Some sawing, logging and skidding pics and videos ......

[Slamm]

Hey Sam. . . If you like the Amsoil (I ran it forever), you might want to try Royal Purple 2-stroke -- it's sold at our local Napa, and a bit cheaper than Amsoil. Either one is a good oil though.

Glad to see the swingers are paying for themselves. . . I sure like them.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

I like Royal purple and the saw builder likes it, but it doesn't dye the gas Blue (I think), and I can get the Amsoil saber for$8.70 delivered to the door. Also Amsoil can be run at 100:1 so if I screw something up in the mixing at 50:1. I have a very safe margin. I have run Amsoil at 80:1 and 100:1 for months on end without any problems and know several professionals that still do, but have figured for the cost difference I could afford thke extra protection that the 50:1 provides. It makes the piston look like a smurf.

I can get all things at NAPA for cost so I am going to check on the price difference between the two and compare, and I appreciate you bringing that option up as I did forget about it lol.

The swinger is great I will get so videos later.

Sam

 

[Metals406]

I like Royal purple and the saw builder likes it, but it doesn't dye the gas Blue (I think), and I can get the Amsoil saber for$8.70 delivered to the door. Also Amsoil can be run at 100:1 so if I screw something up in the mixing at 50:1. I have a very safe mating. I have run Amsoil at 80:1 and 100:1 for months on end without any problems and know several professionals that still do, but have figured for the cost difference I could afford the extra protection that the 50:1 provides. It makes the piston look like a smurf.

I can get all things at NAPA for cost so I am going to check on the price difference between the two and compare, and I appreciate you bringing that option up as I did forget about it lol.

The swinger is great I will get so videos later.

Sam

I ran Amsoil at 100:1 for a while, then 80:1 -- I honestly think it led to a couple of my saws prematurely wearing out. Now I do 40:1 for it all -- it makes me feel safe. LOL

The Royal Purple is purple, so it makes the fuel purple.

If you can get stuff at NAPA for cost, it may beat that Saber price (you pay a darn good price for the Amsoil though), but I'm not sure.

I just buy it retail there, and it's $10.00 and change for a quart. So I imagine cost is around $8.00 or less a quart.

Have a good Christmas!!

 

[Slamm]

Slamm,

Are you still leaning to changing the controls over to joystick or leaving as is?

thanks for the pics.

Yeah, I still want the joystick with thumb switches on it, and here is why, with the swing boom you typically either pick from the right or left side of the machine to pick you logs up from, due to the lack of visibility directly behind the boom's tower. Well working on the right side (the same side as the levers) isn't so bad because you can use both hands easily to operate two or three levers, pretty quickly, but if you want to pick logs on the left side it is hard to contort your neck and upper body around to use both hands on the levers at that point. That is where a nice joystick mounted on the end of the right armrest would be the ticket. The swing boom is 5 functions so the joystick would be two and the three thumb switches would make up the rest for a total of five. I want to put a small lever valve/control pretty close to that joystick for the blade control that way everything is right there. The 518's platform is a good size for this larger swing boom. At this point I have picked up some very nice 30" white/red oaks and if they don't have any Y's or forks on them this setup can move the log or place that log with full control at even the farther reaches of the system with power. The only times that power had been an issue is with large trees and forks and Y's that are getting hung up on stumps and other trees, and that is going to happen with anything.

I just can't believe that everyone doesn't want one of these, LOL, as it takes a great operator about 20-30 hours of operation just to figure out what this thing is capable of doing to its max, and to also figure out the best way to optimize its capabilities toward production. I can build a nice hitch for one or two other skidders and then build one for myself and pull it out. Just image there isn't any log or situation that you back up to, that you can't easily walk away with a log in tow quickly and effortlessly, and again building nice hitches is easy and consistent without being hard on the rest of the machine by driving over other logs and crap just to bunch logs together.

