Hi Guys, i have a few questions for the forestry guys on here! I was wondering about the techniques used for harvesting trees, over here they mostly use harvesters or converted excavators for felling. Then the wood is transported by a forwarder to a forest road and loaded to road going trucks fitted with log cranes! I have seen the way its done in other countries using feller bunchers, skidders etc! I was wondering about the advantages of this way, as i thought a harvesting head could also proess to lengh etc! Obviously there is a reason its done this way, size, lengh etc, I'm intrested to here how its done in your area, and pictures would be great! Look forward to replys CPS
Here in South Arkansas USA, we use rubber tired cutters mostly (724 Tigercats are my favorite), rubber tired skidders, and loaders with pull thru delimbers. There are getting to be more processors (either on excavators or purpose built forestry carriers) around due to the wood getting smaller. We still dont cut down with the processors. It's much faster to cut it with the disc saws and skid it to the landing and process it there. Most of the wood around here can be hauled tree length so cut to length is irrelevant. Double bunk trailers have pretty much replaced the pole trailers in the last few years. The most abundant species here is Loblolly pine. Average size of our pine logs is about 18" DBH. Skidders have gotten bigger in recent years. In '96 when I got my first job in the woods, a John Deere 548 skidder was what size most people had. Now there are many 748's, 545 Cats, and 630 tigercats around here. 8 loads a day for one skidder was good back then, now it takes about 20 per skidder (I think). I have moved on to a different career, but I still work for alot of loggers.
In BC we use bunchers to fall the wood. Some use processors in the stumps to process, than use forwarders to bring the wood to the road side. Than it is loaded onto trucks. These are short logs. For long logs we use bunchers, than skidders or clam bunks bring the wood to roadside. The processors clean the wood up than the buttontop loads it. We do not use landings anymore, but rather just strictly roadside. Using processors to fall the wood takes too much time. Faster to bunch the wood. This way each machine touches the wood once. Also the wood here is quite often too large for processors, unless you are using a something like a Waratah 626 head. And even than some wood is too large. Also processors do not have the stability to fall in some of the terrain we are in. Forwarders are nice but they are designed for flatter wetter ground. Also higher maintenance than skidders.
Around here, we mostly see CTL, harvesting at the stump, and forwarding to the road... Lots of hardwood thinning. Times are slow now though...
I use timberking tk722 track feller buncher with quadco saw head for tight work around powerlines and on swamp jobs. Also tigercat 726 with quadco head for wide open spaces which converts to grinder with fecon head when not cutting wood.Also have hydro axe 721 with shear head but mostly run fecon grinder head on machine.Cat 525 skidders to pull wood to landings.I mainly work for utility companys cutting new r/w.
Madcanadian summed it up pretty good, a few variations of processors depending where you are as well.
her ein ontraio we cut the trees with a feleler buncher because it cuts more trees than an harvester and we mainlly do (clearcut) and then we skid it with a grapple or a clambunk at roadside after thats its delimb and somtime cut to lenth by a slacsher
Here in Ohio farm country I cut everything with chainsaws , pulling it tree length out of the woodlot to a farm field. Species White / Bur /Chinkapin /Swamp / Pin / Red Oaks just to name a few. Walnut / Kentucky Coffee / Hickorys = [ Shag bark, Pig nut , Some Elms and a few lower grade trees. Most logging in my area is in a small window of time,September to mid November we are eather cropped in [ can't get to the woodlots because of crops in the fields ] or to wet.