[Scott G]

Awesome, Tristan! I like your and Gregg Caudell’s design more than any of the others that I have seen. You are definitely dialed in with making that go-devil as efficient as it can be.

Tom, I saw Caudell load a good sized log on his by binding the go-devil to the side of the log, hitching up, and then pull it right side up. Shortened the choker and then off he went. Pretty slick.

Tristan takes it one step further and falls directly on the bunk of the go-devil. Now that is the true definition of being efficient in the woods and making every move count.

These go-devils made out of iron are incredibly tough, agile, adaptable, and efficient. Doesn’t get much better than that, eh? Especially for those of us that use a single in the woods the vast majority of the time.

Again, great work Tristan! Thanks for sharing!

[Scott G]

I didn’t mean to instigate an uprising of the masses… 8-/

[Scott G]

So going back to boxes vs scabbards. Arches, like the one I recently picked up (Jim Brown’s), aren’t really set up to take a box. Hanging stuff off the front guard, which I like, is the norm. That said, the way Jim configured it, to hang the saw off a hook and have the bar stick down through the deck, I’m not to high on. I was thinking of how I could still use a scabbard which protects the saw, is fairly low so it’s easily accesible from the ground, and fits within the profile of the arch so that when it rolls, the saw’s chances of living are much greater. Here is what I’m thinking would work well. I’d like input from those of you who have been running arches for a while as I have not given the terrain I normally work on.

I used the peavey to prop the saw up into place. It would be very easy to bolt or clamp the scabbard, much like the one on my truck, to the main upright. Plenty of clearance off the wheel and the saw is tucked fairly tight within the profile of the arch. Please let me know what you folks think…

[Scott G]

Attached are the pics I said I would take of the scabbard I have on my truck. It works great for my purposes and, regarding the comment about wood for durability, this scabbard is going on 6-7 years old and has lived outside it’s whole life. I like wood because it is so much softer than the materials that the saw is made of and absorbs shock fairly well. You can see how the dogs jab into the top. There is also a cable lock that I can run through the handlebar to secure it to the headache rack while I’m not around. I’ve had one saw leave the bed of my truck before while I was parked at the corner cafe. I’d rather that not happen again.

[Scott G]

@PhilG 32996 wrote:

Scott –
Nice quiver! its rare to see another double brander. What to you do with the log wizzards ? i havent seen one of those in years.
Phil

Thanks, Phil. That’s the saw shop at the agency that I work for as a forester. When I started with these folks they were in the process of moving into a new building. Since I had free rein, I built the saw shop I always dreamed of. We are completely outfitted with any tool we need to tear down and rebuild an saw we need to as well as everything else that goes with trying to keep up to 20 young people in saws; a challenge to say the least.

The agency started out with Stihls, I’ve been very sucessful at introducing Husky. As a matter of fact we have many more Husky’s than what you see, they are out in the field. The vast majority of the Stihls are in the shop…:cool:

One of the main fellas I work with made a sign for the shop – “We work on Stihls but we run Husqvarnas” :rolleyes:

They used the log wizards, before I got there, to debark bark beetle infested trees that were to remote to remove. Painful…

[Scott G]

Mitch, I’m on board with that. We use fids to splice rope. The action being that the fid is pushed into the core of the rope you’re splicing. General assumption being that the long grab/fid hook is used for pushing under the log to run the choker. Short sections of rod on the opposite end of the chain from the slip hook or ring are also known as fids or probes.

[Scott G]

There is definitely an accessibility advantage when transporting the saw in a box. Before I went with a vertical scabbard on the truck I had a box bolted to the back of the bed. It was about the depth of Carl’s, the exception being that it held 4 saws and kerfs were sawn in one side to secure the bars. While it helped to keep the saws from taking a walkabout in the bed, the concussive force on the bottom of the saw was still there and often caused issues like premature leaks in the fuel tank seam, loose wiring & intake boots, etc. Granted, bouncing down the road in a flatbed truck is not the same as the slow speed of an arch going down the trail. I’ve seen Carl’s layout on his Barden cart and it fits perfectly as it was designed that way. I can’t think of a good place on my Brown’s arch where a box wouldn’t be in the way. I would imagine you’re using a Pioneer forecart with your piggy back, Mark. In my mind I’m trying to envision a handy place for the box that would work for you… I can already hear Carl’s response, once again reciting the benefits of the Barden cart… :p I believe when I mount the scabbard to the arch I’ll cant it at a 45 to 22 ½ degree angle to make it easier to remove vs. pulling it out straight vertical which would be awkward for quick/easy access. I’ve found that when the chain brake is engaged the “snagging” of the chain in the scabbard is pretty much a non-issue. What it boils down to is whatever works well for each individual logger. The options are really only limited by your creativity…
Pics of our saw storage rack out in the shop are attached and I’ll follow up with some of the truck scabbard in a couple of days.