Lately here the weather has been hit or miss for the skidding aspect and yet the cutters haven't had to quit cutting due to topping in too many logs or the logs getting lost in all the tops and brush, because I can find them and easily get them out with this big swing boom. I just grab the tops and throw them somewhere else and then pull the 5-8 logs out from underneath and move on. We don't try to top in the logs, but sometimes it happens and this machine has allowed us to keep on working and cutting without causing too much trouble from the skidder operators point of view. I have the other skidders get the easy logs that are laying around and I get the hard to reach ones bundled up and either pull them out or the hitch is ready for the other single function grapple to get efficiently, while I build him another hitch out of logs he would have to use the blade and bulldoze to get at the logs. I grapped 100+ logs that were just across a 3' deep ditch and never had to back all the way across it. Also the contract states we can't leave tops in the creek, well that isn't a problem I just drive along and pull them out and set them on the side and move on, very, very easy.

While it is nice to be right there and pick the logs as soon as they are dropped or at least be pretty close behind the cutter, so as to not get topped in, it isn't always possible and in our case with 2-4 guys cutting everything down rain, snow, wind, sleet, darkness or muddy (7 days a week), and the skidders can only work when the ground is frozen, the cutters are winning, but give my skidders just a few hours each morning of frozen ground and we can reel them back in to a reasonable extent on short skids, which is what we have right now.

I'm getting use to the Esco grapple, but that rotating motor is just dumb, I can operate it and get the log on the first time every time now, but you certainly have to outsmart an ignorant system there ...... in my opinion. The Deere rotating head is light years ahead in the "smarts" department on that part.

Later,

Sam

That is my take on the swing booms.

 

[Slamm]

I ran Amsoil at 100:1 for a while, then 80:1 -- I honestly think it led to a couple of my saws prematurely wearing out. Now I do 40:1 for it all -- it makes me feel safe. LOL

The Royal Purple is purple, so it makes the fuel purple.

If you can get stuff at NAPA for cost, it may beat that Saber price (you pay a darn good price for the Amsoil though), but I'm not sure.

I just buy it retail there, and it's $10.00 and change for a quart. So I imagine cost is around $8.00 or less a quart.

Have a good Christmas!!

I have heard that about the 100:1 Amsoil, I won't argue it, because I don't know. I just know I have used it at that, and nothing went BOOM, LOL. I use it at 50:1 and saws with 3 years run time logging look very nice and clean on the inside as per saw builder. If I get to the lower end of a bottle and don't have enough to make it 50:1 it doesn't bother me to run it at 75:1 or 95:1 or 65.78:1, as long as its somewhere between 50:1 and 100:1, I run it.

I got busy working and didn't keep up with my purchasing of supplies and ran out, bought some Husky stuff off another guy and man, that stuff smoked and stank badly, burned my eyes if I was on the wrong side of the wind, LOL. I just ordered those 24 bottles and it came out to $8.70 per quart, with tax and shipping to my door and it came 2 days after I ordered it. I get some kinda special deal on it because of a buddy of mine. Terry the saw builder love Royal Purple, we go back and for about Amsoil vs Royal Purple, but they are both really good. I got Royal Purple mixed up with Mobil 1 that doesn't dye the gas blue or purple, which is dumb, dumb, dumb.

I use 100LL AV gas which is light blue and then put Amsoil Saber in it, which makes a dark blue and then put it into blue Kerosane jugs and me or Karen are the only ones that mixes it right at the airport, so that everyone knows that gas from the blue jugs is for the saws and nothing else, and it is always safe to use it, IF IT IS IN THE BLUE JUGS, LOL.

Later,

Sam

 

[Metals406]

I have heard that about the 100:1 Amsoil, I won't argue it, because I don't know. I just know I have used it at that, and nothing went BOOM, LOL. I use it at 50:1 and saws with 3 years run time logging look very nice and clean on the inside as per saw builder. If I get to the lower end of a bottle and don't have enough to make it 50:1 it doesn't bother me to run it at 75:1 or 95:1 or 65.78:1, as long as its somewhere between 50:1 and 100:1, I run it.

