Swing Booms on regular skidders???

[Slamm]

I think you better do some math.. Your tub on your 540 is going to be nowhere long enough for the swing boom!! Its going to be sitting to close to the rear of the machine.

Thanks for the concern, but I can assure you that as a past machine builder and developer of many efficiency enhancing machines and attachments for many different industries, I have done my math. I fact I have the boom swing sitting next to the skidder right now for comparisons and measurements and I can assure it will be fine.

This is the best way that I can explain it:
Due to the smaller size of the 540B, I understand that I MAY or MAY NOT be able to maximize the full potential of the swing boom.

BUT

I will be able to maximize the full potential of my 540B with the swing boom.And that is a huge step toward more production with that little machine.

Again, at worst it isn't any different than a single action grapple.

At best it will do many things that a single action grapple could only dream of.

I found this video, my machine will look similiar to this machine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efuXECu073Q


Sam

 

[Slamm]

i think the world may be coming to an end,i seen slamm mention pulp, surely you were kidding and are not going to move that no money making pulp. you may make a logger yet lol

Terry, as I have always stated, I move what makes me money. Cutting pulp while cutting my normal hardwood stuff does not make me money, or better stated it doesn't make me enough for the effort I have to put forth to collect it and ship it. Trust me if you got paid what I got paid for pulp and had to do what I have to do and live in this area, you wouldn't screw with it either, if you had as much other great timber that the people who pay you want cut, and they aren't making any money on pulp either ...... comparatively.

This is a little different, 300+ acres that has to be leveled, as per the contract. That means everything 5" and larger is going bye bye, and there is a lot of big timber on this job.

There are 5 figure fines if this is not accomplished within a certain time period and with the winter upon us. That time frame could be very difficult due to weird weather conditions.

I'm currently working on getting two machine cutters in here and possibly 3 or more skidders, along with hand cutters and such. The pulp in this case was stated as being somewhere in the range of 6000+ tons, so we will see how it goes. Will be going over more details tomorrow as there might be a "slight" change in the contract tomorrow and have to see how that effects this operation, this week is going to be busy.

Sam

 

[056kid]

And your gonna buck all that with saws & load all that with your forked skip loader?


:yourock:

:agree2:

:monkey:

wow

 

[tlandrum]

sam if your going to be moving that kind of pulp you better make sure the pulp mill will take all of it. right now the yard i deal with wont take but 100ton per week from me. but with nasty wet winter weather coming on they will go back to letting me haul full tilt. the small tractor and ton truck loggers will fall out and the guys left with the equipment will get the rest of the quota. sounds like youll need a limbing gate and maybe a loader with limber mounted on trailer. ive seen a few good deals lately if your going in the big leauges you better get the proper tools or like you mentioned fines may cost more than the tools to prevent them. sometimes those big contract jobs can wipe a man out if trouble occurs and the big guys dont care what happens to us little guys.

 

[Oldtimer]

Why is all 300 acres being stripped? Re-planting, or development?

 

[380LGR]

I love pulp wood... Problem is once you go down pulp alley you never come back!

 

[Slamm]

sam if your going to be moving that kind of pulp you better make sure the pulp mill will take all of it. right now the yard i deal with wont take but 100ton per week from me. but with nasty wet winter weather coming on they will go back to letting me haul full tilt. the small tractor and ton truck loggers will fall out and the guys left with the equipment will get the rest of the quota. sounds like youll need a limbing gate and maybe a loader with limber mounted on trailer. ive seen a few good deals lately if your going in the big leauges you better get the proper tools or like you mentioned fines may cost more than the tools to prevent them. sometimes those big contract jobs can wipe a man out if trouble occurs and the big guys dont care what happens to us little guys.

Thanks for the concern, but I'm pretty sure I have done my homework and have the best of all worlds with this setup.

Without going into much detail .............. all I have to do is cut and skid it to the landing and nothing more. I don't buy timber and I don't sell timber so the rest is of little concern to me, within reason, as long as they have the money to pay me ...... which they do.

