Some hardcore ATV logging today

[Brmorgan]

I'm planning on putting an upper level for storage in the back of the truck shop out back this year. Last year a nice dead Douglas Fir fell in a windstorm out in the bush behind the house, and it's a perfect candidate for the 24' long beam I'll need to cut to support the front of the upper floor. I don't want to have to post it in the middle but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I did.

I was getting ready to go out and mill the log where it sat, when my neighbor came over and asked if I'd rather try to drag the log home and then work on it. I figured I was up for some fun, so why not? Especially if there are two quads to help pull. I knew one wasn't even remotely going to cut it.

Here's the log after I cut some center rot off the butt end, getting ready to get the trailer under one end:

The log's about 20" diameter, and I'm taking a 26' section to give me a couple feet extra to work with. The 371 & 24" bar is there for a bit of scale and perspective. It's poker-straight and hardly loses any size over its length (maybe 2"), so there won't be much grain runout at all. I haven't cut it to length here yet though - we needed to jack it up to get it on the trailer, which is easier with all the top and branches attached as it won't want to roll.

I jacked the log up onto the two firewood lengths I had cut off the butt earlier, and we backed the trailer underneath. It's secured with a number of chain load binders and ratchet straps. We linked the quads together and winched/pulled the log out of its bed. It actually went easier than I thought it would.

Progress! This just might work!

Up on the flat now and almost out of the tight turns; it's moved about twice its length here. Still quite a ways home though!

 

[Brmorgan]

Another view with everything in the same spot as the last picture. You can barely see the cut end of the remainder of the log in the upper-right; it's the farthest one from the camera partly hidden behind the foreground tree.

Had a little hiccup here; just had to come-a-long the butt end of the log over to get it around a corner and straighten it out on the trailer again.

Home safe and sound! That was one helluva trip for the last run, let me tell you! Lots of downhill, not very steep, but it was pushing my neighbor's machine all over the place and I just had to keep on the gas to pull his front end around straight. I never knew a quad could drive sideways! It was an exciting run anyway; I sure wish someone could have gotten it on video. The chains on my quad certainly helped out a lot. It was hilarious though, on one uphill run I was spinning my tires a bit, and the chains just basted my neighbor with mud and snow. He'd been yelling "Go, GO, GO!!" so much I didn't realize when he started yelling "WHOA!" when I was slinging mud at him. We had a good laugh about it.

I just found out I'm not working until Wednesday, so I'll likely have time to mill the beam tomorrow. Will take pics for sure, so stay tuned.

 

[BobL]

Great Pics - thanks for posting!

 

[mtngun]

That's a beautiful doug fir, straight as an arrow.

Yep, getting it out is half the work. Good job.

Looks like some kind of paint markings on the stump. What's that about ?

The stump sure looks rotten, even though the rest of the tree was still alive ? Around here the doug often get some kind of root rot disease.

 

[NeoTree]

Polaris pulling a Honda, pulling a log.

Love it!!!

 

[Brmorgan]

Yes, the tree had been flagged as diseased a few years ago along with many others that we've cut for firewood. In fact the ones I cut the beams for my deck in '08 from were nearby and also painted. This tree had been dead for two summers and finally blew over late last fall. Root and/or base rot this bad is fairly rare up here since it's quite dry. I've only rarely run into it in trees that have only been dead a year or two.

 

[Brmorgan]

Polaris pulling a Honda, pulling a log.

Love it!!!

Dang straight!

Though to be honest, it really only boiled down to the fact that it was his trailer, and it has a 1-7/8" hitch mount while I have a 2" ball on my quad. I offered to switch it and do the brunt of the work but he didn't want to.

Those Hondas will run forever (I know a guy with over 30,000 KM on one, no lie) but they just aren't built quite as solid IMO. And I hate the putt-putt muffler. Mine sounds almost as good as a good ol' two-stroke.

 

[NeoTree]

Dang straight!

Though to be honest, it really only boiled down to the fact that it was his trailer, and it has a 1-7/8" hitch mount while I have a 2" ball on my quad. I offered to switch it and do the brunt of the work but he didn't want to.

Those Hondas will run forever (I know a guy with over 30,000 KM on one, no lie) but they just aren't built quite as solid IMO. And I hate the putt-putt muffler. Mine sounds almost as good as a good ol' two-stroke.

I agree.My old Honda Recon has gone to hell and back about 1565 times. It has been used and ABUSED, Floated down a river a dozen times, rolled it countless times, completely drowned it in a lake once or two times, bent the axles, racks, handlebars, sucked a live mouse through the intake, that was fun. And it still starts one the coldest day of winter. My only compaint is the brakes, i mean what brakes? I've had no brakes for about 3 years now.

I would like a polaris, but untill mine dies, maybe in 20 years, it's not happening. My dad is allways pulling me out of somthing with his sportsman700

 

[scotvl]

You have no Idea how lucky you are to have access to timbre like that:jawdrop:

 

[Kicker_92]

Home safe and sound! That was one helluva trip for the last run, let me tell you! Lots of downhill, not very steep, but it was pushing my neighbor's machine all over the place and I just had to keep on the gas to pull his front end around straight.

Nice job, thats probably around a 2,000lb log, thats a lot of weight to pull with two quads!

What's you plan for milling the 26ft length? Lag bolts and sliding guide board?

 

[Brmorgan]

Nice job, thats probably around a 2,000lb log, thats a lot of weight to pull with two quads!

What's you plan for milling the 26ft length? Lag bolts and sliding guide board?

You got it! The first cut will take a while. After that it'll be easy with the vertical mill to slab the sides off.

 

[TraditionalTool]

Nice looking log Brad, get another 3 dozen of them and you'll have yourself a house!

 

[Brmorgan]

Nice looking log Brad, get another 3 dozen of them and you'll have yourself a house!

Well I know where I could get them, all dead too, but it wouldn't be easy and I'd need to make a slight equipment upgrade. Even after paying small-scale salvage stumpage it would be dirt-cheap for building. Just a lot of time involved if I only have the CSMs!

 

[TraditionalTool]

Well I know where I could get them, all dead too, but it wouldn't be easy and I'd need to make a slight equipment upgrade. Even after paying small-scale salvage stumpage it would be dirt-cheap for building. Just a lot of time involved if I only have the CSMs!

All depends on what style you build with, you could just peel the logs, and scribe them with a chainsaw. The way I'm building uses square logs with dovetails, the sides are milled off, that would be some work with a CSM for certain. Round log doesn't require much milling at all, most of it is cutting the scribe out along the lateral. That's done with the chainsaw, as is the saddle notch.

The main thing is that if you can get a few dozen logs and can get the bark off and peel them, you could figure out how to use them for building with. You could always hire a guy with a WoodMizer to come in and mill them into usable lumber and/or timbers, if you had the logs.

EDIT: Add this home built out of 15" fir (small end, but fir doesn't have a lot of taper).

 

[keith811]

that looked like it was a blast
I skidded a 40" red oak with my truck that was pretty cool I cut it into three 14' sections cause I didn't have a way to raise the front and they had to go up hill, but my old dodge brought them up (and a heck of alot of the ground) no problem. I love pulling stuff with my truck

 

[Kicker_92]

You got it! The first cut will take a while. After that it'll be easy with the vertical mill to slab the sides off.

You're going to really appreciate the mini-mill on that one!

Hopefully you don't get much wane, that log looks nice and straight but it doesn't take much curve to make a differance in that length.