Homemade crane Matt’s

[Andy1981]

Has anyone here made their own crane matts ? I got a few projects on some wet ground and cleaning out a small pond .I have a small excavator  , about 7 tons a f700 dump and compact tractor with a 2200lb lift capacity. with my equipment on the smaller side I figure I could make my own matts out of 6"x6"x12' or 14' pine bolted together with althread. I figure hardwood matts would be hard to handle and overkill for my size equipment. I am  looking for some input from people who have used matts or made their own.

[barbender]

 Pine isn't much lighter than hardwood when it's wet, which it usually will be as a mat.

We've had a lot of local pipeline work around here the last 10 years, and our area is swimming in second hand mats. I would find some of those before I built any, but there may not be any available where you are.

[BargeMonkey]

 Depending where you are in the country, like he said ☝️, certain places you can find gently used matts for cheap sometimes. 7 ton excavator will have no issue with a regular 16' matt, you think 16' is overkill until you throw it in somewhere. We did a bridge building class yrs ago, not hard to do but its all how your set up, used to be a place advertised in the northern logger you could buy a complete set of hardware. Depends how much time versus money and materials type thing, I wanna say I gave 275 ? A matt for these last 8 I bought ?, not A grade but not bad, from the Amish here.


 

[plantita]

Making your own matts could work since you have smaller equipment. Just be sure to use good, thick wood like pine so they can support the weight without cracking. Bolt them together well and reinforce as needed. Maybe test them out first before taking on a big job. I'd also ask around to see if anyone has used matts for sale nearby like the others said, might save you the work. Good luck with your projects!

[stavebuyer]

For smaller equipment 3' wide mats will do the job. Much easier to make and move around. They also hold up better than the cheaply made "logging mats" they sell locally.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

Ive built bridges and matts. The only thing that's at all hard about putting matts together is getting a flat pace to lay them out off the ground enough to drill them and the second issue is the drilling itself. Drilling them one cant at a time then trying to pound the all thread through them is, well, tough.   You got to drill them clamped together adding as you go.   Not as easy as it sounds.  I bet Bruno from NH could tell you exactly the best way to tackle it. 

[Magicman]

I knew a guy that bought a "swing sawmill" (of all things) and was gonna get rich sawing, building, and selling crane mats.

He did not saw very long and he still ain't rich.   :

[Andy1981]

Thanks for the replies. I  haven't seen used ones for sale anywhere close to me here in western New York in a while and when I seen used ones in the past it seems like you have to buy a tractor trailer load to make it feasible. I will check the local Amish , I didn't even think of them. I might still try and make a few for the heck of it, then I will realize I should  get off my wallet and just buy some.

[Frickman]

I built a few.  Even though I owned a sawmill it was usually cheaper just to buy used mats, after I added my labor building them.

[Resonator]

All the matts around here are hardwood, don't think they build any with pine. You could try making your own, but there would be a lot of work drilling and some big rod bolts to buy. When I drove flatbed to major pipeline or powerline jobs, there would be THOUSANDS of them stacked up. Used ones can be found, and they make more new ones every day.

[chep]

Just bought 4 new hemlock mats. 16' long. They were 375$ apiece
Didn't have time to build them so opened the checkbook

[customsawyer]

Might want to try what they call a logging mat down here. Take 2x6/8x16 and lay a layer down one way, then another layer the other way, last layer the same as the first. You can even space them out a little if you want. They tend to use them for driving log trucks in and out of wet areas and such. Easier to bolt together then the crane mats. It will give you a 16x16 mat when finished. Normally lay them so you are driving perpendicular to the top layer. This way if a board breaks it can't be pointed up into whatever you're driving.

[BargeMonkey]

 The further out western NY you get or closer to the PA border the more you find them. Quick check on marketplace I found 6x diff listings. Couple years ago we gave away 150-200 damaged matts to a guy off a job, paid to truck them and dump them, he put them in the outside stove, certain times they are around.

[Ron Scott]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=27852.msg401770#msg401770

[thecfarm]

You said pine?
What kind?
I never made any, but I doubt eastern white pine would hold up, unless it was a foot thick. And then it might break. Get one side on solid ground and the other side up in air 6 inches.... 

[barbender]

 Tamarack would make great mats if you could find any big enough.

[Andy1981]

You said pine?
What kind?
I never made any, but I doubt eastern white pine would hold up, unless it was a foot thick. And then it might break. Get one side on solid ground and the other side up in air 6 inches.... 

I have tons of red pine I could use

[Andy1981]

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=27852.msg401770#msg401770

I like the idea of using cable instead of threaded rod

[Bruno of NH]

If I was making mats for my own use I would do it this way. I would use red pine if I had it like the op.
Laminate wood is much stronger than a beam. I would saw 2" thick material as deep as I wanted x 16'long. I would make the mats 3' for ease of moving them .
I would make a pattern piece like a rafter with drill holes one ft from each end and one in the center. After I drilled them I would nail them together with a nail gun.
Instead of cable or all thread I would use rebar with a big washer welded on one end. The other end would stick out of the 3ft wide mat by 4".
I would heat that end and bend it over with a sledgehammer.

[stavebuyer]

If I was making mats for my own use I would do it this way. I would use red pine if I had it like the op.
Laminate wood is much stronger than a beam. I would saw 2" thick material as deep as I wanted x 16'long. I would make the mats 3' for ease of moving them .
I would make a pattern piece like a rafter with drill holes one ft from each end and one in the center. After I drilled them I would nail them together with a nail gun.
Instead of cable or all thread I would use rebar with a big washer welded on one end. The other end would stick out of the 3ft wide mat by 4".
I would heat that end and bend it over with a sledgehammer.

Maybe that is your "niche".

I used to buy timber for a mill owner who made a bunch for his own use. His were 3' wide x16' long. Hence, they would load on regular log trailer. The 8'+ wide ones you need a drop deck or low boy to move. Rather than bolting he wrapped the ends with 1/4' plate and welded an envelope to hold them loosely. His were over 20 years old and saw frequent use. A sidling place you put them two deep on the lower side to level the road. A wide mat gets destroyed on a high centered road. The narrow ones can be moved or placed with any grapple skidder or knuckleboom loader. Crane mats are fine for cranes. Can't beat 3x16's for logging.

[Resonator]

I've seen online companies that make "Waffle" matts too, using 3 layers of planks (laid 90° to each layer) and bolted together. I've also seen some utility companies instead of wood they use plastic matts.

[chep]

We are using 4 ft wide 16ft long. For heavy equip laminate style would get destroyed/chewed up real fast. Tracks and chains on a forwarder eat them up. Then there would be nails or screws everywhere. 
For light equipment that sounds like a good plan.
also with heavy equip the twist/torsion of loading I believe would bend the rebar over time and things would get sloppy. That is why the stiffness of threaded rod is sweet and the fact that they are tightened real good. So no movement.
Bruno I think your design is def what would serve tractor loggers or small skidders very well

[Bruno of NH]

That's what I thought of for using your own materials and the size equipment the op was using.
My father in law had a log trucking business, I used the rebar idea from 8x8x16 hardwood mats I had seen in his yard. He would move them for his customers. They all had been held with rebar.

[sjh]

There are a couple listing for matts near Rochester on marketplace. You do not give a local western NY is pretty big

[Andy1981]

There are a couple listing for matts near Rochester on marketplace. You do not give a local western NY is pretty big

im in the Holland ,  Sardinia area