I got busy working and didn't keep up with my purchasing of supplies and ran out, bought some Husky stuff off another guy and man, that stuff smoked and stank badly, burned my eyes if I was on the wrong side of the wind, LOL. I just ordered those 24 bottles and it came out to $8.70 per quart, with tax and shipping to my door and it came 2 days after I ordered it. I get some kinda special deal on it because of a buddy of mine. Terry the saw builder love Royal Purple, we go back and for about Amsoil vs Royal Purple, but they are both really good. I got Royal Purple mixed up with Mobil 1 that doesn't dye the gas blue or purple, which is dumb, dumb, dumb.

I use 100LL AV gas which is light blue and then put Amsoil Saber in it, which makes a dark blue and then put it into blue Kerosane jugs and me or Karen are the only ones that mixes it right at the airport, so that everyone knows that gas from the blue jugs is for the saws and nothing else, and it is always safe to use it, IF IT IS IN THE BLUE JUGS, LOL.

Later,

Sam

That's a good idea for you and Karen to mix the fuel. . . That would definitely cut down on 'oh crap' moments with the saws. Your chainsaws are a good chunk of your overhead, and nukin' them unnecessarily would really cut into your crews Christmas Bonus! LOL

If you guys are using good AV fuel, that may also be why you're seeing longer life from your saws (not just what oil ratio you use). . . As opposed to the garbage we get at the pumps.

Is your saw builder a member here??

Hope y'all had a great Christmas! I made an all steel 48" canthook for my BIL in his shop yesterday -- while the girls were inside chatting away.

When I finished it, he painted it brown, I told him that wasn't the best color for the woods, as it made it look like a stick! LOL

He busted out the orange paint, and all is right in the world. Hahahaha

By the end of the day though, I developed a freaking head cold. :censored::censored:

Looking forward to more vid's and pic's!!

 

[banshee67]

when in doubt, i always just add more oil. plugs are cheap
ive ran my 4 wheeler blowing purple smoke running at ~20:1 instead of 40:1..it sure smelled good with all that burning castor oil

 

[tanker]

Slamm,I've thoughroly enjoyed this very muchand willn say it is one of the best things I've followed on AS.As a firewood cutter,I appreciate the weighwood being left for me.I'm not a logger or any where close but I appreciate watching people do a good job at what they do.Thanks again for the pictures and the ability to be civil in the b.s. that went on here. Scott

 

[woodguy105]

I agree w/ Tanker. Great thread. It's always cool to see pics and how people run their show.

And the less bs the better!

 

[Saucy]

Excellent Post

Thanks for posting your work up with pics AND videos

Looks like a really professional job you ran, and the videos really give your post a great narrative.

Sorry about the saw as well and have a great new year filled with big tress and big saws!

 

[Slamm]

That's a good idea for you and Karen to mix the fuel. . . That would definitely cut down on 'oh crap' moments with the saws. Your chainsaws are a good chunk of your overhead, and nukin' them unnecessarily would really cut into your crews Christmas Bonus! LOL

If you guys are using good AV fuel, that may also be why you're seeing longer life from your saws (not just what oil ratio you use). . . As opposed to the garbage we get at the pumps.

Is your saw builder a member here??

Looking forward to more vid's and pic's!!

Possibly on the AV gas, dunno. We have used 5-20 gallons of 93 pump gas in the last month because I ran out of AV gas and everyone that runs the saws didn't like it, stinks and saws seemed to not idle as well.

Everything I have including the Kombi 130 runs and idles great with 100LL. I think there is a gas station nearby where we are working, that has "Race Gas" so I might get that if it isn't too bad pricewise, otherwise, I'll just go to the little local airport. The airport by my house really caters to Karen when she brings a bunch of blue gas jugs with the mix already in the bottom of each or now we are getting 50 gallon drums of it because I am working 2.5 hours away and we are going through so much per day, that the mixing and aquiring of saw gas became a nusiance. The swing boom skidder makes loading and unloading the 50 gallon drum at the landing quite nice now, LOL.

