got a nice old growth timber tract..

[RunningRoot]

I got a new tract to cut this week...
It's unlike anything I've ever seen before ! Hasn't been touched in over 100+ years .. every standing whiteoak, poplar, red oak,chestnut oak and black oak on it are enormous !!! 
I'm talking the smallest of them all in the 34"+ range, 60-80 ft. and as straight as an arrow,clean as can be...

Thier literally so big, two trees will load a triaxle truck to the brim. .and a couple of them may be a load in thierself..

Theirs 28 acres that look like this, it's absolutely beautiful and it's the break/game changer I've been needing for a while as there is big big money involved in this one.

I don't have big enough equipment.
I would have to drag 1 log length at a time and that would take for ever.
So im looking for a bigger skidder,but I don't have 40 grand to spend is the problem. I need to find something of adequate size for under 20k.. if I can get my c4d sold I can do a little better on what I have to shop with...
Keep an eye out for me !

Best skidder deal in the northeast is what I need right now..

[treeslayer2003]

i cut stuff like that all the time with a 540 deere and a 666 clark. only once in a great while do i have to pull less than 42'. you do have to plan your skid well.....not much turning lol. i realize a c4 is smaller but if your loading tri axles ya have to buck um short any way.
i bet you can find some thing in your price range tho, look farther south, cable skidders are cheaper down here. not much at all where i am tho.

[ohiowoodchuck]

I'm no timbercutter, but I'd take my time and use what I have. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm sure your equipment is paid for already. Look at how much more you will profit when the job is done vs. going in debit for another skidder. Just my opinion. good luck....

[coxy]

I'm no timbercutter, but I'd take my time and use what I have. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm sure your equipment is paid for already. Look at how much more you will profit when the job is done vs. going in debit for another skidder. Just my opinion. good luck....

x2 my uncle used a jd 440 for over 35 years and cut big timber jmop

[Bert]

Im with the others. Use what you have. I have a smallish 225 jack and it does just fine in that kind of timber. Just because it has 4 chokers doesn't mean they all need hooked up. If your making a $100 a skid I bet your doing just fine and in that kind of stick your well above that.

[RunningRoot]

The c4d can do some of it it as I cut timber of this size all the time as well just never cut it when the whole tract is timber that size..
I've cut for 5-6 years and 3 of those years I've cut in business for myself, I've hunted my whole life since the age of 7, I truly have never seen timber this big and this nice... iv seen a few on every tract, but never seen a tract with every tree on it being this large...
I honestly don't think the c4d would pull 16'ft. Logs of this size, maybe some of them but definitely not all of them..

All my current equipment is paid for in cash at purchase and I like that, low overhead. I have kinda been wanting a bigger skidder and this just gives me a push to bite the bullet and buy one...

I'm pretty excited about this tract as you can tell.. 
Timber tracts like this one are very rare around here..
This job would pay for the new (to me ) skidder in the first couple of weeks..
It's prime and veneer heaven ! 

[teakwood]

Fotos please! 

[tj240]

your c4 will do the job if it a tight machine. take 2 trees a time but cut the trees where the logs end then make the next hitch the tops. i cut monster oak with a 640 deere and some of the trees were two hitch trees. go light and go often, it works and the money goes in your pocket not the banks. good luck and make it work. jobs like that are few and far between.

[RunningRoot]

Teakwood

I will take pics throughout the harvest and post them to this thread.

I will try and get a couple of the tract standing as it is now as well. .
It will be at least a couple weeks before I start it..
Got to finish tract I'm on and move across the street to a tract I named "hell garden" lol  and then to the money maker...

[lopet]

there is big big money involved in this one.

Nice to have some really nice timber to cut  once every while. It sounds like everybody is on the same page here.  Why not use what you've got, make the money first and then go shopping. That would be a win win situation as the C4 doesn't owe you.

[Corley5]

That old C4 won't have any problem with those trees.  Cut the logs to length at the stump and drag one at a time if you need to.  It's nice to cut good timber  8) 8)

[Maine logger88]

This summer I pulled some massive pine with my 225 I had 1750 bd ft in one hitch ( one big tree) it did the job fine. That being said my 540 would have done it easier but of course it wasn't there. If you do look for a skidder I'd go with a 540jd 666clark 240tj size machine they work well in any sized timber

[Ohio_Bill]

I have seen some tracks like that but have never had the opertatunity to cut one .Did you get your winch problems taken care of ?

[RunningRoot]

I'd venture to say you guys have a lot more experience than I do in the woods, with that being said I'm going  to listen to you guys and attempt to do it with the C4d. There's no doubt in my mind it would do it is just a matter of time . I can always purchase a bigger skidder if things are moving to slow.

A lot  of the Oaks are pushing upwards of 50" inchs , with the poplars being right there with them in size. It's loaded with white Oak , Blackoak , chestnut oak , poplar , ash , cherry, and Hickory. TImber so tall, you couldn't squirrel hunt it with a shotgun, it would take a rifle . I'm not even going to try and describe the walnuts I'm just going to show you guys pictures😁

This is definitely a tract that doesn't come around often around these parts . I'm just lucky that the LO let me harvested it . The LO could have easily sold it to one of the large  local mills for stumpage. This tract will definitely be a bit of a game changer for me.

