This pics are from my teakplantations, first comercial thinning. This trees are 8years old! (Well i have to say this part of the plantation has excellent growing). Imagine them in 10-15years when we make the final cut.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_28129.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_281029.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_28929.JPG)
My workhorse
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_281529.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_281629.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_281729.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_281929.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_282029.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_282229.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_282429.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_283329.JPG)
Before thinning
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_283429.JPG)
After thinning
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_283829.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_284129.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_284429.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_284729.JPG)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Raleo_2015_285029.JPG)
Landing
They sure growed nice and straight with long logs. What do you use the wood for ?
WOW those things grow fast. Is that the new crop planted between the trees?
I sell them to a bigger teakcompany here, they cut them in 3x3,4x4 and 5x5s, the lenght of every section of the logs is about 7'. they sell it to the Indus (India). I dont know what they do with them, as for me the wood is no good cuality yet, to young. when they are 20years old then they worth alot, then they have around 18-20"Dbh.
I don't see any dead stuff hanging around, so you are excused not to wear a hardhat. ;D
Short sleeves, wow it's been a while !
Nice pictures
Its around 80-90 degrees now. can get to 95. hardhat would give me a headache in 2 hours!
Quote from: teakwood on December 11, 2014, 05:11:06 PM
I sell them to a bigger teakcompany here, they cut them in 3x3,4x4 and 5x5s, the lenght of every section of the logs is about 7'. they sell it to the Indus (India). I dont know what they do with them, as for me the wood is no good cuality yet, to young. when they are 20years old then they worth alot, then they have around 18-20"Dbh.
They make trinkets that are sold here in Cost Plus Imports stores! Cool, never knew what teak looked like growing. Some seriously big leaves! :o
Teakwood, Beautiful pictures ! A few years back I developed a market for trees a lot smaller than the ones in your pics but the source was not reputable. I sure hope your business partners are better than mine were ! Keep up the good work - your trees look terrific ! Rob
Looks like our big leaf magnolia here.
Quotehardhat would give me a headache in 2 hours!
No hardhat can give you one in a split second. ;D
But I hear ya on the heat...
Interesting. Update this thread in 10-15 years. :)
I was amazed at how fast that stuff grew when we visited Costa Rica. I wish we would hear from @crtreedude (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=952) some time. It would be cool to see how far his trees have come, if he still owns the Fincas.
Quote from: tule peak timber on December 11, 2014, 07:00:18 PM
Teakwood, Beautiful pictures ! A few years back I developed a market for trees a lot smaller than the ones in your pics but the source was not reputable. I sure hope your business partners are better than mine were ! Keep up the good work - your trees look terrific ! Rob
The company is swiss owned (i am swiss), we have total trust to each other. This year i cutted 1000trees. I have 37ha of plantation (around 20 000trees) they have 10 000ha (38 squaremiles!). So my volume is actually nothing to them, but they pay me a good price. Last year i had 6 Buyers who wanted the logs (dont know how many of them were serious) also alot of direct hindu buyers are around, but you dont wont to deal with them! they like to screw the clueless people. I better stuck with the same company. they haul all the wood and after 10 days all the money is on my bankacount. cant do that with alot of companys in Costa Rica!
The leafs are like sandpaper and give you red fingers! :D. All the leafs fall down in the dryseason (who is starting now and rain will fall again in May)
Here is a foto of how they load trucks around here. (laborcost is cheaper than the machine!) Poor Nicaraguans! No costarican would do that work. And that was in the end of february, 95degrees!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Ausforstung_281729~0.JPG)
Very cool. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
how long does it take to load the truck?
nice pics its good to see how other people do logging ;D ;D and yes they are big leaves could all most use them for a umbrella :)
Quote from: kculler on December 11, 2014, 09:01:24 PM
how long does it take to load the truck?
they last about 3hours to load (8workers), but they cant do more than 2 trucks a day. Understandable! Its 30m3 (8.3cords) of wood each semi
very cool teakwood. thanks for the pics and sharing a bit about your operation. whereabouts are you in cr? i've visited 2x and really enjoyed it, the coast was a bit hot for me but up in the mountains was wonderful. :) costa rica is on my short list for when i can retire and not have to spend 5 months indoors! :D
Quote from: mikeb1079 on December 11, 2014, 11:21:38 PM
very cool teakwood. thanks for the pics and sharing a bit about your operation. whereabouts are you in cr? i've visited 2x and really enjoyed it, the coast was a bit hot for me but up in the mountains was wonderful. :) costa rica is on my short list for when i can retire and not have to spend 5 months indoors! :D
I am way north in La Cruz, thats 10miles from the nicaraguan border.
when you retire? your like the same age as i and i think we are far from retirement. :D At least i hope i can put a lower gear in after lets say 45 ;) when the trees and paychecks will be bigger.
