Start cutting front or back of woods?

[bitzer]

What do you guys do? Do you cut your way in or start in the back? This probably doesn't apply to steep ground, but I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts. I start in the front of a woods and work my way in. It opens it up for the skidder to get around and establish skid trails. My forester is dead set on having me cut my next job from the back to the front. The job is going to produce 10mbf per acre at 10 acres. Pretty high volume per acre for around here. He thinks the tops are going to give me trouble. I've never had a problem doing it my way before. He claims that 80% of loggers cut a woods from back to front. I just had to run it past you guys. I cut one job his way and it was a pain. Its a lot easier to drive over stumps than around standing trees.

 

[treeslayer2003]

I like to cut back to front, more so if thick hardwood. but I am not getting pulp out of the tops like you are.
10,000 to the acre is norm for here even if we don't clear cut, I have seen pine go 20.
I do like to cut a wide corridor thru the middle tho if it gonna be clear cut just to give the skidder room. then I fold in from back to front like a funnel getting bigger and bigger.

 

[bitzer]

I like to cut back to front, more so if thick hardwood. but I am not getting pulp out of the tops like you are.
10,000 to the acre is norm for here even if we don't clear cut, I have seen pine go 20.
I do like to cut a wide corridor thru the middle tho if it gonna be clear cut just to give the skidder room. then I fold in from back to front like a funnel getting bigger and bigger.

Dammit yer supposed to be proving the bastard wrong! I've got to see the woods first. The other thing is since I have a forwarder I have to drive up alongside every tree. That and the pulp coming out knocks the tops down pretty good.

 

[Icehouse]

If you're tree lengthing front to back, tops and limbs go in the burn pile. If you're log lengthing back to front, tops and limbs stay in the woods, to be piled latter.

 

[1270d]

What do you guys do? Do you cut your way in or start in the back? This probably doesn't apply to steep ground, but I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts. I start in the front of a woods and work my way in. It opens it up for the skidder to get around and establish skid trails. My forester is dead set on having me cut my next job from the back to the front. The job is going to produce 10mbf per acre at 10 acres. Pretty high volume per acre for around here. He thinks the tops are going to give me trouble. I've never had a problem doing it my way before. He claims that 80% of loggers cut a woods from back to front. I just had to run it past you guys. I cut one job his way and it was a pain. Its a lot easier to drive over stumps than around standing trees.

I always cut your way, with the harvester and piece cutting, for the same reasons you do. we take pulp out of the tops, then run the brush over. It seems like the forwarder has a better chance to take advantage of the terrain when working from the front, rather than work off of a few trails that are pre cut to the back.

 

[treeslayer2003]

sorry bitz lol. I expect it is different pulpin out the tops and using a forwarder. it may make sense after you see it.
we do not burn here. tops slash left at the stump is the preferred method here.

 

[treeslayer2003]

what do you guys do with really crooked tops? in my case you can imagine how big oak and beech tops would hinder skidding.

 

[1270d]

as long as they will fit through a 3ft pipe it goes in the pile. the other mill uses a 2ft pipe example

 

[northmanlogging]

Front to back, like wiping...

This way you can run over the slash and make less of a mess out of the skid trails.

Unless its in the middle of a high population area, then I like to leave a screen up until the end, hides everything a little bit.

 

[chucker]

either way! right through the middle or one side all the way back and work it out to the front with all the slash left behind! off to one side is what works for me if the ground is mostly uphill, with no side hill skidding! frosted ground/mud is a asterdB to work in with out chains!!!!!!

 

[madhatte]

This way you can run over the slash and make less of a mess out of the skid trails.

This is the big deal here. Soil conservation is a hot-ticket item.

 

[northmanlogging]

I made the mistake of trying to follow previous skid trails on the current job (I'm the third logger in there)... I don't know how big the wheels they had where, but them ruts are deep! ended up making my own paths, some of the holes are sucking up all the brush I can throw at em and still not firming up, So I decided to go around and not make things worse or lose my skidder to australia...

I know its better to stick to a set trail, but when that trail is 5' deep in mud and getting deeper I figure its just better to stay on solid ground.

 

[chucker]

soil conservation is a hot ticket anywhere! anywhere except in the great forests of the dry sandy desert west and then its the conservation of water to quench the thirst of all them fine sage trees..... keeping them alive to stop erosion of sand and sun seekers??

 

[treeslayer2003]

I cut a piece once behind a big out fit. I coulda put my whole 666 clark in one of their ruts and you mighta seen the top. unreal what they put their stuff through.

 

[chucker]

I cut a piece once behind a big out fit. I coulda put my whole 666 clark in one of their ruts and you mighta seen the top. unreal what they put their stuff through.

?? how did the forester allow them to stay in operation leaving ruts that deep ? around here a stupid on going outfit logging like that would get them shut down by yesterdays dawn!! ??

 

[imagineero]

I like to cut in zig zags. It makes the other guys think you're up to something.

 

[kentishman]

This is an interesting one. Here (in England) I ALWAYS cut with the direction of the prevailing wind. The wind blows from the south west (except when you really need it to of course) so I start at the northern edge and work my way south. Exception being a steep south facing slope when I'll fell downhill.If access is from the south then I'll cut all the way up one edge (the eastern edge normally) then along the northen edge then work back. Cutting all shortwood for forwarder. Although in coppice (which I cut 90% of the time) the stems will be leaning all over the place on average they lean with the wind. Don't yours?

 

[imagineero]

Coppicing? We don't need no stinking coppicing!

Well, the koalas we have in captivity do. But other than that...

 

[kentishman]

Don't make me derail this thread by having to tell you how great coppicing is Let me just say we've been doing it this way round here for thousands of years and leave it at that

 

[slowp]

Coppicing? We don't need no stinking coppicing!

Well, the koalas we have in captivity do. But other than that...

I have a coppiced willow but no koalas.