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Total of our experience-Logging and working in the woods

Started by Jeff, June 27, 2008, 10:47:28 PM

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huntdibbs

I have 24 years cutting and skidding logs in the woods of Pa. Hope to do at least another 10 - 15.
MF1540 4x4 massey ferguson tractor, JD440C skidder, Case650H W/allied wc3 winch

tj240

I started early, about 1985 cutting firewood up. First saw was a 410 used homelite, wasn't lite. Went full time around 1992.  I loved it it, logging. Hurt real bad in 93. LIke it was said before, once the saw dust is in your blood, there is no going back.  I still love it and am alot better at it. Jwilly is my dad and we are partners in Williams Timber Harvesting.  We work weekends, He is 68, I'm 47. I log full time 5 days for a friend, then log with dad on weekends, my son helps when he is home. Dad is the header man with a old 160 barko.  I cut and skid with a 1986 timberjack 240A.  I used to be a jd man but that 240 is so easy to run i love it!! Run a real nice 540b, during the week.  Good luck to all loggers and wood people. STAY SAFE!!! I f you dont love it dont do it!!!
work with my father[jwilly] and my son. we have a 240 tj 160 barko[old] works great three generations working together

Cutter/Climber

I put 10 because I did a little time cutting firewood when I was 16 for a farmer that I worked for. Then worked for my dad doing electrical before started climbing. Started into the logging business 6 years ago.

Brandon1986

I put down 20. I was 18 mos. old in a carseat in dads old 75 w900a Kenworth self loading log truck, one of my first memories is sitting in his lap with that massive steering wheel in my hand steering down a frozen logging road, must have been somewhere in the ballpark of 1988-89. He bought me a toy chainsaw in 88 2 1/2  years later I wore it out and he threw it away.. I was deveststed so at about 5 he bought me the smallest saw Jonsered had at the time and let me run it under close supervison. I started running our blockbuster firewood proscessor at between 6&7 pretty steady and been in the woods most of the time since then. Now I am just about 30. Some of my best times and memories are in the woods and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now my 5 year old is learning how to swing an ax in hopes of raising a 6th generation logger
Brandon

Oldman47

I have owned a saw for well over 30 years but it would be misleading to say I have much experience. I doubt that my Stihl 026 has had more than a dozen tanks of fuel put through it and my Husky 555 is new just this year.
X27, Stihl 026, Husky 555 AT

D2 Cody

I guess this probably sounds like the way most of us began with our dad's cutting fire wood in the fall and winter.I remember I was around ten years old or so and having to follow dad around in the timber carrying chunked up ash and hackberry and stacking it in the dodge then as a few more years went by I got to run the hydraulic splitter..talk about one happy 12 or 13 year old lol.I always hated that chore because dad has been in the excavating business my whole life taking trees out so it was always a chore keeping up with the piles and seemed never ending and pointless but I guess the house was always warm.I went on my own and bought an old cat d6c and an echo 590 and stihl in 2012 and decided to go into the landclearing and logging business..I know funny for a kid from Nebraska..and now I love the woods  that I'm older and wouldn't trade my job for anything.I am still learning everyday and still trying to get established with knowing all there is to logging and marketing the wood and etc so if anybody ever has any good advice please don't be afraid to share I promise you won't hurt my feelings lol
Are you just going to lay there and bleed or get up and do something about it..Wyatt Earp Tombstone

Echo-Stihl-Caterpillar-Dodge-Craftsman-Lincoln

geoffy


CP1991

I marked 10 years when I was thirteen I was cutting firewood by myself to sell had been in the woods with dad as long as I can remember but at thirteen I had a 254 husky and a dodge pickup dad still has the 254 I still have the dodge.  Then we got 372 h uskys  and a ford f 700 we were in tall cotton then after that he didn't need to cut firewood for extra money and I was falling logs for other people. I got my own logging equipment bout 2 years ago still got the 372's and the f 700 is a loader truck dad is a welder and don't work with me but he comes out and I drag him out tops for firewood for his pot belly stove. He still thinks his 372's are better than my 390's I just let him think so
Clark 666b Clark 662 Chevy c60 prentce g husky 390's

supertrucker

10 years or so in total, mostly with whole tree and tree length, started in a grapple skidder at 17, ran buncher for a wile, spent a couple years going between a craine loading trucks and feeding a chipper and a propac limber, ben mostly driving truck for the last few years. ben on my own for a year and a half, started with trucking now I'm getting in to the CTL side of it.
2006 westernstar, 1989 LTL 9000, 3406B 425, 8LL, 1994 Stoughton chip wagon, 2011 John Deere 1510E, 2011 pmi trailer, 2003 serco 7000.

