Tips for sawyers on presenting felled logs for extraction

[Sutton]

Post your regional variations on presentation for forwarders

 

I'm not a qualified trainer but in the 2000s summertime when I employed people in the woodland estates we contracted in on, there were always the same old usual questions from chainsaws ops getting trained up on felling:

"Why can't the machine move all the brash and collect grab fulls of cord?"

"Why've I got to drag and hoick, roll and stack by hand?"

 

And this was when red diesel was less than 30ppl

 

After felling, I used to say, my rule is you sned, then stack cord round the main stem in grabful sizes so that the forwarding tractor/trailer can get amongst it and drive through the fell zone, in hopefully one pass so there is no shunting for re-positioning. Lots of variables can make this difficult obviously.

 

Got any tips?

 

 

[nemcc]

Almost exactly that.

Fell, sned/cut to length stack what you can (don't break your back, let the forwarder driver swear at you from his/her nice dry/warm cab 😀). Lay brash low. 

1st thining is more of a pain for a handcutter as often need to move/roll length out the way for forwarder access.  Cutting access for forwarder and turning circles is makes reasonable holes in the canopy but is obviously essential if timber is to be extractable. 

 

[Squaredy]

I have a tip....don't cut off all the burrs!

 

Seriously though, I get why they do it - I guess traditionally burrs were seen as a fault.

 

But for a small sawmill like mine, it is so frustrating.  And I would love to know - do they sell them, or just leave them on the forest floor....?!

[Stubby]

16 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

I have a tip....don't cut off all the burrs!

 

Seriously though, I get why they do it - I guess traditionally burrs were seen as a fault.

 

But for a small sawmill like mine, it is so frustrating.  And I would love to know - do they sell them, or just leave them on the forest floor....?!

I think its more to do with stacking on the timber trailer .

[Svts]

I've no problem with shunting about on the first run through. It's unavoidable in a hand cut site. Once I've opened up a route in/out its just a case of working backwards and forwards along the edge of cut material. Taking into account the topography and standing understory etc. 

I'm generally in hardwood stuff so there s a lot of variables when felling. 

Wasteing time and energy trying to tip stuff where it really doesn't want to go verses a bit of extra lever pulling. I do find it frustrating when someone makes a stack in a stupid place. Trapped behind uncut Hazel etc. 

I can always extract my own stuff quicker than other peoples as I've always got an idea of how I'll extract it. 

That said, the total lack of cutters mean I usually only ever extract stuff I've cut myself!