I finally bought a skidder

[Curlycherry1]

Would any of you guys have an idea why someone would remove the tire-protectors from a skidder??

They probably smashed and broke the old ones pulling into the plates while on the run. I saw one get broke once doing that on rough ground with some big logs.

 

[tramp bushler]

Today we redone the tire chains, fixing the links that were ready to let go and we put some new ice picks on the back chains.
I fixed one small leak in the break lines but there's another I still have to find.
The engine covers were taken off and put in the truck before the pics were taken, they also need a little work done before I put them back on but I'll spend the time required to fix it right now rather than in the woods under 3 feet of snow. If everything goes right I'll have a little Ford loader and a Timber Devil double wood splitter delivered next week, I've been working on this business plan for the last three years and I can't believe its all coming together. Once I get everything that I ordered I'll be posting lots of pics of my new operation.

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. Barnie ; your just the man I need to talk to .. I,m at the place where I need to grow my business . I posted mine in Forestry and Logging , Sno machine and sled ..and pickup .( My Little Logging Outfit ) But I,m looking at the Forcat D36 , and other dozers and skidders ... How did you develop a business plan , ? Do you have a business manager ? ... I,m a timber Faller , and logger . But I need someone to do the part of the business that I am NO GOOD AT ......

This is my operation in the summer and fall .
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. as an aside , I finally took the time to figure out there are 3.62 cubic meters in a cord ... so a cubic meter is a schoosh less than 1/3rd of a cord . Which is about what I bring out on my sled each turn .....

 

[Barnie]

..

.

. Barnie ; your just the man I need to talk to .. I,m at the place where I need to grow my business . I posted mine in Forestry and Logging , Sno machine and sled ..and pickup .( My Little Logging Outfit ) But I,m looking at the Forcat D36 , and other dozers and skidders ... How did you develop a business plan , ? Do you have a business manager ? ... I,m a timber Faller , and logger . But I need someone to do the part of the business that I am NO GOOD AT ......

This is my operation in the summer and fall .
.
. as an aside , I finally took the time to figure out there are 3.62 cubic meters in a cord ... so a cubic meter is a schoosh less than 1/3rd of a cord . Which is about what I bring out on my sled each turn .....

I used a Bank website to develop my business plan most of them have this feature, you can write your business plan in sections starting with the most basic info about what you want to do and then gradually work your way up to the financial tables , you can always go back and change stuff if you like and most of the banks will have a rep to help you if you need help . for help I found a business mentor to help me with things I didn't understand.
I also bought a book at the local book store about starting a small business and this book has served me well, once I bought this book I didn't bother my mentor to often unless I needed a clearer picture.

 

[Barnie]

wheres the best place to put a chain-saw box/holder on a skidder?? pics if you have any.

 

[Curlycherry1]

wheres the best place to put a chain-saw box/holder on a skidder?? pics if you have any.

If there is one I have never seen it. Skidders get all manner of beating in the woods and I don't think there is any safe place on them that I would trust with my saw(s). Lots of guys I have known over the years are using ATVs.

 

[blackdiesel]

I keep mine behind the seat most of the time. I have put it on the back by the gapple arch under the hoses, but it could fall off back there.

 

[tramp bushler]

Thanks for the reply Barnie .... I don,t think they have that hewre , but I will check .. Thanks ..

 

[Barnie]

Thanks for the reply Barnie .... I don,t think they have that hewre , but I will check .. Thanks ..

you could also go to the nearest computer/business supply store and buy the software to do this business plan also, Like anything else you'll pay for the good ones.

 

[Curlycherry1]

Thanks for the reply Barnie .... I don,t think they have that hewre , but I will check .. Thanks ..

What other equipment do you have/need to support the firewood business?

