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Making it through another year '21-'23

Started by Old Greenhorn, May 17, 2021, 08:06:34 AM

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Old Greenhorn

Well Today is Norwegian Constitution Day, a large holiday in Norway, something like out 4th of July here in the states. Lots of parades, traditional dress, and other celebrations. One of these days maybe I will get there to see it myself. But for a Norwegian, it is no small honor to have my birthday on that date also. As has been my tradition the last 2 years, I start a new thread on this day, just because it is a date I can remember. I don't want the server to get too bogged down with my never ending drivel which at this point is something like 29 page in the old thread, which can be found here: Staying Busy and Out of Trouble '20-'21.  (The one prior to that can be FOUND HERE.) I thought long on the title for this one but could not find anything suitable so settled for what you see. Maybe I will modify it later when I think of something catchy.
It still amazes me that so many folks read and respond to my pitiful offerings here. Because its my b'day and because I have been feeling a little down the last few days because I am so tired, I have been thinking a lot about my dwindling ability to produce physical work on a consistent basis. It sucks to get old. Don't get me wrong, I know I have many blessing's that others may not enjoy. I am healthy and have no medical issues that I am aware of, I don't even have any prescriptions to take daily. I do have a shop, and some decent tools, and I have managed to find some good clients. I found this forum which has exposed me to a lot of the details and knowledge that I had been lacking and provided some amazing and generous mentors to answer my questions. I would not be where I am right now without it, that is for certain. In fact, I have even gotten a couple of personal messages already this morning wishing me a good day, so thanks for that. You guys are nicer to me than I deserve. Each of these blessings is a big thing that many would love to have and I should be grateful for that everyday and I think I am. But I am having trouble staying up with the workload I have developed. In addition, the work demands some investments in better equipment and I am not too interested in jumping up to large trucks and heavy equipment that I know in a few years I would be working to pay for in repairs and upkeep while getting even slower myself. I am still searching for that balance between making some extra money to keep us afloat, and building something that becomes a beast I have to work everyday to feed. I don't mean to whine or give the impression I am feeble. My ability to work is still a lot better than a lot of other folks. My neighbor across the road can't keep up with me for an hour, let alone a day, and he 'works out' nearly everyday and is at least 15 years younger than me. I am just not happy with what I can produce compared to my expectations of what I should produce. Working in the woods puts you in a situation where the environment doesn't give you a break based on your age. It treats everyone the same and will hurt you quick if you let your guard down.
Maybe I am just thinking about all this stuff too much. :D
Anyway, new thread today.
The conversation on the prior thread at the end was about the upcoming Mushroom log harvest trip which hopefully begins at the end of this week. After the suggestions and discussions I was pondering the idea of mounting a truck bed crane in my trailer right about mid-ships to lift log bundles out of the Mule and into the trailer. I found a cheap one locally, but I have to do some measuring to see if I can mount it and still drive the mule on the trailer. This might have to wait until the new trailer gets bought. But I think if I jazz it up a bit for speed with an electric winch it might save time and sweat. Just before I went to bed I also came up with a modified idea that began with WV Sawmiller's suggestion for a forwarding trailer. As I explained to Howard, the terrain is too rough for that in most cases, BUT his idea is a good one that I had been looking into for a while before I set it aside. Well I let it roll around in my head for a few weeks now. 'Yeah, the ground is rough, but what could I do to mitigate that?' As often happens, I found my possible answer from back in history. I am contemplating making a stone boat of sorts with skis of something of that nature that I can drag behind the Mule adding to the capacity. Perhaps not even skis, but a flat poly bottom if I can find some surplus material someplace. Anyway, the idea has merit and I will pursue it once I spend some time in the woods figuring this all out. It also depends on whether reducing the number of trips out of the woods to the landing will really improve my 'cycle time', which, in many case it won't. So for now it is the 'load/unload' issue I will focus on first. That one will have a big impact on allowing me to work longer without having to lift and load each log at least 3 times. A 35# log isn't much to lift and move, but when you do 100 of them times 3 in a single day, it adds up quick and can really take the life out of my legs at the end of the day.
So now that I still have some time before I can get in there, I have been trying to figure out what my numbers goals are to make this work for me (and the clients by keeping the cost where they want it). My initial goal is to cycle through 150 logs/day (from the slash pile to my driveway inventory pile). If I can do that it should put me at just over the break even point, if I can do that for days in a row (without a rest day) it would be very workable. If I need rest days, then the viability goes down. (getting in and out quickly is very important so I do not have an impact on the logger's schedule. That relationship is worth much more than to me than the logs could be.)  If I could do 200 logs a day (I think my current rig can handle that) then I am in pretty good shape. I am hopeful that I can cut more than I can haul in a single trip, so my plan is to cut as much as I can each day, take the load I can and leave the rest stacked. Then the next day get up there early and load those first (a fairly quiet operation), take a break, then start cutting again until the trailer is full and I have more stacked up. If this happens, eventually I will have a mess of logs queued up and can take a day and make multiple trips or do a run with the dump trailer to catch up (more handling involved in the dump trailer, so I'd avoid that if I can). When I run out of time or steam I make one more run to fetch the Mule and gear and whatever logs are left in the truck bed and remaining trailer space. If I can pull this off, it is a workable plan.
As it relates to orders I have on hand right now, the first run (150) should satisfy a 'co-op' order I have (I need a day to deliver that) plus the two tiny local orders. After that I have the order for Cornell (which is still in some limbo as to the details) which is 300-500 logs, and 2 commercial orders for 100 to 400 logs each but one of those is white oak only. I don't know how much of that I will find, if any. Balancing those large orders to make everyone happy will be tough, but this all depends on what I can get in the inventory. The commercial buyers are willing to wait until I get the right stuff in the right quantity. Also, this first lot I am cutting is a new one, not the one my plans were based on. It's a rush clearing job that just came up. So I have to be fast and when it ends, if all goes well and my relationship remains in good standing (and I am still standing), I still have the 'big lot' coming up in mid-June. Hopefully the money from the first lot can put me in that bigger trailer, I will have learned a lot and outfitted myself better as time goes on. My last ace in the hole is that I have one or two sturdy folks who have offered to help me when I am ready. This means I will have to figure out my system so that I maximize their time and make it worth while for them. I also need to be pulling enough productivity to pay them, so for now, I work alone until I get my act together.
 Anyway, that's my plan. I wanted to put it down in writing so I could come back and see how close I was, and what I completely missed. Second guessing myself is a cheap hobby. ;D
Here we plunge into another year, let's see what this one brings. For now, I'll just worry about today.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

