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Staying Busy and out of trouble, 2020-21?.

Started by Old Greenhorn, May 17, 2020, 09:40:32 AM

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Old Greenhorn

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on April 11, 2021, 08:04:22 PM
Tom,

  I love small sheds and can never get enough. Can you generate some vertical storage in there or how about it you nail a couple of 1X4's to the posts butted up against the  front and rear 2X4's with maybe a couple of hangers in the middle to connect and make a 4" gap there you could use to store stickers and such?

  I got out and checked the plumb on my side supports today. It surprised me a little the 2 front ones looked like they hade toed in a little. I'd have thought they would have spread outward. Not a lot but I found it was easy to adjust. Then I adjusted the blade tilt and verified the height to the rails and adjusted 2 of them. Nothing seemed to be out of spec by over about 1/8" but again it was all easy fixes. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow for my 102 y/o neighbor and may saw some stock walnut tomorrow after that.
Yeah Howard, I am thinking about horizontal storage, probably from the front. Something hung from the rafters. I went through this pretty quick with the impending rain and I see that I neglected to add some extra legs, for weigh support so I need to do that and add some blocks between the back 2 rails so I can put some stuff crosswise across the back.
@gspren I don't know of any makers, but I will certainly look, that would help me out a lot.
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.

WV Sawmiller

Tom,

   I'm thinking you could nail a few short boards from the horizontal 2X4's and drill holes for mortises in them and use pipe or re-bar from front to rear for ribs and lay your stickers across them.
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

Old Greenhorn

Well, a drizzly rainy day yesterday without much water coming down, cool and not real pleasant. I started a fire in the shop and the house to take the dampness off. It affected my mood and I didn't get a lot done. I did put a coat of stain on that pine bench, but in the process I found a spot or two that needs sanding and I missed, so I have to back up a little and do it right. Maybe this morning. I also cut some scraps up to make that sticker rack in the new short drying 'shed' and it is ugly, but functional and while I was in there I added cross pieces on the back section of the floor for short slabs,



 

Putting this one up made me realize that I have room to hang one under the platform of my largest rack because that is 2' off the ground. I will have to crawl underneath it to do the work, so I will wait for dryer days. That should take care of the remaining stickers I have taking up drying space.

Actually it's kind of nice in there out of the rain and when I was done I sat there on the lumber for a bit and contemplated my layout and where I might go next with it. First I have a lot of lumber to re-arrange to make room for more and get to milling on that. The rest of the day I didn't do too much beyond thinking.
 The rain stopped overnight and I am anxious to see how my water supply is now, I think I only got 70 gallons or so based on just 1/4" of rainfall, but it all helps. I had been expecting an inch, which would overfill it by a lot, so now I will have to conserve a bit until the next rain, maybe I sit at 175 gallons total now. First full year with this and I am really using it daily, so I need to keep track of how it behaves. It's mighty handy for washing logs, cleaning off the mill at the end of the day, watering grass and plants, even washing the truck (which is long overdue).
 Today is non-rainy, but overcast so far and cool. I think its time I took a ride up to Conesville and see what the weather is like there. ;D Pretty sure the snow is all gone now and I have a hankering for an ice cream or maybe lunch at the Country store. :) It will be a nice afternoon for a drive.
 It's another day, best get at it.
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.

doc henderson

do you think you might need side braces on your sticker rack...?....  ....   :).  looks great.  You had to know someone would say something!   :D
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

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: doc henderson on April 13, 2021, 12:37:41 PM
do you think you might need side braces on your sticker rack...?....  ....   :).  looks great.  You had to know someone would say something!   :D
I was wondering why that took so long....
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.

21incher

Looking at your  arm my wife  had a similar problem and it turned  out being the laundry soap she was using we think reacting with the lotion she used. It's an area that clothes are always  rubbing  against.  She switched to a free and clear laundry soap that cleared everything  up quickly. Don't  know  if it's the same problem reacting with sawdust but it's  possible.  
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

samandothers

Concerning the sticker rack, I'll go with function over form most all the time!

