The Skidder Thread

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I cut in the morning, usually a load or better. Then I come out of the woods with a hitch for lunch time. I usually take a short lunch to get my head back together. Then I hit it hard pullin wood for the afternoon. Skidding and bucking and stacking. If I know it is going to rain the next day or threaten rain I will plug the landing full with tree length . I wont bother bucking and stacking. I can buck and stack in the rain.
 
Steve NW WI said:
He's a dairy farmer, lots of compaction to deal with from silage trucks running in the field, tillage is kind of a necessary evil. This one's a rental to help catch up from the late spring, his big tractor is "only" 350HP, and closing on 20 years old.

As close to a skidder as I own:

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That's the business end of my 180 Massey. 65hp and 9700# with the loader on it, it's enough to pull a 20" out in tree length, or 3-4 shorter sticks. I'm just a firewooder, but I'd rather work in the open than in the brush, especially in prickly ash.

Some bigger pics of the MF skidders posted above:

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The 1200 looks like a converted ag tractor with a winch mounted on it, same chassis as the 15/1805:

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I haven't had time to get my MF book down off the shelf yet.
Click to expand...

There is a faew guys in my area that use small 4x4 farm tractors to skid with. I have a buddy that uses a Deere 4x4 tractor with a loader on it and he can put 2 load a day on the landing if he hustles.
 
I've had a six man crew, skidders, trucks, feller buncher, 9 saws in the pickup. It was a steady job looking for stumpage and places to sell the wood. I had fuel tank on the job, i found it easier to have it delivered out there, i also had a double tank in my pickup for saw gas and diesel fuel.
All i was doing was chasing my tail, work on equipment all night to make sure it ran the next day. Logging wasn't fun anymore, dog eat dog, biding on stumpage, trying to keep the crew happy. I turned in to a land clearer, equipment mover, personal consoler, timber cruiser, road builder, and ect.

I did this for about 4 yrs in the 70's, i handled a lot of money, at the end of the day i didn't have anymore then when i worked alone. [ A lot more headaches ]

I liked working alone, i tried every method there is, falling ahead doesn't work. I fell drag for drag, using the skidder like a feller buncher, pushing everything one direction. Theres a few times i hooked all six chokers on precut standing trees, then backed in to them.

The best money i made logging was with the wife, she ran skidder 16 yrs. When we worked together i fell drag for drag with the machine. In good Aspen we'd pull 4 to 6 turns an hour, this is when your having fun. If theres trees leaning back, she'd work with me and push-em all one way, then bunch-em up with the blade. Then she'd turn around, i'd grab the chokers, it would take me 30 to 60 seconds to hook 6 chokers. I timed and counted everything i did, always doing things the easiest and fasts way. When we had a short skid she'd drop-en-unhook, then backup to where i was falling, never turning around. I mean she'd come flying backwards 8 th of a mile or so, this was fast, she liked to make me hustle. She liked to deck 3 turns at a time, we liked to have 3 landings, this way she could pull 9 - 10 turns before decking. All this depends on what kind of timber your in, different species, comes different methods.
The wife learned on a C5-D, with no brakes, you learn on one of these you can drive anything. When i bought the S8 IH, power shift, it was a different ball game. What a fun machine to run, but you can't just put anybody on it. You put somebody on it that doesn't know how to run a power shift could cost you 5 to $7,000. in one hour, yes, burn it up.

Heres a picture of the wife and the S8
 
lumberjack48 said:
The wife learned on a C5-D, with no brakes, you learn on one of these you can drive anything.
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HA! I ran a C5D with no brakes for almost 15 years. And on steeeeeeep ground too, at times.
I got real good at it too. The blade became the brakes... dropping the blade over a stump to winch against, dropping and raising the front tires off the ground to hold it, I welded that blade a dozen times. The damn brakes were a piss poor design, right under the leaky transfer shifter seals...forget the line lock and start a fire...done it too many times, and I finally left it when it blew a master cyl...
 
jrcat said:
I cut in the morning, usually a load or better. Then I come out of the woods with a hitch for lunch time. I usually take a short lunch to get my head back together. Then I hit it hard pullin wood for the afternoon. Skidding and bucking and stacking. If I know it is going to rain the next day or threaten rain I will plug the landing full with tree length . I wont bother bucking and stacking. I can buck and stack in the rain.
Click to expand...

Smart man. Work around the weather.
 
This is the 450 jack that was upside down in one of my pictures... I took these 2 today
 
jrcat said:
Why a yarder mounted to a skidder?
Click to expand...

jrcat- Out here in the N.W. we tend to call them Echo-loggers(eakoe) and they are very versatile. They road alot faster then a track mount and you can off road them out on ridge lines or to a cliff edge. I am trying to purchase this one right now. The fella wants a $60k for it. that's about double what its worth imo. But its is in good shape. if he came down to $45k i'd probably stroke the pen.View attachment 297886View attachment 297887View attachment 297888
 
northmanlogging said:
When running the skidder or other equipment that ya need to crawl in and out of all day, how many of you guys wear yer calks while driving?

I know getting in and out is Hel, but it sure makes dragging line easier. I haven't laid down an old mud flap yet... (cause I don't have one and I'm to cheap to buy one) but I was thinking about getting a can of that spray in bed liner stuff, and going nuts, well more nuts:msp_wink:
Click to expand...

NML-i think the spray stuff might be a decent idea. Napa over here in Montana sells some stuff that stays softer than Line-x. That Line-x dries very hard. Ate s_ _ _t once in the bed of a truck w/ caulks on. It was like ice in July. Could have been that my caulks were more like BB's glued to the bottoms of my boots, cause i am cheap like you!lol But a mud flap and some adhesive silicone is probably not to much more than a $17-25 can of spray-on liner. Of course i am probably only guided by the memory of the bump on my 'noggin'.
 
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