Got a new job.

[Maineloggerkid]

I just took a job running grapple skidder for Treeline, out of Lincoln, Maine. Full benifits including payed vacation, payed holidays, and full health insurance cover completely by the company. After I get good at grapple, they said they would train me to operate other machinery as well. I get a company spending fund for saftey gear or other things like CB's and things of that nature, and the company provides all work clothes, boots, and hardhats. Also, I get additional pay if I have to go to the garage and get parts or oil, as well as I will probably have a week off in hunting season ;D

[thedeeredude]

Congrats!  Sounds like a heck of a deal. 8) 8)

[Ron Scott]

Sounds like a good company to work for. ;)

[Maineloggerkid]

Very good. Lots of guys around here would die to get in with them. I got lucky. I called to see about contract cutting, and when they heard about the things I know how to do, the owner asked me to come on board. Just one of those right place, right time deals.

[timberfaller390]

sounds good. Are you going to keep running your show on the side or work strictly for this outfit?

[Maineloggerkid]

Im going to work for them thru the winter, and there might be a possiblity of contracting to them a little bit down the road.  I will be cutting cedar on weekends, as the mill 8 miles from me is paying $135/cord......Extra walking around money ;)

[timberfaller390]

sounds like a winner to me

[Maineloggerkid]

I hpoe so. Now I just have to adjust to my schedule. Get up about 12:30 a.m., leave home around 1:30 in the morning, get home a 5 o'clock at night.

[Tom]

OUCH!

[timberfaller390]

Better you than me bud. What time do you have to be on the job

[rebocardo]

Sounds like a great job.

[sawguy21]

Tom, he is still young and bulletproof. :D Sounds like a good gig, all the best.

[Maineloggerkid]

I have to be on the job at 3 in the morning. The upside is that I am out of the skidder at 3 in the afternoon.

[Sawyerfortyish]

What do you guys do log at night? Do you have lights on your skidder and chainsaws? 3 AM I know maine is down east but it's still in the same time zone. I run a skidder long enough to know your gonna be beat at the end of a 12 hour shift

[Maineloggerkid]

Its a grapple skidder with flood lights. I haul from a buncher to a limber. We work nights during mud season. We feul up up and run the first 3 hours in dark, and then the sun rises.

On the bright side, I get a 2004 john deere 648GIII.

[timberfaller390]

What are you going to do with your recently aquired skidder

[Black_Bear]

When I was at UMaine in 2004 we went to visit one of Brian Souers' jobs in Old Town. It was the first time I had the opportunity to watch a clam bunk operate. Don't think they'd be conducive to the steep terrain we readily encounter here in VT, but man, those machines can haul a jag of wood. They were into the in-woods delimbing then also.

Brian was very knowledgable (and was willing to share his info.) about the business side of logging and knew his costs and what had to be produced every day to make ends meet. If you are wise you will listen to him and learn from him. If you have any intention of going into business for yourself you need to pick his brain all you can about the business end of logging, mainly because any old conehead can pick up after a buncher. That's not to show any disrespect to grapple operators, I ran a 648G off and on for the better part of 3 years, but what I am trying to say is that the skidding side of it is easy compared to managing the books and understanding the fixed costs and variable costs of a logging operation.  

If I remember correctly a good old boy named "Bridge?", along with Brian, gave us the tour. Some of them guys were coming from the Millinocket-Medway area, which I believe is where you are from, so I can understand the 12:30 AM wake up call. Funny thing with logging, the wood never comes to you, you always have to travel to the wood.  I also used to drive by their shop in Lincoln when I was surveying out of Enfield. It looked like a big, spacious shop. I worked on a crew similar to Brian's from when I was 22 to when I was 30. The experience was invaluable and I learned the most by picking their brains and working along side of them. Have fun, but remember that at this point in your career most of them guys have probably forgot more about logging than you know.

[Maineloggerkid]

You have a very good memory, Black bear! They sold the clambunks last year, and yes Brian is a very knowledgable man. I am from just east of medway. The shop is pretty good size, and that is where I have to meet the rest of the crew every morning.

