winter logging is about to start (I hope)

[Quebecnewf]

Well took the snowmobile across to the mainland today by boat. We have quite a bit of snow but no ice frozen yet. Plan to go in the woods in the next few days on a scouting trip. 

Hope the sea ice bridge freezes soon so we can get started.

Hope to post a few pics before Christmas

Quebecnewf

[Coon]

Was just thinking bout ya earlier today and wondering if you were logging yet. Guess now I know.  ;D  I am just waiting on snow now.    ;)

[Onthesauk]

Always enjoy your pictures and descriptions of the snowmobile logging. ;)

[Mooseherder]

Looking forward to your updates.

[isawlogs]

I also keep an eye out for you threads , hope you can get started soon .  8)

[Paul_H]

Me too! Good luck.

[Magicman]

Talk about something that is completely different from anything that I have ever seen/known.  Bring it on..... 8)

[stonebroke]

magicman, don't you use ice roads in your neck of the woods? They are very handy and make the cold seem much more tolerable.

Stonebroke

[Magicman]

Closest that I have ever been to an ice road is watching Ice Road Truckers on TV.  Skidding logs out on ice/snow must be a trip.  Here we have Mud Roads, and I was on a slick one yesterday...... :D

[stonebroke]

Ice sure beats mud

Stonebroke

[ljmathias]

Sure does- ice and snow melt; mud doesn't, it just dries out and sticks to stuff.  Wife took the shortcut from over at my son's place down the pipeline that I just had a couple dump truck load's of good ole Mississippi red clay brought in to fill in ruts.  Didn't get a chance to get the gravel on it before the rains hit- you guessed it, slippery as all get out and no bottom you can reach.  So the wife get's stuck, my son "drives" her out, more or less, and after a couple of days, she starts noticing a vibration when she hits 62 mph going to town.  Keeps up for a couple days, takes it to the tire dealer and lo and behold!  Dried mud caked inside the wheel.  Maybe she'll listen next time I tell her not to drive on fresh clay after a rain or two...

Lj

[Quebecnewf]

Well still mild here and not any good for logging or much else to tell the truth

Started to rebuild one of my sleighs

Here are a few pics








Quebecnewf


Maybe the adm can fix this so they appear on the page I seem to have done something wrong

Sorry

[Mooseherder]

That is awesome.  Nice Workbench too!

[Kevin]

I'm already out of the gate, I'll try and save you some logs. ;D

[Quebecnewf]

I'm sadto say that it rained all night here most of our snow is gone and we have high winds from the NE and more forcast for tomorrow. Got in a few more hours at the sled and should finish it tomorrow. As soon as the Christmas break is over I hope to get in the woods. You don't get a big day when you have to leave by boat and then transfer to the snowmobile but I might get some work done on the new log path.

Thank god for the new workshop it gives me things to do and it is nice and warm once the wood stove gets hot.


Pic of large rope we have moored to hold the ice while it freezes. Of course this only works if you have cold

Quebecnewf

[Kevin]

newf;
Do you plan on putting runners on those skis?
Nice job by the way.

[Stephen1]

Quebecnewf,   My daughter is here from Sept Iles, looking over my shoulder at your pics,  I hear you have some really warm weather up there, pretty cold here for us.
Do you know the Harding family, Carly my daughter teaches with Tanya.
merry Christmas to all

[DGK]

Hello Quebec Newf,

Would really like to hear a few details on the construction of your sleds skis. I can't tell from the pics the type of wood, laminated or not, etc. Also, as mentioned above, do you put on runners? I am sure that you have made these before, what was the weak link in the sled design?

[Quebecnewf]

Wood is spruce with a layer of 1/2" plywood on each side. Total thickness is 3  3/8 inches Width is 40 in outside to outside. Each sleigh is 4 1/2 ft long. We use UHMW plastic cut 5" wide for the shoes. The cross bunks are made of steel angle iron welded back to back.


I will post a pic of the completed sleigh in a day or so

Quebecnewf

[Mr Mom]

One quick question how do you get logs if you dont have an ice bridge??

Thanks Alot Mr Mom

[Quebecnewf]

Thats what were waiting for????

Quebecnewf

[Quebecnewf]

and if we don't get it we don't get no logs

Quebecnewf

[DGK]

Wood is spruce with a layer of 1/2" plywood on each side. Total thickness is 3  3/8 inches Width is 40 in outside to outside. Each sleigh is 4 1/2 ft long. We use UHMW plastic cut 5" wide for the shoes. The cross bunks are made of steel angle iron welded back to back.


I will post a pic of the completed sleigh in a day or so

Quebecnewf


I am looking forward to the new sled pics.

