Tree length - 4' logs - or rounds in the woods?

[mainewoods]

For a long time I've been cutting 4' logs in the woods and hauling them, in a 2wd Ford truck, to the landing. Since purchasing a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 Magnum, I began hauling tree length. The Dodge would have cost more $$ to make road worthy then I wanted to spend, so I turned it into a woods truck. That thing is a tank, and is the best $800 I ever spent. I have found it considerably faster and a lot easier on the body, hauling tree length and processing at the landing. Which begs the question, how do you guys get your firewood out of the woods, and how do you process it?

 

[farmer steve]

and here all along i thought you skidded your firewood out with a moose.

 

[mainewoods]

He's gettin old like me, and was damn glad to see the Dodge roll into the driveway.

 

[greendohn]

I try to cut it to firewood length and loaded on the spot. I'll even pull my splitter into some woods and process it as I load it, although I've been getting away from that.
I try to avoid dragging logs because of the dirt getting packed into the bark but my old dodge will sure drag 'em if I need him to.

 

[Mnwoodman]

I have it easier than most. Most often i bring dads mighty old case payloader to my cutting spot then cut to length and haul a bucket load of rounds out to the splitting site that way. I know most don't have that luxury but we bought the unit for only 2,500 bucks so we don't have a lot in it either. Man is it handy doing it that way.

 

[Cheesecutter]

I usually cut in the fall and winter and haul everything home in the spring. I use my skid steer to split and load it and tend to cut as follows. 16" diameter or larger gets cut to 4-12 foot logs(manageable size), 7-16" gets cut to length and halved/quartered on site, and 3-7" gets cut to length or hauled as pole-wood.

 

[T. Mainus]

This is how I do it. Working by yourself it is easier to cut to 16" lengths and load them in the tractor and then take to the barge box. Trying to pull logs by yourself is a lot of on and off the tractor, our woods is pretty tight, and we are cutting on the far edge of the woods now as well. Faster to pull the wagon back full of rounds rather than one log at a time.

 

[Herd8497]

If I have the time I prefer to cut it to length on spot. If it is just a truck load I sometimes split it at the same time. Other times if I am short on time I will leave it long lengths and haul it to my pile to buck later.

 

[513yj]

I cut 3-5 foot lengths in the woods depending on the size and cut it up when I get home then I wheelbarrow it inside or next to the garage mostly because of time issues. I cut tops left by processors so they are usually 2-8 inchers so I don't have to split much.

 

[memory]

It really depends on the situation and how much help we have. Most of the time, we cut the wood into firewood length on the spot. Then either split it or just load it depending on the size.

Other times, we will load the logs up on a hay wagon and cut them up where they will be stacked. If the wood is on our place and don't have to travel down the road, we will just drag the logs home.

 

[Bushmans]

I have a spot lined up that is pretty swampy. Loaded with dead ash. I am working on a cable/pulley system to haul out logs. Here is my plan.
300 ft. tow cable. Not steel. It is a fabric cable with minimal stretch.
2 large pulleys/carriages
1 12V winch
2 log tongs

Stretch cable into woods. attach to tree above 6 feet high
Attach winch to tree at edge of woods also above 6 feet high. Stretch out winch cable and attach to other cable.
Have pulleys on cable connected to log tongs with some sort of strap. Cut logs into 8 foot lengths or so and then grab logs with tongs. Indicate to guy at edge of woods to go. He draws the cable up tight with the winch and once log is suspended off the ground, simply walk it out of the woods. Once a lane is cleared move your cable to a different tree.
It's a bit of work but if it's all you got to cut then so be it.
You could also rig up a pull/delivery system instead of walking it out you could pull the "carriage" with a rope.

 

[zogger]

I have a spot lined up that is pretty swampy. Loaded with dead ash. I am working on a cable/pulley system to haul out logs. Here is my plan.
300 ft. tow cable. Not steel. It is a fabric cable with minimal stretch.
2 large pulleys/carriages
1 12V winch
2 log tongs

Stretch cable into woods. attach to tree above 6 feet high
Attach winch to tree at edge of woods also above 6 feet high. Stretch out winch cable and attach to other cable.
Have pulleys on cable connected to log tongs with some sort of strap. Cut logs into 8 foot lengths or so and then grab logs with tongs. Indicate to guy at edge of woods to go. He draws the cable up tight with the winch and once log is suspended off the ground, simply walk it out of the woods. Once a lane is cleared move your cable to a different tree.
It's a bit of work but if it's all you got to cut then so be it.
You could also rig up a pull/delivery system instead of walking it out you could pull the "carriage" with a rope.