Great pics and I like your "work horse"
Quote from: RayMO on December 12, 2014, 08:27:04 AM
Great pics and I like your "work horse"
..and the chainsaw carrier. ;D
Thanks guys. you have to be creative down here. Not so many stores around as in the u.s. Choker and cable came from labonville. parts for the deere from the north (brakepads i bought in Canada) and all my Volvo parts came from a dealer in Miami.
Thanks for the pictures. Seeing that truck loaded by hand sure makes me appreciate hydraulics. I would love to see that stand in a few years.
Very impressive! You've done a very good job thinning your teak, I'm a bit jealous that you have the land to work on.
It would be nice to hear from crtreedude or if you want to update this thread you have a captive audience.
Clark
Thanks guys, it was a lot of work over the past 10 years. I bought the finca in 2004 (120acres, 91acres i planted with teak in 05,06 and 07) The pics are from the 2007 part, so the youngest. When i bought the land it was still cheap, then a lot of rich americans, canadians and europeans raised the land prices in Costa Rica to the unpayable, (20,50or sometimes 100times what it was worth) In 2008 this market crashed and almost no land was sold since then, lots of people who bought in 06-09 lost a lot of money. I would say that land cost now 5times more than in 2004, so i was lucky there. teak is a good business but its very long term. you invest 10years before you see the first $ and maybe 15years to break even! But after that it gets intersting.
Its nice to have good feedback from same class peoples! :)
Quote from: teakwood on December 13, 2014, 03:56:47 PM
I would say that land cost now 5times more than in 2004, so i was lucky there. teak is a good business but its very long term. you invest 10years before you see the first $ and maybe 15years to break even! But after that it gets intersting.
Its nice to have good feedback from same class peoples! :)
That's a lot faster than even my Douglas-fir in Western Oregon. I had no idea Teak grew so fast.
crtreedude used to post pics of what he was doing down there. I think at one point he bought something like 8 Baker 18M mills to process his trees. Not sure if it was teak, but they were very fast growing. Haven't heard from him, or our other CR transplant in some time. :(
Geez,
My red oak plantation was planted in 1995 and 1996 and my biggest trees are now 8-10 " dbh.
Teak is fast in the first 10years, up to 12-14", from 10-20years (could get to 18-20") and with 30 years (up to 24-26") but the conditions have to be perfect. On my 91acres, about 30 acres are exelent, 30acres are good and the other 30 are like very slow growing (after 10years, 4-8" dbh) of course the slower growing wood is a lot better than the fast growing in quality, density. Most teak companys cant wait until 20 years, they cut after 15years (and then replant) because they have a lot of employes and costs. I hope that i can let my trees grown until 25-30years, then you are talking value of the wood.
I will give some examples: 1m3 (0.28cords) of unsawed logs (8' long pieces):
6" = 50$
8" = 94$
10"= 190$
12"= 250$
14"= 300$
16"= 370$
20"= 520$
and those prices are for the same volume!!!! (1m3) So you can see, the bigger the diameter (older trees) the more interesting it gets.
So, if you wait 30 years, could you get maybe six 8' sticks out of one tree? And would the tree be worth around $4,000-5,000? 8)
wow! patience pays
Quote from: ljohnsaw on December 15, 2014, 07:03:44 PM
So, if you wait 30 years, could you get maybe six 8' sticks out of one tree? And would the tree be worth around $4,000-5,000? 8)
Not exactly: Those prices are for one cubic meter! so one stick of 20", 8' long will give me 0.5m3, so i need two pieces to get a cubic meter.
