I want one as well. As most people know I am clearing land to make more fields which is fine on the big stuff, put a choker around it and sell to the paper mills, or log for saw logs, but what to do with the saplings? Sure some of the softwood saplings have little use, but I got tons of saplings this size that are just to small to manually take out, but too big to just bulldoze as it would make a mess. I am betting that it would amaze me how much wood could be gleaned from these saplings, if there was a quick, easy way to gather them up.
Flamestead, if you get the chance to try a front grapple on your tractor, you'll love it. I don't know the size of your tractor, but I have a Fransgard SK-1400 on my Kubota m5660 it's great for loading logs and moving brush around for piling. I want to say it was around $1500. Best money I ever spent for an attachment on my tractor, besides my Farmi winch .
The pile is slowly growing. I have the saw and misc tools in the bucket, so I use the winch to push logs up onto the pile.
A couple of scenery shots. The 2017-2018 wood is all in the woodshed. The 2018-2019 wood is to the right of the skid road. The 2019-2020 is to the left, and that makes the current pile for 2020-2021.
Great pictures Flamestead, doing some woodlot management and getting your firewood done. How do you like the chains you have on your tractor. I've. Never had chains on my tractors, thinking about a set someday.
hey, Woodslave that' a nice grapple cheaper then some I've seen where did you get it and specs.. My Kubota is a 50hp with oversized loader
I grew up with old 2wd tractors and simple, minimal chains. Then a friend gave me a set of old skidder chains for an old 4wd I had. He cut them shorter and narrower, reconnecting what he cut out with a handful of chain shackles. Those chains were unbelievable - that tractor would go essentially anywhere I dared try. I bought these chains in the pics above from the dealer when the tractor was new. They are less aggressive but also a smoother ride than the skidder chains were. I think I paid close to $1000 for them, and they are worth every penny. When the snow gets over 20” deep they become much less effective, but so do I, so I try to do all my woods work before it gets too deep. I’ve never had this tractor stuck, which is pretty important on cold days like today, especially with no backup tractor on the farm to come to the rescue.
It's a Fransgard sk 1400. I bought it through the Kubota dealer in Malone N.Y. Snell Kubota. I also had the 3rd remote valve installed on my tractor, you could run this off of rear hydraulics with some long hydraulic hoses. It goes on and off with quick connect and two hoses. 2 minute job changing my bucket out for the grapple. Canadian border VT, I know you get out this way from time to time, if you would like to try this grapple out let me know, hopefully when the weather is a little nicer.Lol
Canadian border VT, Not much info in the owners manual, but this is for both models. Mine is the SK 1400. The actual price with a bolt on plate so that you can use the quick attach from your tractor and hoses was $1650. .
Well Seasoned, my grapple is one of the best attachments I've ever bought for handling logs and especially for brush and making brush piles. But I can't forget my Farmi 501 winch for skidding logs.
Slowly adding up. This morning was beautiful weather for working in the woods, but now the snow on the skid trail is getting slushy, so I'm done for a bit. More than a grapple truck load in the pile.