Slasherguy

New to the forum world but just wanted to try and show a little video of how I spend most of my time in the woods. http://youtu.be/82jPUXeyptg

beenthere

Welcome to the Forestry Forum. You are the "other" operator in an earlier video of a new member. Welcome to you both. Looks like you have some good equip. running to process wood.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Slasherguy

Yes I am the "other" operator in the video and thanks for welcoming us. We are very eager to see and hear about all the other wood tics and how everyone is doing it.

beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Logger RK

I put 40 years Logging. 55 now started getting a little money doing it around 15. Actually cut trees much younger. Dad was clearing some land 2 make hay fields when I was in grade school & when me & my older brother got tired of riding on the TD14 Dozer he give us a ax & said go cut a tree down. That'll keep u busy. So we found about a 30 inch pine on the river bank. By the end of summer it finally made a big splash. Ma never heard about that one or pa would've got a ear full. After that dad still clearing land a few years later the brother heard them aspens might b worth cutting the root ball off & skidding out with dads ford major tractor & 8 footing. It b less 2 burn 2 finish the land clearing job all so. Brother used dads Sears or Wards chain saw( not sure which brand now)4 cutting. Till he went Big Time & bought a Brand New Homlite XL12. Then after land clearing was done dad had standing aspen we could cut. Brother buy a new Johnsred 621. I believe first tree he cut(and it had 2 b a big one)the tree comes back on the saw. I run over & help. The 2 of us could keep it from falling on the saw but if one would try 2 get the tractor it would start 2 go. In the end it did go over & break cover & fin's off head & jug. But still ran. Dad was a farmer/truck driver& didn't have much advise about logging so it was learn as u go kind of. Worked 4 brother till 20 years ago or so & he went trucking & farming. Bought my Hahn from brother & hired out 2 others till getting my own Skidder then shear. Worked alone 4 a good amount of years. Was kind of nice that I'd b running different machines.Told The Boys they should go get them high payin jobs. They did then started buying Eq so they could work out in the woods.Now 3 of my sons work with me. Oldest after getting out of The Marines Assaultman Weapons Platton bought a chipper & middle son bought a Hahn a Drott feller buncher & Drott with Denis Stroke Delimber.(now he wants me 2 park Hahn's & get a big slasher)& youngest bought a cable Skidder last year. I still do most of saw felling,if there's any over 20-22 inch the big shear can't do I'll fire up The Sthil O66 with 32 inch bar. I tell The Boys if somebody's got 2 go it might as well b the oldest. It's good working with The Boys as I always say, but sometimes they get in 2 big of a hurry. As dad used 2 say about The Old Bull & The Young Bull standing on the hill looking at the herd of heifers. Young bull say lets run down there & breed one of them heifers,Old Bull say,let's walk down there & breed them all. Same job 40 years & same Bride 35,Life's Good. As dad also used 2 say,if ur job is ur vacation u got I made. 👍

Mountaynman

Started at 8 or 10 helping gramp in the farm woodlot did TSI on the 160 acres to come up with 60 plus cord every year to heat 5 houses back then we twitched with a horse or a team to a main trail then bucked and loaded with a old cable contraption he had later on had a 540 skidder and 350 dozer still loaded on his old trip bunk wagon  then tractor ride to the farm the original cut to length set up I guess work now with dozer and forwarder on mostly sloping regened farmland round here taking out ash sawtimber and pulp to release 10 - 12 inch maples really fast growing timber on some of this ground round here had some 40 yr old ash this summer that were 16 " logs always liked farmin the woods thanks to gramp been gone 25 yrs now and still see him almost every day in the woods pointing to a tree to take down and tellin me not to hurt them little maples