Even without the bracing! :D

Old Greenhorn

Catching up here as I change gears into outdoor work more and more. Tuesday I took a ride to Conesville and had the lunch special at the Conesville Country Store, man was that good! Then I went bouncing around and found Barge running the stroker up in the clearcut doing the mop up work. We took a ride and looked at some Mushroom log potential, this could work out really nice. Between finding Barge and the prospecting walking my legs were telling me they were out of shape. A little worried I am getting older. Anyway, met the landowner and roughed out some sort of plan. I took a slightly longer route home just for the change and came through Hunter, it's been a few years so I figured I would give that a look, then dropped down over Devil's Tombstone and Diamond Notch. In my hiking days I was up there a lot, very challenging hiking and in the winter it's ice axes and crampons, lots of ice climbers go there during the season.
 Anyway, got home around 6 and had an email from a guy at Cornell university about setting up a 'large' buy of mushroom logs for down in NYC asking me about trucking availability, costs, etc. Problem was he provided ZERO details, like how many logs or where they were going in the city. I answered him right back asking for details and explaining some of what I could and could not do and also reminding him that time matters (something which seems to be lost on the academic types).  He hasn't answered yet,  ;D so I have no idea what he has in mind. These people can be frustrating to deal with. When they call you they are all hot to trot, but they always wait until the last minute even after I explain time and planning constraints, not to mention keeping a happy landowner and logger in the loop. They don't listen very well.
 So yesterday I felt better than I thought I would and had arranged to go over and work at a friends place cutting trees for their property improvement project. They are using me for chainsaw work, some advice, and refences for the heavy equipment work when and if that comes along. I took about 5 trees and they helped do all the dragging of firewood and brush while I just kept cutting and clearing. All of the stems were challenging and one had a heavy lean that I tried to pull without success and it ripped the hinge and fell the wrong way. It only made for more dragging then I wanted. I didn't damage any of the save trees I was concerned about. We got a lot done in 6 hours of steady work and the property owner is pleased. At the end of the day we settled in on a day pay rate that made us both feel good. Now they will do more handwork until I can get back and finish the next bunch of dead stuff that need to come down. Things are looking much better. But my legs were getting shaky working on that side hill all day. I think I out worked the property owner because near the end he was sitting and watching me cut. It might also be why, when I gave him my proposed daily rate, he upped it by 30%. :)
 While I was there I got a text form a neighbor asking if I could come by to look at a job, so I went there after finishing up. The job is not for me, a 12' stalk of a 20"dbh pine that her deck was built around. The tree was long dead and someone had removed everything above the 12' mark years back for safety reasons. She wanted to cut it off and put a table top on the remaining stub. Nice idea but the tree has root rot and I could wiggle it with one finger. Rotten or not, the stalk is still heavy and would have to be craned out so as not to damage the deck. Not something I can do, but I know a guy (she does too), except there is no way to get a rig near that deck. We will think on it and I will talk to my contact about a joint venture to get that out for her.
 Got home at 6 again and after dinner wrote a group email to the folks on my mushroom log order list giving them and update on the progress.
 Today the health insurance company is sending a doc to check the wife and I out. I have no idea why. They call it a 'free service', but I doubt that. I don't know why the insurance company is so concerned about our health, maybe they know something we don't? ;D So that will kill the first half of the day and then the rain should come in killing the rest of it. No rain yet, but they keep insisting it is coming. Promises, promises.
Guess I should go find something to do until the Doc shows up.
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.