Timberfaller390- It will be going back the the Lesser, and I will be looking around for other places in the area to do business with, as this guy was not very concerned with the well being of the customer.

[pasbuild]

A job like that is unheard of up here in da UP, good luck with it.

[zackman1801]

you lucky dog! i wish there were more big operations like that around here. i would love to get a job like that. especially because those cabs are nice and warm. and nice and cool.

[Maineloggerkid]

Ya, I am pretty lucky. I start tommorow, I'll let you know how it goes. My first time ever running a grapple skidder is going to be under the headlights.

[Black_Bear]

"i would love to get a job like that. especially because those cabs are nice and warm. and nice and cool."

Don't forget boring and monotonous. You'll be happy to eventually "graduate" to another job such as running the delimber or a cable skidder in rougher terrain.

The feller-buncher and loader/slasher jobs are usually reserved for the guys that have been there the longest and know how to cut to the markets. If I remember correctly they had a GPS in the feller cab. The forester would mark the spots where he thought stream crossings and roads should be located and uploaded them to the computer in the feller.   

[WH_Conley]

Hours like that will make you lose the "kid" from your handle. Be real careful, not just on the job, going home too.

[Maineloggerkid]

Well, it went well. I like the skidder, I like my crew, but I am working on some of the most god-foresaken ground ever discovered. All, day I worked on the edge of a 40 ft. drop off, sliding around, and tommorow morning I have to go back in there in the dark. We will be moving at the end of the week, to flatter terrain, and we will be cutting right-of-ways.

As far as boring, I spent too much time trying to keep it on all 4 wheels to be bored.

[Black_Bear]

HAAA. Sounds like logging to me. We generally rate the steep ground by the "pucker factor". Steep ground isn't so bad though, it's the rocky ground that makes it hard on the body, all that twisting and turning, and rocking and rolling!! By the end of the week you'll be walking around that terrain like you were born on it. 

[Maineloggerkid]

I forgot to say that it is all rocks too. Not even joking. one hill has to be taken with the inter-lock in and the machine lugged right down to a crawl just to make it up.

I know I probably sound dumb, but I'm new at grapple, and they take those places that I would never take my cable.

[Ron Scott]

Be careful out there and don't take any chances on steep rocky terrain. Be sure you know the limits!!

[timberfaller390]

Be careful out there and don't take any chances on steep rocky terrain. Be sure you know the limits!!

Yeah, I'd hate to have to read about  your funeral on the forum.

[Maineloggerkid]

Well, I finished of that trail taday, and tommorow morning I have to start right on another hill :-\  The hill is about a 45 degree angle, and I have to back up it in the dark because there is nowhere to turn around.

Running in the lights isn't too bad, but it is something new and different.

[timberfaller390]

Running in the lights isn't too bad, but it is something new and different.

You get used to it. When I was still with the Georgia Forestry Commission I logged alot of dozer hours on night fires. I actually preffered it after I got accustomed to it.

[Maineloggerkid]

Ya, It was better this morning. I kinda like the lights , as long as Im not in real bad ground. we are finishing this lot tommorow morning and moving to the next location. we will be cutting 3 right of ways.

[Ironwood]

MaineLogger,

Well, good for you! Yer new boss musta' seen your "gumtion " (get up and go, ambition, hussle, etc...) and thought you'de make a good employee. This is a fairly rare thing these days. I am much older than you, but was recently approached by a deep pocketed businessman to act as a "finder" for his multiple businesses, he saw my "gumption". This is a rare trait, and SMART business people look for this essential trait in people they want to get involved in their pursuits. Keep this and your positive outlook and you will go far, just keep the tires on the ground and your eyes open.

Be safe, Ironwood

[SwampDonkey]

I am working on some of the most god-foresaken ground ever discovered. All, day I worked on the edge of a 40 ft. drop off.

:D :D :D That's why they pay so good. Can't have the cream all the time, so I think it's best to start you on the tough sites to see how you hold up. Starting off easy would just spoil ya too much.  Telling you the next site is going to be easier going is just the carrot on the stick. ;)

[Maineloggerkid]

Your probably right. we will be yarding htere tomorrow, and i will find out.

