Co-operative Horse Powered Forestry Project

[Carl Russell]

I think the tractor is about 70 hp. It was a loaner as Ben’s injector pump went south on his own, and then he ran into complications with the field mechanic. It turned out he had forced the pump arbor back into its seat and had bound the plates so it wouldn’t function. The company took the rig back to the shop and got it running, and only charged him 4 hours for the field repair….. but there is a pawl of skepticism about the repair.

Speaking of repairs, boy the horses are shining on this job. The loaner tractor sprung a leak in the hydraulic pump midday Wednesday. We have had a spate of chainsaw failures as well. One Husky went to Ethanol hell, lost a clutch spring in another, a bar tip burned up, and we lost a bar tensioner screw. My truck has been losing coils, and now I can’t get ANY lights to work on my trailer.

Luckily we are getting the softwood out, and we have a good hardwood market close by where we can haul small loads on a flatbed trailer on the way home. If those two butt logs on the cherry go for veneer, they may be worth $1000 or more, @$3500/mbf. We have some great hardwoods scattered throughout so we may be able to pick up the cash-flow considerably.

Carl

[Joshua Kingsley]

Sounds like it is time to forget the tractor and have a horse drawn forwarder 🙂
Joshua

[Carl Russell]

Joshua Kingsley;20108 wrote:

Sounds like it is time to forget the tractor and have a horse drawn forwarder 🙂
Joshua

It may seem that way on the surface, but this job is all uphill back to the woods, and steep at times. I think the only way a self-loading forwarder can be used would be with a tractor. It would be just too much weight to pull back into the woods empty.

The forwarder does give us advantage of sorting and stacking logs roadside, which allows us to have a low-cost landing in terms of construction, maintenance, and clean-up. The real reason we are using it here is that there are four of us that are looking for ways to get help, and make our work more practical, and one of the four owns the forwarder.

I was planning, and would still do it, to log this site in the winter and use my bobsled. With these good roads, and being downhill all the way to the landing, I could put a thousand feet on the sled in on snow, and it would be pretty easy to haul back to the woods. Couldn’t meet the rate of 1mbf/hr of the forwarder, but the cost would be about 1/3. But that is immaterial as we aren’t doing it that way right now.

It does however highlight the point I have made several times about the cost of purchase and maintenance of machinery vs. horses. The theory is that the machines can facilitate production to sustain themselves with profit, but it is pretty amazing how the repair bills can add up, and they never come at a convenient time.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Yesterday was a day of fine trees.

This is one of the best red spruce trees I have ever cut.

18″DBH, 3-16’s and a 12, scaled 350 bf.

This is the type of regeneration we are releasing in this harvest. It requires cutting and backing horses into little avenues in the underbrush.

The rear view of the removal route. The 2 butt logs scaled 250 bf.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

This is a white pine tree with a classic white pine blister rust canker. It is marked for harvest.

This one is another example of defect that makes it a choice for harvest. Notice the forked top.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

The tree landed on a stump just in front, which cause the hinge to break….

[Carl Russell]

Now how’s that for a small hearted sugar maple?

Skidding up one of our new trails.

That’s a good 12 footer. 180 bft

Carl

[dlskidmore]

Could you educate me on how you use the wedge there? I assume it’s because the tree was wider than your saw is long, and so you needed an aid to make the tree fall the right way when making an extra cut?

[Carl Russell]

Actually, I bore through the tree, leaving some wood along the very back of the cut. That wood will hold the tree upright so that I can bore in from the other side. When I have cut in from both sides, and set the hinge thickness, I drive the wedge in the back because the tree has a slight lean back, or just for assurance to push the tree in the right direction. When the wedge is driven tight, I cut the extra wood (trigger wood) finishing the back cut, releasing the tree to fall.

I featured these pictures here precisely because the type of work we are doing here requires competent directional felling. I want to preserve as much understory as possible, which means I need to be able to drop the trees so that I can then skid them out in a way that does not destroy regeneration.

Carl

[dlskidmore]

Very interesting. Don’t worry, I’ll still call a pro, I’m not nearly skilled enough for this!

[cousin jack]

Great thread and pics.

[mitchmaine]

hey carl, how’s the cut going? any news? and where on gods green earth is lilliesville?

mitch

[Carl Russell]

Well it’s been a bit slow for the last couple of weeks, Ben’s getting ready to get married on his farm next weekend, Brad’s had a few on-farm projects, and I’ve been distracted working on a management plan for a 1300 acre parcel…..

The town of Bethel Vermont is made up of little hamlets like Bethel Gilead, Christian Hill, East Bethel, Gayesville, Lympus (near Mount O’lympus), Camp Brook, and Lilliesville. They are little clusters of homes and historic farm communities mostly related to some small stream, valley, or nearby hill. Lilliesville is located in south central east west Bethel. There is a three way road intersection surrounded by five large old farm houses, and a three story structure that used to house some manufacturing as well as a road house.

Things should start happening in earnest again next week, as we begin harvesting some big white pines.

Carl

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl Russell;20525 wrote:

…..south central east west Bethel.
Carl

Thats pretty good.

[mitchmaine]

just north of there, right? found it. thanks carl.

mitch

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