winter logging is about to start (I hope)

Quebecnewf · December 26, 2009, 09:40:56 PM

Here are the pics of the completed sleigh

Any questions or comments

Quebecnewf

Mooseherder · December 26, 2009, 10:34:32 PM

It looks great and light weight also. The white shoe material underneath each ski must work like a charm.

SwampDonkey · December 27, 2009, 05:52:09 AM

Did you use teflon, Newf , on the runners?

Quebecnewf · December 27, 2009, 07:18:25 AM

No its not teflon though that would work as well. The plastic is called UHMW.

WE buy it in sheets of 10 ft and then rip it to the width we need

Quebecnewf

SwampDonkey · December 27, 2009, 08:48:14 AM

Teflon would be great for me to use, since they make it nearby. It's used on farm machinery sometimes to reduce wear on steel where rocks and mud ride along conveyors. My brother wants a small sled for his Elan. Don't know if I'll get to it. ;D

John Mc · December 27, 2009, 09:17:41 AM

We used to call UHMW plastic (stands for "ultra high molecular weight" plastic, if I recall) the poor man's teflon. Similar properties and applications as teflon, but a lot cheaper. We used a lot of it at work where we needed things to slide easily and without wear on the underlying parts. Not quite as slick as teflon, but it did the job.

DGK · December 27, 2009, 10:29:29 PM

Very nice looking sleds. What is the maximum weight that you load on them? Thanks for the photos.

Quebecnewf · December 28, 2009, 07:22:46 AM

The weight you put on is based on many factors. The sleighs can hold more weight than you can pile on them in softwood logs. I have on ocassion towed 2 sleighs like this piled high with logs. I was hauling on the sea ice only at that time so no hills and it was a hard packed trail. When I arrived at the mill I would unhook one load to get up the small incline to the mill.

These types of sleighs are a fairly new way to move logs. The more traditional method was with a type of homebuilt sled called a kometick.

You can find pics of these on the net. They are still built and used here today for hauling firewood . They sleighs are only used for logging.

Quebecnewf

Kevin · December 28, 2009, 10:04:49 AM

If the back ends were sloped like the front they would be easier to back up.

motohed · December 28, 2009, 04:20:46 PM

It would be cool to see a load of logs on the sled . I am having a hard time being able to visualize how much you can haul on the sled .
Thanks Scott

Quebecnewf · December 28, 2009, 10:12:11 PM

here is an old photo of a loaded sled

Quebecnewf

Coon · December 28, 2009, 11:16:34 PM

What size and brands of snowmobiles do you use for pulling these loads?

Quebecnewf · December 29, 2009, 11:20:41 AM

I use a Yamaha VK540 this is a basic snowmobile that hasen't changed much over the last 12 years . Its a truck.

To haul decent logs you need a fair size machine. The smaller the machine the smaller the load.

Most machines these days are for sport not work so your choices are limited.

Quebecnewf

Coon · December 29, 2009, 12:57:19 PM

I hear ya on the snowmobile thing..... I am thinking about converting an old snowmobile into a log pulling machine. The snowmobile I am looking at is no prize to look at right now as it is nothing more than a tunnel w/ track and suspension and skis. I have an older 4 cycle engine that I would be mounting on. I do not have a hood for this machine but would fab something up...... thinkin' it's gonna be a redneck build..... :D

I have my skidding arch nearly complete and ready to roll with just a couple of modifications left to make. This arch was specifically built for behind a snowmobile as we normally only skid wood in the winter.

Brad.

motohed · December 30, 2009, 12:10:01 PM

That pretty interesting , I would not have believed a snowmoble would pull that much . I guess you would have to have a pretty well groomed trail .

Quebecnewf · December 30, 2009, 06:46:59 PM

The trail is not groomed. You break the trail as you go in each day. Snow conditions vary from day to day and some days are great and some days not so good. Itake a load of slabs and stick them up along the way in across the marshes. This serves two purposes. One it helps to get you back home in a snow storm. Two when you have a fresh batch of snow you know that as long as you stay on the east side of the slabs your old trail is there under the new snow and this makes abig difference when your trying to make a new trail, your not starting from scratch. I also make a habit that each time i drive in i put one ski on the edge of the old track i made the day before and then drive with the outside ski of in new snow, in this manner i widen the trail each day.

Quebecnewf

SwampDonkey · December 30, 2009, 06:53:45 PM

With real cold temps like 0 F or colder, just disturbing the snow pack with a machine or sled will stiffen up the snow over night so it isn't fluffy. Stops the sinking feeling. :D Also real cold, wind driven snow, is almost hard enough to walk on.

beenthere · December 30, 2009, 10:00:40 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on December 30, 2009, 06:53:45 PM
With real cold temps like 0 F or colder, just disturbing the snow pack with a machine or sled will stiffen up the snow over night so it isn't fluffy. Stops the sinking feeling. :D Also real cold, wind driven snow, is almost hard enough to walk on.

It's that "almost" that is a real killer :

Like walking up a flight of stairs all the way in and out.

fuzzybear · December 31, 2009, 04:48:46 AM

I always break the next days trail before I quit for the day. One pass with snowshoes just to find where I want the trail to be and then once or twice with the skidoo to pack it down. Makes the next day start easier. That is until mother nature sends in high winds and blows ALL the trails shut again. >:(

SwampDonkey · December 31, 2009, 07:38:30 AM

Quote from: beenthere on December 30, 2009, 10:00:40 PM

It's that "almost" that is a real killer : Like walking up a flight of stairs all the way in and out.

It's more like the "yes mamms" the wind makes for the sled to bump up and down on that could be the killer. "I think my liver moved" :D

bushmechanic · January 02, 2010, 11:01:37 AM

Hey quebecnewf this is bushmechanic,another newfie and new to the FF.I am from the east coast of the island and am well aware of snowmobile logging.I was wondering if you had a pushbench sawmill,I don't guess that is common anywhere else,I don't see anything else on the internet about it.

YukonJon · January 02, 2010, 01:19:33 PM

Interesting to see a home built sleigh of this type. I was wondering if you use springs on your sleigh hitches and if so where do you get them? Do you use a swivel on the front log bunk? What do you make your draw bars from?
I recently started using a snowmobile for getting firewood and am gearing up for getting saw logs with it. Prior to that I was using an argo with tracks.

Jon

Quebecnewf · January 03, 2010, 06:58:57 AM

I have seen those pushbunk sawmills. Way to dangerous for my part . I will stick to my bandmill.

Some guys use springs on the tow bar but not too many are making new tow bars that way. The cross bunks on my sleighs are made of angle iron welded back to back. I do not put a swivel on my front bunk. There is enough give in the lashing line to allow the sleigh to twist and turn as needed. I had a swivel on my first sleigh I built but it was too dangerous. You would forget yourself when loading logs on the sleigh and step on the bunk and fall down very quickly.

Quebecnewf