Getting started on the winter logging

Quebecnewf · January 17, 2019, 06:36:29 AM

Getting a few piled at the landing . We're going through a extreme cold snap so getting things started in the morning is a challenge . Better cold than mild for our work so can't complain . Work in the workshop today doing repairs to sled .

Quebecnewf

petefrom bearswamp · January 17, 2019, 08:39:02 AM

How many logs can you haul in a hitch with the snowmobile?

Quebecnewf · January 17, 2019, 12:44:33 PM

Very hard question to answer . Too many variables. Snow conditions, length , diameter of logs . Are you going all over level ground or is there a hill on the path home etc etc etc

Look in my gallery and you can see different pics of loads of logs we haul .

Quebecnewf

Stephen1 · January 17, 2019, 02:44:57 PM

Great pictures. cheers

Bruno of NH · January 17, 2019, 07:45:11 PM

Would an ASV track truck work for hauling your logs out ?
You can pick one up very reasonable.
When I was in the snowmobile club I ran one to groom the side goat trails.
New Tucker was used on the big wide trails.

bushmechanic · January 17, 2019, 09:20:38 PM

Those cold temps will certainly help out to freeze up that slob ice! Looks like your off to a good start, as the old guy's around here would say " That's some pretty nice vir junks you got there"!

Southside · January 17, 2019, 09:25:50 PM

Do you pile that with a Peavey?

Andries · January 18, 2019, 12:05:30 AM

Quote from: bushmechanic on January 17, 2019, 09:20:38 PM
" That's some pretty nice vir junks you got there"!

@bushmechanic: That might translate to nice "fir chunks", no?

Quebecnewf · January 18, 2019, 04:57:52 AM

That ASV truck looks kind of interesting . Like a J5 with wheel steering . Might work good as long as you started early in the fall making trails and kept them broken down after each snow fall . If you were going in to start trail building later you might have issues with the deep snow . There is also the width . Trails would have to be wider , thus longer to cut . With a proper sled behind it might prove interesting for sure . If you were doing fire wood as well as logs I think you could really give it a go . You could do more of a clear cut type of operation . Small and scrap trees are cut for firewood and you pick out the log trees as you go.

-22 here this morning do the " slob" is frozen . The vir translates to fir . It's a local slang thing . Same in NFLD .

Going back in cutting today . Going to be cold but gotta go .

Quebecnewf

dustintheblood · January 18, 2019, 12:04:38 PM

Was back up near James Bay working for the past couple of weeks. Daytimes dipped to -38c with windchill. Came home to -20c and felt like ripping my jacket off down to the tshirt cause it was so toasty.

QuebecNewf, I'm with you - the colder the better. Only downside to it is the metal on any machine gets brittle and oils turn kinda peanutbuttery. You're on the right track using the sleds since they're made for the cold and really can sneak down your paths without a major clearcut.

Keep going!!! Great work!

Quebecnewf · January 19, 2019, 08:27:12 PM

Our log pile is growing . Oh and it is winter . Was -20 last night at the cabin . When I got up in the morning it was -3 and we had 5 inches of snow . It cleared Of and then the temp started going down again . -25 now and we have a snowstorm coming in tomorrow after noon . Then it's calling for freezing rain on Monday . Then slashing back cold on Tue .

What can you say ..... Go with what you get

Quebecnewf

Magicman · January 19, 2019, 09:58:19 PM

Thank You Sir for continuing to allow us to follow along on your journey. Stay/work safe and keep us posted.

Stephen1 · January 22, 2019, 09:23:08 AM

Great pictures! Do you log on the mainland and saw on the islands?

Quebecnewf · January 25, 2019, 04:28:25 AM

The logs are on the mainland my mill is on a small island next to the island where the village is located.

Weather is giving us fits . Last week it was -31 one day . Almost to cold to log but not to bad . Today it's +3 and raining . High winds as well so we may lose our ice bridge to the mainland . We're home now waiting out the storm . Supposed to chop cold tomorrow again . We have two of our snowmobiles left ashore on the mainland . Don't want to take a chance on the ice breaking and your stuck with your machines on the island .

