My Norwood Bandsaw Mill
Written by on January 19, 2017
HAULING LOGS
Sometimes in life, you get get lucky. A fellow will out of the blue offer to bring logs to you. It is rare, but does happen. If they do, at least have a way to pull them off his trailer. You will need a chain and a pickup, or better, a tractor. All you guys with loaders…stop laughing. We ain’t all in the business!
Anyway, having a heavy duty tandom trailer is a wonderful addition for any woodworker. If you are already one, you probably have one for the purpose. Just don’t use a light duty trailer to haul logs. It is dangerous. I have an old trailer my Daddy had built 45 years ago. I rebuilt the thing by having the frame re-welded where it was needed, and put new floor boards on it. I used pine the first time, and within the last year, used white oak which will last many years. Here’s a picture I found of my father with the trailer before he passed away:
Here’s a picture of it after I restored it:
Since the restoration, I’ve had to replace the pine floor boards with white oak. I first used pine in the beginning because that’s all I had. My buddy Wayne saw my beat up trailer boards, and actually set aside some white oak for me to use for the replacement. He felt sorry for me! It’s nice to have good friends.
Anyway, I’ve hauled hundreds of logs with the trailer, which was originally made with side guards about 6′ high to haul cattle. I’ve just used it as you see it in the photo though. It’s taken a beating from loaders dropping logs onto it. I have a good memory of around thirty years ago when I helped my Daddy par-buckle logs onto the trailer. Par-buckling logs is when a couple of heavy timbers or lumber are leaned onto one side of the trailer. The log is placed alongside the trailer parallel to the lean to boards. I did a really bad pencil sketch which shows the process:
I know it’s tough to see, but the top shows Chain #1 hooked to the sides of the trailer and looped under the log. Chain #2 is then hooked to the vehicle and run over the trailer and hooked to chain #1 in the center. The purpose for two chains is to roll the log straight onto the trailer. Go slowly pulling the log up as you get the hang of it, and keep any helpers WAY OUT OF THE WAY. It can get off center and do strange things to hurt someone too close. But it worked for us.
Another way to haul logs on a small scale is with a log arch. Do a google search, and you’ll come up with many designs. They can be pulled with something as light as a 4 wheeler. They are great for going to remote locations and hauling logs to your mill or trailer. You can pull them with anything that has enough power.
Of course the easiest way to move logs on site is with a tractor with a front loader. Logs that are not too heavy can be lifted onto a trailer or off loaded. They can also place the log on the bandsaw bed requiring no touching of the log at all.
One other thing to note is that some mills, such as the one I have, have a winch mounted on the side opposite where the logs are loaded. I use it to pull the logs onto the mill after I cant hook them into position on the ground. I just don’t need to spend $20,000.00 for a front loader tractor to use every now and then, and my system works great for a one man show. Also, I use the winch to turn large diameter logs that I cannot turn manually with the cant hook.