Old Greenhorn

Well, that Doc came today and it was interesting. He was very thorough, took 4 hours to do screening for the wife and I, the day was pretty much shot. He wrote up some recommendations to be forwarded to our primary care Doc. I was a bit of a conundrum for him. Given my age, on no meds at all, weight where it should be, but some bad habits, no bad family history, he just wrote it all up to send on. Some I will act on and some I won't. No surprises for sure except he did orthostatic BP's on my wife and they showed a big drop. Likely she is over prescribed on her BP med, but we should check that out. I haven't seen anyone do orthostatic BP's in a long time, I thought that was pretty neat. I used that for differential diagnosis in the field not too long ago and many other EMT's and medics were not familiar. Handy diagnosis tool, that. He caught something.
 Anyway, that all pretty much killed the day, along with he rain. But I got an email with some needed details on the big mushroom bolt order, they are looking for 850-1,000 logs (maybe, if they can find the funds). This little detail changed things. So I went to work doing the numbers. We are looking at 35,000 pounds of wood. Delivered to Red Hook Brooklyn, so I contacted a young local independent trucker I know about his semi setup, he can haul 50K and he gave me a price, does that run often enough. He is up for the job and we could park his rig in my driveway while I (we?) load a lot of wood. Not sure if I should palletize them (where to get pallets, how much, how many pallets, how many on a pallet?). Sent and email with more questions. Thinking through how to get these out of the woods with low impact? Its clear I need some help. Found a buddy that can bring a forklift to my yard to help out if we go that way. So I'm pretty busy trying to figure this all out and pull it off. Lots of details involved.
 Between all this I get a text from a former co-worker. He went to Lowes to buy 2x12's and was 'a little surprised at the cost'. :D :D :D :) ;D He wondered if I could supply him 15 2x12x10' in pine. It was good to hear from him and catch up on shop news. I went out and checked the rack, no joy. I had a few pieces here and there, but not the quantity he needed. So I called him back and talked it through and gave him basic pricing to make sure we stayed on the same page. He has no logs, so I left it open and 20 minutes later found logs to cover the order, texted him back, and he will settle in on a specific BOM to give me for an order and he has a few weeks before he needs them (for me this is REALLY rare!).
 Around 8pm I finally took a breath. I realized the collective wisdom of the forum saw this coming while I denied it. I have a commission bench build in the shop 75% done, I have an off and on property improvement job running a day or two a week for a few months down the road paying a daily rate, I have a TSI project over the hill I am excited to get started on to help make a pretty piece of land a little prettier, also brining in a daily rate a day or two a week as we work through it, I have milling to get done to get lumber drying and on the rack, and on top of all that I have this mushroom stuff that was just a 'filler' turning into a major project. Some of you told me I would be overloaded sooner than I thought and I really did not think that would happen. I thought you folks were just trying to be encouraging. It turns out you just knew. The Doc today asked me if I exercised regularly, I laughed and said "yeah, more than most". He asked what I do I just said "work" and he said well yes, that is good but you need to walk and get some cardio. I laughed really hard. "Doc I took down 6 trees yesterday and hand hauled the wood up the hill and the brush down the hill, my heart rate would challenge a race horse and my legs felt like they were going to explode by the end of the day. What did you do for exercise?" He just said 'OK, I get it" and made more notes on his tablet.
 So I suppose this thing is working out to some degree, but there are a lot of emails, phone calls, and wrangling involved. I guess I am falling back into that hustle bustle of business, hopefully I can keep a handle on it and manage it and keep happy customers. I actually kind of enjoy it being a little hectic, it makes for longer days getting something done.
 Tomorrow is another day, and I had better hit it a little harder to make room on the time line.
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.

aigheadish

Huge order of mushroom logs! I love it!

I'm sure you know, but feel I should remind you, that you are allowed to say no to things also! That's probably not ideal when you are also trying to fund living but I think all of us here like to see you around and not completely burnt out on the stuff you are doing. That breath you took at 8pm needs to come more often and earlier!

This is all coming from a big time procrastinator and pro relaxer, so take that for what it's worth!
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Nebraska

In my crystal ...I see your business soon owning a small front wheel assist tractor (complete with pallet forks, log grapple, and  a forestry winch) a heavier trailer, and a 1 ton pickup.   :) Your mushroom and TSI projects are rapidly blooming...
You may need some depreciation. Just good to see it!

farmfromkansas

The rash on my arms turned out to be poison ivy.  Threw away my suspenders, they seemed to be giving it back after getting rid of it.  Weird stuff. Wife even washed the things, wasted effort.
Most everything I enjoy doing turns out to be work

