New Peavey

[Does’ Leap]

I have a few peaveys: a “new” one from Peavey Manufacturing in Maine and an antique “Bangor Style” peavey that I purchased off of eBay. When I started logging more with a scoot and bobsled a few years ago, peavey function became increasingly important. When I am trying to load a 200+ foot log on on a sled and the peavey is not biting, it is more than an inconvenience, it is a safety issue. Long story short: I was not satisfied with my peavey from Peavey Manufacturing. It was not biting into logs like I wanted so I purchased the older peavey which was considerably more functional, especially in soft wood. However, I still struggle on frozen hardwood so my search continued.

I stumbled upon a “dual” peavey from Woodchuck tool which combines elements of a cant hook into the peavey. It was $100 including shipping. I called the company (1 guy, I think) and he convinced my to give it a try. After a few weeks of use, I am very impressed. It has been worth every penny, so much so that I have ordered the hook and cant grabber ($25 including shipping) to retrofit my first peavey which is all but retired. This peavey grabs every time and holds on. Due to the design of the hook, it grabs large and small logs equally well.

Here is a link to the Woodchuck’s website:Woodchuck Tool

George

[Hopewell Farm]

George,

Are you still happy with your purchase? No breakages or issues to this point?

John

[Tim Harrigan]

George, it grips well, but does it handle well? How heavy is it? Does it seem like it could bend when prying or a heavy lift? Does it conduct heat well so it feels really cold in cold weather?

[Does’ Leap]

Hi John and Tim:

Yes, I am still happy with my purchase although I haven’t been in the woods much recently b/c of the horrendous icing up here. Tim, it is heavier than my other peaveys, but there is no way you could bend this thing and I have broken a few wooden handles. Certainly the aluminum conducts cold more than wood, but I haven’t noticed it. I like using this peavey for loading large saw logs on my bobsled. Per my first post, I welded on the grabber to my Bangor peavey and replaced the hook. I tend to use this peavey (works great) when I am handling firewood as it has a smaller wooden handle. I would recommend either option.

George

[Tim Harrigan]

Thanks, George. I know where a few outlets are, I will stop by and look at it next time I am in the area.

[Hopewell Farm]

Thanks for the update George.

Your ice has to be melted now, I was dealing with runoff and rotten snowpack in the woods down here today. Felt like March weather, working in a tee shirt in January is a little odd….

[Does’ Leap]

Believe it or not, we still have some ice especially along my main skid roads. The rest of the woods have only an inch of ice left and the horses break through it. I was out Friday for the first time in 3 weeks – probably the longest period of rest these horses have had since I bought them. They were full of it! We are expecting 4″ of snow and then cold weather. I expect conditions will be back to normal after that. 52 degrees yesterday and we are expecting 15 below on Tuesday night.

George

[Tim Harrigan]

George,
I bought a Woodchuck recently. I have not used it a lot, yet, just getting back into the woods with the cooler weather. However, from what I have seen so far I really like it. It is really solid, I was concerned that it would be too light and not hold up but it is really solid. It bites much better than my older hook and what I like most is that as you said, it works well for both large and small logs which my old hook did not. Thanks for the recommendation. 😀

[Does’ Leap]

Hi Tim:

Glad the peavey is working out for you. Overall it has worked great for me with lots of grab with a variety of different logs. My only complaint is that the hook tends to bend when using the point of the peavey to move logs. I plan to weld on some 1/4 flat bar to reinforce before heading to the woods this fall.

Happy logging…

George

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