[firefighter]

Hye could you give us a tem plate of the skies would like to try and build one .I have never done this be for but would like to give it a try .Hope you get to log soon the weather here was good a week ago but it is warming up now may get up to three derees by sunday .

[SwampDonkey]

Been mild over Christmas here to, lower thirties in day, 25 or so at night. Rain tomorrow. Gonna stiff'n up Monday though, 0 to -3 F.

Bring on the sled logging Newf. ;D

These guys never been around sleds and toboggans. Too busy playing to learn from the old timers when growing up ya know. Ok, I'm just ribbing you guys.  I grew up around sled logging somewhat. ;)

[Quebecnewf]

Here are the pics of the completed sleigh

Any questions or comments

Quebecnewf

[Mooseherder]

It looks great and light weight also. The white shoe material underneath each ski must work like a charm.

[SwampDonkey]

Did you use teflon, Newf , on the runners?

[Quebecnewf]

No its not teflon though that would work as well. The plastic is called UHMW.

WE buy it in sheets of 10 ft and then rip it to the width we need

Quebecnewf

[SwampDonkey]

Teflon would be great for me to use, since they make it nearby. It's used on farm machinery sometimes to reduce wear on steel where rocks and mud ride along conveyors. My brother wants a small sled for his Elan. Don't know if I'll get to it. ;D

[John Mc]

We used to call UHMW plastic (stands for "ultra high molecular weight" plastic, if I recall) the poor man's teflon. Similar properties and applications as teflon, but a lot cheaper. We used a lot of it at work where we needed things to slide easily and without wear on the underlying parts. Not quite as slick as teflon, but it did the job.

[DGK]

Very nice looking sleds. What is the maximum weight that you load on them? Thanks for the photos.

[Quebecnewf]

The weight you put on is based on many factors. The sleighs can hold more weight than you can pile on them in softwood logs. I have on ocassion towed 2 sleighs like this piled high with logs. I was hauling on the sea ice only at that time so no hills and it was a hard packed trail. When I arrived at the mill I would unhook one load to get up the small incline to the mill.

These types of sleighs are a fairly new way to move logs. The more traditional method was with a type of homebuilt sled called a kometick.

You can find pics of these on the net. They are still built and used here today for hauling firewood . They sleighs are only used for logging.

Quebecnewf

[Kevin]

If the back ends were sloped like the front they would be easier to back up.

[motohed]

It would be cool to see a load of logs on the sled . I am having a hard time being able to visualize how much you  can haul on the sled .
  Thanks Scott

[Quebecnewf]

here is an old photo of a loaded sled




Quebecnewf

[Coon]

What size and brands of snowmobiles do you use for pulling these loads?

[Quebecnewf]

I use a Yamaha VK540 this is a basic snowmobile that hasen't changed much over the last 12 years . Its a truck.

To haul decent logs you need a fair size machine. The smaller the machine the smaller the load.

Most machines these days are for sport not work so your choices are limited.

Quebecnewf

[Coon]

I hear ya on the snowmobile thing.....  I am thinking about converting an old snowmobile into a log pulling machine. The snowmobile I am looking at is no prize to look at right now as it is nothing more than a tunnel w/ track and suspension and skis.  I have an older 4 cycle engine that I would be mounting on.  I do not have a hood for this machine but would fab something up...... thinkin' it's gonna be a redneck build.....  :D

I have my skidding arch nearly complete and ready to roll with just a couple of modifications left to make.  This arch was specifically built for behind a snowmobile as we normally only skid wood in the winter. 

Brad.

[motohed]

That pretty interesting , I would not have believed a snowmoble would pull that much . I guess you would have to have a pretty well groomed trail .

[Quebecnewf]

The trail is not groomed. You break the trail as you go in each day. Snow conditions vary from day to day and some days are great and some days not so good. Itake a load of slabs and stick them up along the way in across the marshes. This serves two purposes. One it helps to get you back home in a snow storm. Two when you have a fresh batch of snow you know that as long as you stay on the east side of the slabs your old trail is there under the new snow and this makes abig difference when your trying to make a new trail, your not starting from scratch. I also make a habit that each time i drive in i put one ski on the edge of the old track i made the day before and then drive with the outside ski of in new snow, in this manner i widen the trail each day.

Quebecnewf

[SwampDonkey]

With real cold temps like 0 F or colder, just disturbing the snow pack with a machine or sled will stiffen up the snow over night so it isn't fluffy. Stops the sinking feeling. :D Also real cold, wind driven snow, is almost hard enough to walk on.

[beenthere]

With real cold temps like 0 F or colder, just disturbing the snow pack with a machine or sled will stiffen up the snow over night so it isn't fluffy. Stops the sinking feeling. :D Also real cold, wind driven snow, is almost hard enough to walk on.

It's that "almost" that is a real killer  :  Like walking up a flight of stairs all the way in and out.

