Articulating machine center pins , shims and bushings

[tramp bushler]

. Ya . I look at new iron online and I wonder who is going to move enuf timber to pay for them .
Half million $ machines . We don't have pulp mills up here anymore .
I only paid 5 k $ for my loader and I've logged 30k $ of firewood with it in 6 months of operation .
I know thats not much . But it already paid for itself .
It is good training for a Timber faller to learn how t b a gypo logger . When I get my skidder , harvestor and self loader . Alot of this won't b nearly as intimidating .
With the help of some of u guys advice and pacients like I never had when I was young I think I'll be able to make a good go of it .

 

[redprospector]

I like old iron. Most of it was built to be re-built. I don't know about this newer stuff.
That Terex was likely the only new piece of equipment I'll ever own. My skidder is 39 years young, and running strong.
It's a hard transition from being a faller to being a logger. I used to think I was a pretty good faller untill I started running a skidder. Then I became a pretty good faller.
When I was a faller all I worried about was gettin' em on the ground, worked up, and collecting scale.
When I started "logging" I had to start worrying about getting them out, on a truck and to the mill.
Now that I've been de-moted to a thinning contractor, I have to worry about all of that plus I have to clean up my own messes. :msp_sad: There has been a lot of learning in these transitions.

I miss the good old days when I was just a faller.

Andy

 

[Slamm]

It's a hard transition from being a faller to being a logger. I used to think I was a pretty good faller untill I started running a skidder. Then I became a pretty good faller.
When I was a faller all I worried about was gettin' em on the ground, worked up, and collecting scale.
When I started "logging" I had to start worrying about getting them out, on a truck and to the mill.

I miss the good old days when I was just a faller.

Andy

Excellent point that many don't ever quite grasp, I try to point out that while the trees do have to get on the ground first ........ little to no money (per hour) is made until the machines start pulling, and then it starts running into the $100's per hour. Properly dropped trees can really make or break the skidding, and many fallers don't ever full get this ............... or if they do they don't care, because that isn't their job. My best cutters are also guys that might have to skid the logs out themselves ........ then you will see some good quality cutting, maybe not the fastest, but everything flows well and the speed overall or the whole team is higher, not just one faller being selfish and dropping trees to make scale.

Sam

 

[Slamm]

I can afford, and like, machines in the early '90's to early 80's, I think that is a good 10-15 years of machine designs, it seems you can still work on them and they are so ancient that many of the parts can be found in new or salvage condition. Older and its gets hard to find parts and newer and things start getting thin or cheap or too many computers/wires to break in the demanding environment of logging where you have mudd and sticks trying to poke the guts out of everything.

Sam