Log decks/ live chains

customsawyer · January 12, 2006, 03:52:45 AM

How many of you use a log deck? If so do you use a 2 or a 3 strand and what brand? Is it hydralic or some other type of power. The reason I ask is that using my backhoe as a cant hook on alot of these big hardwoods logs is a little slow and I fear one is going to get lose from me one day and roll into my mill harder than she can take it.

Bibbyman · January 12, 2006, 08:44:54 AM

Here is a like to a thread I started some time back when I asked about the same question.

It'll be a place to start.

Link ==> Looking for suggestions on log decks.

If you do a search on "logdeck" in the Sawmill and Milling section only, you'll come up with more examples.

We still have our junk deck parts and have not put anything together ... yet.

woodbowl · January 12, 2006, 09:12:36 AM

Quote from: customsawyer on January 12, 2006, 03:52:45 AM
How many of you use a log deck?

I set up my WM rails that came with the mill on jackstands, and then I hook on a homemade pair to those. I've got about 16' of dead deck that is about 30" high to roll logs on. It is a pain for the customer to load and a real job to roll that fat butt/skinny top to the bed. I like bibby's links and hope to build a light duty, ground level, 12 volt, portable live deck! I know ....... that's a lot of taters in one sack but it is dooable and the only way I know of to eliminate a lot of messing around.

customsawyer · January 12, 2006, 07:06:50 PM

First thing first I wanted to thank Ron for moving this thread to from the general forestry thread as I was half asleep this morning when I posted it.
The main reason I was looking into log decks is that on the oversized logs that I am cutting as I roll them down to the sawmill it will knock it harder than I like and make it slide some. I don't want to anchor the mill as I am afraid that if I don't let it have that little bit of give in the set up it will bust something else on the mill, like some of the downriggers or such some of these logs are 30+ inches on the small end and 16' long I don't know the exact wieght but they are pushing 5000lbs or better. I know that WM offers one that I may end up getting but I don't really want to part with that much dough. Just thought some of you backwoods inventors might have a trick up your sleeve.

Bibbyman · January 12, 2006, 07:47:35 PM

Back when we had the manual mill we rigged up a "dead deck" by bridging the mill to a cant with a couple of 12' sections of 3x5 rectangular tubes. I picked up these tubes at the scrap yard. They were part of a dump wagon frame I was told.

I added a coupe of shackles to one end that rested over the section of frame where one end of the back supports are hinged. The shackles have a hole in the end where I run a bolt through under the mill frame. This was a precaution in case the tube tried to rise off the mill for some reason.

When we set up our new LT40HDE25 Super, we used the loading arms and had blocking on the ground to set logs on. We found this to be a general pain in the butt. Sometimes more than one log would roll and then you'd have to struggle to get it back in place. If the logs were stacked and one rolled out, another would take its place making it quite a struggle to get things back working again.

The biggest problem was that loading arm setup couldn't handle short logs worth a DanG!

We searched for a live deck and ended up getting something that was going to require a lot more work and cost to get working the way we wanted it to work.

Faced with a lot of short and small logs to saw, we went back to the old dead deck system.

They work really well. We can move them in close together for short logs or spread them out for longer logs. They will hold around 500bf of logs so we don't have to load the deck so often.

I set the big cotton wood log on this log deck last weekend. It had to weigh every bit of 5500lbs. It sawed out 817bf.

Since we had these on the manual mill, we got the Terex with the 9' shooting boom. I can stand back and place the log right on the mill or lift a cant or stack of heavy lumber right off it.

Sawyerfortyish · January 12, 2006, 08:17:24 PM

I have a 4 strand Melott hydraulic deck with a stop and load(log kicker). I can put about 25 logs 16-20"on it and empty it in less than an hour. It's made for logs up to 16' but I cut 20' all the time with no problems the smallest I cut is 5'. One pump runs the deck the kicker and the log turner. It's mounted on I beams about 5 feet in the air so cleanup around it is pretty easy.I bought it about 6 or 7 years ago used for 2500.00. If you want to make lumber it's a big help not to have to play with every log. You save a lot of time loading the deck full all at once then concentrate on sawing.