Skidding Tongs with double action

[Anonymous]

It was a cold rainy day here yesterday so I put this video together of some skidding tongs we have been using for a couple of years. I realy like them, when Kevin first gave them to me to try I will admit they looked like some thing that should hang on the shop wall as a conversation starter. After using the tongs for a day there is no way I could go back to choker chain only. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbfRyupUcPA&context=C49c9d01ADvjVQa1PpcFM6fV
dDfsHHuzlww0g1hrJAAE2kye7TrOc=

Cheers Tristan

[Robert MoonShadow]

Never saw that style before…custom made?
Nice video…but I’m so clumsy that I can guarantee you that I’d be stepping on or be tripped by that dragging chain every 5 feet or so! :rolleyes: The guys I built trails with were always on me about being clumsy….but I prefer to think of it as just being more experienced in getting up than they are!
Seriously, though: that’s some nice horse, there!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Robert. I was told they were by Sandvic. The wood lot owner bought them years ago and didn’t get around to using them much. He gave the tongs to me to use one day asked if I would try them. Long story short is I have a hard time giving them back. The other problem is when there is more than one of us skidding its always a fight who gets to use the tongs.:) So I’m going to try building a couple sets for us to use.

Tristan

[Tim Harrigan]

I like the way they are so easy and quick to hook to the log. Are those custom made? Nice video.

[menageriehill]

those r fantastic! ok you pros, whats the draw back?

[Ronnie Tucker]

i wonder how they stay hooked on a down hill drag.

[Anonymous]

They stay well going down hill. On the back side of this block we were coming down a hill that was snow and ice coverd. I don’t know what the grade was but steep enough the tractor wouldn’t go up. The tongs didn’t unhook going down. The only time they unhook much is when I take two logs, one in the choker chain and one in the tongs. If the log in the chain bumps the tongs hard they wil come off.

Tristan

[Ethan Tapper]

Boy, I have been looking and it’s hard to find anything but the ‘traditional’ model skidding tongs. I put in a query to Bahco (they bought Sandvik, I think) about them, and I’ll see what they say. How easy to you think it would be to make a set? Maybe you could provide some up close pictures, Tristan.

[Anonymous]

@Ethan Tapper 33491 wrote:

Boy, I have been looking and it’s hard to find anything but the ‘traditional’ model skidding tongs. I put in a query to Bahco (they bought Sandvik, I think) about them, and I’ll see what they say. How easy to you think it would be to make a set? Maybe you could provide some up close pictures, Tristan.

ing iI was told theses tongs were about $300 new when they were bought. I would complain alot about pay that much but I think I would buy them. However I have a friend who works in a fab shop and he will cut out the steel on the CNC water jet, then I can make the rest of the tongs at home. Thats probly the cheapest way to go if I can get some high quality plat to cut them out of. I will take some close ups with a tape measure beside them if it helps.

Cheers Tristan

[Dancing Drafts]

Tristan, I want to know if you use the tongs with a logging arch as well if so do you have to make any special adjustments or does it stay attached to the log as well as with just skidding. Have you been able to put together any more detailed photos of this tong and any measurements. Also there was mention of trying to fabricate a set of tongs have you had any luck? Thanks, from sunny Arizona, Jay P.

[Anonymous]

I’v never tried using them with my arch but can’t see why it wouldn’t work. We have been working mostly on the farm as of late and the tongs are on the back burner as far as welding projects. I’ll try and get some more pics up and as soon as I start building some tongs I’ll be sure to keep you up dated.

Cheers Tristan

[Scott G]

@Dancing Drafts 34244 wrote:

Tristan, I want to know if you use the tongs with a logging arch as well if so do you have to make any special adjustments or does it stay attached to the log as well as with just skidding. Have you been able to put together any more detailed photos of this tong and any measurements. Also there was mention of trying to fabricate a set of tongs have you had any luck? Thanks, from sunny Arizona, Jay P.

Jay, you’re (we’re) fortunate in working with pondo and the thick/rough bark. Standard skidding tongs, provided they are sharp, work great for pondo, especially if there is significant resistance as opposed to ripping downhill. Skidding yellow-bellied pumpkins like you are on/near the Kaibab plateau is about as easy as it gets for tongs. Just make sure you are hooking short and low enough to get some lift. Tristan’s are awesome, especially for wood/conditions where tongs pop off pretty easily. With our pondo & larger D-fir, not so much an issue. Hopefully I’ll see you at Troyer’s this Saturday.

[Robert MoonShadow]

I’d like to hear from some more of the loggers here – Tucker, Carl, etc., – have any of you used or had much experience with these things? Scott – any idea how these compare to the ‘regular’ types? I’m curious about the benefits/drawbacks on these versus the other type(s).
It’s one of my favorite things about this forum = people keep coming up with different tools & techniques, and there’s usually others that can supply various input, saving us newbies lots of fumbling around looking for information about it!
I really appreciate the sharing of your knowledge, Tristan, Carl, Tucker, Scott, and…and…

[Scott G]

@Robert MoonShadow 34250 wrote:

Scott – any idea how these compare to the ‘regular’ types? I’m curious about the benefits/drawbacks on these versus the other type(s).

Sorry Robert, I lost track of this one. Not much time for forums as the woods have opened up and the days get longer…

Unless you can maintain a “set”, normal tongs have a tendency to fall or slip off. This is especially true if there is no resistance to help set the tongs (i.e. downhill skid) or if you are dealing with smooth bark tree species. Regardless, without tension and/or a rough surface to get a bite on, they will often slip. Tristan’s tongs are fabricated much like the Sandvik hand tongs which I’m a big fan of and always have on my wedge-pouch belt. The double action allows for a more consistent bite. What is really unique about his tongs is that offset bend. That allows you to lay the tongs on the top and have the bite close to the middle. Better lift and less slip.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Thanks, Scott, for the insight. Stay safe in the woods, man!

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