The "Not So Pro" discussion thread...of course Pros are welcome!

[northmanlogging]

yeah the self loaders all pretty much need 36's to get full weight. its an axle spacing thing, regardless of drops or not here, the drops will let ya carry more shortened up, but you're still limited.

though most of em can take down to 20's they don't like it, but they will haul it.

 

[northmanlogging]

vid from today...

Little machines working hard for their lunch.

 

[Skeans]

yeah the self loaders all pretty much need 36's to get full weight. its an axle spacing thing, regardless of drops or not here, the drops will let ya carry more shortened up, but you're still limited.

though most of em can take down to 20's they don't like it, but they will haul it.

If you're carrying say 32's you're still limited to the same as a non drop truck 60k from memory, drop is full stretch, and a truck without one you can bunk 34's and still be legal.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[northmanlogging]

80k at full stretch without drops here, 5 axels...

88k with one drop and proper spacing

Then just figure another 8k for every extra axle up to 105,500

32's drop a 5 axle truck to 74k and a 6 axle truck to 80-84k I think? (depends on arrangement fore or aft of the drive axels or on the trailer etc) there is a big ole chart for it somewhere i've downloaded it a bunch but can never find it when I need it.

 

[rwoods]

Back at the park this morning. Every tree but one had a back lean. All of them fought me; especially the smaller ones. Park Manager came by to watch. He was fascinated that a wedge could lift a tree and asked if he could whack on one I had been at a while with two double stacks. I said sure just don't bottom them out. He is a big dude 300#. Before I got him stopped he had curled a brand new 10" wedge. Fourteen bucks (actually $13.99) invested in a now 8 1/2" wedge.

Streak of on target Blind Squirrel falls continued for several trees - water spigot on left and post on right.


Then some Divine intervention when this one rolled.


Spigot on left and post on right. Both were intended to be on the left.


The fights continued until the end. I thought this tree had a little back lean so I put in the back cut first. It didn't. Sat down on saw when making the face cut. If you think I am bad with a saw, you should see me with an axe. After little progress, I gave up on chopping the saw out and decided to wedge it over with saw in place. Surely it would just drop the saw and move on. Nope, it also turned and fell on the saw. Cut it free with another saw and was relieved to find it wasn't hurt. Picnic table also unscathed.


Ron

 

[rwoods]

Finished out the day cutting up some of these down at the woodlot with a MAC PM800.


PM800

Ron

 

[northmanlogging]

coming up on the end of my first week of full time logging.

Should have done this a year or more ago...

Got a sunday off for the first time in I don't remember, then Monday and Tuesday the wind was to hard So I got myself a proper 3 day weekend,

What this adds up too, is that today I was mostly fully rested for the first time in years, cut a few trees, thought about it, checked the time, cut a few more... about as much as i normally cut in a day... checked the time, cut a few more, tank #3... checked the time its not quite noon... cut a couple more.

And poof more then a load on the ground and its only 12:30...

Down side is that it took me 4 and a half hours to get it all skidded out to the landing, So I'm just getting home

My feet don't hurt, my back don't hurt... much, no headache... **** working for anyone else.

Now if I can make it actually work and not go bankrupt in the process

 

[northmanlogging]

Wait... no headache?

 

[1270d]

Wait... no headache?

Oh, they'll show up in no time

 

[chucker]

Wait... no headache?

good for you on your choice! the headache's will reappear, but at least they will be of "YOUR MAKING"!! enjoy "YOUR RIDE" !.....

 

[Gologit]

coming up on the end of my first week of full time logging.

Should have done this a year or more ago...

Good. You'll really know you're full time when you start dreaming about it at night.

And don't worry about going bankrupt. A lot of guys do and they seem to get out of it okay. I never actually went formally bankrupt but there were a couple of times when I was down to my pickup, two saws, a worn out pair of Wescos, and enough money for gas or lunch for the week but not both. The guy I was working for grabbed the log check and lit out for South America. A bunch of us got shafted.
We made it through that winter on venison and vegetables my wife canned. The next year was better.

 

[northmanlogging]

Wait... i might be able to go hunting again?

tomorrow is Sat... There's a get together with some old friends, I can show up early and relax for once, maybe even have clean pants on... nah...

 

[tramp bushler]

Cool vid Northman !
I enjoyed my playing around climbing this Saturday. My knees didn't really enjoy it. But they struggled thru. First time I've climbed a tree in 2 years.
I'm now a driver. I drive a GMC, Kenworth, and soon a brand new Freightliner garbage truck. When I'm doing routes . And run iron when not. Diggin and haulin dirt for the landfill. At least I do dirt in the thawed out months. Year round , full time with benefits and an ok wage. I'm home every night. Get weekends off and paid holidays and vacation. Its the first year round job I've had since 1987 when I quit the pulp mill in Sitka and flew out to Rowan Bay to pull riggin on a double 09 Madil.


