Handling slabs

maineframer · December 21, 2007, 11:46:31 AM

What is your method of handling slabs after you take them off the mill? I have been thinking of welding up a "slab crib" to conslidate a bundle of slabs then bind them and then out the door with the bobcat. Do any of you do this or have pictures or comments on your way of removing them? Thank you .

Tom · December 21, 2007, 11:59:22 AM

we usually lay down a chain or strap and lay the slabs neatly on top. After a few logs, we hook the strap or chain around the slabs and the other end to a vehicle and drag them off. That way, you can match the load to the vehicle.

Gilman · December 21, 2007, 12:16:54 PM

Mobile sawing, I do the same as Tom but use a choker instead. Sometimes it's amazingly difficult to get a customer to do this.

thecfarm · December 21, 2007, 12:37:46 PM

I think mainefarmer put his mill in a chicken barn and make it stationary?But anyways,bibbyman had a good set up and a few others did too.Hang in there,they will tell you.

york · December 21, 2007, 12:42:26 PM

Hi,i never move my mill,so i have pair of skids on the ground-stack slabs on and move with the FEL....

Brian_Rhoad · December 21, 2007, 12:47:11 PM

I made a "slab rack" that will hold a cord of wood. I put a ratchet strap around the slabs and lift them out with my Bobcat. If you make a rack, make the posts lean out at the top. This makes it easier to lift out the bundle of slabs.

Ron Wenrich · December 21, 2007, 01:18:56 PM

When we were stacking slabs, we used 2 old bunks from our log trailers. These were 4" pipe that were welded onto an I-beam. They were wide enough to fit across a trailer floor, so they were about 8' wide and 5' high. We then put that on to of a couple of piece of angle iron that put the 2 bunks about 4' apart. It held about a cord of wood and was practically indestructable. We would do 4-6 bundles/day.

The only problem with banding them is that when the wood dries, the banding gets pretty slack. Handling the first time isn't a problem. Loading them onto a trailer after a summer of drying is a problem.

flip · December 21, 2007, 04:14:50 PM

I got a slab cradle also. It works well, sometimes we use it sometimes we just pull the backhoe up and throw the slabs on the forks. I'll get some pics.

customsawyer · December 21, 2007, 07:42:27 PM

I have a set of home made forks that just hook onto the bucket of my back-hoe. When I built my forks I put three forks on the bar that way the short slabs that I make can be placed on two at a time. The men I have with me have been there a while so they learned how to stack the slabs on the forks so they don't fall off. Most of the time I have the regular forks on the back-hoe but my forks and bucket are hyd. quick connect so I can change from the forks to the bucket in about 20 seconds then the bucket has hooks on it that catch the bar holding the three forks and I can scoop it up and away I go. I will dump slabs at lunch and again at the end of the day. At my edger I have a small rack built to catch the fleches off of it and when I dump the slabs I then came around with the same forks and can pick them up and dump them. One of these days I need to get pics. of these so you guys will know what I am talking about.

ljmathias · December 22, 2007, 07:30:04 AM

One of the advantages of using a 4WD tractor with a FEL is that after I get the log in place on the mill, I just park the tractor where I can throw the slaps and bark and other miscellaneous pieces of wood trash into/on the bucket while I'm cutting. This adds a bit of time to each cut but for me is much easier and more efficient than having to do it after cutting a few logs and having the slabs and stuff build up into a teetering and dangerous pile next to the mill. Also, takes less effort to do for me than having to handle all the slabs and such twice, once off loading from the mill and then a second time onto the FEL and to the burn pile. With this system, when I'm done with each log, I dump the garbage, load the lumber and timbers and move them to sticker piles, then grab the next log to cut. As you might guess, I'm working alone so time and material flow is important as is anything that helps keep the site clean and clutter-free.

Good luck and have fun!

Merry Christmas, everybody (CHRISTmas, not happy holidays, although the holidays are happy for us as well).

Lj

maineframer · December 22, 2007, 09:52:08 AM

It is good to hear about all the different ways that you guys handle the slabs. I am set up in a chicken barn although we are slowly changing that to "the sawmill" ;D. I guess I was thinking of a slab rack like Brian wrote about that holds a cord. All the ideas get the wheels turning----

thecfarm · December 22, 2007, 10:08:28 AM

This is a past thread on handling slabs,

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=14670.0

Seems like there was a member that had supports every 3 feet or something.Than he took a saw with a long bar and made one cut throgh the whole pile at wood stove lenght.Less handling that way.Make sure you have some wood on the bottom so you won't hit metal.