I was talking with a local sawmill/logger/Husky dealer/mechanic and he said in the last 2 years he has probably replaced 300 fuel lines in his and customers saws. I have only replaced 1 fuel line in 6 years, every saw I have has the original fuel line except for one and I don't remember which one that is, LOL, and it didn't solve whatever problem I was having at the time, so it wasn't the problem.

Also I can't say that any of my saws have had more than 1 spark plug replaced per saw's life. I'm pretty sure that one of the 660's has only 1 spark plug replaced ever and that is when I switched it to a Big Bore.

So I would say that the 100LL AV gas and Amsoil mix is doing something good, as I really don't experience any of the problems that others seem to have, which is good because I don't/won't/dislike to work on saws, LOL.

As to Terry, the guy that works/modd's/ports my saws, he lives in Des Moine, IA, and is/has been a good friend for many years, that I know of he is not "on this forum", I don't think he gets into the computer too much. To me, Terry is the best, he treats every one of my saws as if it was his own baby, and I have never been anything but completely estatic with his work. All of his port work is done by hand and is very clean and polished looking. He is the reason that I don't/won't run a stock saw of any size, due to ineffeciency and just shear "slowness" of them.

He has turned all of my 441's into such well behaved beasts that I have no use for my modded 660's except as punishment for some unruly worker, LOL. I mean nobody wants to run the 660's now that he has these 441's running like screaming banshee's.

My best cutter, Bert, says he would walk 1/2 mile past the modded 660's to run the modded 441's with 28" bars everyday, and "That if you cannot enjoy cutting timber with these modded 441's you will never enjoy it and had better just walk out of the woods forever." - LOL. He just made that quote two days ago when I let him run my painted 441 for one day.

Terry, works for a land clearing company and has many years experience with modding everything that uses gas, diesel, hydraulic oil and/or air compressors. His air compressors are the best. He knows employees and what they are capable of doing to destroy all things mechanical and how to evade a lot of it before it happens, LOL. There isn't a machine made in most any field of work that he hasn't worked on or completely rebuilt at some point. I count him as one of two people that if I didn't have access to, I would have probably quit being self-employed, (the other one is a nearby neighbor who has everything, kinda like a salvage yard, I mean if you needed a spare tire for an aircraft carrier ...... he probably has it). I talk to Terry most everyday about fixing or modifying something on a skidder/loader/truck/saw or something everyday, and we bounce a lot of ideas off of each other with the goal of speed or reliability or improved efficiency as the main benefit.

Below are some pics of putting in a new radiator that didn't have the factory oil cooler built in below. I got this oil cooler from my neighbor for $20 and got everything to fit in the grill. I'm looking into having the damaged radiator fixed for a spare.

Oil Cooler in place:

Putting Nose back on with Swing Boom:

Everything looks good and fits, no leaks after running it for 30 minutes:

This black check valve was on the original oil cooler so I put it back onto this one. The fittings were weird on the oil cooler so I welded 1" to 3/4" pipe thread coupler (gold fitting) to the steel oil cooler's fittings.

The filter is one that Terry puts on the front of the 540's instead of that dumb huge leaking one that Deere puts on them.

Just saw this rig, by my neighbor's place. I don't know what they go for, but I'm betting there is more money in either the front end or back end or probably just the boom and grapple than I have in all of my machines, LOL. This thing is huge.

 

[Slamm]

Making Chevy commercials getting into work and then back out.

Here is a nice whoopsie!!! The Killer 660 was being operatored by one of the skidder drivers that doesn't normally cut, but it is so muddy that everyone is slaying trees and no skidders are pulling, well, he said he just started to notice smoke, LOL. NICE!!! Not sure what happened, but those colors on steek cranks are not good. This saw can slip a clutch so, it was dumb on my part to let him use it, not that he can't operate a saw good, but he has never experienced anything like this thing. So off to Terry it goes for new crank, bearing, oil pump and whatever else is nuked. Terry is going to modify a clutch so it can hold the power better and not slip like the stock ones.

