Wood Id / Hill Advice

[Jags]

All balls out this one and its small one took 12-1/2 man hrs at 44inchs.

Jay, by "done", I mean all rounds cut and or quartered - on the ground. Maybe we are getting our terms mixed up.

Yea I am talking Done Done! Stack at home. Did I mention I hate oaks..... :lol:

Naaa...considering I was virtually a one man band, with the help of a couple of brush pullers, I didn't even have that thought in my head. :ahhh:

Tree was dropped on Sat a.m. and the last load into my yard happened on Sunday.

 

[smokinj]

All balls out this one and its small one took 12-1/2 man hrs at 44inchs.

Jay, by "done", I mean all rounds cut and or quartered - on the ground. Maybe we are getting our terms mixed up.

Yea I am talking Done Done! Stack at home. Did I mention I hate oaks..... :lol:

Naaa...considering I was virtually a one man band, with the help of a couple of brush pullers, I didn't even have that thought in my head. :ahhh:

Tree was dropped on Sat a.m. and the last load into my yard happened on Sunday.

I have a guy thats been cutting with me since 2006. I rember because I pay him 10.00 an hr. cash. :cheese: (Worth every penny) Now hes running the 192t pretty well. I hate limbing about as much as Oaks. So, I can tell you every tree I done what it takes to stack it on the slab even fuel cost. This year a new stove will be added so the furnace will be use only when the temps are under 10 degrees.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I had a few trees blow over this winter and I am wondering what type of trees these are as well as advice on how to harvest this wood. The issue I am having is these huge trees are at the bottom of a hill. I live on a river and there is a decently steep slope from my backyard down to the river. These trees pulled out of the ground and fell away from my backyard and towards the river. The trees are probably 2-2 1/2 feet across at the base so I will have to cut them into smaller sections to be able to get them up the hill. It is impossible for me to carry anything of size or roll these up the hill due to how steep the hill is. Anywho, my questions for you guys are, a) what type of trees am I dealing with? b) how can I get this wood up the hill? When I first moved into this house I tried pulling some red oak up the hill but I had problems with the log digging into the ground and not wanting to move. Am I going to have to try and rig a pulley of some sort? I need your help. Below are some pictures of the trees and an illustration of my problem.

Thanks

Welcome to the forum Levantou.

That looks like the Flint River you are near. For sure getting the oak up that bank will be a challenge. As most folks have mentioned, one key to pulling logs is to get some weight off the front of the log to keep it from rolling up the sod. Winches can work but most times they tend to be slow and if you try to work them too hard and too long you can burn them up fast. For sure using a pulley system helps a lot. But you might also pull those up with a truck especially if you were to build a small dray. Here is one I built for about $10.

You and build one to the size you need and the nice thing is you don't have any ground contact with the log. This one was built to handle 6-10' logs. In your instance, with the steep slope I'd say probably 3-4' length will probably be maximum size. Red oak is really heavy stuff! You could also use a dray along with a pulley system.

btw, we are not too far apart as we live west of Chesaning.

 

[BobUrban]

Ok - I may be way off here based on limited knowledge of your whole situation but I am wondering how much land you have? How much river frontage? Are you on acres or is this river running through the back of your neighborhood?

If, infact, you have a decent piece of land and river frontage I would seriously consider cutting a road down to the river. Depending on the situation a decent road big enough to run a tractor or quad down to the river could be cut with an excavator rather economically(all things considered) part of what I an taking into consideration is potential for future wood hauling needs, better river access for canoe, boat, etc.. maybe even build a small dock down there.

Do your homework and work on the inside of a curve/bend cutting in on an angle with the flow of the river. Start it far enough back so that you don't end up with just a wider part of the river after the first high water spring. Keep plenty of high/dry land on the front side and it will be fine.

Just an idea - once cut you will be grateful it is there I am guessing.

Bob Urban

 

[Levantou]

Unfortunately I only have 2.4 acres. Our house is in the middle of it. I would say there is around an acre of woods from the top of the hill down to the river. It isnt steep all the way down to the river. It starts out steep, levels out a little bit, and then gets steep again. If I had access to a bobcat I would probably try to make something like a small road or a path of some sort down to the river. I would probably need quite a bit of fill dirt as well. It is definitely a long term goal but due to money at this point its not really an option. I do appreciate the advice though.

Hey Dennis,

That is the Flint river that you see. I had a few questions about the drag you built. Are those fence posts that you use for the bottom? And it appears that you used treated 2x6 as well, right? To get those logs on the drag, do you just roll them on there or did you use a tool or strap to pull them on?

Thanks for the help and advice. I'm glad to know there are others out there as "crazy" about this type of stuff as I am. I do enjoy unique projects like this. I dont see it as work like some may even though I am exhausted by the end of the day.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Unfortunately I only have 2.4 acres. Our house is in the middle of it. I would say there is around an acre of woods from the top of the hill down to the river. It isnt steep all the way down to the river. It starts out steep, levels out a little bit, and then gets steep again. If I had access to a bobcat I would probably try to make something like a small road or a path of some sort down to the river. I would probably need quite a bit of fill dirt as well. It is definitely a long term goal but due to money at this point its not really an option. I do appreciate the advice though.

Hey Dennis,

That is the Flint river that you see. I had a few questions about the drag you built. Are those fence posts that you use for the bottom? And it appears that you used treated 2x6 as well, right? To get those logs on the drag, do you just roll them on there or did you use a tool or strap to pull them on?

Thanks for the help and advice. I'm glad to know there are others out there as "crazy" about this type of stuff as I am. I do enjoy unique projects like this. I dont see it as work like some may even though I am exhausted by the end of the day.

I just used what we had laying around. Landscape timbers were used for the runners. The 2 x 6 were not treated. I have thought about putting some paint on them but if not it will still last for years if kept on it's side. I have it just leaning up against a wood pile right now. To load the logs I just use a canthook. Then I strap them down using ratchet straps. One could use chain and a log binder but I don't think you'll have that big of a load to be concerned.

If you would like to use the dray you are welcome to use it. You can also use it for a pattern and perhaps you might have some better ideas. Maybe I should load up that dray and bring it over then we could look at the situation? I also have a Yamaha Grizzly 700 for pulling and it also has a winch but a small 3,000 lb winch.

 

[mywaynow]

I processed a big red oak that was hanging over a hill like yours. That oak is big time heavy. I tried chains and pulling 8 foot sections up with a 2500HD truck and was SOL. I ended up quartering most of the tough-to-deal with stuff. Noodle cuts to quarter the length and then cross cut the top quarters first, and carry them up. Ball busting work, but it is red oak and close. A couple of rounds went down the hill. They are still there. Someday I may get em.

 

[BobUrban]

I understand the projects "wish list" when money allows. I also understand the fun of a challenging project that most would run, not walk from. I love this stuff and am typing with sore fingers from working in the woods all day(for fun).

Not sure your situation but you can rent a skid stear by the day pretty reasonably and if you are a decent operator get it done?

The skid stear could help you get a bunch of the wood out of there too if you get the road cut in before you had to return it. I would suggest having some or all of it cut up prior to renting if you ever decide to go that direction. That way you will be prepared to get the most bang out of the time you have it.

Either way - best of luck with the project. Looks like a real good one for sure. Please keep updating here with photos as you go.