379hammerdown · December 22, 2007, 01:10:41 PM

Quote from: Tom on December 21, 2007, 11:59:22 AM
we usually lay down a chain or strap and lay the slabs neatly on top. After a few logs, we hook the strap or chain around the slabs and the other end to a vehicle and drag them off. That way, you can match the load to the vehicle.

I never thought of that... goes to show that I'm always learning from this forum!

maineframer · December 22, 2007, 01:46:58 PM

Thanks Cfarm that is a great link!

ErikC · December 22, 2007, 04:54:38 PM

When we are cutting a few logs at a site it doesn't matter as much, but around the house they can sure add up fast! We have also used a crib with openings every couple feet that you could cut through. It works pretty good, but in production mode long term you could never keep up. Packing them off with a loader somehow seems best. Laying chains on the ground first is a great idea...wish I thought of it before.

Woodtik · December 25, 2007, 08:00:19 PM

This would not be the best way. Too much cheating.

DanG · December 25, 2007, 08:40:51 PM

Somethin' tells me that ain't a TonkaToy and a popsicle stick, Woodtik! Nice rig!

Here's a shot of CustomSawyer's slab forks.

No tellin' when that whippersnapper would get around to posting one. :

Todd · December 27, 2007, 01:23:16 PM

I created a couple of these to handle my slabs. I can move the pile around length-wise with a forklift, and either band the whole pile and pick it out from the side, or cut the slabs to 16" pieces in place. (sorry about the blurry picture, just a camera phone shot)
Todd

Dave Shepard · December 27, 2007, 05:26:16 PM

Here is a shot of one of our slab racks. It'll hold a cord of 8' slabs. We band the bundle and lift out with fork truck. It looks like a real clap trap affair, but it is only the camera angle. All 8', 10', and 12' goes in full length, everything else I cut in half, a bit of a pain. Edgings also go in the rack.

Dave

arj · December 27, 2007, 09:13:49 PM

Here`s a picture of mine, vertical posts are 16" on center.
Also high enough so I don`t have to bend over to much.
arj

Captain · December 27, 2007, 09:30:34 PM

OK, that's it, you've shamed me into it. Got to get building a rack on Saturday after sawing is done...

Captain

PM · December 27, 2007, 09:54:18 PM

I handle a lot of wood and steel with my Mustang skidsteer. I have a pallets which is built using 3" channel iron and 6"x 1 1/2" pipe for the corners and then use T-posts for the corners. I can load more on it then my skidsteer will handle! It is a 960 Mustang with a weight kit 1700# machine.

Brucer · December 29, 2007, 12:38:49 AM

I have a pair of racks at the hitch end of the mill. Racks are 8 feet long and measure 40" wide between the 30" high uprights. That's half cord of slabs in each rack. The racks are lined up end-to-end so I can drop a slab of any length into them.

We saw the through the slabs between the two racks and band them up into two 8' bundles. Bundles are lifted out with a forklift and piled at the back end of the log yard. We sell 'em for firewood -- $25 a bundle, which just covers the cost of handling, strapping, and filing the chainsaw ;).

We decided to put two straps on each bundle, 2' from the ends. The buyer can run a chainsaw through the middle of the bundle and get 4' slabs still strapped together (good for an outdoor furnace). The stove owner can break a 4' bundle down by sawing on either side of the strap.

That was the theory. I tried it out for myself this year and it worked real well ... after I figured out to tighten a ratchet strap around the bundles beside the strapping. Shrinkage and handling tend to loosen things up too much.

We can saw through the bundles with a 28" or 30" bar, making a cut from either side. It works best to fasten ONE strap around the slabs (but not crimping it) before cutting into 8' bundles. That holds the stuff on top in place while cutting. It's NOT a good idea to strap everything up before sawing. As you saw through the slabs, they start to settle and the straps go loose.

Last year we made a bunch of 4' bundles and only sold 1/4 of them. Most of this was in pickup loads. This year we've sold most of last year's bundles and half of this years bundles. Folks're still coming. We've had people come in a hatchback, break open a 4' bundle, and load it piece by piece. We've had a guy come in with a big trailer and make 5 trips -- seven 8' bundles per trip. And we've even had a guy rent a cube van and load it up until the springs were sagging.

I reckon with all the power and gas price increases, we're going to have no problem selling all our slabs. Might even try to earn a modest profit off them.