VB-Milling

Gosh and I thought I had a lot to do!

Happy Birthday Tom.  Take a minute to celebrate LOL
HM126

samandothers

Happy Birthday Tom!  It is good to have another!  Enjoy your day and do something fun or enjoyable, maybe not work related!  My daughter's birthday is also today.  She's a bit younger than you.  :D

doc henderson

I think the totes I use for firewood might come in handy, modifies for your purpose.  with enough they could provide storage and inventory management.  can be moved with a crane or forks, or pallet jack on a hard surface.  they are about 3.5 x 4 feet so could handle your size logs.  could help keep them sterile and such and with the plastic liner, help to not damage them.  just had to get a comment on here so it pops up on my cue.  Happy birthday!



 

 
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

WV Sawmiller

Tom,

  Happy birthday. I assume you are wearing your fancy silver buckle shoes and your fancy little knife all day today.

  Good luck on the stoneboat idea. I used to use an old p/u truck hood with the right curve to pull behind my little gravely tractor. I just ran a cable or piece of old guy wire through the metal and it would tear out after a while but it was cheap and fast to replace. The old car hood laid flat, the front curved up to ride over obstacles, and I could butt the back up against the big stone or boulder and it was easy to roll a big stone over one flip then drag it to a low spot I was filling. I'd cut a locust pole and lay it across 2 trees or stumps as a dam and fill in behind them. I read a blurb here somewhere a while back about a guy in Tennessee who had made stone boats all his life. Was pretty neat. i watched the Mountain Men show where Eustace Conway down near Hickory NC made one to drag his logs out. Looks like a fun project. I don't know what kind of swing arm loader you found but I think HF makes a cheap one worth investigating. Good luck. Stay safe. Keep those posts a'coming.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Tacotodd

Happy B-day Tom, OGH. As always, you are well deserved for your service to all, and the break (of sorts) that you get from your past life for "da man". Now, you are "da man"!

Good job on what you DO!
Trying harder everyday.

gspren

Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

btulloh

HM126

farmfromkansas

Happy birthday, have found that many of my friends and neighbors can't keep up either, a couple guys younger than me are having a hard time just getting onto their farm equipment.  One thing I have observed, when you get to be an older farmer, all the younger guys want to be your friend. So now I have more friends than ever.  Having a good time. About the prescriptions,  been avoiding that stuff, but the doctor is determined to get me on a statin.  So have been having oatmeal for breakfast, beans for lunch and an apple for supper.  All supposed to help you get your cholesterol down. Think I could run my truck off my own gas if I just had a way to get it into the fuel system.
Most everything I enjoy doing turns out to be work

WV Sawmiller

FFK,

   Remember in the famous words from my then 6 y/o granddaughter "Never trust a fart."
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

DbltreeBelgians

Happy Birthday Tom, it's a good day every time you have one. 

Brent

nybhh

Happy birthday Tom.  Those AG/FIBC bags are cheap, light-weight and I believe sized accordingly.  They could be a great way to minimize handling if you add a crane lift and are cheap enough that you could charge the buyers a "deposit" to cover the bag if they don't return them.
Woodmizer LT15, Kubota L3800, Stihl MS261 & 40 acres of ticks trees.

KEC

Happy Birthday OGH. Take comfort in knowing that you have no monopoly on the trials and tribulations of our age group. Keep plugging!

jb616

First of all, Happy Birthday.  I have a landowner where I hunt that is 87 and still getting out some to cut and split firewood. I found out he no longer can start a chainsaw and has been using a battery operated one for small wood. I gathered up my son and both chainsaws and cut a few cords out in the woods where his daughter and himself can split it and haul it in. We could have done the whole job but to preserve some of his dignity (doesn't like to accept help) we did it this way for now. Not only do I feel obligated to help this gentleman out, I will be in this position some day and I feel that the Good Lord will send me someone to help me out as well. I can see the coming signs as I try to flex my arthritic fingers after a good days work....

