Log Arch for compact tractor

[savageayape]

I already posted a couple photographs of this log arch last week, but I didn't want to hijack that posting, so I thought I'd start a new one and include a couple photographs of the arch in use just for fun. This thing works great.

 

[Hddnis]

Looks like a really useful tool.



Mr. HE

 

[ryan_marine]

How much? I am looking for one. But I think that they can be built for less that $1500.

Ray

 

[savageayape]

A friend of mine built it for me. I think the materials cost $800, but I don't remember for sure. That is close to the cost though. I painted it with implement paint and added the John Deere stickers. I used a paint hardener and the best implement paint I could find so I think I have another $60 or so in paint and don't ask what I paid for the stickers. It was way too much, but I just had to give it that finished touch.

 

[huskyhank]

I'd love to have one like that.
Looks great.

 

[ryan_marine]

A friend of mine built it for me. I think the materials cost $800, but I don't remember for sure. That is close to the cost though. I painted it with implement paint and added the John Deere stickers. I used a paint hardener and the best implement paint I could find so I think I have another $60 or so in paint and don't ask what I paid for the stickers. It was way too much, but I just had to give it that finished touch.

I here you when it comes to John Deere. They think that the green is actually money and the yellow is gold.

Ray

 

[Newguy777]

I like the pics. lets see some more gettin her dirty work pics:greenchainsaw:

 

[savageayape]

Okay, here are all the other work pics I have

 

[fatjoe]

nice unit

Real nice unit.Nice wood too.Are you milling that timber or selling it to a mill?Not firewood, right....

 

[savageayape]

I don't own a mill yet. The wood in the pics will be used to construct a log covered shooting range with an attached log shed. I hope to buy a small csm or bandmill soon though.

 

[Ductape]

Thats really nice ! I'll need to come back and rep you for that as soon as I can.

 

[Newguy777]

lovin the setup. thanks for more pics!

 

[savageayape]

Here are a few more pics of some work from Sunday. I cut this tree on my property because it was located on an abandoned county road which they have decided to reopen this spring. I wanted to cut my trees out before the county came in and cut them down and did who knows what with them. Notice the road bed is at a lower level than the tree after it was cut down. I'm not an expert like many of you guys here and this time the tree did not cooperate and fall the way I intended. It fell across the road and into an oak tree top which belongs to my neighbor. It was still standing on the stump, so I hooked up a long chain to my tractor and pulled on the base of the tree to get it to fall off the stump and out of the oak tree. Perhaps that was dangerous and foolish??? I watched over my shoulder as I pulled the tree and noticed it was doing what I wanted... The tree top was sliding off the limbs of the oak toward the road after the base of the tree slid off the stump. When I realized it was going to fall, I put the tractor in reverse so there wouldn't be pressure on the chain in order to prevent it from pulling the tractor backwards. This is when the strange part happened. The tree fell on my side of the road over other small trees and landed off the road on my property about 3 feet up the hill ( the road bed is lower than the wooded area of my property. You can see what I'm talking about in the photographs. I did not expect this to happen. In one of the pics, you can see it only landed about 5 feet from my chainsaw and other gear. If I had not watched it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. :jawdrop: Of course, I cut it in three logs and hauled it out with my log arch.

 

[savageayape]

Darn, that's a good idea. I may have to convert it to a pint hitch now

 

[Gypo Logger]

Congrats! The workmanship appears flawless, however, I'm wondering about the length of the drawbar and question if it needs to be that long?

I'm just visualising how it would negotiate uneven terrain with a log behind it and whether there would be any jackknife tendancies on steeper uneven ground.
Gypo

 

[savageayape]

The general idea is to carry the log and it needs to be that long to carry a 16 foot log completely off the ground. I need the center point of the log closer to the tractor than the point held by the hoist in order to keep weight on the three point hitch. Otherwise the weight of the log would want to raise the three point hitch and that creates a problem. If the log is too long and I have to drag the back of it on the ground, then yes it can be difficult to drag through the woods, but you would be surprised how easy it is to pull it and make a ninety degree turn in the woods. I pulled out a few 27 ft logs over the last few weeks and didn't have a problem at all.

I have not attempted to pull a log on highly uneven terrain yet and probably never will, so I'm not concerned about that. Again, the only reason to have an arch this long or longer is so you can carry it completely off the ground. If I was to have a new arch built, I would actually make it a bit taller and a bit longer in order to carry larger and longer logs, but this one works great for my needs, so I doubt I'll spend the money for a bigger one. If you aren't interested in carrying it off the ground and only want to drag the log, then this setup isn't what you would want. I've seen several much shorter arches used specifically for that purpose. They would be cheaper to build as well.

 

[Gypo Logger]

The general idea is to carry the log and it needs to be that long to carry a 16 foot log completely off the ground. I need the center point of the log closer to the tractor than the point held by the hoist in order to keep weight on the three point hitch. Otherwise the weight of the log would want to raise the three point hitch and that creates a problem. If the log is too long and I have to drag the back of it on the ground, then yes it can be difficult to drag through the woods, but you would be surprised how easy it is to pull it and make a ninety degree turn in the woods. I pulled out a few 27 ft logs over the last few weeks and didn't have a problem at all.

I have not attempted to pull a log on highly uneven terrain yet and probably never will, so I'm not concerned about that. Again, the only reason to have an arch this long or longer is so you can carry it completely off the ground. If I was to have a new arch built, I would actually make it a bit taller and a bit longer in order to carry larger and longer logs, but this one works great for my needs, so I doubt I'll spend the money for a bigger one. If you aren't interested in carrying it off the ground and only want to drag the log, then this setup isn't what you would want. I've seen several much shorter arches used specifically for that purpose. They would be cheaper to build as well.

Things are clearer now, I should have realised that the log is suspended under the arch. It's almost like a forwarder. Pretty soon you'll be making a log bunk and grapple to tow behind the tractor. Now that would be fun!
Gypo