Any one got an Iron horse in Wiltshire?

[Badgerland]

Morning all.

 

I've a small number of chestnut and acacia poles to extract from a friends wood in mid-Wilts and I'm trying to work out the best/easiest way to get them out. The smaller stuff would be 12-14 inch top diameter at the most and longest lengths of 10.5 feet.

 

Access (through the winter/spring) isn't great but I reckon an iron horse might do the trick. The farmer friend can drag the bigger (24-36 inch dia) stuff out in the summer months when the ground dries out enough.

 

If somebody has one, what would be a rough day rate for doing it? Probably only be looking for a single day and get whatever I can out within that time frame. This is why I need somebody relatively close by to make it worthwhile.

 

Have even considered hiring one for a week instead and recall that there used to be a company in Scotland that hired them out, but I don't think they exist anymore or at least I can't find them. I've tried contacting Riko about hiring one but just got an unhelpful generic reply that didn't answer my enquiry.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[drinksloe]

Are Marshall's not the agents for them? 

Sure they were on there star at apt..

 

Would a quad access the wood? If so 1 with a logging arch or even 2 arches to get timer right off ground might work, won't be hat much weight in those poles

 

 

[openspaceman]

2 hours ago, Badgerland said:

Morning all.

 

I've a small number of chestnut and acacia poles to extract from a friends wood in mid-Wilts and I'm trying to work out the best/easiest way to get them out. The smaller stuff would be 12-14 inch top diameter at the most and longest lengths of 10.5 feet.

What's the extraction distance to where a tractor can sit now?

[Badgerland]

8 hours ago, drinksloe said:

Are Marshall's not the agents for them? 

Sure they were on there star at apt..

 

Would a quad access the wood? If so 1 with a logging arch or even 2 arches to get timer right off ground might work, won't be hat much weight in those poles

 

 

Not sure. I'll have a look into it. Thanks.

 

Yes, getting a quad in wouldn't be a problem and with a logging arch might do the job. Skidding them out would work so I don't think it would need a 2nd arch.

I do have to cross a small brook - only a couple of feet across but with banks about 18 inches high. Could build a make-shift brash bridge to get over without damaging the bank I guess.

 

The biggest issue is the wood hasn't been thinned for 60+ years so there are a lot of smaller trees to navigate around. That's why I was looking into the iron horse. I used to have a small compact tractor with a home made skidding plate that would've been ideal but alas I had to sell it to raise funds a few years back. Ain't it always the way!

[Badgerland]

7 hours ago, openspaceman said:

What's the extraction distance to where a tractor can sit now?

As it is at the moment I don't think I could get a tractor any closer than 50 yards. It's not been thinned for a good while and it's a case of wending your way through/around them.

 

Thought of possibly winching them out but I don't think you'd get a straight pull. I think there would be too high a risk of snagging up on the other tree butts. But having said that I've no real experience of this method. Just going on what I've seen done elsewhere and the little common sense/logic that my single brain cell can muster.

[openspaceman]

57 minutes ago, Badgerland said:

As it is at the moment I don't think I could get a tractor any closer than 50 yards. It's not been thinned for a good while and it's a case of wending your way through/around them.

 

Thought of possibly winching them out but I don't think you'd get a straight pull. I think there would be too high a risk of snagging up on the other tree butts. But having said that I've no real experience of this method. Just going on what I've seen done elsewhere and the little common sense/logic that my single brain cell can muster.

Well if the small number is only tens of sawlogs my Eder 1800 would get them out and around turns with a redirect, in fact the redirect can be self releasing, making it a one man job. 50yds is not a long distance for one.

 

 

 

A tractor winch is probably preferable especially as if the pull is sideways to the tractor you can move back and fore to get the best line for the log but with the portable winch you can walk in with the winch and rope.

 

Of course you could consider a proper horse but...

 

 

[Badgerland]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

Well if the small number is only tens of sawlogs my Eder 1800 would get them out and around turns with a redirect, in fact the redirect can be self releasing, making it a one man job. 50yds is not a long distance for one.

 

 

 

A tractor winch is probably preferable especially as if the pull is sideways to the tractor you can move back and fore to get the best line for the log but with the portable winch you can walk in with the winch and rope.

 

Of course you could consider a proper horse but...

 

 

What a brilliant looking bit of kit! Not seen that before.

 

Yeah, I reckon that would do the job, but unless you hire them out (which I assume you don't) I can't justify that sort of outlay for the amount it would get used sadly. (For 11.5 months of the year it would be sat in the workshop reminding me it wasn't getting used enough.)

 

I do know somebody from back a while who might have a tractor winch so will give him a call. Thanks for that idea.

[openspaceman]

26 minutes ago, Badgerland said:

unless you hire them out (which I assume you don't)

Happy to hire with operator as long as it covers expenses.

[drinksloe]

Sounds like the wood could do with a good thin even at age exractin routes.

Wether u use a quad or winch , even get 6ft off pipe and throw it in burn to make a decent bridge esp if u have more work to do in thee I future.

 

I doubt the extra manoeuvrability of an iron horse will really help much over a quad as it I'll be ur logs sliding behind u causing he problems.

[IronMike]

Sounds like a job for the Logbullet! Shame I’m not even remotely close 🤦🏽