[Does’ Leap]

Hi Ed:

I was in the same boat last year. I had several veneer quality basswood logs last year and a handful of select logs from the same two trees. The mill where I sell hemlock doesn’t buy hardwood and I was stuck with them. Not really worth the trucking to sell such a small quantity to the mill. A Johnson in Vermont buys basswood, but trucking wouldn’t be worth it. I would check with hardwood mills in your area. I tried selling my logs on craigslist to carvers. No go. I ended up blocking and splitting the logs for firewood. Basswood is as marginal as is gets for firewood, but there you go!

Good luck.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Hi Donn:

Looks great! Seems nicely balanced given the way you dumped it with one hand. How much potential do you see for scaling up the design in the form of a wagon? Seems like the wheels would have to be very large in order to get the dump action.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Check out this thread: Plug Yoke

George

[Does’ Leap]

Mike, I took a few shots of the chaining set-up Rod described. Doesn’t quite show what I’d hoped. Basically the chain is wrapped around the load and secured with a choker like you would a log. It then passes under the bunk and through the ring in front of the sled (pictured) and that is what you hook your horse(s) to. I have a clevis behind the bunk that keeps the chain centered in back of the bunk.

Ron, the system works great. Much better than binding the load to the bunk. It is easier to chain, more secure (no having to check the load and tighten the binder after starting), and more convenient not having to carry around the binder. The sled also moves easily under the load. I like it so much that I am going to reconfigure the way I chain my scoot maybe even my bobsled (Carl?).

Overall the go-devil is working great. I have a decent hill going from my woodlot up to the farm and I have been loading the sled with that in mind. I have been slowly increasing the size of the load trying to get a sense of what a single horse can pull up that hill and have been surprised by the results. The bay on the right in “Go Devil 3” pulled that load pretty handily before lunch today. It is very convenient to block the wood right off the sled as it is mostly off the ground.

Great tool. Highly recommended.

George

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Does’ Leap]

Nice work Ed. Love the dog.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Hi Ron:

I finally understand. Thanks for the description. It is certainly easy to weld on a ring and I will give your system a try. If you can post some pictures, I would like to see your sled.

Josh, I bought my bobsled (think go-devil on steroids – used generally with a team) from as master sled-maker named Duane Langmaid. He taught me to hog out as much material from the runner as possible without weakening it. I bet I shed 20 lbs of wood by doing this – nothing for the horses but makes a difference to me moving the sled around trying to get it in an ideal position for loading. I also like the way it looks.

I yarded a few loads on Thursday with the go-devil. So far, I like it a lot. I also log with a bobsled and scoot – both great tools in their own right. Compared to those sleds, the go devil is much easier to load and maneuver. It is small enough (80 lbs) that I can put it right where I want it without using a peavey to muscle it around. Also, the top of the bunk in only 9″ from the ground. This makes it much easier to load compared to the two-horse sleds. Since their is no pole, it is easy to have the horse load larger logs since he can swing tight in front of the sled. I give him a little extra slack and he rolls it right on. Unloading is also easier – pull a stake and swing the horse in the opposite direction and you’re unloaded. Maybe one of these days I will get my son to take some video footage.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Sorry, I had the settings configured to “private” in Picasa. Hopefully this works: Go-Devil Pics

If not, I will try to attach the pictures later, although I have had mixed luck with this.

Ron, I am still not picturing completely the chaining mechanism. I get the chain passing through the welded ring and then around the load. How are you securing the load to the bunk? Does the choker wrap around the bunk as well as the load or is the load chained separately on the bunk? I guess I could picture the chain going through the front ring, going through the ring on the bunk and then around the load. If that’s the case does your load ever loosen with the stop and go of the horses?