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: Nebraska on April 16, 2021, 02:18:58 PM
In my crystal ...I see your business soon owning a small front wheel assist tractor (complete with pallet forks, log grapple, and  a forestry winch) a heavier trailer, and a 1 ton pickup.   :) Your mushroom and TSI projects are rapidly blooming...
You may need some depreciation. Just good to see it!
You know Nebraska, I fully know you comment and observation were meant in the most positive and encouraging way, but it cost me some sleep over the past few nights since you made it because that thought had been slowly creeping into my head and you went and said it out loud. ;D
 As I narrow down what I 'want to do' I am also being brought to the realization of what I 'need' to do to make that happen. The prospect is a little unnerving for me. I can't do the bull work all day long anymore. I am not feeble, but neither I am 30 years old. In order to crank out the work and I would to load in the hours, non-stop and I realize I just can't do that. Yes, surely if I had a machine I could move logs and wood around. but I am not a production mill guy, I just mill a little lumber, get the racks as full as I want, then move on to other stuff. So getting a machine just for that isn't justified, it would sit a lot of the time after the honeymoon was over.
 Likewise I enjoy doing the TSI/Consulting work for smaller landowners and a machine would be handy for that too, but again, I don't do a lot and it would sit too much, I would also need a way to transport it, plus attachments.
 After 3 years of obsessive reading of all the folks here who are trying to decide on the best machine for their needs, and thinking of my own needs and reading the vast experience and good advice offered on countless threads, I have figured out what would be best for my needs. It has to be a ToolCat. The cheapest I see the 5600 is for 30k and there is no way I have that kind of change laying around. Most of them are in the 50k range. Plus the 6-8,000# trailer, then you need a rig to pull it all, so a 3500 is another 30k used.
 The last thing I wanted was a retirement business that was a money suck and then I wind up working all kinds of hours killing myself 7 days a week to get the cash to either build up the account or pay off the loan. That just sucks all the joy out of it and I resolve to be happy doing manual labor and plugging along at whatever pace I can manage. That is, until I go out and hand carry a dozen 2x10x10' over to the drying rack after all the manual milling, then I sit and catch my breath and search CL for machines again. If I had a machine and used it to do work for clients I would have to charge the machine rate to make the payments (or pay for the machine, either way) and then it becomes all about the money. I worry about money for food and taxes, I don't want to worry about money for the business. 
 So yeah, I am at a mental crossroads here and I have been sitting here watching the traffic for a couple of months now. I still don't know what to do. I am waiting for that particular machine to come around that 'won't run' and I can fix easy, or reasonably so. That's how I got the Mule for 500 bucks, (complete engine assembly required). I could sell it for 6 grand now, and I would if I could find a machine. Its just a little frustrating for me. I should chill out, let it ride and see what kind of money collects in the accounts as I keep picking up paying work. Remember, I am not at the stage of my life where I am trying to build a business to make big bucks, be a success, and put my kids through college (or better yet, trade school). I am just trying to get by. But boy, some hydraulics would help me live and work a little longer.
------
 ANyway, while I wait for the academics to answer questions and try to figure out the weather to schedule work, I have been working on that pine bench a little each morning putting finishes on it, re-sanding an adding coats, fixing drips, etc. The trying to do some outside work, but it's been cool and snotty the last coupe of days. One of my bottlenecks is lumber storage. I built 2 decent racks last year, the first one is showing weaknesses in my design ;D and the second one is doing well with the more formal size lumber on it, one side anyway. That first rack got all the stuff I had previously milled dumped on one side the decent newer (last summer) lumber on the other side. That old stuff is pretty poor, long, live edges, with no purpose in mind and is an unruly mess. SO over the weekend I started labeling the wood so I don't loose track of when it was milled or what it is. I like those new tags, lets me mix and match and stack by size rather than when it was milled or the species.


 
I keep moving stuff around as I expand or learn stuff and it is getting confusing, Now it doesn't matter where the wood goes, I know what it is and when it was milled.
Over the weekend I moved a bunch of the short stuff to that new short rack, bench slabs and Cherry shorts. Today, after the morning shop work I started picking apart the mess on my first rack and find I have sagging damage I need to shore up when I get it mostly empty. I re-sawed and labeled a lot of live edge junk. I had no idea what I wanted or what I was doing when I milled those, but trimmed down they became usable boards. That stuff is 2-3 years dry now. It stacks better too. I picked through a lot and some went into the firewood and I trimmed a lot. If I cant make it into a usable board, it is firewood, otherwise I trim off the split ends, edge it, label it, and stack it by thickness. It is a slow process and I had to stop and cover the mill twice today as rain came in, then went away, then came back. I finally quit at 5 with a tired back and a dead battery on the mill chainsaw.
 Tomorrow I am off to a TSi job that should run for a 'while'  :D at least that's the plan. Just getting started. We'll see how my back holds out. The work I did last week had me sucking wind at the end of the day but my back was fine...pretty much. The landowner working with me was anxious to take a shower and sit for a while. :D Tomorrow's work is bigger and heavier though.
 Goota go out to the shop tonight and get my gear together and hit the saw chain with a file.
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.