I don't understand pulp, I don't really want to understand or deal with the drama that pulp wood involves. With all the mills closing and insane waits for the truckers. I'm happy that someone can make money with it, but I would rather just cut and pull big logs. The pulp part just kinda fell into my lap, as I am going to be there already for the 650,000+BDFT (logs) that we are cutting and skidding so I might as well get my buddy that has machine cutters in to level the little stuff, so my hand cutters have it easier, obviously a start from the front and drop everything until you reach the back, kinda job. As of today, we are still kinda unclear as to how much of this job we get??? There were 3-4 meetings with higher ups and I got 3 phone calls today that were all positive, but nobody said to load the machines yet, so I'm still praying, LOL. Hopefull tomorrow, I get the for sure okay. We are all meeting on the land on Wednesday, I know the area and its pretty flat.

Well see.

Sam

 

[jay_d]

\

I will be able to maximize the full potential of my 540B with the swing boom.[/COLOR]And that is a huge step toward more production with that little machine.

Again, at worst it isn't any different than a single action grapple.

At best it will do many things that a single action grapple could only dream of.

I found this video, my machine will look similiar to this machine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efuXECu073Q


Sam

aint trying to be mean, but a good single arch with a winch will outdo that contraption with ease. what time you are busy turned over the guy on the single arch will be steady going. It looks good in theory but ive yet to be made a believer. if you only gave 2k for it you didnt lose money, looks like the grapple is worth that/

put a heel on it and load trucks lol

 

[Slamm]

aint trying to be mean, but a good single arch with a winch will outdo that contraption with ease. what time you are busy turned over the guy on the single arch will be steady going. It looks good in theory but ive yet to be made a believer. if you only gave 2k for it you didnt lose money, looks like the grapple is worth that/

put a heel on it and load trucks lol

???? it can operated just like a single boom, so explain to me how the single arch has an advantage again?? The advantages of the swing boom are quite numerous, in fact there aren't any disadvantages to it, if you know what you are doing.

Sam

 

[Slamm]

I love pulp wood... Problem is once you go down pulp alley you never come back!

Yeah, I see that as a potential risk, with this job, LOL.

We'll see, I'm really not interested in pulp, it seems like it sets you up for big money ........................... and then one big failure down the road. I'm big enough to be useful and small enough, that just me and Karen (wife) can do small jobs and make them pay good, or I can just quit logging for awhile if the jobs just get pear shaped, and do something else that makes more money.

The swing boom allows me to make my beloved cable skidder into a fast grapple type skidder and still use the cable/winch with good visibility and do things with that boom in the woods and at the landing that you can't do with either, cable or single action grapple.

The more I think about it and come up with more possibilities the more I like it, LOL.

Sam

 

[371groundie]

i was told i could make a living cutting with a tractor. i proved them wrong. the only reason im not doing it now was that the quotas shut me out, not that i wasnt moving enough wood.

so dont let the naysayers get you down. i think that looks like a cunnin little rig and would like to fool around with it for a week or so and see how it goes.

cutting and skidding with a tractor i was in much the same situation you are, one or two trees and i was at the limit my machine would pull. (albeit my trees were smaller) i spent alot of time trying to stuff a choker under a log thinking, 'i wonder how a grapple would work?' and with the tractor i could swap out 3pt implements fairly quick and easy.

keeps us posted as you get this critter assembled, especially the control unit.

 

[Slamm]

i was told i could make a living cutting with a tractor. i proved them wrong. the only reason im not doing it now was that the quotas shut me out, not that i wasnt moving enough wood.

so dont let the naysayers get you down. i think that looks like a cunnin little rig and would like to fool around with it for a week or so and see how it goes.

cutting and skidding with a tractor i was in much the same situation you are, one or two trees and i was at the limit my machine would pull. (albeit my trees were smaller) i spent alot of time trying to stuff a choker under a log thinking, 'i wonder how a grapple would work?' and with the tractor i could swap out 3pt implements fairly quick and easy.

keeps us posted as you get this critter assembled, especially the control unit.