I'm thinking you guys are right , make do with what I have , get the job done and go get that 240A  I've been wanting afterwards 😁

[Ianab]

I'd say pulling out one log at a time wont be a problem if they are worth 5X what a normal drag of logs is worth  ;)

[Southside]

If you rush out and buy a cheap, bigger skidder now you may end up with a machine that needs a lot of work and costs you in the long run.  Cut the lot and if you want a new machine when you have cash you can take your time, find the right one, and buy it for YOUR price, not the sellers price.  Maybe then you can keep your C4 as a spare machine or special use machine - have the best of both worlds since they are both paid for. 

[longtime lurker]

I'm going to throw out a couple of thoughts here.
First is when's the next time you,re likely to find another job like this, and are jobs like this uncommon around there? Reason I ask is because being the guy who took forever to do a job because your gear was too small isn't always the best reputation to have. Mind, it's better then being the guy who took forever because his gear kept breaking down, but it's easier to get a bad rep then a good one in this business as we all know.
Second is that where do you stop? First we need a bigger skidder to get them to the ramp, then a bigger loader, then a bigger... You get the picture. I'm eyeing off a (wheel) loader with an 8 t lift capacity now... Then I'll need to upgrade the loader on the receiving end to match etc etc... It can be a vicious circle.
Third is that it's fine to say use what you have but - particularly with old gear that's worked hard for years - if you start hitting its design limits you accelerate wear and things start to break. Working a skidder isn't like digging a hole, there's no "take a smaller bite" option when the front wheels are light and the log has still got its nose in the dirt. Ya you can shorten the log but we all know it's easier to get rid of big 16' lengths then big 8' ones. It's fine to do it occasionally but it really does devalue the resource to do it all day.
Fourth is can you rely on your buyers to pay on time? If you can then it opens up possibilities, if you can't then being in debt can get scary.
Me, all things being equal, I'd look for another machine. Keep what you have, it's working for you and it's the devil you know. But start looking for a bigger one ASAP. That way you won't be at a dead stop if the "new" one breaks down.
Bring the new one up to devil you know status before you sell the other

Debt is only bad when you can't meet the payments - old Chinese proverb.

[Ford_man]

If you don't have these kind of jobs all the time maybe you could lease a larger machine for this job and not be tied down to long term payments. Just a thought.

[Ed_K]

 Get a copy of Lumbermen's Equipment Digest and look at prices around the country.

[treeslayer2003]

well..........old stuff ya need spares.........but don't go by me, i have four old skidders..........i might have the same problem with equipment as i do with saws lol.

[OntarioAl]

RunningRoot
Congratulations sounds like the Good Lord has blessed you.
My recommendations are;
1/ keep your C4 (its starts and runs everyday and you own it)
2/take your time, keep your skidding distances short and straight. (road the block with strategically placed landings)
3/ Directionally fell your timber tops towards your landing merchandize your timber and skid the out top first ( it reduces the skidding distance , keeps a straight pull and make s a path for the heavier butt blocks)
4/ This sounds like veneer heaven $$$$$ contact the buyers and get their specs see which ones will work with you as some of the blocks will have to be cut out in the bush if the are too big to skid.
5/ be organized and neat skid out your tops for firewood, make your piles neat and bunched as best as possible according to product it builds a good relationship with your trucker(s)
This looks like an opportunity for you to make a "war chest" so to speak.
A thought to ponder on "Who makes more? An operation that grosses
$100,000 and cost $75,000 or an operation that grosses $50,000 and cost $10,000"
My thoughts
Al

[donny hochstetler]

congradulations on ur job if u need bigger iron find an older 170 franklin they are tough, n  stable n will work their heart out find a standard shift with 453 they can b bought cheap u can pay 4 it in 3 weeks if the timber is what u say i live just north of u n no what u r talkn about most people dont know what it feels like to cut a tree that might b worth 5000. dollars or more my freind sold some old growth white oak trees this summer he inherited from his grandfather 18000.00 for three trees they were huge and i garantee  [ with all do respect ] ur c4 would not of have moved them these logs need to be brought out in no less than 20 ft. pcs or the veneer buyer will be having discussions with you : good luck

[RunningRoot]

That's what I'm thinking, Most of this timber is so big and so tall a lot of the saw logs I would like to cut out of them would go from 16' to 21' feet long. 16'-21'ft. At 40"-55" dia.... I'm not sure the c4d will do it, but I will find out as soon as I start cutting the tract.

I'm going to start looking around for a bigger skidder just in case . It never hurts to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best .

[furltech]

I am not sure how things work in your neck of the woods but what about just hiring the skidding part out to someone with a bigger machine while you just cut .as you said earlier those blocks are rare if you got a big skidder maybe it will be overkill for other blocks .i dont know just throwin it out there

[Corley5]

You might want to contact your veneer buyers and have them look at the trees before you cut them.  That way there's no question about bucking.