After 30 years lets say that a good tree will give me eight 8' sticks: first stick 20" (0.5m3,260$), second stick 18" (0.33m3, 150$), third stick 16" (0.28m3,100$),......, last stick 6" (0.032m3, 2$). so if you ad all the volumes of all sticks it could give 1.5-1.8m3. So between 500-800$ maybe, its not an exact sience.
so between 5-800 a tree :o if so I think im going to plant some teak :D thanks for sharing your info
the best trees will bring that, but i think there will be a lot of 200$ trees too. until they are 30 years old, just 120 will be remaining per hectare (about 45 per acre) after all thinnings.
Teak dont grow where you live guys, sorry! ;)
Quote from: teakwood on December 16, 2014, 04:21:12 PM
the best trees will bring that, but i think there will be a lot of 200$ trees too. until they are 30 years old, just 120 will be remaining per hectare (about 45 per acre) after all thinnings.
Teak dont grow where you live guys, sorry! ;)
if we make a big enough green house they should :D :D
Quote from: Dave Shepard on December 15, 2014, 01:01:41 PM
crtreedude used to post pics of what he was doing down there. I think at one point he bought something like 8 Baker 18M mills to process his trees. Not sure if it was teak, but they were very fast growing. Haven't heard from him, or our other CR transplant in some time. :(
Yep, still alive, just saw this marked. We are still down here. Just read this thread with interest.
Remember this thread? It's time for the next thinning in the same areas. second commercial thinning at the 12th year. I will try to make fotos from the same points so you can compare the growth we have on teak.
This is how we loaded in 2014
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/Ausforstung_281729~0.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1418347860)
Look what i found! that grapple was laying around near the office of the big neighbor teakcompany. the CEO wouldn't sell half year ago, i ask again, the maintenance chief told me: go pick that thing up and look if you can get her working, she was laying in the whether for 2 years. so he prefers that i take care of her and use her, later we will talk business. Sadly the rotor is missing. how much is such a grapple in the north and how much would a used rotator for this size be? It's from a 22to wheel excavator, mine is a 30to crawler excavator.
poor old Hilux, that thing must a weight 700kilos
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190109_171211.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1547342953)
connected to the hammer/sheer piping, if i get a rotator i will have to enable the bucket piping
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190112_145617.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1547343016)
still have to turn by hand but sure beats the hell out of loading by hand!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190112_145439.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1547342938)
I built a pin and bushing for the grapple on my tractor loader, has a pin to lock it straight or at 90°.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10257/home_made_swivel_pin.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1483396388)
I use to machine to turn the grapple, it's a little slower than a rotor but most times I run this position and it works great.
if it used an indextor rotator. a lot of them did. 1000 would be a deal
1000 would be great and i would not hesitate.
did the first trial run, it works extremely good, the grapple turns around slowly left and right and with the same machine movement i can more or less control the turn. of course a rotator would be perfect.
We will load first flatbed friday, so we'll see how that works out.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190114_170617.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1547598595)
Teak price is bad this year, 30% less on the short sticks and 50% on the big, longer, good ones. i won't sell the big ones this year, i have decided to mill them all to 2x6's, that's what they most use for building the roofs around here. even if i can't sell them right away i can store the cut lumber as long as i want and will earn a lot more than selling round wood.
Did the first load of short wood, dang are the prices bad. for the load i received 1000$, last year it was 1500$. At least i could bring my loading costs down to like 100$, last year i had to pay 200$ for 6 people loading by hand. the grapple works like a charm. two guys make bundles of 14-18 sticks, every stick has to be measured by the buyer, and then i grab that pack with the grapple and can pretty much load it by myself. We lasted 3 hours for the 24m3.
Got my first order for 70 pieces of 2x6 's. so i have decided to mill all bigger sticks to lumber. the price of round wood is just too bad this year.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010933.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1547974612)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010932.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1547974669)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010936.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1547974834)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010938.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1547974845)
Well, thats great about the grapple then. Looks like weather has cooperated for you. smiley_thumbsup
Glad to see the grapple worked out better for you.