[fuzzybear]

I always break the next days trail before I quit for the day.  One pass with snowshoes just to find where I want the trail to be and then once or twice with the skidoo to pack it down.  Makes the next day start easier.  That is until mother nature sends in high winds and blows ALL the trails shut again. >:(

[SwampDonkey]

It's that "almost" that is a real killer  :  Like walking up a flight of stairs all the way in and out.

It's more like the "yes mamms" the wind makes for the sled to bump up and down on that could be the killer. "I think my liver moved" :D

[bushmechanic]

Hey quebecnewf this is bushmechanic,another newfie and new to the FF.I am from the east coast of the island and am well aware of snowmobile logging.I was wondering if you had a pushbench sawmill,I don't guess that is common anywhere else,I don't see anything else on the internet about it.

[YukonJon]

Interesting to see a home built sleigh of this type. I was wondering if you use springs on your sleigh hitches and if so where do you get them?  Do you use a swivel on the front log bunk?  What do you make your draw bars from?
I recently started using a snowmobile for getting firewood and am gearing up for getting saw logs with it.  Prior to that I was using an argo with tracks.

Jon

[Quebecnewf]

I  have seen those pushbunk sawmills. Way to dangerous for my part . I will stick to my bandmill.

Some guys use springs on the tow bar but not too many are making new tow bars that way. The cross bunks on my sleighs are made of angle iron welded back to back. I do not put a swivel on my front bunk. There is enough give in the lashing line to allow the sleigh to twist and turn as needed. I had a swivel on my first sleigh I built but it was too dangerous. You would forget yourself when loading logs on the sleigh and step on the bunk and fall down very quickly.

Quebecnewf

[Coon]

Did you manage to get enough ice to start up your operation....

[SwampDonkey]

Newf is probably in that warm spinning LOW up that way that we have been experiencing. Too mild to freeze up.

[Quebecnewf]

We have NO snow at all yet and it is mild mild. We had lots of snow but it all melted. There is no ice at all. Last year we crossed to the mainland on the ice bridge on Jan 17th . I have a feeling this year might be later. Went across in boat yesterday to check on my snowmobile I had placed it on an island closer to the mainland and normally you can cross from that island with ease. Even that small stretch is not frozen. :'( :'( :'( :'(

Quebecnewf


Here is a pic from Google earth of Harrington Harbour. My sawmill is located on a small island right next to the north side of the island. The stretch from harrington Island to the islands to the north is the problem there are strong tides and it takes time to freeze. This is the stretch where we have the large floating ropes anchored to help with freezeup

[Coon]

Guess you need to fab up a barge of some kind and just haul your logs to the mill... ;D

[Quebecnewf]

There is still the problem of getting the logs from the woods to the shore. With no snow we don't go

Quebecnewf

[motohed]

There is still the problem of getting the logs from the woods to the shore. With no snow we don't go

Quebecnewf

Hi Quebecnewf
I hope it gets better for you , I know the time frame you have to work in is small . I will pray for cold and good snow weather for you . 

[Gary_C]

I watch these threads of yours every year with a great deal of admiration for what you do. I am working in logging in the cold and snow too, but nothing to what you do every year.

I just wish I could send you a little of this sub zero cold we have been having as the last few weeks have been brutal with storms and the sub zero cold. Not that I wish these extreme conditions on anyone, but would be glad to get rid of some of this cold. From what I see now, this stationary system that has been causing our problems may be on the move so perhaps that will be good news for you and me both.

Gary

[WH_Conley]

We don't really need it Gary. :(

[Quebecnewf]

We had a couple of inches of snow here last night. Its still mild . Slush is forming in the water this morning. You sometimes see this even though the weather is mild ice will form in the sea water. We are supposed to get colder over the next week or so so we can only hope.

Quebecnewf

[Coon]

I sent you a bunch of cold weather.  :D  I hope it gets there soon....  Actually we are getting warm temps coming up for the next few days at just below freezing for highs during the day and low teens at night.  It's about time we have had enough -20 to -40C temps for a while.  Thinkin' bout goin' fishin' in the morning.  The work can wait for a day or so. ;D

Brad.

[SwampDonkey]

15 F here this morning and north breeze. A few very light flurries around that don't add up to anything. Did the flurry thing all night and you couldn't even measure it.

[semologger]

? for you Quebecnewf. Who owns the island you have the mill on. Also who owns the timber you cut on. How far do you have to haul to the mill.

[Quebecnewf]

Both the island and the trees are all crown land. I am hauling 14 klm one way right now. I have been as far away as 22 and as close as 11.

22 is as far as you want to go with snowmobile and even at that distance it is not making much sense. Gas here is now at 1.45 a liter.

Quebecnewf