Nebraska


Iwawoodwork

Yes Harbor Freight has a small bed mounted hyd crane that will lift about 700 lbs.they used to be on sale for around $70 with reg price around $100. I have 2 of them mounted an different trailers. I mounted them at the front of the trailers on the frame with about a 3' extension using 6" well casing and 3 1"x 1" side braces, that gave me enough height to load items like skidder tires , engines, etc. I also added an extension to the Boom by sliding a thicker, longer piece of box tube over the first section down to the lift cylinder mount, then the outer boom section slid inside the thicker piece added about 24" of reach.

Ljohnsaw

Happy Birthday, Tom!  Looking forward to more "dribble" :D
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

Hilltop366


firefighter ontheside

Happy Birthday!  I can't believe its been a year since you started the last thread and what  a year it's been.  I have more to do than I have time to do it.  I have logs to mill.  I have 2 live edge tables to build for customers.  I have to build a fancy dog kennel that will double as a stand to hold an aquarium.  Summer is coming and that means when I'm home my boys will be home with me.  I love them, but they are not helpful in me getting projects done.  Ohh and I have a pig roast to go to.  Let's not forget that.
Woodmizer LT15
Kubota Grand L4200
Stihl 025, MS261 and MS362
2017 F350 Diesel 4WD
Kawasaki Mule 4010
1998 Dodge 3500 Flatbed

Andries

From a Dutch guy to a Norwegian : Gratulerer med dagen! 
LT40G25
Ford 545D loader
Stihl chainsaws

bitternut

Happy Birthday young fella. We survived the past year so the future should be easier. Keep grinning and plodding along, it will keep you young for a long time. 8)

Old Greenhorn

Well first, thanks, I am truly overwhelmed with all the responses. I never anticipated that for sure. Our flag pole is down for painting otherwise I would have had the Norwegian flag flying today, that means as much or more to me than my birthday which is just a reminder of aging. None the less, good wishes from friends always gives one fuel, does it not? So thank you all.
 Funny how a day can go along and change quickly, this time it was my own fault. I mentioned just last night on the other thread that adding a boom crane to the trailer might be a helpful idea, but would be down the road. Even when I started this thread this morning it was a back burner thing. But I thunk on it some more and decided to take the plunge. We ran up to Harbor freight and picked one up that I checked out. Now I read most of the reviews on this one and attributed the major complaints to operator error and a lack of basic engineering knowledge during install. I looked at videos and even saw the results, but all problems were related to getting it installed solid, not in sheet metal of flimsy frame parts. I decided to take the plunge for $160 bucks. I have made bigger mistakes, besides, I have a welder. ;D
 So we got it home by 1:30 and it took me about 2.5 hours to install (it was hot in the sun). I drilled through the outside rail for two screws and caught a full length cross rail for the third and the forth is just through wood and the supplied angle iron. Looks like this on top. I added a piece of 7/4 RO underneath to spread the load out and squeezed it between the supplied angle iron and the deck. This, I hoped, would spread the load. It did.


 

Looks like this underneath. 


 

Then I gave it a test. First with one log.



 

 then with 3 firewood logs.



 

Ugly install, no trimming or cleaning up. I am thinking I will yank this off here and use it on the new trailer when that day comes so I didn't want to start cutting things yet. Note in that last photo that the crane column is at full load for those logs and is still dead square to the bed. Also the boom is at full extent. The bed flexes before the crane does. I should add a drop jack on that corner the firm things up, but for now it just peachy. I am glad I made the decision and went ahead. I think this is going to make life a lot easier on my legs if I can get the rest of the process to comply with this system. The crane is rated for 1,000 pounds in the shortest boom position, 500 at the longest. No issues with the workmanship, but I didn't have time to look it over real well. The hand winch came with pre-frayed wire rope. ;D They did a lousy job spooling it and I pulled it all out and started over with a tighter lay. I believe this thing is strong enough to drag 12" and under logs up on the trailer too. All in all I am pretty dang happy with it. I also got some 6' double  eye slings so I can bundle and lift loads. I spent some time brainstorming with NYBHH this morning and looking at bundling options that won't break the bank. We came up with a couple. More work on that when I earn some cash.
 Gotta run because my daughter came over to cook us a birthday dinner, some kind of special pork chops, I'm told. It's a secret.
 All in all not a bad day. Thanks again for all the good wishes, they caught me off guard but set my day aright.
 Tomorrow I test load the mule to see how this all fits. I did make one mistake and meant to put the crane on the other side so Mule loading was easier. Tomorrow we find out just how much of a mistake I made. :D It should be fine, but.....
 Anyway, that's for another day.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Tacotodd

And another one and another one....

Just hope that they go on as long as you do 😄
Trying harder everyday.

Walnut Beast

Happy Birthday 🎂 Hope your Birthday dinner is a good one 👍

trimguy

Happy birthday and hope your pork chops were awesome!!

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