Made $100 per hr for this job including loading my gear both ways and travel.
The before pics.
Great to see y'all still live and kickin



My real job ;-)

 

[1270d]

Cool vid Northman !
I enjoyed my playing around climbing this Saturday. My knees didn't really enjoy it. But they struggled thru. First time I've climbed a tree in 2 years.
I'm now a driver. I drive a GMC, Kenworth, and soon a brand new Freightliner garbage truck. When I'm doing routes . And run iron when not. Diggin and haulin dirt for the landfill. At least I do dirt in the thawed out months. Year round , full time with benefits and an ok wage. I'm home every night. Get weekends off and paid holidays and vacation. Its the first year round job I've had since 1987 when I quit the pulp mill in Sitka and flew out to Rowan Bay to pull riggin on a double 09 Madil.
View attachment 613556 View attachment 613557

Made $100 per hr for this job including loading my gear both ways and travel. View attachment 613558 View attachment 613559
The before pics.
Great to see y'all still live and kickin

View attachment 613560 View attachment 613561

My real job ;-)

Nice to see you here again tramp

 

[rwoods]

Went back to the park today to fall the pines. I was looking forward to a new learning experience, but unfortunately for me they wised up to the fact that with the remaining trees it is easier to push them over with a track hoe to get the stump than to dig the stump - so no pine falling for me.

I was also looking forward to trying my re-handled axe. Sometime during all the pounding in the last two weeks I or someone managed to begin a split down the handle. I searched through about a dozen straight handles at the farm coop before discovering that the regular axe handles not only had a better grain orientation but were also considerably beefier than the straight handles. I went with a regular handle. After cutting it to length, it has just enough curve left to sit comfortably in your hand whether chopping or pounding. I grounded a few grooves in it to get a better grip.



Had the 125 out for a little while today bucking some large red oak at my wood pile. Also used it to take revenge on the stump that attacked my truck a few weeks ago.

Ron

 

[Skeans]

Here's a heck of an idea for small guy and cheap to move around.
https://www.machinerytrader.com/lis...ipment/for-sale/22722115/1987-komatsu-pw210-1

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[rwoods]

Most here know that I am not a "it's on the ground, nobody got hurt, so it's okay" kinda of guy. With that in mind I am interested in hearing from Madhatte and other hazard fallers of whether I approached this stub correctly or should I have done one or more things differently. I decided to cut it against the lean primarily because of wind gusts common at this foot of the mountain location (one blew my hat off while sizing up the tree) and secondarily to keep it from blocking the driveway. As you can see the trunk was split for quite a ways up and then formed a single stem. I only had a 25" bar and with an hour long round trip to retrieve a longer one I elected to go with what I had. I put in a portion of the back cut first and set two wedges in good wood. Then made my face cut and then continued the back cut to set the hinge. Had to double stack the wedges on both sides, cut out some of the middle and thin the hinge in the end to get it to go over. The last picture makes it look like there is an unintended dutchman, but honestly there wasn't one - it is just the bark. As you can see the first part of my back cut was my standard screw-up - parallel with the ground instead of level. Can't explain the dive upon re-insertion other than possibly inattention to that aspect as working on that side of the tree was giving me the heevey jeeves - I was watching for movement and concentrating on hinge making. I did my best to keep things even on each side including the wedging. The tree fell where intended as intended but I am not sure that I went about it in the best or safest way. My phone died when I tried to photograph the maxed out single height wedges so I wasn't able to make any more pictures.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Ron

 

[northmanlogging]

Most here know that I am not a "it's on the ground, nobody got hurt, so it's okay" kinda of guy. With that in mind I am interested in hearing from Madhatte and other hazard fallers of whether I approached this stub correctly or should I have done one or more things differently. I decided to cut it against the lean primarily because of wind gusts common at this foot of the mountain location (one blew my hat off while sizing up the tree) and secondarily to keep it from blocking the driveway. As you can see the trunk was split for quite a ways up and then formed a single stem. I only had a 25" bar and with an hour long round trip to retrieve a longer one I elected to go with what I had. I put in a portion of the back cut first and set two wedges in good wood. Then made my face cut and then continued the back cut to set the hinge. Had to double stack the wedges on both sides, cut out some of the middle and thin the hinge in the end to get it to go over. The last picture makes it look like there is an unintended dutchman, but honestly there wasn't one - it is just the bark. As you can see the first part of my back cut was my standard screw-up - parallel with the ground instead of level. Can't explain the dive upon re-insertion other than possibly inattention to that aspect as working on that side of the tree was giving me the heevey jeeves - I was watching for movement and concentrating on hinge making. I did my best to keep things even on each side including the wedging. The tree fell where intended as intended but I am not sure that I went about it in the best or safest way. My phone died when I tried to photograph the maxed out single height wedges so I wasn't able to make any more pictures.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Ron

View attachment 625398 View attachment 625399 View attachment 625401 View attachment 625402 View attachment 625403

Thats an ugly tree...

You did fine by my book, though I generally advice against wedging snags, as the vibrations can cause dead stuff up high to immigrate to living stuff down low.

Starting the back cut first has its own pucker factor in that you absolutely can not chase the hinge, get it right first try and don't bother chasing it.

If you had the option, and I'm sure you don't this is where a good jack comes in handy, nice even pressure, no vibrations, lifts em right up and over.

 

[rwoods]

Generalizing:

Take lean and direction off the table - should you face the bad side or the good side or does it matter?

Put a slight lean back on the table, should you fall with the lean, angle to lean or against the lean? I get the pounding part, so assume sound top.


Ron

 

[tramp bushler]

Imho. You Need a Big Shot , some throw lines and weights , some Samson Stable Braid. And something to pull with.
That being said , I think you did Great. And in the words of the old taller that broke me in . ( I ain't never seen a stump on a log truck)
I spotted the drooping back cut and kinda figured you had lots on your mind other than a picture perfect back cut ;-).
Putting a pulling line up in a tree takes ALOT of the stress out of funky trees like that one. Especially in the wind.
If your out in the brush its one thing . But next to powerlines houses ECT.
Having a line up in the tree to be fell is Really nice.