Making Do

[Jim Ostergard]

We had some larger logs in the last load of wood we took out on the Lincolnville, Maine job just before haying. The ground was dry and ground twitching was not what we wanted to do so I dug out an old go-devil one of my mentors, Rosey Gerry used with his horses and if I remember correctly his father built it sometime after WWII. Old model A frame I’d guess. I am a little new to making videos so this version doesn’t show it rolling over, that is on my facebook page. I think I will rig a fifth wheel bunk on it and someday figure building something a little bit wider to lessen the roll over situation. Some nice models have been posted on here in the past. I am open to ideas.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Jay]

Thanks for the video. Nice rig and horses too. I can see how it might be a bit tippy sometimes, sure makes the going alot easier though… Jay

[Does’ Leap]

Great clip Jim. Thanks for posting. Seems like they were drawing out that log (250 feet or so?) without too much effort. The go-devil seems like a useful tool and is on my “to build” list. Nice looking team.

George

[Brad Johnson]

Jim-
Nice video and great looking team. I have used a go-devil in the past, both in the winter and summer months. I found that it was useful in the deep snow to get the but end of log up enough to pull it, but it took time and effort to get the log on the rig I had. I tried chaining to the side of log and pulling the log ahead to right the load, but found it was too tippy. I much prefer my arch any time the conditions permit – far easier and quicker to hook on to that size log and you can hitch multiple stems easily. Perhaps I was not using hte go-devil properly…Thoughts?
-Brad

[Jim Ostergard]

Thanks all for the compliments. I will get better at the video thing and would like to put together something I could show folks who have not seen this sort of operation before. Brad on the go-devil; I would prefer an arch in this situation but we didn’t have one on site and I had thrown the one Rosey gave me in the truck. I have found though that when I am doing my own firewood which is a lot of small stems I can put 6-8 small stems on in and haul them out. For that I like it. Like you mentioned it flips over a lot with the big stuff. On the arch, I hope to have John P. put a scandinavian one together for me for the fjord and will list my tried and true walking beam arch for sale soon on here. Work safe everybody.

[Baystatetom]

Jim, You saw my version in Athol. I have only flipped it over once, making a 90 degree corner. Mine is 4′ wide, I meant it to be kind of a hybrid go devil-bobsled. The size is good or bad depending on the situation. I often do wish it was a little lighter to move around in the slash.
~Tom

[Jim Ostergard]

Tom,
Indeed do remember your go-devil and liked it a lot. Can you post a picture. Since I mostly work a single I would make one for myself that was a bit smaller but I think the key is to have some width to it. And I guess something that one person could load easily! Certainly it has been a handy tool to have on site. There was a video on the old site of a neat one, someone from downeast but I have not looked for it hear yet.

[Baystatetom]

I think it makes a huge difference in winter conditions. I am not so sure that it does anything to cut down on the draft force required to move a load on bare or soft ground, however it does keep the butt end of your log from catching every root, stump and stone between the stump and landing. I think avoiding all those sudden stops helps team morale.
If building a new one I would try and bend the runners up rather then weld an angle. Also I really like the V on the front, it deflects off trees rather then hanging up. My good friend welded it up for me. He said the steel was $250 and if he charged me labor it would be $1,000.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Jay]

Looks to be a beauty to use for the all the reasons you mentioned. Jay

[Carl Russell]

Loading logs always seems to be a downer for folks, but spending a little bit of time and ingenuity allows for much more efficient and comfortable work for the team. Like Tom says, “Team Morale”, is a huge component of actually getting work done with animals. The old craft that is hardest to resurrect is not harnessing the power of the animals, rather understanding what we need to do to make the work more effective.

While I have never used a go-devil much, typically using a cart/arch, or the bobsled, the simplicity, versatility, and draft advantage make it one of the most effective tools for animal-powered logging for sure.

Carl

[Author]

Posts