[Scott G]

Mark, I use exactly what you are describing. Bouncing around in the back of the truck is hard on a saw. So, quite a while back I fashioned a scabbard that is made out of 3/8 plywood laminated together with a ~ 1 1/2 linear spacer of the same material that runs the length of both sides. On the top I mounted 2 x 2s horizontally for the dawgs to sit on. The scabbard is secured on the headache rack of my truck and stores the saw vertically. The dawgs take most of the shock going down the road. I haven’t had to replace anything on the scabbard and it has lasted several years. I’ll get some pics in the next day or so when I’m at the truck in the daylight. I’m going to make one of the same type to mount to the side on the front guard of my arch.

Scabbards for bucket trucks would work fine but they’re expensive and plastic. Anytime I can make anything I use out of wood, I’m on it…

Along the same thought, My friend & I also built a storage rack for the saws in our forestry shop. Most convienient way I’ve found to store saws by far; vertical, stacked, and out of the way. Takes up a lot less space and they’re secure. I’m close to the shop today and will get a pic of the rack to post here.

Storing and transporting vertical is by far the best way to go.

[Scott G]

Hey Tristan, absolutely on the bearings, thanks for catching that. it is like anything else mechanical, i.e. the clutch on your truck. The parts are cheap, getting there is not regardless if it is your time or money. Whats the benefit of the hybrid, Tristan? That’s the first time of heard of it.

[Scott G]

John, I’d hone the cylinder and drop in a new set of rings as well. Cheap, easy, and will prolong your saw’s life. You’ll need to replace both crankcase seals as well. Good luck!

[Scott G]

359s had a problem around 2004-2005 with a very small, undetectable without a pressure check, pinhole in the rubber intake boot. This was due to a flaw in the mfg molding process. Very hard to find and caused much aggravation because they were a great saw that had suddenly become very hard to start. Yo uwouldn’t even start blowing bubbles on the pressure check until you got to the upper limit. They supposedly fixed the problem but to late on my end. I had bought that 359 for my 75 yo father after his Stihl 28 died so he could cut with me on various projects. I had to sell him to use the Husky (even though I bought it) and when it turned out to be a hard-starting SOB he cursed it. That saw was the genesis of more than one “brush fit”. Even after we fixed the boot issue and the saw ran like a champ my Dad had his jaw set. So…I traded the 359 back in and got him one of the new Stihl 280’s and haven’t heard a grumble since. Only noise in the woods is that of him merrily sawing away. That said, I still really like that size range of Husky saws. The 357 is definitely more HD than the 359 though. Just goes to show how deeply engrained peoples preferences are.

John, I’m a little confused when you said the clutch side of the crankshaft was threaded. The vast majority are with a L hand thread. Did you mean that it was cross threaded? If so, I’d try cleaning it up with a die first before putting a new crank in it. That is about as far as you can go in tearing the saw down. Pretty spendy if you’re not doing it yourself. For that saw, I’d suggest a 20″
bar.

[Scott G]

SFJ is a great agrarian publication that has a lot of good information although as time goes by, Lynn becomes more outspoken with lengthier editorials, not necessarily a bad thing. SFJ is the best all around journal for the “doers”. DHJ, in my opinion, has become a breeder’s pub and highlights many of the large shows. Not much work oriented articles although they just had a nice write up on Taylor J’s operation. RH falls more in line with SFJ though not nearly as technical but high in entertainment value and is an all around enjoyable read. Just depends on what type of information and style of pub you prefer.

[Scott G]

@Baystatetom 32615 wrote:

Do you guys have any secrets for dealing with those hangers?

Yes, Tom, politely decline offers from the landowner to do the felling on the job when they get that gleam in their eye. They often want to help to save money or get their “Bunyan” fix, but they can really screw up your layout in short order.

Unless it is a non-merchantable piece and you want to walk it down with the saw (very heads up!) you are going to need to pull it down with your steers or a skidder. At a minimum, I’ll hook on to the choker with the 16′ long-reach chain with grab hooks on both ends that I keep with me and pull it down with that. If the ground is frozen or hard, the butt end of the tree will have a tendency to shoot forward as you pull it down, at least with the conifers I cut out here. Even safer is to use a block and rope for a redirect. If you can set your block higher in the tree you’ll get the benefit of some lift as well.

After you sweat, cuss and spend way too much time on a couple of these that are really stuffed, the importance of directional felling becomes brutally apparent. This is one job it would be great to have your client help with, it will drive the point home for him as far as how much time and money he saved.

[Scott G]

Incredible piece!

[Scott G]

Julianna,

I am a big fan of the Liverpool snaffle as well. You can attach your lines directly to the snaffle ring for your softest mouth or work your way down the shank and utilize the curb chain if needed. It is not uncommon (at least for me) to switch settings for the same horse as the situation, and his attitude, dictate. I always start soft and very conservatively work up (down the shank) from there. I hate existing hardmouths, I don’t want to create one. Rather than running up to the barn to snap a pic I found these on Google images.

Click on this link for Liverpool snaffle images

[Author]

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