Sorry to see the price went down. The joy of being a logger. :(
Quote from: mike_belben on January 20, 2019, 08:30:08 AMLooks like weather has cooperated for you
We are at the beginning of dry season, the best time of the year. it was a beautiful clouded fresh day at 26C/ 79F
Good news/bad news beats all bad news. Glad the grapple is working and enjoy that weather..best time in the tropics for sure, unless you can get up to 2000 meters.
How much do you get for a sawn teak 2x6?
I can sell 2x6 's in 3,4m 4,2m or 5m, 11' 14' 17' length. The longer the harder it gets because they are still smaller logs and of course it gets more expensive. one log gives me 2 2x6. for the short ones i get 26$ for each piece, 34$ for the 14' and 45$ for the 17 footers. one round log gave me around 34$ in 2018 but this year the same log pays 20$(https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/shocked.gif).
So two 2x6 at 26$ is 52$ instead of 20$, of course i have to do the work of milling, but it's just work, i already have the mill, the excavator, the storage to dry the lumber i can't sell right of.
Installed the mill today, we did a nice loading platform. throw 10 logs on there with the grapple and then we can easily move them by hand.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190122_111043.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548195923)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190122_114558.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548195993)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190122_114648.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1548196068)
little update
last week we loaded the 5th load of shortwood and i'm very busy with the sawmill also.
Before
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190129_072652.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550957045)
After
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190130_091522.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550957495)
That was a 500$ order of 4 6X6s' and 10 2X6s'
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190214_115952.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550957323)
all the bigger sticks go on the mill
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190212_163056.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550957150)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190213_155902.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550957238)
I try to sell some of them directly, freshsawn and
the rest gets stored under roof and air dries.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/20190223_145449.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1550957391)
I like the way you do that teak. Sell what needs to be cut for a maximum return as you do a TSI for the rest. Banjo
The grapples with rotators I have seen on dig bucket capable excavators have had solenoid hydraulic valve (mounted on the front stick) to do two functions. A wire cable ran back to the cab to a switch to operate the solenoid valve.
NEWS - Power Valve U.S.A. (http://www.powervalveusa.com/origsite/products-list/id/1/title/Oil_Hydraulic_Solenoid_Valves.html)
They tried to leave the stick hydraulic ram alone.
If there was a spare valve in the excavator's main valve bank that was used or a foot pedal control for the rotator and extra piping. (fairly big expense)
Pedal valve
Hydraulic Kit Components Nationally, Hydraulic Kit Components u.s.a., Hydraulic Kit Components united states | Hydraulicircuit Technology, Inc (http://www.hctkits.com/hydraulic-kit-components/)
Might add-on to your quick hitch to put a rotator pin mount.
Wedgelock Products | Forestry Coupler (http://www.wedgelock.com/products/wedgelock-forestry-coupler.html)
Quote from: Riwaka on February 24, 2019, 05:21:17 AMIf there was a spare valve in the excavator's main valve bank that was used or a foot pedal control for the rotator and extra piping. (fairly big expense) Pedal valve
I already have the whole system on the excavator, the pedal, the valves, hammer/sheer piping. now i connected the grapple open/close function by bypassing the bucket cyl. if i find a rotator i would connect the rotating function over the foot pedal.
But i'm not looking very hard, i have about 3 loads left this year and then it will be 3years wait before the next thinning, so i deal with it in 3 years. the mine permit is hopefully given to me within months so who knows in 3 years there will be more machines available or at least i will have the finances to buy whatever i need. I think my old 540A skidder will need to be replaced also for the next thinning.
Just some more pics. we finished falling. have 400 left to skid and maybe 3-4 loads of shortwood and lots of good logs for the sawmill
My helpers
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010939.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551657626)
those trees are 13 years old
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010946.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551657999)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010948.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551657724)
these are excellent areas
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010942.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551657550)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010955.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551657857)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010959.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1551657965)
Finished the thinning with all the sawing too.
before selecting and bucking
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010961.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1555507255)
After
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010963.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1555507107)
selecting the shortwood and the thicker longwood which gets sawn
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010962.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1555506986)
last load
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010965.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1555507211)
thankyou fest for my workers and the buyer. some beers and meat
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/37555/P1010968.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1555507406)
Topic in the sawmill section
http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=106044.msg1651974#msg1651974 (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=106044.msg1651974#msg1651974)