Here is a 441 with some side cover on it that isn't a 441 clutch cover, I don't think. I think I mixed it up with a 660 clutch cover?????

The rubber flap is larger and stronger than the one that comes on a 441R and you can modify it to fit with a sharp knife, LOL. This rubber flap has the mounting holes spread farther apart which I guess is a 660 "thing", as I have some that are close and some that are far apart. Anyways, I like the rubber chip flaps they are nice. I don't care about the larger side covers, just as long as the larger flap is installed. (Yes I know the cover is cracked)

Here is the serial number if anyone is interested for the side cover. Like I said it fit, but something is different about it I think?????:

I'm off to make light rails for my skidders, it looks like we are going to get some freezing weather next week 20-23 at night and 38-42 degrees during the day. With lights we can work on the frozen ground from 2am to "Mudtime" we call it, LOL. Then cut trees, mark trees and buck trees during the day and sort logs and skid logs at night/early morning when the ground is frozen. I'm going to rent 1-2 of those portable light towers they light up about 4-7 acres as per data specs, should be somewhat helpful, but we'll see.

Later,

Sam

 

[Metals406]

Yup, I'd say good fuel is really danged important for any machine, saw or not.

Good posts today Sam! Have fun out in the muck and mire!

 

[Krokit]

i can load a tandem in 20 minutes so its no biggy to have to stop and load the truck, now her loading the truck takes about 2 hrs and gets a 1/3 less wood on it but shes atleast doing it. i fired my truck driver for having beer in my truck , my last timber cutters were hacks and one was a saw muderer. im looking for help but not real hard. if a cutter comes along i would hire him but im not out looking.

i also live in ky lexington to be exact.the company ive been working for 15 years is being bought out and it looks like ill be on the soup line.i mainly just cut wood for firewood buisnees that ive been doing on the side but have been around saws a long time.love tennesee go down there a lot.maybe ill look you up next time im down to see if you still need a cutter.i love the woods and love getting out and cutting.Have told myself a bunch of times that i would love to be able to do this full time.Looks like i might get my chance to give it a try.:chainsawguy:

 

[Slamm]

Here is my 518 at work. Pulled 242 trees and pecker poles in 5.5 hours with this 518 Swing Boom and a 540B Grapple. Did this post with my phone so no narrative.

Sam

 

[Slamm]

After about 4 years, the extra port on the 361 broke the flap. A branch hit it. I borrowed a welder and welded this fender washer in place, for a quick fix.

Sam

 

[Slamm]

 

[DHIBBS75]

where abouts are you skidding..

 

[Slamm]

Southern Illinois

 

[willbarryrec]

Mr Slamm

Thanks for the thread.

I have really enjoyed reading about your setup and all the mods you do to all your gear.

You all seem to have a additude that is rare these days and that is busting hump,taking pride in and enjoying what you are doing.

Reading about your days out there makes me feel the need to get up off my a$$ behind this computer and go get some work done!

Keep on kickin!

 

[Slamm]

518 CAT Skidder with Swing Boom Grapple, here in the playing field.

Target rich environment:

540B Grapple leaving with a "little" one.

This is two day's skidding work at a new landing.

Below is the right side of the landing. At this location we leveled about 20 acres behind where that guy is standing. This landing of logs is only a fraction of them. During the next days we had to skid the logs out to a field more towards the right. We are currently cutting and skidding at 3 different locations due to levels of mud and landing space, or depending on where they want to see some "progress" quickly, LOL.

Weird stuff that happens, this stick was stuck behind the valve cover, about 3 days later something finally hit it out, it was stuck so bad that a sledge hammer or axe couldn't move it.

Truck leaving, early in the morning with a load.

Later,

Sam