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Log storage and moving

Started by kboilers, September 26, 2009, 02:35:49 PM

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kboilers

  I've started thinking about building another cabin.  I'll be using at least 40 pine logs - 25 ft length, 12 inch butt diameter.  I'm looking for low cost ways to store the logs off the ground and keep them protected from the elements.  I'll be using the larger logs first, so I'll be able to sort them prior to storage.  Depending on the storage ideas, I could also use suggestions on equipment for moving the logs.  My previous project was built near my driveway and used smaller logs.  I was able to use an arch and parbuckling (both powered by me) to get the logs in position.  I don't think that will work as well with these logs. 

TW

The only way I know about to store fresh logs is to bark them well and stack them with 2x4 as stickers. Then you build a roof on the stack. I you intend to take logs from the stack one by one you'd better build the roof as a temporary pole barn and cover it with corrugated sheet iron scavenged from some burned or demolished building. There must be plenty of air between the stack and the roof and the lower most logs must be at least a foot above ground.

I have a stack like this awaiting future projects. The logs are drying well and do not get any damage from it. I got some wind fallen spruce trees for free last winter and had to find a way to store them.

Edited for spelling.

James P.

Kboilers Good question, I was waiting for a response. I have some gum that I read on the forum makes good lumber if felled and let sit a while before milling. then  stickered well. I have not started cutting but didn't want logs to go bad once down. Debarking ,Stacking them and covering sounds like a good idea and luckily I will keep the length about 10 ft. so covering them I shouldn't need to much tin. I might add but not sure , end sealing as well. As far as stacking , a prentice with a grapple , yea I don't have one either. I will try and use my forklift and set back stops so they can't roll off. If you can set back stops it would allow you to slide the logs up on the stacks with some timber ramps. be careful and good luck

jander3

As long as the logs are up off the ground on skids, they can sit in the weather.  Provided the cabin will be completed within about 2 years, I wouldn't worry about building a cover (wouldn't hurt, just not sure it is worth the time).  My preference would be to leave the bark on and spray them with just a touch of diesel to keep the bugs down and then peel them when needed.   

On log handling, I lift 25-35 foot logs up on the building with an Oliver 880 and a front end loader.  You have to position the log near the building with an arch, then the loader works fine for putting the log on and off the building for scribing and cutting (as long as the ground is nice an level (I would not pick up a 25 footer on a incline).  You also need to make sure your set up is right so that the log doesn't roll back on the operator when lifting high on the wall.  I had some standard clevis hooks welded into my bucket, these hooks coupled with some logging chain and lifting straps worked very well for me.





You can parbuckle 25 and 30 footers up on to a wall with two guys and a rope or using a winch, no problem.  However, it takes time. 

A lifting shear works OK, but you are limited in where you can pick from. The next building project I tackle, the first thing I will install is a boom derick guy wired off with cable right in the center of the building so I can pick logs from any side and reach every area of the building. 


TW

To bark logs and let them dry before sawing is not a very good idea. Sawing dry logs is a pain and the resulting timber gets full of cracks. The oldtimers stored sawlogs floating in a lake if they did not have time for sawing. The water kept the logs sound.

The logs in my covered stack are for some future log building. I plan on building something within 5 years or so. In my oppinion free logs are worth the extra effort needed to cut the long groove in dry logs.

I own no forest and have to rely on windfallen trees and other cheap opportunities. Therefore I cannot fell the trees when I need them.

James P.

I thought it was the best way to saw sweet gum since it can be problematic . I haven't sawn it before and had just read that. let it  rest for a few months supposedly helps. I have a small pond right next to my mill. guess I could yell heads up , logs coming in to the fish and frogs. I would definitely prefer to saw fresh cut logs. Good luck with your building. I am not at the building stage yet but hopefully will get there one of these days.

ljmathias

I did what's being discussed here- Katrina gave me a windfall (pun intended) of SYP that I was able to peel the bark from a whole lot faster than I could cut it- only option I had at the time since so much else had to be fixed and rebuilt.  Now starting to saw up those "air dried" logs and it's a mixed bag: some are dry through and through while some held onto enough moisture to rot in parts- not fungus and not beetles, just good ole rot...

Some of the logs have sawed pretty good, although dry pine makes the blades heat up pretty bad so running full out on the lube mix is really needed.  Lumber coming off is not the best- fizzely and somewhat weak feeling, although that may be just a "feeling" and not a true measure of strength.  I do know that they do NOT have the same hardness and color as kiln dried SYP and that makes me leery of using any in high load applications.  Just made some stair stringers and rough cut steps from one old log and they all look pretty good.  Also been cutting some siding to treat and put up this week and it looks ok, just not all that strong.

Long and short of it: if that's your only option, well, that's your only option, but if you can cut it fresh and get it stickered to air dry right, than that's a better way to go, IMO.  Whatever, though, don't waste what God and nature have sent your way- good stewardship and all....

Oh, and sweet gum?  Beautiful wood and tough as nails, but boy does it twist and turn while it's drying: I've got one piece 2" thick I'd planned to use for a bench that is bent so bad I have no idea what to do with it- it sure is pretty though.

Lj
LT40, Long tractor with FEL and backhoe, lots of TF tools, beautiful wife of 50 years plus 4 kids, 5 grandsons AND TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS all healthy plus too many ideas and plans and not enough time and energy

kboilers

  Thanks for the feedback.  Here are some replies to the previous postings......
 
    I'm building a hand scribed log cabin, so whether the logs are dry or green won't make too much difference.

   With stacking the logs with 2x4's, I'm worried about the weight of those logs putting dents in the other logs, especially if they are in the same position for a year.  The metal racks at the lumber store seem to hold quite a bit of weight and would keep the logs separated.  It would make it easier to rotate the logs every once and a while.

     I had thought about parbuckling again with a winch and with my time versus money tradeoff (more time than money) that might be the way I go.  However each log goes thru the up/down cycle twice and then if all goes well, one final trip up the ramps for a final fit.  After parbuckling 56 logs, I was pretty good at the setup.  However sometimes it seemed those tapered logs had their own agenda. 

    Has anyone tried using a portable gantry for lifting?  I could have the gantry straddle the log wall.  Then I just need to skid the log into position, hook up the straps, and hoist it up.  It would be fairly easy to move it from wall to wall as the logs go up.

jander3





Powered this set up with an electric winch lashed to a tree connected up to a marine battery.  Moved the log in with a four wheeler and log arch. To be effective you would need a similar set up in the other direction.  Army surplus blocks, manila rope, and a few lifting straps ran about $200.





This portable gin pole works well for lifting, one guy can move this around and set it up.




Skyline set up is very flexible.   You can power it up with a four wheeler or tractor and it is easy to position logs from all sides of the building.   As long as you have two large trees that you can can stablize with guy lines, this set up is pretty easy (except for the 30' climb to install the skyline).

A gantry set up to move around inside the building should work fine, till you get high on the building.


kboilers

Jon,

  I will have plenty of trees around for rope connections, so the gin pole might work out.  What type of hardware do you have on top of the pole?  Hard to see in the picture, but looks like it's designed to fit on that pole dimension. 
  Is there something in the ground that prevents the pole from sliding back?

jander3

I had a local welder make this up.  It has a pulley on top so at some point I can run a wire rope and attach a hand winch. 









The back of the pole is either staked or braced otherwise it would slip out.

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