Who will go in the woods and do our work when we are to old to do it there doesn't seem to be many young fellas with much interest?
Semi Retired too old and fat to wade thru waist deep snow hand choppin anymore

jrose1970

I know what you mean about young fellas not having much interest. I have a nine year old step-son who loves to help me.  I told Aileen, I'm planning on him being my prodigy. He's a fine little feller. I'm really careful when he is around though. There are so many ways to get hurt bad. Welcome to the forum.
HFE-36; International 424-37HP; McCullogh Pro 10-10

NorthMaineLogger

I just recently became a forester after graduating from University of Maine. Spent 3 out of 4 years timber harvesting: operating skidders and forwarders. So a total of about 5 years.

danbuendgen

Just checked 10 years for professional logging. I am very surprised that 5 to 10 years has the highest percent on this survey. The average logger in Vermont is 50! I guess this is because a lot of people say they just cut there own firewood and are no logging for a living...
Husqvarna ~ TimberJack ~ Dodge Cummins

Norway Pine

I'm 19, a sapling I guess to most of you folks out there  :D  but I first got into logging and milling when I was 13 or maybe 14, slabbing up logs with the old man for tabletops and bars and things. I suppose though that there is a lack of young folks in the forestry area and we could sure use a hell of a lot less lawyers and business majors.

moonmanmort

Hey all, new forum member here. I don't have much experience, but I wanted to be included in the data.

1 summer arborist/tree removal work
2 summers forestry tech work
3 years BS Forestry degree - cumulative field labs total: about 1 summer


Total field experience: 4 summers, or 1 full year.



jcmc

Started cutting firewood to sell when I was 16 with dads Mac250. Worked for a municipality for many years cut lots of roadside trees.
Still cutting firewood for self and enjoy being out in the woods.

TreesLogan

Started cutting trees with a neighbor when I was only 16. I worked with him through high school and part way into community college. Then the rat race caught on and I thought I was going to make it big so I neglected my trade for some time. I still did a little work on the side but not enough to satisfy me. This year I quit my job and I am going full force to pursue my own tree service company. Glad to be here with like minded members Im probably going to learn a thing or two.
When you wake up and realize you sarificed your passion for a dollar that never came. At least I am awake now. http://www.treeserviceloganut.com

allaboutsawdust

First picked up a saw when I was 14 cutting firewood and have been cutting anything and everything i can ever since. It's surprising for me to see how high a percentage of people checked of 5 to ten years knowing how the majority of the industry (at least in our area) is over the age of 50.
A father son cut to length team with a '00 rottne smv harvester,  and a 2010 rottne smv forwarder, '74 664 clark ranger skidder.

woodmaker

I have never been a "real " logger. I bought a used McCulloch in 1975(i think it is a 250,but I looked the other day and couldn't find numbers on it) and cut cord wood to sell for extra spending money while in college,and since then,have cut firewood for my father and myself,maybe a week total each year. Call it one year,total
franklin q80,builtrite 40,husky 372,sachs dolmar 123, dozers,excavators,loaders,tri-axle dump trucks ,autocar tractor with dump,flatbed and detachable trailers, and 8  f350 diesels

win38mag

  I started back in 67 by going to Paul Smiths College, for an associates Degree in Forestry, in Paul Smith , New York, just west of Saranac, Lake NY....I was 18 and thought I knew it all !!  LOL...Dropped out in Nov 68 and was in the US NAVY SEABEES ,for the next 3 years active and 7 reserve. Got off active in 73 and finally finished the degree in 77 at UMASS Amherst,Mass.   summers were spent working with the Father-in-law logging in Western Mass. chopping,skidding, trucking, cutting firewood, taking the camp meat when it  showed, ......come deer season we'd scrap cars for spending money in the hunting camp.....  T'was.a long time ago ,pretty much lasted  into the mid 80's , when I then went railroading. The mechanical experience from the CB'S and fixing broken equipment in the woods  shoehorned into a mechanic's job on the Boston and Maine RR and then Central Vermont RR.
   I still to this day cut firewood and split it  for seasoning and sale , the wife got tired of wood heat 25 years ago ! LOL....and she didn't even do any of the hard parts !!!  Go Figure !!
Jon in Deerfield, Mass

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