The reason I ask is when my brother decided to go bigtime he was working with a fast splitter and two delivery trucks at the time. He was having logs brought to him because he determined based on all the years of cutting in the woods that I had done, that it was far cheaper to buy logs and process them. Equipement to move logs from woods to another location is very expensive (skidder, truck with loader, trailer big enough to move skidder, etc), and he determined there were already plenty of people that had made that investment so he did not need to. Plus he determined he would rather walk out into his backyard and fire up the processor and process ~2 cords of wood in a hour after dinner than to need to drive to a woods to do an hour of work. His best use of his time is processing when he cannot be doing anything else like a rainy day off of construction, a lazy Sunday afternoon, or if he feels in the mood. During the week he has a guy running the processor about 40 hours per week to keep up with the bulk of what he sells.

Once he made that determination he stuck with it for ~2 years by blocking the bought logs by chainsaw and splitting with a splitter. Next he jumped to a Timberwolf firewood processor and all was well. He borrowed a tractor from a farmer during that next winter to move his logs from the piles to his processor. Come spring the tractor went away and so he had to buy a tractor. Another $23K into the business for that. A year later he put up a barn to cover the processor and he surrounded the work station with heat so he was not working out in the weather all the time. His tractor was ok for his needs for about 5 years but then he realized he needed a bigger one so he could move more logs at once and so he traded his old tractor in on a new ~90 Hp model and yet another wadd of money went into the business. Oh, he also added two conveyors to his business, one for the processor, and one for loading his delivery trucks.

All totaled he has probably in excess of $130K in just wood handling/processing equipment. His trucks are used for snowplowing and for construction so their cost is split with those parts of his business. There are a lot of accessory items needed if one really wants to get into the business in a big way. It can really add up in a hurry.

 

[palogger]

As for an hour meter there should be one, they were located on the side of the dash compartment

 

[tramp bushler]

Yesterday I went to the woods and in 6 hours I had 2 cord of bone dry spruce on my truck and back home I used my sno machine , Arctic Cat 440 Panther and a sled I built last winter The F350 is wooded down good . But @ 180 $ a cord that is a good day ... If I had a skidder , even a small one , ie Forcat I could have put 6 cord on the landing , loaded the truck and came home in the same time ... I need a trailer I can haul 1 cord on in a bad way . Loading by hand isn,t so bad , but loading the sled, unloading the sled/stacking the truck , then unloading the truck .. Equals handeling each 4 foot piece of wood 4 times and some 5 times ...... This is stuff 24" thru and smaller .. ..The bigger diameter stuff I saw into 16-18" rounds so I can handle them ... Some stuff 32" on the stump ......This timber is running more around 1/2 cord per tree ...... I definitly need a small dozer or skidder .......

 

[Barnie]

What other equipment do you have/need to support the firewood business?

The reason I ask is when my brother decided to go bigtime he was working with a fast splitter and two delivery trucks at the time. He was having logs brought to him because he determined based on all the years of cutting in the woods that I had done, that it was far cheaper to buy logs and process them. Equipement to move logs from woods to another location is very expensive (skidder, truck with loader, trailer big enough to move skidder, etc), and he determined there were already plenty of people that had made that investment so he did not need to. Plus he determined he would rather walk out into his backyard and fire up the processor and process ~2 cords of wood in a hour after dinner than to need to drive to a woods to do an hour of work. His best use of his time is processing when he cannot be doing anything else like a rainy day off of construction, a lazy Sunday afternoon, or if he feels in the mood. During the week he has a guy running the processor about 40 hours per week to keep up with the bulk of what he sells.

Once he made that determination he stuck with it for ~2 years by blocking the bought logs by chainsaw and splitting with a splitter. Next he jumped to a Timberwolf firewood processor and all was well. He borrowed a tractor from a farmer during that next winter to move his logs from the piles to his processor. Come spring the tractor went away and so he had to buy a tractor. Another $23K into the business for that. A year later he put up a barn to cover the processor and he surrounded the work station with heat so he was not working out in the weather all the time. His tractor was ok for his needs for about 5 years but then he realized he needed a bigger one so he could move more logs at once and so he traded his old tractor in on a new ~90 Hp model and yet another wadd of money went into the business. Oh, he also added two conveyors to his business, one for the processor, and one for loading his delivery trucks.

