- Location
- Ontario, Canada
I use 1/2 inch stable braid.
Portable Winch....best winch line?
- Thread starter treeandland
- Start date
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
A skidding Cone? Go learn how to set kickers, rolls, ect. from a good choker setter. There are all kinds of tricks to be learned which make your life much easier when skidding logs..
evo
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- My Island, WA
Don’t forget the endo’s
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
@
Kickers?
I can imagine rolls might be from wrapping the log with the choker to rotate the log. Yes, no?
Any home-made skidding cone/ sled building secrets?
For residential use, I've wondered about just using a piece of plywood as a sled, with some sorta rounded nose. Like a 5" log with a plywood-thick kerf cut half-way in, so about 2" below and 2" above.
Kickers?
I can imagine rolls might be from wrapping the log with the choker to rotate the log. Yes, no?
Any home-made skidding cone/ sled building secrets?
For residential use, I've wondered about just using a piece of plywood as a sled, with some sorta rounded nose. Like a 5" log with a plywood-thick kerf cut half-way in, so about 2" below and 2" above.
Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
Have you used one of these winches? Not a skidder, not a pto skidding winch, they can get bogged down with just a stack of brush. We've ended up cutting the end of the log into a cone so it twitches better. If one person is using it I bet the cone is a super time saver so one doesn't have to keep re-setting the choker etc. This ain't high-lining...
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
Do you have the opportunity to do any high-lining, or are you pulling at ground level?
Angle is everything.
A block at 10-15' would be a lot better than pulling from standing height.
If you set up an inverted-V with the rope, with the winch anchored to a tree behind your high-lead tree, you will compress your high-lean tree. A guy-line might be in order as well. Loads, heights, and angles being situationally-dependent.
A k
A kicker is used to make a log go backwards if you need to get it to come around from the wrong side of a stump, tree, or other immovable obstruction. Works like champ. Couldn't live without it.
Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
Generally ground level. A pulley set up in a tree helps a ton, but depends on the site and how much is pulled out. The winch is my co-workers and has been stellar for a number of jobs.
southsoundtree
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Olympia, WA
But what is it, this kicker you speak of... You who are so wise in the ways of skidding?
Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
A redirect to a snatchblock? Pic?
Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Maine Island
Remember the first time I saw a highlining outfit outside of Corvalis and was fuckin amazed at the slope it was working on and the relatively low hp rig running it. Not common place around here, but would love to learn more about setup and tricks. Reg has an old video with a highline setup using the portable winch...
No blocks, No redirects. Just using your choker and skidding line to make things do what you need them to do. Hard to explain so I will draw a diagram and upload it later.
Excuse to childish drawing, but this is your standard good old fashioned kicker. You must set your choker bell or knot on the backside of log and make sure that you do not set up a roll. Make sure your choker/skidding line goes around the butt of the log and around the far side of the tree/stump, and be sure it stays that way until your log clears the obstruction. When you begin yarding on your log its first movement will be backwards or away from your intended skidding direction. It will then begin to swing to the left until the butt ends up clear of the obstruction, and you now have a clear shot to your winch/skidder/truck.
I spent many years working on select cuts in very steep where you really have to know how to manipulate logs around trees and stumps.
I spent many years working on select cuts in very steep where you really have to know how to manipulate logs around trees and stumps.
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evo
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- My Island, WA
I’ve only set chokers on a skidder a few times.
Chipper or other winch many many times. While there is a little crossover on the rare occasion it’s apples and oranges for the most part.
evo
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- My Island, WA
Yes, but in the typical Arboricultural setting you don't have the volume of stumps to pull out many of the tricks. Granted a good logging outfit will take some effort protecting the leave trees, in a residential setting yarding just one (or a few trees) there is little to no tolerance for collateral damage.
We (arborists) are more inclined to hang directional blocks, high points, or pull out other tricks. Yarding in a logging setup, these options are too time consuming (often, but not always), and you can burn into stumps or low value trees.
To set up a proper roll with either a rope or a choker you push your rope end or choker nubbin under the log in the opposite direction that you want the log to roll. Then either set your choker or tie your running bowline, then pull the line in the opposite direction of your roll. The further you rotate your rope or choker the more roll you create. Setting your line from this direction allows your choker or rope to bite in right way with no slippage thus creating a nice roll. If you set your line from the opposite direction your knot or chocker will simply slip until your knot or bell is on the roll side of the log, and you loose any ability to roll your log.
There are so many things that a good choker setter can do to manipulate a log into doing what he wants it to do. Really good setters can take a single choker and grab 2 logs that are sitting butt to butt without fucking up the choker. Many of these tricks are very applicable to the arb community.
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I do this shit all the time around trees that cannot be damaged. Thoughtfully placing some short beams vertically on the backside of a tree you are protecting will keep your skidding line or choker from ever touching a tree you don't want to damage. I actually have a tool which is 4 foot beams that are attached together with webbing which we use to wrap around trees that need protecting when we are skidding logs near them. Creates a veritable suit of armor and works like a champ. Similar to the wraps you see construction outfits use when using equipment around trees that cannot be damaged
Obviously no technique or tool is gonna work in every scenario, but the more tools and techniques we have at our disposal the better. Knowing how to manipulate logs when skidding them is a very valuable skill to have, me thinks!
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TCtreeswinger
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