Hyster Log Arch Type

[Walnut Beast]

Does anyone have any experience using this type, been around or fabricated this type of unit that takes advantage of rear winch.  This type of unit seems absolutely impressive to use skidding big boy trees. Looks like the next best thing besides a big boy winch skidder

[BargeMonkey]

 You mean like a separate arch on it's own axle that pins to the dozer ? Theres a few around, I think behind a 6 size machine you could move alot of wood. 

[Walnut Beast]

Yes sir. I'm looking to fabricate and use on a smaller scale. I'm not going to be getting trees out like a complete animal like you Barge 😂. I wouldn't have any trees left and you got the equipment to do it 😂.  It just seems that way of doing it is pretty slick with some advantages in some nasty situations 

[dogone]

   I had a D7E with a high roller winch and hitch. It came out of aBritish Columbia logging business. It would make a man of you to pull the one inch mainline and throw choker.

[Walnut Beast]

I take it your speaking from experience 👍

[grabber green]

My dad and several of my cousins that moved  to oregon in the 60's and 70's used to talk about those. They hated them,said they wouldn't stay upright always flopping over in steep, rough ground. Never seen one in east TN.I guess thats probably why.

[47sawdust]

Not sure what it is you are talking about ,but there is a nice arch for sale here on the forum.

[Walnut Beast]

Seems like if it was one of the big ones or the ones with tracks on it that would be a pain 😂

[Wudman]

They were very common here in Central Virginia in the 40s and 50s.  They were paired with a Farmall M and a lot of wood was moved that way.  Locally, they were called "swing carts".  They ran on large rubber and were effective machines on operable ground.  There are still a few sitting around in various locations.  We used to use one to move propane tanks around when we were big in tobacco.  The propane companies still use some scaled down versions to move tanks.  

Here is a picture of one I put together to haul tree length logs when I was looking at building a cabin with trees from the farm (that was before I got married).  My wife wanted a more "maintenance free" home (somehow she thought I wouldn't keep the logs to her satisfaction - I wonder why?) so we ended up stick framed with vinyl siding. 

My unit is the frame from a 1 ton Crew Cab Chevrolet pickup along with its spindles.  The winch is a 12,000# hydraulic Mile Marker.  Works very well.  This was built specifically to handle long logs completely clear of the ground.  It serves its purpose for that.



 

Wudman

[BargeMonkey]

Someone had made one and had it for sale on FB a few months ago, axle out of a 240/380 on 28L rubber, I will try to find a picture but it did look neat. Theres an OLD one that came down from the ADK sitting about 10miles from me in Ashland, part of the antique equipment museum but its BIG, all of a 6/7 to move it. 

[Iwawoodwork]

I used several of the big steel tracked arches in the 1970's working in the mountains of the Oregon Coast range. The arches were towed by TD 25's and D8 48a's. Yes they could tip over if you were a new at towing but like any other tool the were good once one became used to it.  The ones we used were modified by the company (Weyco) with a stinger with a small swivel fair lead on the outer end, added/welded on top of the arch fair lead and a small hydraulic winch added to the back of the dozer above the main winch for an opening line, then a set of Washington cable grapples (60" or larger) could be attached, If you pulled the grapples up close to the fair lead rather than hanging the tips at ground level, the large swinging grapples and side hill could tip the arch over.  The real experienced operators would then drag the arch to where they could jack knife it just right and pull the arch back on the tracks with using the main line winch.  We logged all kind of ground from clead cuts to select cuts and road right of ways with those until the company built the D8 grapple cats on the same principle but with a hydraulic stinger mounted above the canopy, the stinger had a long hydraulic ram an could run out behind the cat close to 15 feet. With the grapples we could log any of the ground and no arch to worry about.

[mike_belben]

Wow.. Thats some cool history.  Thanks for sharing.

[Crusarius]

Log arch

works very well.


 

[thecfarm]

Never seen one, but a book I have Endless Tracks In The Woods by James A Young and Jerry D. Budy will keep you busy for hours!!!
Lots of pictures and I mean A LOT!! Short write ups, can be picked up and set back down and picked backed up very easy. Probably $50 now, but worth it. Lot and lots of arches to read about.

[Walnut Beast]

Wow.. Thats some cool history.  Thanks for sharing.

That is very interesting 👍

[Andries]

I thought I remembered something on YT . . .
Like this:
The D7 using the arch - YouTube 
.
or like this:
Antique Arch Logging - YouTube 
.
Looks like heavy, hard work. The guy hauling the winch cable out is probably in better shape than most of us!

[Southside]

@Wudman I think we just found the design for the kiln feeder cart we were talking about the other day. Drop a pallet right onto the rail cart with that set up. 

[Walnut Beast]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing those links 👍

[Wudman]

@Wudman I think we just found the design for the kiln feeder cart we were talking about the other day. Drop a pallet right onto the rail cart with that set up.

Just might work.  Using that line of thinking.....an overhead gantry crane might work too.
Wudman

[mudfarmer]

There is someone on vermont CL that has a wanted ad up for a JD model 100 arch, has a cool pic from manual/brochure that says "Manufactured (1958 - )"

If you know where one is maybe help them out

[grabber green]

Cool videos showing the arches, but I'd fire that faller in the d7 video.

[Skeans1]

@grabber green 
Why would you fire him? It's a bad ground with short lays for long timber the biggest thing is to get the wood down safely, then worry about saving wood.

[grabber green]

Bustin the tops out is just one thing wrong. I was reminded of some local guys that hooked the cable up to a dozer,fell the tree over a steep and took the machine with it ,the operator was thrown out received a broken back and nearly died.I don't think they were very safe.

[Andries]

I was noticing that they were re-directing with a snatch block, and cabled to the last tree before they felled three at a time.
The feller looked as nervous as a cat at about 2:50.
Couldn't say I'd blame him.
Why not just drop them long, downhill, one a at a time. That arch is perfect for winching them up to the top?
Whats going on here?

[Skeans1]

I was noticing that they were re-directing with a snatch block, and cabled to the last tree before they felled three at a time. 
The feller looked as nervous as a cat at about 2:50. 
Couldn't say I'd blame him.
Why not just drop them long, downhill, one a at a time. That arch is perfect for winching them up to the top?
Whats going on here?

When I've cut steep ground like that we always tried to quarter them out like they were. It reminds me of a cutting line that right behind the faller something that you would treat as a no go zone.

Bustin the tops out is just one thing wrong. I was reminded of some local guys that hooked the cable up to a dozer,fell the tree over a steep and took the machine with it ,the operator was thrown out received a broken back and nearly died.I don't think they were very safe.

In tall brittle timber it's going to break out you just try to do it safely and save out as much as possible. Now none of know what's down in that canyon it could be a place where you can't set a choker afterwards. Once in a blue you get lucky and it'll span a gap like that not always though.