He likes a swing bunk, not a fixed bunk. Dwayne uses the same chaining method as Carl (as far as I can tell) and asserts that there is not too much swing to the bunk, but just enough to help around turns.
I have found the swing bunk to be less stable, it creates another point of variability in the hitch, and logs get loose, the swing bunk doesn’t always return and re-center, and I have rolled a loaded sled because of this allowing the load to get off-center. Anyway, I have never found a stationary bunk, chained as I do, with short runners, and the bunk set back, to limit maneuverability.
He likes a longer runner – 6’ on the ground plus the sweep of the nose. He states there is more floatation in a longer runner with plenty of maneuverability.
I’m sure that what he says is correct, but I don’t use my sled exclusively in snow, and I like to have less shoe on the ground for maneuverability on dry ground.
He likes to place his bunk centered on the runner or an inch in front of center. He related an argument amongst old sled makers. Some believed that the slightly ahead-of-center bunk facilitates the horses lifting the load. Irregardless, this bunk placement is different from Carl’s sled where the bunk is 2’ from the rear of the sled. Carl, is this measurement OC or to the edge of the bunk?
His math is actually incorrect. With more runner length in front of the bunk, the horses have increased fulcrum to lift the weight, which make it easier…..but to each their own. The 2′ measures from the rear-end of the runner to the back edge of the bunk on my sled.
He does not make stake pockets on his bunks. Brad and Carl, do you use stakes much to keep your logs from rolling off the opposite side of the sled when loading?
I like stake pockets only to keep the ends of my bunks from splitting…. I actually started this when I used the swing bunk (outfitted with stake pockets because many times the best use for a swing bunk is the combination of many small stems under one binder chain and stakes assist in securing this type of load), and after I tipped the sled over I drove two long bolts down through it and made it stationary!! Additionally I find the pockets to have incidental uses like holding a peavey, or chain binder (I put a block or my chain binder in there when I start loading to keep logs from rolling off the other side), or to hook a chain on for rolling logs up, etc….
His gooseneck does not rest on the top of the role, but sits on the back side of the roll toward the bunk. He says this facilitates hitching the horses closer to the load.
The closer the horses are to the bunk, the more log is behind the bunk. It makes sense to get horses close to a load, but on a single bunk sled, the more log you can put in front of the bunk, the more advantage the horses will have.
He does not use stabilizers that go from the role the back of pole. He feels that the feather bolts, gooseneck and mortised pole are plenty strong and that the horses might hit their hocks on those braces in certain circumstances. This might only be the case with the gooseneck on the back of the role putting the horses that much further back?
Same as above, and as I want to use my sled on dirt, I like to have the extra security of the A-frame. My horses are hitched so that they never come close to the A-frame, and the butt ends of my logs often extend past my roll anyway…. The horses shouldn’t put too much lateral pressure on the pole for turning anyway, but the A-frame means to me that will never be a weak link in my sled. Feather bolts are plenty adequate, but any pressure that the pole does apply to the turning of the sled will be at the center of the roll, the A-frame transfers that pressure to a wider center of fulcrum, which in the long run will protect the integrity of the roll.
His likes to place the dip in his rave irons (for the skid) in back of the bunk instead of in front. He feels like by placing the skid in the front of the bunk, you are more likely to catch the back corner of the bunk with your log as you roll it onto the bunk.
I just use a larger diameter skid, and don’t have the problem.
All-in-all, it just comes down to personal preference. I wouldn’t want my sled made that way, but it sounds like he has it pretty well thought out, and he sounds like a quality craftsman.
Carl
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