The Forestry Forum

i have been getting a bunch of ash logs from threes that a tree service dropped for a friend, been cuttin them up and dragging them to the edge of a bank where i been sliding them on the truck with a cable and snatch block. worked pretty good with a chocker chain but a bit of a pain to get around some of the logs, so i finaly bought a set of log tongs from mcmaster carr (www.mcmaster.com) they are the handyest things ever, alot faster than choke chains and pull the log straighter with less wanting to roll as i guide it on the truck with a bar. and boy are they great for unloading and stacking them with the gradall.

Next you'll be buying one of those fancy cant hooks from Logrite in order to roll the logs instead of using some plain ol' bar.  8)

oh i already got a handfull of cant hooks, some homemade, just for guiding them on the truck the bar worked best to let it slide along the side

I gave a friend a load of sawdust one day years ago and he gave me a set of log tongs in return.  I must say I got the better end of the deal.  I hang them from a chain off the bucket of the tractor, they sure make it easier to move and load logs.  8)

I have found that if I can drop the tongs just right on a log I don't have to get off the tractor to get hitched up.  Sometimes I spend more time doing that than it would take to get off the tractor and hitch them up.  ;D

Randy

yea i played the heavy equipment iron claw a few times with the tongs too hanging from the gradall boom, usualy in a couple trys they would grab altho ya have alot better control with an excavator like that than a loader, and easier to see what ya are doing