Will do, we are working out what joystick/s that I want to use and some mounting ideas, but it should be pretty easy.

Sam

 

[joesawer]

???? it can operated just like a single boom, so explain to me how the single arch has an advantage again?? The advantages of the swing boom are quite numerous, in fact there aren't any disadvantages to it, if you know what you are doing.

Sam

Hmmmm I see a big surprise in your future.
With the ability to articulate the tractor you already have something of a swing boom.

On anything but the steepest or roughest ground i can not see any need for a swing grapple. You would do better to invest a few thousand dollars and a few hundred hours learning from some really slick grapple operators.

But you are sold on the idea and it is your baby. And when you get done you will have a very limited application highly customized tractor.

That swing boom does look smaller than and lighter than ones on a D5

 

[Slamm]

Hmmmm I see a big surprise in your future.
With the ability to articulate the tractor you already have something of a swing boom.

On anything but the steepest or roughest ground i can not see any need for a swing grapple. You would do better to invest a few thousand dollars and a few hundred hours learning from some really slick grapple operators.

But you are sold on the idea and it is your baby. And when you get done you will have a very limited application highly customized tractor.

That swing boom does look smaller than and lighter than ones on a D5

Ha ha, thanks for the advice. You gotta love the internet, its give just about anyone the opportunity to "help", especially when I ask for it, LOL. So now I can't drive a grapple skidder and need to learn from someone who is better.

On anything but the steepest or roughest ground i can not see any need for a swing grapple. You would do better to invest a few thousand dollars and a few hundred hours learning from some really slick grapple operators.

Is that your final answer, because if it is, I will stand in amazement. So let me get this straight. I should get rid of this swing boom attachment or I shouldn't have bought it in the first place and instead, should have either bought a less capable attachment like a single arch grapple or not convert the cable skidder at all and just spend the thousands of dollars and my valuable time finding some other grapple skidder driver and I guess videoing and watch him. Right? Did I get that right? I'm really interested in your next answer, because personally, if I took your advice to a T, I would be the dumbest SOB that ever walked, LOL. If your mind is so foggy that you can't see the additional capabilities privided by a grapple system that can do anything a regular grapple skidder can do, and a lot more for virtually NO additional output on my part, I will really be interested in how you could spin your way out of this ignorant advice.

What I think is still amazing is your don't know me, and just because I have purchased a more advanced grappling system, for very little money, it somehow in your mind proves or shows in your mind that I somehow suck as a grapple skidder operator ......................... Please, explain how you came to that conclusion. I will await your answer, LOL.

Later, Oh yee of little vision,

Sam

 

[380LGR]

Wheewww somebody wacked the bees nest!!!

 

[Slamm]

Wheewww somebody wacked the bees nest!!!

Illogical people just amaze me is all, LOL.

Sam

 

[056kid]

Whatever you do, please dont get hurt Slamm, It would be a tragedy to lose a proud hobby logger such as you!

 

[Slamm]

Whatever you do, please dont get hurt Slamm, It would be a tragedy to lose a proud hobby logger such as you!

You logging or cutting trees now?? Or do you just act like it?

Sam

 

[056kid]

I just act like it Slizzamm, I cut about 10 chords of firewood recently, but I negate that from any actual work. Last time I produced was about 2 or three months ago and that makes me sad .

Why do you ask, are you preparing a personal attack for me?

OH BOY!!

 

[Slamm]

I just act like it Slizzamm, I cut about 10 chords of firewood recently, but I negate that from any actual work. Last time I produced was about 2 or three months ago and that makes me sad .

Why do you ask, are you preparing a personal attack for me?

OH BOY!!

I have heard people on these forums talk about an ignore button ..... where is that at??

Be helpful for a change.

Sam