[timberfaller390]

Telling you the next site is going to be easier going is just the carrot on the stick. ;)

Hee haw hee haw :D

[Maineloggerkid]

The new site isn't that bad. It has some hills and bumps, and some easy going, but thats about normal.

[SwampDonkey]

Sounds great. As they said above, keep all four tires on the ground.  ;)

[Maineloggerkid]

Sometimes thats easier said then done.

[timberfaller390]

well be sure you got at least three on the ground. Less than that and things can get kinda hairy.

[Ed_K]

 Yes, i'm want to hear the story of getting it on one front tire going down hill over a stump  .

[Maineloggerkid]

Been there, done that, don't want to make a practice of it. :-\

[timberfaller390]

Hey Maine still hard at the new job?

[Maineloggerkid]

I had a heart to heart with the owner, and I am no longer an employee of treeline. He wanted to pay me minimum wage. The distance I was traveling, I was spending half my check on gas-leaving me with $150-180 dollars for 5 17 hour days, no travel pay.

That wasn't gonna pay the bills :-\

[WH_Conley]

Ya could make more than that picking up beer cans. An operator in the woods around here make $100.00 a day, for 8 hrs, sometimes little longer days, sometimes a little less.

[timberfaller390]

That sucks. So you going back to running your own show?

[Maineloggerkid]

Yes indeedy, cutting wood again and never happier. ;D  I am checking with a couple local equipment dealers around here for skidders and woods modified bulldozers.

Something that seems to be regaining popularity in our area is horse logging, but I will wait until it is really callled for before I get a horse settup.

[timberfaller390]

horses are alot of fun but they are also tempermental. If you don't already have horse handling expierence then get a few lessons before you even think about taking a team into  the woods.

[Maineloggerkid]

Ya, thats the thing about working with something that has a mind of its own- it will only do what it wants to.

[Maineloggerkid]

My dad and uncle used to have a logging company, and for a while they used horses. So, if I ever do decide to venture into that market, I can learn alot from my dad.

[beenthere]

Are there any horse loggers in the area? one or two you might contact for an idea what they charge per bdft for logging your wood?

Seems it would take a lot of time and investment in the horse logging 'business' to get it to pay more than the minimum wage job you left. And a LOT of love for horses and continual care about 24/7 to have them available.

I admire the horse loggers that do this, but it seems to be a labor of love, and not for money.

There is a member 'Horselogger' who may read this and fill us in.  8)

[Maineloggerkid]

Actaully, while you do have to make a fulltime commitment, I have been told that it is only like $5 per day to use a horse( minus the equipment expenses). I have a freind that does it and he can cut  3 loads per week with a team of horses and one other guy.

[Corley5]

It's gonna cost more than 5 dollars a day for just the hay to feed a team that's working hard and unlike a skidder they require feed whether they're running or not    Fuel costs to transport the animals to the job everday will be higher than just driving the pickup and the operator is going to be walking behind the beasts instead of riding a machine.  I'll take a skidder any day over a horse  ;D

[zackman1801]

you also just have to remember you cant hook on as much. plus you need more room on a landing because with horses you cant push all of your logs up into a big stack. i know a guy who does horse logging and hes gotten good at it, but i still think that a skidder or dozer could pull more wood in a shorter time. you just have to remember that costs are all in perspective, a skidder might cost more but its going to get more wood moved.

[Maineloggerkid]

While a skidder can move more, a horse makes a really nice looking cut with no ruts, roads, or bulled over brush. While slower, a lot of people in this area want that type of a cut right now.

The estimate of $5 per day was hay for one horse. Either way you cut it, your still looking better than the feul for a moderate size skidder right now. I was using almost $40 per day in my 540B.

I'm not saying that I'm going out and getting a horse- just that it is a niche that seems to be regaining some popularity and that someday I might dabble in it.

