Thinings value

[Andymacp]

20 trees would be nice ! That's a lot of chokers and sliders, I would say 3-4 is realistic and then is still a ball ache and takes a bit of practice getting right... stumps,remaining trees and brash will not be kind. Get stuck in and give it a go though ,hard but enjoyable work.

 

 

 

 

That's what I thought, plus it's something different to the norm.

Yeah I think like a plans in theory

[Big J]

I would walk away Andy.

 

First thinning properly managed softwood is not much fun unless you are a) a sado masochist or b) very, very skilled at it. It's brutal hard work where the start of the fell is severing it at the butt and then a lot of a winching usually follows. Very few clean fells.

 

Now the stand you are talking about sounds overdrawn and densely packed. I've worked in a stand like that (only once, never again) and it was purgatory.

 

The customer should be able to break even if they rack thin it (and as John says, use the matrix for other trees - something I don't know a great deal about, I should stress) but I think that the job will end up taking far longer than you think and costing your customer a fortune.

 

Not to be unkind, but you'd not stick a squad of sitka cutters in to sectionally dismantle an elm, and perhaps it's not the wisest thing to stick specialist tree surgeons in to thin softwood plantation.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I would walk away Andy.

 

First thinning properly managed softwood is not much fun unless you are a) a sado masochist or b) very, very skilled at it. It's brutal hard work where the start of the fell is severing it at the butt and then a lot of a winching usually follows. Very few clean fells.

 

Now the stand you are talking about sounds overdrawn and densely packed. I've worked in a stand like that (only once, never again) and it was purgatory.

 

The customer should be able to break even if they rack thin it (and as John says, use the matrix for other trees - something I don't know a great deal about, I should stress) but I think that the job will end up taking far longer than you think and costing your customer a fortune.

 

Not to be unkind, but you'd not stick a squad of sitka cutters in to sectionally dismantle an elm, and perhaps it's not the wisest thing to stick specialist tree surgeons in to thin softwood plantation.

 

I had to walk away from this thread and wasn't going to post again.

 

This though is gospel.

 

[slack ma girdle]

Ere you go

 

No matter how low your stumps are, they won't be low enough.

If you are not cutting racks, there is no way you will be able to pull 20 trees without seriously damaging the remaining crop.

If you enjoy hard work and can think on your feet, then go for it. You won't make any money, but you should cover your costs

 

Sent from my D2303 using Arbtalk mobile app

[john k]

He'll make plenty on it. He's on a day rate and is going to be there until Christmas

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Ere you go

 

No matter how low your stumps are, they won't be low enough.

If you are not cutting racks, there is no way you will be able to pull 20 trees without seriously damaging the remaining crop.

If you enjoy hard work and can think on your feet, then go for it. You won't make any money, but you should cover your costs

 

Sent from my D2303 using Arbtalk mobile app

 

Good pictures Slack

 

Here's the same done with Harvester... Rack trees brashed as they were super hairy. Likewise adjacent racks high pruned; dramatically increases subsequent quality. Do a tidy job the right, proven way or don't do it at all.

[muldonach]

Ere you go

 

No matter how low your stumps are, they won't be low enough.

If you are not cutting racks, there is no way you will be able to pull 20 trees without seriously damaging the remaining crop.

If you enjoy hard work and can think on your feet, then go for it. You won't make any money, but you should cover your costs

 

Sent from my D2303 using Arbtalk mobile app

 

I had the pleasure some years ago of skidding 200+ tonnes out of a selective thin as described. The owner was very concerned about winblow and a couple of fellers had rumbled his marked trees down any way they could get them to the ground, they were lying in all directions

 

On first inspection I said i did not want the job - after some discussion I insisted on permission to fell what I needed to get access for the tractor, and quoted a rate which left nothing for anybody else.

 

We removed double the originally felled quantity.

 

I would recommend - with others that you thin to a system - line and herringbone.

 

It will be much less emotional all around and much more economical for the owner.

 

reduce the percentage removed if there are windblow concerns

 

cheers

mac

Edited April 1, 2017 by muldonach

[muldonach]

I meant to add that your original question was - could you recoup anything for the owner?

 

The answer is yes but to be clear they will make a nett loss on this project and the more difficult and time consuming they make it for you - and your starting point is very difficult indeed - the more it will cost them.

 

Cheers

mac

[drinksloe]

You might find that once you get a few on the rope you struggle to steer them round the remaining trees, then you have to start un- choking them and resetting.

If you've got a double drum on the mog you could set up a haul back system which more than doubles production.

 

If u go for it this would be the way to go, we used to call it a 'High lead' system.

Set a block up on far side with a haul back cable, but even setting that up wil not be so easy iif not using strainght lines and a racking type system

 

Believe me u soon get sick of walking back and forward dragging a heavy winch cable, althou must admit never dragged it on the flat, usually a hill u can barely walk up.

 

How long is the wood? I think u talked about 29 trees? So about 60m?

Possibly more achievable doing wot ur talking about as still fairly narrow, some of the more experienced biys will being doing racks 100m's long where a winch/ur system would never really work

.

Felling sitka can be a nightmare when in the crop like that esp if not heavy as it doesn't have the wieght to break free from all the branches friction to nieghbouring trees. I've seen some trees wedged over at 30-45%+ and still clinging on to the crop.

Might be worth having a lad sitting in the tractor all day and use the tractor winch to pull the trees down, stop it to sned etc.

But that means paying a lad to sit in the tractor all day while ur working ur bits off

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

If it was just done the right and proven way in the first place all these crazy, labour and machinery intensive ideas would be completely unnecessary.

 

Some people got time and money to burn.