Pics when it happens! That actually sounds like fun.

 

[fearofpavement]

I don't think you realize how much tension that horizontal cable would have to have to support the weight of the log. Let us know if it works but I don't think it will

 

[SWI Don]

Usually we try to pull the truck or trailer right up to the tree and cut to stove length. If that doesn't work, we get out the chains and pull the tree out to the edge and cut it up there. I'm going to try using the skidsteer to fetch logs from deeper in the timbers. Not sure if dragging whole leads or cutting them up into stove size chucks will be faster. When I get a grapple it might be 10-12' pieces to the edge of the timber.

 

[mainewoods]

This would be a good time to hook up a snatch block and winch those trees out if the swamp is frozen. I would imagine everything is froze up pretty good in MI. Best time of the year to twitch out those hard to get at trees. No mud and no wet areas, if springs aren't involved. Wood stays clean and slides easy on the snow. Of course that all depends on whether or not you can get to the wood in the first place.

 

[flyboy553]

The woods I cut in is virtually a 160 acre island in a swamp. I have always cut on the interior of the woods because all the trees on the edge lean to the swamp. So a couple weeks ago, I ventured out in to the swamp with the skidsteer and cleaned the snow (and tops of the cat tails) off. It was a bit spongy so I didn't push it too much. Once all the snow and vegetation was off, the ground froze hard as anything. Now I can drop them trees in to the clearing in the swamp and haul em out. I don't dare burn the brush out there- that would start a peat fire that I don't care to be a part of! lol

Oh, I cut them up and split them by hand on the spot. Knarly ones get thrown in the bucket and taken to the splitter. The base of the trunk, which isn't dry enough to burn right away gets taken out in length with the grapple bucket, stacked on the landing, to be cut and split later this spring

Ted

 

[Bushmans]

I don't think you realize how much tension that horizontal cable would have to have to support the weight of the log. Let us know if it works but I don't think it will

We shall see! The cable is one used to erect cell phone towers. It may or may not work but I think with some ingenuity we can make something happen. This is the kinda stuff I'm good at and like doing.

I think adjustments in height attached to tree as well as log lengths will determine the success. I ain't got nothing but time. If I have to haul it out of the swamp 4 foot at a time well then so be it.
Just getting access is the biggest hurdle around here.

 

[mainewoods]

Not sure if anyone else has used these, but I have twitched some pretty good sized red oak logs with them. 30' long with 10,000 lb. load capacity. I use them to pull logs out to where I can hook onto them with my logging chain. I was pleasantly surprised how much they will pull, and they are pretty cheap, less than $20. I have hooked 2 together when I needed more length. I use a short logging chain, with a safety hook on one end, around the log and hook the strap to that. Keeps the strap off the ground and saves abrasion on the nylon. Never snapped one yet, and I have pulled out many a log with them.

 

[Jere39]

First, my little operation is dwarfed by almost everyone else who posts here, so my answer might not be as useful.

I cut to length where the tree falls. Then, it kind of depends whether I split there, or haul the rounds to my stacking area. If the dead tree is extra dirty, with lots of loose bark, I split at the fell spot, and haul clean ready to stack out of the woods. Or, if the rounds are too big for me to lift, and I have to split them anyway, I just finish the splitting on the spot. But, if it looks like I'll have a harder time working in the woods due to current and/or approaching weather; I haul the rounds, or halves if they are too big out to split near my stacks.

So, firewood processing decisions are a lot like asking a lawyer a question. The answer is always: "It depends".

 

[cheeves]

View attachment 331283 Not sure if anyone else has used these, but I have twitched some pretty good sized red oak logs with them. 30' long with 10,000 lb. load capacity. I use them to pull logs out to where I can hook onto them with my logging chain. I was pleasantly surprised how much they will pull, and they are pretty cheap, less than $20. I have hooked 2 together when I needed more length. I use a short logging chain, with a safety hook on one end, around the log and hook the strap to that. Keeps the strap off the ground and saves abrasion on the nylon. Never snapped one yet, and I have pulled out many a log with them.

Got one in the back of the truck! Dragged a lot of wood out with it!!