WV Sawmiller

Tom,

   Good looking lumber stack. You know if it is for sale the customer is always going to want that one on the bottom. They always do. :D

    I feel your pain and envy when you see others with these great labor and time saving devices that are not in your budget or can't be justified for the expected work load. I got into sawing to fill some time, make some friends and to keep me active. I love it and would love to have more equipment so I could do more but economics, time and space often dictate otherwise. Stay safe, stay healthy.
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

Old Greenhorn

Well not a bad day at all yesterday, made the drive to a clients and spent the whole day in the woods getting started on some tree cleanup and salvage work for a few saw logs, some firewood, and general dead ash clearing. Lots of dead stuff on the ground from past years so I began mostly on getting that bucked up into movable sizes, brushing out any tops, getting hangers on the ground (I hate hangers, they are distracting and ugly and just bother me). All in all it went well and except for grazing the side of my chain on an unseen rock, it was uneventful. I had added a set of non-stretch suspenders to my felling belt the nigh before and that worked like a charm, so much more comfortable and I didn't spend my time pulling at it. Very easy to spend the day in it. Sitting is still not easy with a pouch full of wedges hanging over my butt crack, but I don't sit much anyway. ;D
 The wind was a real problem, it was whipping in gusts pretty good and there were a bunch of stems I would have taken but for the wind, too unpredictable. So I saved those for another day when we do some of the bigger dead ash. I won't cut those without a spotter anyway. I marked some live stuff for the client to pass judgement on and he came out in the afternoon with his tractor and made some headway getting stuff moved around. We are working toward making a small landing to separate the various end uses for the wood and give us some working room. This is more of a salvage section to get the usable ash out and milled before it is too far gone. There are a few big trees in there and some nice straight stuff, plus a bunch of firewood. We had no plans to take any pine, but there are a couple that should go (unhealthy or poor growth pattern). They might produce a few saw logs, but mostly they are junk and taking up good space.
 I made a list during the course of the day for things I should bring or change next time to make it easier. Working remote is a little newish for me so I am trying to tune things up a bit. Little stuff like a garbage bag for the stuff I find in the woods, a fire extinguisher, and some other odds and ends to make the dat easier. It's a short list.
 I got home around 4pm and found an email for that mushroom zoom meeting I have been trying to set up. That's at noon today. We do our monthly food shopping this morning so I have to get back in time for the call. We will see where this goes and hopefully I can get some questions answered today. They are calling for rain today, maybe some snow overnight.
 Time to get at it.
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.

Nebraska

You know I made those comments  in support of you and your recent  successes.  I wouldn't want  to borrow money to build this. I see older Ford and Kubota front wheel assist  show up out here for   really  reasonable money..I think they are usually 16 to 25 hp diesels  with not much for hours on them  mostly  they moved snow and maybe ran a tiller and  a mower. They will move a fair log with an arch. With a loader they could handle loading multiple mushroom sized logs  with a grapple attachment.  They make handling logs at the mill and moving sawn lumber much easier  (magic hook!) and may save your back. So much so if I had to get rid of my tractors my mill would go as well.  They can run your place with a pto generator... do many things...I just watch what you are  doing  and wish you had one and a trailer heavy enough to move it.   I'm not sure of weights and  widths your son's dump trailer might work fine.  I know the forum is good at spending other people's money so please don't take any offense at this. I don't want you to take an uncomfortable financial step.....but if the rat hole money  grows...I think your mushroom bolt project could justify it.  I better go be productive hope you have much to show for your day.

