load. There's one more load of maple and one of white birch, but the temp is near 90* (or it feels like it in the sun) so I'm a working real
sloooow!

Pickaroon made it easier!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dancan]

The RonCo ver.1.0 loghauler is ready .

 

[BillNole]

The RonCo ver.1.0 loghauler is ready .

Looks great and am looking forward to seeing it loaded and in action and hearing of your experiences with it!

 

[MustangMike]

Looks like it will climb & descend, but I would be very careful on the side angles.

 

[dancan]

Probably be a couple of weeks before I get a chance to test it out and yes , I sure hope it works as planed

 

[dancan]

The hitch rotates 360 so if it tips it can't take the atv with it

 

[svk]

Hoping (that's a big hope) to drop some more aspen this weekend. Still need to split 5 cords to hit my goal of 20 cords split by hand this year.

I've also got some balm of gilead and birch ready to drop to supplement my sauna pile

Won't be doing much splitting this fall but will be transporting several cords of birch, maple, and possibly oak rounds home for 16-17's stash on hunting weekends.

 

[NSMaple1]

Hey Dancan - where did you source your wheels & hubs? I considered making one like you did - but then I found one on Kijiji that does what I want. But in my considering, the wheels & hubs part was a bit of a stumbling block. Or at a reasonable price at least.

BTW, my trailer box is 8' long, maybe 2.5' wide, and maybe 3' high. When I load it up with loose thrown windfall spruce splits, it is likely all I want to try to haul out with the ATV over the rough ground & up the hills I'm doing it on. After stacking, I think that's not over 1/4 cord. Actually likely less. So start small. I've almost spun out a couple times on my steepest hill.

But if you've got no or little hills & flat smooth ground - you could get a lot out at a time with that. Nice job, looks great. Can you share how much you're into it for?

 

[dancan]

The hubs and rims are an issue for sure .
I was going to try and find 4 used atv rims and tires but it's a challenge to find 4 of the same , easy to find 2 front and 2 back .
I was able to find 4 of the same rear tires through a friend , I think they're from an atv dealer in NB that does an upgrade for their customers . I can buy tires or rims from some of my suppliers but not at what I got these for including the shipping .
I used standard 4 bolt hubs and spindles , not the same bolt pattern or hub centre as the atv so I made a piece flat bar to fit in the rim at 2 lugnut hole and bolted it to the rim , I drilled a pilot hole in the centre and then used a holesaw to drill the centres to fit over the hubs , I then took the diegrinder to the bolt holes of the rims and made them fit the hub , not pretty but it works .
If I had a machinist in my back pocket I would have machined the hubs to fit the holes and drilled some new stud holes but I figured hacking the rim was the cheaper option LOL
The pivot setup is from a spring shop , it's a pivot for larger tandem axle trailers so the pivot bolt has a grease nipple .
Cost ....Shyte is expensive and it sure adds up , luckily the steel was scavenged but I have about 300$ in hubs , stubs and hardware and the tires and rims sure hurt at 400$
I'm still trying to find a proper 12" rim at a reasonable price but no luck .
Used 2 chopsaw blades , a couple of zip wheel and grinding wheels .
Lotsa head scratchin and mig wire .
Send me a pm if you want my phone number , more than happy to share any info with anyone .

 

[MustangMike]

A little bit of progress on my upstate Hunting Cabin (post & beam from blown down Ash trees, cut with the chainsaw).

My Grand Nephew stained what he could reach, we started installing floor joist brackets, and I built a Sladder (a cross between stairs and a ladder). It is all from Ash, the steps are 32" wide and the rails are 3" X 9.5" (made from the other half of the ridge beam). When we install the second floor, it will make installing the rafters a lot easier (less scaffolding), and things should start rolling along.

Progress has been painfully slow. Cutting, chiseling and drilling from ladders is a pain in the A**, but it should be nice when it is done.

Top & bottom will both be "clear" 20' X 24' rooms, the loft floor is at 8' high and the loft will be 4.5' on the sides and 9' in the middle, allowing the ties to be above your head.

 

[svk]

A little bit of progress on my upstate Hunting Cabin (post & beam from blown down Ash trees, cut with the chainsaw).

My Grand Nephew stained what he could reach, we started installing floor joist brackets, and I built a Sladder (a cross between stairs and a ladder). It is all from Ash, the steps are 32" wide and the rails are 3" X 9.5" (made from the other half of the ridge beam). When we install the second floor, it will make installing the rafters a lot easier (less scaffolding), and things should start rolling along.

Progress has been painfully slow. Cutting, chiseling and drilling from ladders is a pain in the A**, but it should be nice when it is done.

Top & bottom will both be "clear" 20' X 24' rooms, the loft floor is at 8' high and the loft will be 4.5' on the sides and 9' in the middle, allowing the ties to be above your head.

Looking good.

 

[Axlerod74]

Make friends with any nearby logging operations. If they aren't chipping they may let you clean up the tops and the skidder flattened trees. A lot of times they don't cut on weekends and it's perfect for the 9-5 guy.

I have had my best luck here. In my neck of the woods, most loggers like having a trustworthy extra set of eyes watching their heavy equipment when they are off for the evening. Best advise I can give here is to STAY OUT OF THEIR WAY when they are working and scrounge through the "trim" piles for crooked and cull logs at the end of the work day. You have the area to yourself and some high quality firewood. These cull piles get buried at the end of the job so it is a win-win for both parties. Being courteous and respectful of others work area goes a LONG way here. As mentioned above, some guys chip the cull piles so always ask first!!

 

[MustangMike]

Did a good amount of cutting today with MechanicMatt. No pics, because T-Storms moved in right after we were done. If you are interested in the details, see Matt's thread "Cut wood all day today with some GOOD guys".

 

[JB Weld]

I worked like a dog Saturday and got a total of ~2 cord stacked on the front porch. I am still recovering....
I have another cord split and stacked in the shed, so I should be covered for this winter.
I still have some logs to spit and I have another rick split and ready to stack in the shed.
Now that I have my wood on the porch though I will slow down on my scrounging efforts, I will try and go pop a few Squirrels, make some pear butter, or maybe pick some figs and make jam.

 

[dancan]

Over the last week and a bit I've rearranged my wood stacks , moved and restacked about 5 cord .
I wish I could feel safe with 3 cord .
I've got 3 cord of SPF ready to burn and 3 to 4 cord of hardwood for the winter with another 2 cord of hardwood for next winter .
I'm ready for more scroungin with plenty of room for storage but I'd like to have another couple cord of dead standing spruce or pine for this winter as a backup .
Firewood , more is betterer

 

[zogger]

Over the last week and a bit I've rearranged my wood stacks , moved and restacked about 5 cord .
I wish I could feel safe with 3 cord .
I've got 3 cord of SPF ready to burn and 3 to 4 cord of hardwood for the winter with another 2 cord of hardwood for next winter .
I'm ready for more scroungin with plenty of room for storage but I'd like to have another couple cord of dead standing spruce or pine for this winter as a backup .
Firewood , more is betterer

more is betterer Yep!

 

[svk]

Haven't run a saw since July 26th. If I don't show up on here all of a sudden it's because I've passed due to symptoms of saw withdrawal.