We have a little over 100 logs cut so far but the conditions are making it interesting to say the least

Quebecnewf

mike_belben · January 25, 2019, 08:24:50 AM

Youre more man than i sir.

I couldnt handle those sort of temps

Stephen1 · January 25, 2019, 09:31:37 AM

Quote from: mike_belben on January 25, 2019, 08:24:50 AM
Youre more man than i sir.

I couldnt handle those sort of temps

It is like the heat, we aclimatise to cold and heat. At a certain point it is too cold, the same as the heat. sometimes you just hav to wait it out.

mike_belben · January 25, 2019, 09:47:30 AM

I grew up in massachusetts and spent a decade doing 12hr outdoor shifts in winter. After a while it was just too much. The truck wont start, its gelled up. Gotta open the garage but the lock is frozen. Go back to the truck for the bottle torch but the torch bottle is too cold for any pressure. Okay ill drive the other car. Oh, that battery drained overnight and it wont start. Id just start punching things.

I moved south and split firewood with sweat pouring off my knees some days. i dont love that or always watching for snakes but everything starts and i can manage easier. Just no energy left in me to endure real winters anymore. At 2000ft we still have the freezeups here but theyre a few days long instead of months. Traded snow for rain that i dont have to shovel.

dustintheblood · January 25, 2019, 10:46:49 AM

Quote from: Quebecnewf on January 25, 2019, 04:28:25 AM
The logs are on the mainland my mill is on a small island next to the island where the village is located.

Weather is giving us fits . Last week it was -31 one day . Almost to cold to log but not to bad . Today it's +3 and raining . High winds as well so we may lose our ice bridge to the mainland . We're home now waiting out the storm . Supposed to chop cold tomorrow again . We have two of our snowmobiles left ashore on the mainland . Don't want to take a chance on the ice breaking and your stuck with your machines on the island .

We have a little over 100 logs cut so far but the conditions are making it interesting to say the least

Quebecnewf

Seesawing here at home too. -25C for three days then up to +5C for a day and now back to -19C
Heading north for work on Sunday. It's going to be nighttime temps of -30C (-22F) all week. Might put on a touque....

Quebecnewf · January 25, 2019, 04:49:47 PM

Better cold than mild I always say. The cold is easy to deal with It's the mild that causes us problems in winter. It was +5 here through the night and poured rain for four hours. Now it chopping cold tonight. We will have hard icy driving conditions in the morning along with heavy snow squalls and high winds later in the day.

We're heading back in to the cabin in the morning . Will work through the snow and the wind. In the woods not to bad . The trip back to the cabin after your finished for the day can be a challenge . High wind with heavy snow means you have to make sure you don't wander of the marked trail On your drive home to the cabin. The marks on the trail are 50 ft apart and I have seen it where you can not see from mark to mark . Your driving on sea ice so you need to be sure of your location at all times.

Quebecnewf

Some logs we cut last fall . Will be moving them to the landing this week . Broke the path to them before the mild . Should be hard now after the freeze sets in

Old Greenhorn · January 25, 2019, 06:34:06 PM

SO tonight,once again I had the thought of making or buying a skidding cone to keep my logs cleaner for the mill because getting them from the stump to the skid road is where they get the most junk on them (after that I use a skidding arch to drag them where they are going and the front of the log is UP). I did a google search, and of course wound up right back here on the forum where I learned that 10 years ago this month @Quebecnewf made his own Skidding cone. It looked good in the photos, so now 10 years later, I would like to ask yu, how did it work out for you in the long run? What did you learn along the way, and do you still use it, or did you modify it? Please share what you can before I waste a few weekends messing with it. I have a blue barrel ready to go.
Tom

olcowhand · January 25, 2019, 06:49:52 PM

Quote from: Quebecnewf on January 25, 2019, 04:49:47 PM
Better cold than mild I always say. The cold is easy to deal with It's the mild that causes us problems in winter. It was +5 here through the night and poured rain for four hours. Now it chopping cold tonight. We will have hard icy driving conditions in the morning along with heavy snow squalls and high winds later in the day.