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: Nebraska on April 22, 2021, 08:23:23 AM
You know I made those comments  in support of you and your recent  successes.  I wouldn't want  to borrow money to build this. I see older Ford and Kubota front wheel assist  show up out here for   really  reasonable money..
As I said in the first sentence of that replay I fully understand you meant those comments in a positive way and they were taken as such, absolutely! I also appreciate you making them. At the same time, you provided 'an outside observation' that confirmed the thoughts working into my head, that I am grossly under mechanized and it is a severe handicap.
 Nothing seems to be available for reasonable money around here. The same changes we have seen in folks spending money to finally upgrade homes and yards and do projects has driven the used equipment market way up also. But I always keep my eyes open as I drive around, do research and ask questions so I understand a little more about various machine models and the strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge is power. I spent time yesterday when it finally dawned on me that I could easily carry payments on a Kubota given their financing plan, configuring a machine on their website. I figure if I can keep the full weight under 6,000# I can trailer it with what I have (and a bigger trailer, yet to be found). But when I got it to what I wanted the cost was getting a little steeper than what I was comfortable with, so I just closed out the window and walked away in frustration again. I might stop in and visit a dealer to work it through with someone who knows the ins and outs of the pricing, financing, and configuration options. If I pull the trigger, there are one or two pricey attachments I would like to add that would greatly increase my capabilities but not be used very often, such as the backhoe. Its like a full time job to spec a machine and make decisions. So I keep looking for that 'right one' to cross my path. So I drive the back roads looking for 'for sale' signs on equipment thinking I might get the best deal that way, price wise. It will happen or it won't but I will keep plugging along with an open mind and open eyes.
------------------------
Yesterday wasn't really productive. We did the monthly food shopping, got home, did lunch, and I made my zoom call just in time. Nothing conclusive on the logs but we got a better understanding of where each of us stood in the whole thing. We are thinking a moderate order this year might be the best we can do because of the logistics of lining up enough folks in the city to take 1,000 logs. (They never really had an order for that, but it was a goal for them to get a lot of growers started down there. This only became clear to me yesterday.) They will continue to pound the pavement trying to line up buyers for a group buy down there and let me know what they can come up with. I finally explained to them that a tractor trailer cost the same whether it has 600 logs on it or 1,500 logs on it, they also understood that I rental truck is limited by the weight it can carry, so even with a 20' box truck they can only haul less than 300 logs because of weight. The truck will look empty with just 300 logs in it but be over 10,000# of payload. They are now understanding my attention to the details because I don't think they realized a lot of these little things. They did ask if I would accept 'pick up's' in my yard which for me is certainly the easiest and they said they would be passing my number around to those who could collect their own logs. I stressed that they need to spread the word that putting in orders is the only way for folks to get the logs they want, everybody think we (suppliers) just 'have' these logs waiting and they forget that just like milk, they expire in a few months and become firewood. EVERY supplier I know only cuts to order, this needs to be made really clear to the new buyers. Yes, I cut extras when I cut, and I have NONE left over because I throw in a few on each order just for the heck of it and if I have some questionable ones left, I give them to some other grower that wants them before they get too old. So this is the beginning of a relationship that will take a while to mature, but I am sure it will at some point. I will focus on the solid smaller group order I have for 2 counties away and get them taken care of with good product. I got an email from one of those folks yesterday wanting to send me a check in payment for her logs and I just replied I can get paid on delivery and I am taking folks at their word. She sent me back a note telling me how unique I was and I replied I was trying to start a new trend where people's words have some weight. :)
 After the call and given the snotty rainy cold weather I went out to the shop and did tool maintenance, sharpening my chain and dumping out my chainsaw bag to clean it and take inventory. I found that I did in fact have a spare chain for my 20" bar (after I just ordered one the day before) and I had bought a nice locking top plastic box I found in the dollar store to organize my chains by bar size and I tagged what each was and stored them in the proper boxes. MUCH easier to find things now. I fired up that 372 and the bar oil is really leaking badly now. and it needs more tuning again. Saving that for another day. I will have to find that leak at some point because it gets oil everywhere and it requires a diaper during storage. ;D I had the saw hung straight vertical all winter and the bar cover had a load of oil in it. Ever try to clean out a 30" bar cover? :D :D
 Its another snotty rainy day here with some bouts of sun as a evil teaser. 32 when I got up, 35 now and the snow flurries just stopped for a while. The radar show the moisture passing jus to our North and I suspect Barge is getting more snow this morning and it is less 'friendly' up there today. Not sure what I will fill the day with, but I have plenty to do and there is a live webinar at noon on Invasive Species Threats and Solutions for Healthy Urban Forests  so I think I want to catch that because it could be of use and it offers some CEU's toward my logger re-certification which should be coming due soon (I should check on that). If the precip holds off I should get some more done on the drying racks so I can get back to milling, but it is slow daunting grunt work. 
 I pulled an all-nighter last night, which at my age means that I slept through the whole night without having to get up. ;D I also slept and entire 8 hours which is even more remarkable. Each of those things only happens about once a month and rarely together. I was pretty tired and a little depressed when I went to bed a little earlier than usual last night. Maybe I just needed the sleep.
 So lets see what today brings, shall we?
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.

