Suggestions on milling and transporting wood from rural areas?

[Chris Watson]

Goodafternoon everyone,

So in my quest to always be on the lookout for and to acquire Osage Orange (http://www.wood-database.com/osage-orange/), I happen to have lucked out and my brother in law has family who own a farm and have not to long ago had a bulldozer come out and basically push over 1/4 of a mile of old OO trees. They are simply laying there on a property line. He said I could take as much as I wanted since they are doing nothing with it. The problem is it's just sitting there in tree form heh. Not exactly easy to load into the back of a truck. I keep thinking about how to transport some of it back home but I can't seem to think of a way that doesn't involve a ton of money or equipment I don't have. Even if I took a chainsaw down and cut it into truck bed size pieces the logs weigh a lot and would need some kind of machinery to load into a truck. I keep picturing how the easter island folks raised the Moai


What suggestions might you folks have to get some of that remote wood back home? How would you cut it? Load it?

I appreciate any ideas or thoughts.

Chris

[TomFromStLouis]

Dealing with logs requires equipment period. If this farm has no tractor or bobcat or anything to lift or carry a few hundred pounds then cutting and riving them in place is what you are reduced to. Brutal, but Osage is worth it.

Select a few of the highest grade logs and buck them with a chainsaw. You can use the chainsaw to extend any internal checks and rip the log sections into more manageable staves. You will still have bulky weight to wrestle. If absolutely no motorized hauler is available you will want a draft horse or elephant.

[Chris Watson]

Haha not to many elephants in south central Kansas. Now a horse, that might be possible. Or a bison perhaps.
Maybe someone at the local woodworking guild has some equipment. I could donate half the Osage to the guild in exchange, I don't think I could use more than a 1/8 of a mile of OO in my lifetime.

Thanks for the advice Tom!

[BpB123]

A few ideas (from someone that has NO experience at this
)

Assume you cut this into pick-up truck bed size logs (and sealed the ends ASAP)....

1)  A simple 2x4 A-Frame with a come-along (or possibly a large ratchet strap) could lift one end high enough to get one end in the truck.

2)  Back-up the truck a little so the log is now partially in the truck bed and lower come-along

3)  Repeat step 1 on other end of log 

4)  Use second come-along/ratchet strap or pulley to pull all the way into the truck.  

Rest, have some refreshments, repeat with other logs to until you reach limit of: truck capacity, your energy capacity or level of interest (which ever comes 1st)

-Brian

PS:  Pre-Gloat congrats (free wood... fantastic, only pre-gloat since, no pictures yet 
)

[Steve N]

If it was me I'd find a guy with a bandmill, and a big honking truck. Make a deal to split the wood, and pay for his gas to haul it home for you. It will come down to how many guys have bandmills near you, but OO is a pretty good bartering tool



Not sure if they still do, but most of the makers of bandmills used to give names of owners out to "interested parties" looking to buy, or to help their customers get in touch with folks with wood to saw. You can Google bandmills, and start gleaning information for manufacturers. Dead stupid phone time is all it is. CL also has listings in "materials" of guys selling hardwood. The thing is to look for a guy with several species listed, he will be your guy, call and start there. Also look online, and the phone book for sawing, milling, wood cut, and any variant you can think of.

Sometimes one tree is hard to work out so both parties are happy. A field of already downed timber, you will easily get what you want out of it. The farther off a split for half you get in his favor you can also line up stacking, and kiln drying. I wouldn't talk about that till he got a look at the trees. It's like the difference about "talking" about money, or waving a fistful in someones face.

[gMike]

Harbor Freight sells a reasonable truck crane that can lift up to 1,000 pounds.  I've often considered one for just stuff around the shop and garage.  Might be a reasonable cost to load some "free" wood.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-cap...61522.html

[Robert Adams]

I know a guy that is growing osage orange trees to make fuel from them somehow... He has always been involved in goofy stuff like that. 

     Need to find out if he has any downed trees i can pick up for lumber. Id probably just mount a winch on the trailer and pull the logs up that way.  

    Used to see allot of it growing around but most were cut down as a nuisance tree.

[ianab]

Parbuckling is what you need. Couple of ramps and a winch and you can load a heavy log onto a trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg9xgR1a3gg

[goaliedad]

You are going to have it milled sooner or later. As suggested, find someone to mill it on site. I assume the farm has a tractor, most likely with a bucket. Use this to move the logs to the mill. Either pay cash to the mill operator or barter lumber.

Much easier than moving logs to the mill. I did that several times- when I was much younger.

[lincmercguy]

Find a farmer with a larger loader tractor or rent a bobcat.