We're heading back in to the cabin in the morning . Will work through the snow and the wind. In the woods not to bad . The trip back to the cabin after your finished for the day can be a challenge . High wind with heavy snow means you have to make sure you don't wander of the marked trail On your drive home to the cabin. The marks on the trail are 50 ft apart and I have seen it where you can not see from mark to mark . Your driving on sea ice so you need to be sure of your location at all times.

Quebecnewf

Some logs we cut last fall . Will be moving them to the landing this week . Broke the path to them before the mild . Should be hard now after the freeze sets in

QuebecNewf, tu es mon héros!
Steve

dgdrls · January 26, 2019, 08:37:42 AM

Quebecnewf

"For me this " logging" is just a hobby/passion . I love it in the woods and have always loved it from the first time I went with my dad many years ago ."

I always enjoy your posts and share your thoughts as posted earlier.
Sounds like things are progressing well.

looking forward to the ZIP line pics

FWIW maybe a Skidoo Alpine/Everest twin-track would make a better "skidder"?

best
D

Quebecnewf · January 28, 2019, 08:01:19 PM

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on January 25, 2019, 06:34:06 PM
SO tonight,once again I had the thought of making or buying a skidding cone to keep my logs cleaner for the mill because getting them from the stump to the skid road is where they get the most junk on them (after that I use a skidding arch to drag them where they are going and the front of the log is UP). I did a google search, and of course wound up right back here on the forum where I learned that 10 years ago this month @Quebecnewf made his own Skidding cone. It looked good in the photos, so now 10 years later, I would like to ask yu, how did it work out for you in the long run? What did you learn along the way, and do you still use it, or did you modify it? Please share what you can before I waste a few weekends messing with it. I have a blue barrel ready to go.
Tom

The blue barrel worked good but not near as well as a real skidding cone . Over the years I have found that the higher you can get your pulling point the better things go . With that in mind I now have a set of Spurs and a climbing belt and I place my snatch block high in a tree .
Quebecnewf

Quebecnewf · January 28, 2019, 08:04:48 PM

Quote from: dgdrls on January 26, 2019, 08:37:42 AM
Quebecnewf

"For me this " logging" is just a hobby/passion . I love it in the woods and have always loved it from the first time I went with my dad many years ago ."

I always enjoy your posts and share your thoughts as posted earlier.
Sounds like things are progressing well.

looking forward to the ZIP line pics

FWIW maybe a Skidoo Alpine/Everest twin-track would make a better "skidder"?

best
D

The double track snowmobiles are basically useless . There not made any more and there's a reason for that .
Quebecnewf

Old Greenhorn · January 28, 2019, 08:43:13 PM

Quote from: Quebecnewf on January 28, 2019, 08:01:19 PM
The blue barrel worked good but not near as well as a real skidding cone . Over the years I have found that the higher you can get your pulling point the better things go . With that in mind I now have a set of Spurs and a climbing belt and I place my snatch block high in a tree .
Quebecnewf

SO are you saying you did get a cone and still use it? What you do in a few days I do in a month of weekends, so I am looking to your experience to help me along a little. I am not clear if you just gave up on the cone and went to using what we call in rescue work a "high point", which I know works well. But for me, I don't pull a bunch of logs out of one spot, where a high block would work great. I take one tree here, then move on and get another. It is all very selective cutting. I do have spikes and a belt, but at my age I am getting lazy. If I had a bunch of logs in one area, I would be much less lazy because the high block would save a lot of work.
I am interested to know if you still use a cone. I have a slightly different idea on a cone type thing to make from the blue barrel, but I will wait to see if you are still using yours. Then I will wait for a day when I don't want to go out in the woods and work in the shop.

Thanks again for your posts, interesting to watch and I look forward to them.