[bull]

Your ,logging in Maine,What is the largest tree your skidding, a Medium sized farm tractor will get you going and is a lot cheaper than keeping a horse.... Don't forget a day off is a day off when you shut off a tractor... With a horse there are no day's off !!!! If your afraid of makng ruts you shouldn't be there any how..... winch it or leave it alone !!! The ocassional rut can be graded with the loader on the farm tractor......

[Rick Alger]

Keep an open mind about horses. Things are picking up for horseloggers. I've had more calls this year than I have in the last ten years. I work alone, sometimes with a team, sometimes skidding single.

I work in Coos County in NH. It's similar terrain to Northwest Maine.

I bid stumpage at no more than $100 per mbf, and I'll do cut-and-skid for no less than $135. I try to get the pulp for next to nothing. Once in a while I get paid by the day. All my jobs are for landowners that want a clean job

My production is around one 540 hitch a day. I ship an average of one tri-axel load a week. The money is not great, but it is improving.

If you want to check it out, let me know, I'm working in Pittsburg right now. I'll be working in Wentworth Location this winter.

[Mooseherder]

Rick,  I would love to see video of your operation.  Got any friends with a digital camera?

[Rick Alger]

Sprucebunny posted pics of  my winter job two years ago. They are archived here somewhere. I don't have a digital camera or a videocamera. If somebody else comes along with a camera, I'll try to post the pics. Trouble is I'm usually well off the beaten path

[Maineloggerkid]

Bull- Right now I am using a medium sized farm tractor with a winch and a 150' mainline. I don't tend to leave ruts. The problem is that around here a lot of the terrain is impassible for my tractor, and I am looking at skidders right now.

[timberfaller390]

you gonna go with another 540?

[Maineloggerkid]

If I can find a good one. I am gonna look around and find a skidder thats in good shape. If I find a good Timberjack, then that will work. I have always run Deere, but I envy the twitches that my buddy's timberjack 240B will haul.

[timberfaller390]

I believe you told me once " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors skidder" ;D

[Maineloggerkid]

My words come back to bite me : 

Let me rephrase- I would like to be able to haul twitches of that caliber, as it would enable me to get more production.

[timberfaller390]

At least you can kinda clasify a TJ as a Deere

[Maineloggerkid]

I suppose..... that works for me

[Ironwood]

TJ's are generally lower to the ground eh?


Ironwood

[Maineloggerkid]

ya- but from what i've seen, that makes 'em real stable. ;) At least thats what it looked like, but then again, I've only run Deeres.

[Corley5]

I've heard from more than one logger in this country that 440 JDs are the easiest skidder to turn over and old Franklins are the hardest.  I've never ran a JD or a Franklin but the TJs I've operated were very stable.  I ran an old C4 Tree Farmer a bit and it seemed tippier than it really was.

[Maineloggerkid]

John deeres do get tipppy at times. I had mine on 2 wheels a lot. Probably not good to admit , but I kinda got used to it and didn't even worry about it after a while. You can kinda feel wether its just up a little or if it is really gonna go over.

[Ironwood]

Man, I have had a JD 440 in a pretty interesting situation a few times here on my property. Then a friend who has a different 440 also bought a Franklin w/ a Detroit, man was that thing STABLE. I watched him one day while working it pretty good and he could have never done that work w/ his 440 (he even said so, several times)

FYI Ironwood

[SwampDonkey]

We used an old used and abused Tree Farmer here. Dad got it third hand from mom's cousins. None of our woods was on a hillside. Nice flat ground.  ;D Dad had a horse earlier,but you couldn't go to deep into the woods to yard. As you guessed it, he wasn't much for making roads in the woods, so needed a skidder to get back there. Then, there still were areas we never even went near. Couldn't use a horse to haul big hardwood any distance. A big maple was around 25 inches, the odd one up to 40, but rare. I know the adjacent lot was the same growth and they cut it out for field and got close to 40 cord per acre of hard maple mostly. Ash and yellow birch mixed in.  I seen all the logs in the marketing board wood yard. About the best soil you could ask for for growing anything. Now it's growing spuds.