George

[Does’ Leap]

Here is a link to some pictures of the finished (mostly) Go-Devil: Go-Devil Pics

Runners are 3.5″ (at the fat mid-section) made of yellow birch. They are about 40″ on the flat not including the sweep at either end. Runners are “full moccasin” as most of the logging I do is on snow. I plan on installing either 1.5 or 2″ flat-bar shoes eventually, but I want to see how it runs for a while before installing the shoes. Bunk is 3″x5″ ash, 3 feet long with welded stake pockets. One stake/skid is built to lock into the stake pocket via a steel plate bolted to the stake and equipped with welded anti-slip steel for rolling up logs. Bunk is secured to runners with a “scoot irons” – angle iron with 3/4″ threaded rod drilled and welded to the iron and bolted to the runner. Bunk is counter-sunk to accept the 3/4 inch rod and nuts. Logs will be secured with a 16’x 1/4″ chain attached to a clevis in the middle of the bunk. For now, I plan on using a chain binder. The Go-Devil is also equipped with light bridal chains to keep it from running up on the horses. Sled and gear weigh about 80 lbs.

I plan on getting it out today for a test-drive.

Happy New Year to all.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Hey Ed:

Ditto Rick’s comments. I’ve never used a logrite arch, but it is hard to beat a scoot for keeping logs/firewood off the ground. Also, I can’t imagine the logrite can equal the payload of a scoot. And let’s not forget the elegance of the scoot and it’s connection to horsemen of old!

George

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Does' Leap.
• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Does' Leap.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Does’ Leap]

Hi Ron:

Thanks for the reply. Where are you located? Can you describe your roller set-up in a little more detail. I am planning on a 1/4″ chain with an 1 1/4″ pipe slid over it. It is hard to tell from the crude drawings in those logging documents, but it looks like the pipe (which is slid over the chain) is about 2″ from the inside edge of the runners. I suppose to give the runner plenty of play. I could weld a ring on that pipe, but I fear that if I used it to secure the load as you described it would collapse the runners inward.

At this point, I am planning on bolting a ring to the center of the bunk securing the load as pictured in these two diagrams: Securing a Load of Logs
If you have a better way, please let me know.

Regarding you other comments, I do have the runners beveled at the back end and I think I am going to go for hardwood stakes. I have had problems bending stake pockets and braking stakes on my bobseld and scoot as large logs occasionally slam against them (especially in snowy conditions). This is going to be a lighter duty rig so wood stakes should be fine.

If you have any pics of your go-devil and how you chain your load, I would like to see them.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Hi Carl:

Any update on how things are going with your mare?

George

[Does’ Leap]

Not too wet up here in northern Vermont. I have been working in the woods for the past few weeks and the conditions are great. I am loving this weather and taking advantage of it. Last winter was brutal up here and this is a nice reprieve.

Hope it dries out for you Brad.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Hi Donn:

Sorry to hear about your struggles. I hope you and your mule or OK.

George

[Does’ Leap]

Nice work Donn.

George

[Does’ Leap]

I just have a couple of thoughts, one I think that George already mentioned, but we had a similar experience with our team. We set up a round pen to try to work with the one that was clearly very timid and afraid…he was the difficult one to work with, he was difficult to harness and it took us a long time to be able to handle his feet. We thought the round pen would be a challenge with him, but surprisingly he took right to it. In retrospect I think it was because he was afraid and so senisitive to any pressure, he just worked very hard to figure out how to make it go away. OUr super steady rock of a horse, the cool and confident one who was great in harness gave us quite a challenge in the pen, really came right at us and we felt quite vulnerable in there with our little lunge whip! There was a steep learning curve for us and we made some mistakes (and ended up doing a few dives under the fence to get away!) but were able to work through it in the end and the horse is now an amazingly responsive and fun guy to work with, he will tune right into us and work quite well at liberty in his pasture, but has still maintained his confidence and dignity, enough to occasionally do a little FU gallop around before charging back to engage with us…so anyway, I wasn’t surprised to hear your round pen report.

And on the polywire, it just requires you to have more finesse and care for your pressure which I think is a really good thing. It was interesting to watch the Clinton anderson stuff, but I found it more beneficial, with the drafts and the polywire, to just tone it waay down. I think CA is overboard on the pressure myself. We hardly ever pushed into a canter, we tried to keep things forward but relaxed. It takes a little more skill not to push through a portable fence but I think that is a good thing.

I’m so glad to hear you had a positive weekend and are moving forward with her, I think it will keep getting better!
Kristan

[Author]

Posts