[Scott G]

…and their long ears create too much wind resistance.

[Scott G]

Mules are too smart…

[Scott G]

@Joshua Kingsley … I was winter and I like to keep the bridles warm so the bit is not frozen when I harness up. I had to get the logs out so I thought I would have to load back up and drive home… [/QUOTE wrote:

??? I just warm the bit in my hands. If it was really cold just throw the bridle on your defroster in the truck. Although, if it was really cold and you thought the home fire and a cup of coffee was a better option, then…;)

[Scott G]

The input has definitely tapered off…

I didn’t mean for my last post to be a buzz kill, I was just hoping that as we went “public” on RH that we would generate some interest & participation. Not so much…

I have received the bulk of the contact lists that I think I am going to get for the present. I’ll marry the data and get a “working” contact list put together in the next week or so.

Once that is done I’ll send out a bulk e-mail to all listed to see if we can drum up more involvement. I will attach that list as a file. We will need to decide at what stage we want to send notifications out normal post and how we want to fund that.

Meanwhile, we should continue working on our focus threads. Rick has stepped up to the plate on Work Comp issues. Jason volunteered for value adding, Carl for networking, and Tim was volunteered for marketing. Tim are you up for that?

Two steps forward, one step back, but we are moving forward…

[Scott G]

@Does’ Leap 13446 wrote:

I looked at the grab at N Tool. What is the circle on the end of the chain for? This grab only has 3′ of chain – a little tight for attaching it to the cart. Do you attach another chain with a grab hook which you then hook to your cart? It seems like the advantage to the grab is not having to snake your chain around logs (something I struggled with most of yesterday). True? What are the disadvantages? Do they come undone? Damage the log? Onerous to hammer off at the landing?

Enough questions?

Thanks.

George

George,

The short chain with ring can be used either as a choker for very small diameter logs to make a train or to throw a hitch around something that you are going to be pulling with. Some folks prefer ring chokers to hooks; never used them but I can see a lot of reasons why I wouldn’t want to. For small pole type timber you could make a log train with the way that one is set up but I would rather cut the chain down by 1/3 and put another grab on it to use as a log train.

They pop out pretty easy, just use the back side of your felling axe or a skip and knock them out. That is the way they are designed. I have, however, heard of busting the point of a grab off in a log. Send that to the mill and that my be the last log they ever buy from you…

Personally, I would only use them if I was building a train for coming off a hill. Otherwise I would use skidding tongs. I am starting to play around with tongs more, primarily for short skids in small pole timber.

For getting your chain under the log use a fid. The old electric fence “impaler” rod posts work well for that. Just cut off 1 1/2 – 2′ put it through the end of the chain and bend the end of the rod. Once hitched, the rod just trails along behind.

[Scott G]

Late to weigh in…but I will. I like a lot of folks use blinders because that is what I have always used and it has worked for me as well as the horses (driving) I have worked with in the past. I also know some people swear by headstalls without them. I just have never been in a situation where I seriously considered running without them, although I am very open minded and the thought intrigues me.

I can say that having a horse that is a tourist while your trying to get a job done gets on my nerves and I do believe that blinders let the horse visually concentrate on the task at hand. Have you ever noticed that most horses follow most stimuli with their ears? They may never move their heads to face the action but their ears are constantly on the move keeping track of things.

Unless it is something they have never been exposed to or they’re being a tourist (while they’re working) they’ll seldom turn their heads. They’ve got great peripheral vision but you can still tell if they are visually cueing in on something.

My take is to expose your animals to every conceivable experience without an adversely negative outcome and you’ll have more bombproof horses…

[Scott G]

Wes,
I live about 20 miles west of Ft. Collins. Around 8000′ on Mt. Ethel in the Stove Prairie area. Been quite the fall, we’ve had 75-80″ of total snowfall already this season although with the wind taking it away its’ ultimate destination is usually Nebraska…

[Scott G]

Hey Jason. Dixie (or a knock off?) still make grabs. You can buy them at NorthernTool.com

[Scott G]

Well Taylor if that was shot when you were on death’s doorstep you must be awesome when you’re a 100% TV material for sure. As a matter of fact I think you would have a run at starting/hosting a new Saturday morning program titled “This Old Log”! Might give Tim C. a run for his money…:D

Greeley is about 1 1/2 hours southeast of where I’m at.

[Scott G]

5/16 Grade 70. I’ve never broke one yet and it’s a heckuva’ lot lighter than 3/8.

[Scott G]

Being I only live about 30 miles south of Laramie I can relate to Wes’ articulate work of poetry…

Currently 60 mph sustained, no big deal, still need to feed. I just aim for two feed bunks up and then it lands exactly where I want it too…

Mama still needs firewood. I’ll get out there while it is still just a 60mph breeze and get it done…

When it comes to directional felling we have one more consideration out here when you’re planning the lay. You have to consider the skid when your tree lands 50′ downwind from where you felled it…

We use log chains up here for weather/wind vanes. Anything else less durable ends up in Nebraska…:)

[Scott G]

Welcome Kari,

We are gettin’ quite an Idaho contingent on here…

For what its worth the strongest, most ornery friends/aquaintances I have are named Stacey & Tracey. 6’7″ & 6’3″ respectively. Also have two friends named Kim. Pretty common out here…

My name is Sue, how do you do… JCash 😎

[Scott G]

Taylor,
I have numerous scale/cheat sheets that compare all of the standards of measure. Let me do some digging around next week and I’ll send you something.

BTW, enjoyed your star appearance with Tim on RH RFD-TV last night! You’re a born star!

Take care,
Scott

[Scott G]

Thanks for getting this started, Rick.

Most WC laws are State governed and vary by State. How would we address that?

I use to use Pinnacol Insurance here in Colorado as they were the default WC carrier. It wasn’t specific to horselogging as that was when I was running a mechanical show.

I did use sub fellers. There are a lot of conditions that need to be met but it can be done. Don’t pay them hourly pay them by volume, they must carry their own liability insurance, and the carrier has a form they fill out stating that they are an independent contractor.

In short they truly do have to be running a business which is an easy thing to do, especially if you are a sole proprietor.

The big question comes up as to how do we deal with interns and apprentices? Maybe Jason and Tim C. could way in on that since they deal with a steady stream of them.

Thanks again for getting this topic out there.

One more question, do we want to leave these topic forums in here or put them on the public site?

[Scott G]

Never a dull moment, Tim! Glad everthing turned out alright. I’ve been in situations where I’ve been cutting in a sea of dead snags, winds pick up, and multiple large woody objects start falling out of the sky. Bad situations that have taken out many a logger. Definitely heads up operation. That is a situation where I would go in and pre-fell everything for the day, wallow in slash regardless, just so I didn’t have to be skidding under a sky full of widow makers. More escape options when it is just you and your saw versus you and your horses…

Unfortunately we are going to be exposed to more of that kind of crap out here as we have to remove standing dead hazard trees that are a result of our MPB epidemic.

[Author]

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