An Idiot's guide to Ancient Woodland management

[Gary Prentice]

1 hour ago, the village idiot said:

Yes, we have a chain swipe for the alpine. Even though the tractor can get most places, it can't get everywhere.

 

Sometimes the brushcutter is the only tool for the job.

 

Quite often the brushcutter is the first port of call in an area, then it is maintained into the future with a tractor mower once we can get at and remove closely packed trees etc.

Do you run the brushcutters/strimmers on the same fuel as the saws?

[the village idiot]

2 hours ago, woodland dweller said:

yes i do dwell in the woods, cottage and workshops in the middle of 23 acres, once ancient wood cut down and replanted with Douglas 50 years ago, owned by FC then i purchased 10 years ago.

Restoring it slowly, when you have to earn a living it takes time.

Big J did a lot of thinning / clear fell earlier in the year.

Ah yes, I remember.

 

Was the cottage already there when you made the purchase? A dwelling within a woodland is a rare thing. It must make a lovely home.

[the village idiot]

1 hour ago, Gary Prentice said:

Do you run the brushcutters/strimmers on the same fuel as the saws?

We haven't run the brushcutter since going over to Alkylate fuel but yes, we will use this for all our two stroke engines in the future.

 

I think I read on this forum that you can get an issue with rubber seals when you move from regular fuel to Alkylate. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it.

 

It is so much nicer using Alkylate fuel in a closed coppice environment. I can't see us ever going back to regular petrol.

[the village idiot]

TIMBER TONGS and SAPIE

 

Two of the most frequently used tools without an engine are the very simple but incredibly useful timber tongs and sapies (aka log picks, aka hookaroons).

 

If you are the type of forester who doesn't feel manly enough without a hefty tool belt round your waist, one of your dangly bits will almost certainly be a set of timber tongs. These are a very simple device composed of a few pieces of steel joined with rivets so they can swivel against each other, with a handle on top.

 

 

 

If the tongs are lowered onto a log and then lifted, the spikes on the ends of the arms dig into the log resulting in tongs and log being lifted as one. The weight of the log keeps an inward pressure on the spikes, maintaining the grip.

 

It probably doesn't sound like this is much of a labour saver but it is. Having to constantly bend down to ground level to get your hands under a log for lifting takes it's toll after a while. The handle of the tongs is also a lot easier to grip than the underside of a slippery log.

 

Below are a couple of images of our volunteer group making good use of the timber tongs. You'll have to zoom in fairly if you are viewing this on a phone. The 'two person' tongs work on the same principal but allow you to lift or drag significantly heavier bits of wood. See if you can spot the sapie in picture 1!

 

 

 

The chap helping me in the picture above is called Steve, but it's not Steve.

 

The Steve you can see here is our woodland chef. On volunteer day lunchtimes he cooks up a gargantuan bbq. Progress tends to slow markedly in the afternoons!

 

A sapie is an even simpler tool. It is basically just a slightly curved point on the end of a stick.

 

 

It performs a similar function to timber tongs in that it can hold onto a log for lifting or dragging and saves a lot more grunt than you would think. They come in a variety of lengths, each suited to slightly different log handling situations.

 

It is easy to get over cocky with a sapie as I found to my cost. I was picking up a collection of very short sections of hazel, jabbing each one in turn with the sapie and transferring them to my other hand for chucking into a bag. As I got more proficient at it I started to pick up speed. This was all fine and dandy until the sapie failed to spike into a log. My brain was on autopilot and so continued to instruct my sapie hand to swing across to my empty log receiving hand. Instead of encountering a nice rounded edge of hazel log my expectant palm took a direct hit from the point of the empty sapie. I won't go into all the fine details, suffice to say it took a bit of pulling out!

 

As long as you stay focussed and set your pace to 'steady' the sapie (as well as the significantly more docile timber tongs) are very worthwhile and inexpensive additions to your woodland management tool kits.

 

A sapie is a particularly good tool for lifting log rings onto a splitter. Unfortunately, and rather predictably, I have managed to lose both of mine so we use the timber tongs instead.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by the village idiot

[Stere]

Interesting range of sappie designs here it your are interested:

 

 

Category Hookaroon

WWW.MUELLER-HAMMERWERK.AT

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Forest PDF | Stubai ZMV GmbH

WWW.STUBAI.COM

 

Loads of different sizes and shapes and weights

Edited December 15, 2019 by Stere

[The avantgardener]

I use timber tongs everyday in the woods, I hurt my knee a while back and got some extra long handled ones too, no bending at all, never really got in with sappies except when firewood processing, as you say, great for picking up rings and split wood.

The last time I was at Blean Woods, the RSPB had the Logjaw grabs in the attached photo. They usually have volunteers to help move cordwood to the ride edge, they work in pairs and spread the load, one either end. I used these for a day to move some pretty heavy timber (Corsican pine), and have to say I was blown away at how well they worked, solidly built/heavy and a far better lifting position than timber tongs.

[the village idiot]

6 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

I use timber tongs everyday in the woods, I hurt my knee a while back and got some extra long handled ones too, no bending at all, never really got in with sappies except when firewood processing, as you say, great for picking up rings and split wood.

The last time I was at Blean Woods, the RSPB had the Logjaw grabs in the attached photo. They usually have volunteers to help move cordwood to the ride edge, they work in pairs and spread the load, one either end. I used these for a day to move some pretty heavy timber (Corsican pine), and have to say I was blown away at how well they worked, solidly built/heavy and a far better lifting position than timber tongs.

They look good!

 

Can a person drag a log with one or are they best used with two people as you describe?

[The avantgardener]

41 minutes ago, the village idiot said:

They look good!

 

Can a person drag a log with one or are they best used with two people as you describe?

Best with two people, you have a far better lifting position and can use both hands. When I am felling I use timber tongs and stack as I go on my own, you can lift far bigger pieces with two people and the Logjaws.

Edited December 15, 2019 by The avantgardener

[Bolt]

If Billhook ever pops over to your woods for a visit, for Heaven’s sake make sure he doesn’t attempt park the XC70 anywhere near this bit!

 

[the village idiot]

10 minutes ago, Bolt said:

If Billhook ever pops over to your woods for a visit, for Heaven’s sake make sure he doesn’t attempt park the XC70 anywhere near this bit!

 

If he takes a car up there without my permission he'll have much more than a broken bumper to worry about.?

 

I'm a pretty placid guy, but anyone messes up our rides, they're toast!

 

Funnily enough, I drive an XC70 too.