Gerald Thorsen pulls this home-built log skidder behind his Honda 450 ATV. Skidder’s Dave Boriack uses a 34 hp Kubota 4-WD tractor to pull his home-built, 3-pt. mounted 7-ft. high hinged boom raises and lowers the log. log skidder. It’s fi tted with a hook and a pair of log tongs. Log Skidder Built For $450 Kubota Log Skidder, Brush Rake “After I had a heart attack I decided to take “I built my 3-pt. mounted log skidder, it a little easier, so I built a small log skidder and also loader-mounted brush rake using that does the lifting for me,” says Gerald material from my scrap pile,” says Dave Thorsen, Christopher Lake, Sask., who pulls Boriack, Fall Creek, Ore. “I use both units his home-built rig behind his Honda 450 ATV. to clean up dead trees and brush on my He started with the front axle off an old property. They mount on my 34 hp Kubota car and cut it down to a width of 4 ft. so it 4-WD tractor.” would trail directly behind the ATV. He used Log Skidder 2-in. sq. tubing to build a 7-ft. high hinged The log skidder’s frame was built from an boom that attaches to a frame built on the aftermarket spare tire rack that was originally axle. Cable from a 3,000-lb., 12-volt winch Cable attached to top of boom manually designed to mount on front of a 1968 Ford runs through a pulley on top of the boom and adjusts boom angle. pickup. raises and lowers the log. Another cable that’s He cut the rack’s frame down to fi t the attached to the top of the boom manually toolbox to carry a chainsaw, chains, gas and tractor’s 3-pt. hitch and added some bracing Bucket-mounted brush rake is made from adjusts the boom angle. The cable attaches oil. and a cross piece near the bottom. He welded expanded metal welded to an angle iron to a short length of chain that drops into a “It’s a handy contraption,” says Thorsen. some steel onto the cross piece at an angle and frame. groove on a steel bracket welded to the frame, “Larry Shultz did the welding and fabricating. cut a slot in it where a chain can be secured allowing Thorsen to shorten or lengthen the I use a 2-button remote control on an 8-ft. to drag logs. chain. cable to operate the winch. I spent about He also made a slot on top of the frame “The photo shows the skidder pulling a $450 to build it, which I think was very to secure a short length of chain that’s fi tted small birch tree that came down in a recent reasonable.” with a hook and a pair of log tongs. “I use the windstorm. The skidder can handle logs up Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gerald tongs to pull logs out anywhere I don’t want to 12 in. in diameter,” says Thorsen. Thorsen, P.O. Box 360, Christopher Lake, to leave deep ruts,” says Boriak. “Lifting the He also equipped the skidder with a Sask., Canada S0J 0N0 (ph 306 982-4847). end of the log out of the dirt allows me to drag a much bigger log with my little tractor. To remove the tongs I just lift the chain up out of the slot. “The only new materials I used to build the log skidder frame were the 3-pt. hitch pins. A series of 42-in. long steel forks are spaced My total cost was about $35.” 6 in. apart at bottom of rake. Loader-Mounted Brush Rake shaped piece of metal and the 6-in. length of Boriak uses his brush rake to pick up logs channel iron. “When I push the forks down and brush to load onto a trailer or move them against the ground, all the pressure goes onto to a burn pile. The one-piece rake consists of a the frame instead of the bolts,” says Boriak. 5-ft. wide, 4-ft. high piece of expanded metal “To remove the rake I just remove the bolts, welded to a frame made from angle iron, 2 then lower it down to the ground and back by 4-in. tubing, and a length of channel iron up the tractor until the rake drops off.” that’s on top and also extends underneath To counteract the weight of the loaded rake, Tilman Jones converted a small square hay bale elevator into this 16-ft. long fi rewood the bucket. A series of 42-in. long, 1 1/4-in. he mounted an old water tank on back of conveyor. A V-shaped rubber funnel keeps the wood in contact with the chain. dia. steel forks are spaced about 6 in. apart the tractor. The tank sets on a 3-pt. mounted at the bottom. The entire unit fi ts inside the forklift attachment made by Rear’s Mfg., a Firewood Elevator bucket and is held in place by fi ve 1/2-in. local manufacturer, which Boriack modifi ed. “It’s a real labor saver that didn’t cost much A home-built mast equipped with a boat bolts. Boriak drilled 3 holes in the bottom of He bolted a receiver hitch on back and uses it to build,” says Tilman Jones, Stanley, N. winch is used to raise and lower the elevator. the bucket and bolted the bottom side of the to move his wood splitter and trailer around Dak., who converted a small square hay bale The mast is built out of 2-in. tubing and sets frame on. Two more bolts secure the middle his place. elevator into a 16-ft. long fi rewood conveyor. on a 24-in. dia. disk blade. An adjustable arm part of the expanded metal frame to the top Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, He uses a 5 1/2 hp gas engine to power built out of 1 1/2-in. sq. tubing is welded to of the bucket. Dave Boriack, Fall Creek, Ore. 97438 the conveyor and converted an old pull-type the top part of the winch and sets on a 16-in. The forks are welded onto a rectangular- ([email protected]). mower into a transport trailer. dia. disk blade. Cable from the winch runs “The engine mounts on a 2-wheeled base, over a small pulley on top of the mast and which makes it easy to move the elevator to down to the arm. my wood pile,” says Jones. The engine came mounted on a pair of He removed three 8-ft. sections from the rubber wheels, making it easy to move middle of the elevator, keeping the two end around. Jones mounted a 2-in. pulley on the sections that contain the drive and idler engine’s output shaft, allowing the engine to sprockets to operate the elevator’s chain. belt-drive a large 14-in. dia. pulley already on He bolted the two sections together and the elevator. A rubber tarp strap keeps tension Wooden chainsaw shortened the chain to fi t. The chain came on the belt. “holster” bolts to metal with pairs of 3-in. high steel “fi ngers” on it He converted an old International pull-type basket on back of spaced 15 in. apart. He rebuilt the chain so mower into a 2-wheel trailer for the elevator, 4-wheeler. the pairs of fi ngers are now spaced 18 in. stripping away everything except for the apart. Then he reinstalled the chain on the wheels, axle and frame. He also welded a sprockets. pipe onto the tongue to extend it about 4 ft. “The two fi ngers are 1 1/2 in. apart from “It isn’t a fancy setup but it’s very cost each other, which is just enough to catch the effective,” says Jones. “I cut trees to fi rewood split wood and push it upward,” says Jones. length at a friend’s place and load them into He used lengths of rubber belting to make my pickup. Then I drive home and split the a V-shaped funnel that runs the length of fi rewood.” Simple Chainsaw Carrier the elevator. To install the belting he drilled Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Tilman Dale Pringle made a nifty “holster” for his of boards for the bar to fi t into. matching holes in the belting and conveyor Jones, P.O. Box 591, Stanley, N. Dak. 58784 chainsaw out of a couple 2 by 4’s that lets Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dale and then wired it on. “The funnel always (ph 701 453-3112). him carry his saw safely on his 4-wheeler. Pringle, Rt. 1, Box 1860, Doniphan, Mo. keeps the wood in contact with the chain,” The holster simply bolts to the back of one 63935 (ph 573 354-2231). says Jones. of the baskets. He makes a slot in the block 42 • FARM SHOW • vol. 36, no. 5 • www.farmshow.com • www.bestfarmbuys.com • [email protected] • 1-800-834-9665