Old Greenhorn

So the plot thickens. [suspenseful music plays] 
 Yesterday the fella I was talking to from Cornell university (let's call him 'Steve') told me he would put my name out on his contact list for folks to hit me up directly if they want logs and can pick them up. I found out today Steve has over 1,000 names on his contact list. I know this because I got a email, then a phone call from a fella who is on that list and knows Steve well. This fella is also a Steve, but he is a full time grower and has been for over 10 years. He says he is the largest grower of Shiitakes in CT and cannot keep up with demand. We talked for a while figuring each other out but the bottom line is he knows exactly what he needs he is fine with either winter or summer cut, he harvests a LOT of logs himself because he only uses white oak. He is currently cutting about 5,000 logs about 3 hours from his farm. He said he will take any amounts of white Oak I can get in quantities between 100 and 5,000 logs at a clip. He will pick them up or arrange shipping. He is 1-1.5 hours from me. He as much as gave me a blanket order. My price seems fine to him. He has a large ongoing operation and he has to keep getting new logs in to fill the pipeline and increase production. He cannot meet the demand as it is. 
 This changes the entire paradigm for me because I can now cut anything I find (that is white oak in season) knowing I have a buyer for it, provided I hit 100 logs minimum. 100 logs is a very full pickup load, about 3,500#.
 So now I have to rethink a little and change how I shop for sources. This also has an impact of how I am thinking about some sort of machine. This kind of work could help pay for that. More to think about.
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.

gspren

It's good that you are a young man  :D.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

Nebraska

Check out LS tractors, pretty inexpensive  from what I see.  I have a 2003 version that owes me nothing....Tym as well... I have a friend running one getting along fine. Kioti has a dealer not that far from me and the prices look good but no experience with them.  I have experience  with all the other major brands at one time or another so look at all of them and find the dealer that will get you a loaner if your machine goes down under  warranty. The green ones seem pretty high priced... I have 1/2 of a backhoe attachment.  A friend found it for sale  and we  share it. I could own 1/4 of it in the same arrangement and it wouldn't  be an issue. It's great for fixing a water  line or digging footings but I don't need it that much. It sure beats renting or hiring someone else though.  A backhoe attachment  with a thumb would  be pretty slick holding up logs to cut firewood..  Sounds to me opportunity is fixing to toss your irons in the fire. I think I will just call you semi retired. ;)  

WV Sawmiller

Tom,

  Back in the old home country of your ancestors not too far removed I saw lots of log landings with small diameter, mostly birch, trees pulled up for processing. They would hook what looked like about a 16" diameter, unguarded "buzz" type cut-off saw to the PTO of their tractor and they had sets of rollers. They would roll the log up the roller to a stop of some sort then pull the running blade across as a cut off saw. Since they use a lot of 1' long firewood in Norway that was the norm. The finished firewood was loaded into pallet containers and inside a net and was sold basically by the cubic meter load. I just saw the equipment and logs at the landings and never watched them in operation so I'm assuming based on observations on some of this. Would something like that work for your planned operations?
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

nybhh

I bought my Kubota in 2012 and took advantage of their 0% 60-month financing which also applied to a few implements purchased through them as well.  