All totaled he has probably in excess of $130K in just wood handling/processing equipment. His trucks are used for snowplowing and for construction so their cost is split with those parts of his business. There are a lot of accessory items needed if one really wants to get into the business in a big way. It can really add up in a hurry.

When all is said and done I'll have invested $200,000 in equipment including a skidder,and the small loader and a wheeler trailer [ a pick up sized log trailer ]. diesel 2500 pick up truck, a double timber devil wood splitter, a palax ks35 ergo firewood processor, 7 ton dump trailer,two new chainsaws with the only things used would be the skidder and the small loader.all the wood I applied for has been approved by the MNR [ministry of natural resources] 3,000 cords per year for five years.

 

[tramp bushler]

Thats ALOT of firewood

Thats alot of firewood Barnie ... If I can move 250 cord I will be doing real good to start with ..but would really like to get up to 300 perhaps more ... Truccking will eventually become a big issue for me , It is necessary to expand my markets . But I don,t think 3000 cord will ever be in my grasp .. How much do you charge per cord ????

 

[Barnie]

Thats alot of firewood Barnie ... If I can move 250 cord I will be doing real good to start with ..but would really like to get up to 300 perhaps more ... Truccking will eventually become a big issue for me , It is necessary to expand my markets . But I don,t think 3000 cord will ever be in my grasp .. How much do you charge per cord ????

Up here a face cord [16''w X 8' L X 4' H ] goes for $60 a cord delivered some guys are asking for $75. If I need to rent a transport to move it so be it, a big rig with a live deck trailer can move about 45 cord. sending wood to the big cities like Toronto or Ottawa you could get allot more per cord if brought to the right place to sell.
if I can't sell the fibre as firewood I'll sell it to a pellet mill that's opening up soon that will make wood pellets for commercial use like hydro-electric plants.

 

[tramp bushler]

That is great to have a stand by market .. Trucking is a big issue . Anchorage would be my biggest market .but it takes alot of wood to pay for the round trip so I hope to concentrate on local sales ....

 

[Barnie]

We finished up the wings/tire protectors today, we made them out of 1/2" steel plate. we made the top of the plates rounded to make them more rigid.
we went through 2 box's of welding rods building these, the gas welder hummed for two days for these wings and hopefully they'll last a long time. Just need to hook up the lights and go. we also put on the engine covers today, the one thing that bothers me about these engine covers is what if there's a fire in the engine compartment will there be enough extinguisher getting through the grating on the covers to put out a fire.
something to think about I guess.

 

[tramp bushler]

Thats alot of welding . I take it it wasn,t 1 pound boxes of rod .. What rod , diameter,amps. and Ac or Dc did you weld those up with ??? They look nice and Skookum ...

 

[blackdiesel]

If I need to rent a transport to move it so be it, a big rig with a live deck trailer can move about 45 cord.

45 CORD on one semi?? what are you running, an austrilian land train??

i do believe your talking about ricks. which would put your "3000 cords" at an actual 1000 cords as long as you cut it 16 inches like you mentioned.

 

[mercer_me]

Nice skidder. I wish I had a skidder with a cab. The 540 is a nice machine, but it's wicked tippy. I have ner roled mine over, but I have hat tires off the ground before. You will get used to, just make sure you cut your stumps down. How many chokers do you have on it? I have 10 on my 540D.

 

[Barnie]

45 CORD on one semi?? what are you running, an austrilian land train??

i do believe your talking about ricks. which would put your "3000 cords" at an actual 1000 cords as long as you cut it 16 inches like you mentioned.

Ya I guess I should have explained it better, 45 face cord cut and split or 45 ton if thats better.