I went on Kubota’s website yesterday after chatting with Tom and I was to say the prices for the same level of L-series tractor has almost doubled.  I was shocked.  The only regret I have is not going one size up to get a 700-series loader instead of a 500-series loader.  Also Tom, quick attach on the loader is well worth the extras if you are going to swap between a bucket, grapple, and palette forks often.  I’d stick with the industrial tires for working in the woods over the AG ones and 4WD is a “must” around here.

I run all three and a 3rd function remote on the front for the grapple easily makes that the most useful attachment in the woods.  Around the mill however, the pallet forks are the best IMHO and my preferred method for loading logs is to hang it from the forks with a pair of 6’ tow straps as you have the most control and lightest touch.  

The forks are also great for offloading from the mill and then just driving over to the stacking/drying area makes for very little extra handling.  I also built a bunch of 10’ palettes for stacking/drying lumber and keep them at loader capacity so I can move the whole palette around.  

I think for your TSI work, a chipper would easily pay for itself as smaller land owners often don’t have the space or aesthetic inclination to dump tops in the woods.  I run the Woodmaxx WM-8H and have been very pleased and think it is a great value for a hydraulic feed chipper.  

Its a big commitment though and I understand why you are struggling with it.  You are less than a year into this new business and still don’t know how it all is going to shake out.  The world is about to change again too I suspect as things start getting back to normal.

Another un-desirable consideration would be additional liability insurance to use the machine on other people’s property.  Kubota has their own insurance to cover their equipment while it is being financed that runs about $500 per year if I recall correctly but that obviously doesn’t cover someones truck or barn when you back into it, lol (I’ve done both).

Edit: I’ve heard very good things about Kioti machines as well as New Holland and think there is probably a bit more value with those brands as well.
Woodmizer LT15, Kubota L3800, Stihl MS261 & 40 acres of ticks trees.

Old Greenhorn

Thanks fellas for all the replies. Brandon has been most helpful in sharing what he learned through his purchase and I have spent a bunch of time trying to configure an orange machine, but the monthly payments for what I would need are just too high. I am looking for something in the range where I can bank the money during the flush months and coast along on that cushion through the winter months. I don't want financing that is going to force me out to work in lousy weather or for 14 hour days. But I am keeping an open mind.
 Howard, stationary equipment won't work for me, but it's a good idea. As I am a guest in every sense of the word on these landowner sites I have to remain 'Mr. Low Impact' and keep a low profile. Bringing logs home rather than cutting on site is slightly less productive because I can fit more in a trailer cut size, than in log length. Also I would have to skid those logs out and that can damage them, so it's a tradeoff. I keep an open mind on that too.
 Nebraska, I just spent an hour and a half looking at the LS machines. Their website is painfully short on specs and details, so after looking at various dealer sites I collected enough to finally figure out they are 4WD (but I don't know what they mean by 'mechanical assist'). 4WD is a must around here. Also I am not sure if they have a quick attach system. They have very few attachments. Ideally my beginning setup would include a bucket and forks with a log grapple soon after. There is a dealer about an hour and change from me. 
 I guess the next step is to start visiting some dealers to get my eyes on some of this stuff and ask questions. It's not something I am going to pull the trigger on very soon because I have to be sure. As Brandon noted, these things are still shaking out for me. 
 Its always something, right?
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.

nybhh

Spending other people's money is always a pleasure.

Everything attachments is a fun website to build wish lists and they manufacture everything in the US.  Remember a small tractor needs small/light attachments as that weight eats into your loader capacity.  This is the best grapple for these sized machines IMHO.  

https://www.everythingattachments.com/Compact-Tractor-Wicked-Root-Grapple-50-Single-lid-p/eta-cut-sl-rg-50.htm

Also, this is the 3rd function remote I chose/have, the dealer bought and installed it at my request...

https://www.wrlonginc.com/vk12-vk20
Woodmizer LT15, Kubota L3800, Stihl MS261 & 40 acres of ticks trees.

Ljohnsaw

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on April 23, 2021, 08:47:20 AMIt's not something I am going to pull the trigger on very soon because I have to be sure.
The problem with visiting the dealers is there is a good chance there is a trade-in that they want to move and the price might be too tempting...;)
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.

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