Log arches

SeanKroll

Treehouser
Joined
Oct 13, 2016
Messages
12,252
Location
Olympia, WA
I'm going to be picking up a Logrite Buck Arch
https://logrite.com/store/Item/Buck-Arch

from a customer, with some/all the add-ons, for under $600, 3 miles down the road.

They have an FSC tree farm. They might be retiring from the work, or just have done all the thinning they can handle, having had a commercial thinning within 2 years.


I've wanted a log-arch for a long time, but got the mini and trolley.

The mini/ trolley do a lot, but the tires on the trolley take a beating from maxing it out. Just bought a replacement wheel, having replaced one a couple years ago that someone lost for me.

This is a good combo for the dedicated hitch-plate for the mini that I've bought, but not put into use, yet.

Seems to work toward my sawmill plan.



Who uses a log-arch? Who's built their own?
What are some tips and tricks that go beyond the basics?
 
If you have a use for one I am sure it will serve you well. I have not used one but have often thought about building a two wheel dolly to stick under the log end and grab the other end with the mini and skid them out longer with less impact to turf. Probably use golf cart wheels and axel stubs.


Those arches seem kinda expensive! 600 sounds better.
 
https://youtu.be/i8VfedhvXY4

I love mine. Don't use it as much as I used to. I used to drive across detroit with logs. Detroit has changed a bit since then, not sure I could get away with it like I used to. Still use it now and then especially on logs that I want to mill that are too big for my mini. Awesome in conjunction with the mini. Good tool. I would never get rid of it.
 
I tweaked my back one day loading a log on my arbor trolley, the next day i welded up an arch. The further away from the axle (on the top) the higher it will lift the log, but will require more force. I don't have a mini, so those two carts are all i use, although i plan on getting at least a lawn tractor to pull it, and a quickly attached something to hitch it, probably a pintle hitch or similar, although if you have one with a winch on it like Kevin does, you can just leave it attached. They are very handy, and can help with trees that are hung up, or caught by rigging to walk the butt back to lower the whole thing. Since you can always just put the log back down it's pretty safe.

They are somewhat cumbersome to truck to and from the jobsite, but if you have a trailer that won't be an issue. For smaller jobs you can even leave the mini at the house if you can figure a way of loading the logs easily and quickly. I also use mine for moving stuff around the yard, as they easily can pick up heavy items and move them almost effortlessly. If you had a large grapple truck, i could see a giant one being more useful to your operation Sean, because then you could move logs that you could never imagine of lifting with a mini, and still have a small footprint as far as equipment goes. With the lever kind (like the one you are buying) you can also pick one end of a log up, tie it to the log, and then use the mini on the other end to move very long logs, like a conifer stem that you encounter almost daily. That alone would be worth the cost, as you can move it to the truck where processing it is easier (cleaning saw chips off of concrete vs someone's flower bed).

We also use a version of them in pipefitting, to move large pipes and equipment around. They are super simple, easy to maintain, and can make moving heavy stuff easier. After having mine i won't be without one, even if I'm not doing trees. A couple of guys with an arch and arbor trolley can move a surprising amount of wood around.

Edit: they also work great with a winch doing the pulling, especially with one guy running the winch and one guy kinda steering the log.
 
Our homebuilt one is modeled after your linked up one, Sean -- but probably better built. It's lifted HUGE logs, thousands of pounds. We've used it in conjunction with the winch pulling logs out without scarring up turf. And it will still be useful in conjunction with the mini when we get it. I still need to get pics of ours, but time and lighting has been a challenge at the shop to get a good pic
 
Wheeling 20' of meaty log thru 30" gate 2" off the ground, with one hand while drinking water rocks!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15
Cool, StumpShot.


On the Log-rite, the tongs hang from that hanger, which can be oriented both ways, hung from the bottom, and hung from the top, for more clearance on bigger logs. A simple bar welded in the tong-hanging ring would do the same, fwiw.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19
I know about Chinese wheelbarrows. Are you suggesting a Chinese log Arch? It pretty much is, balancing the load over the wheel(s).
 
:)

Log arches are interesting. Before I had the Avant I needed to get five 14 inch conifers across a few hundred feet of soft/muddy field. I borrowed a Logrite arch about like that, lifted the but end and pulled them across and up hill with the chipper winch. I was going to buy one for myself - still would if one came up used at an affordable price.

In researching I saw there were one or two guys near TreeStuff using a larger model to pull multi thousand pound millable logs back to their yard with SUVs or pickups.
 
Ditto that -- we've moved multi-thousand pound osage and locust logs from backyards with the arch + chipper winch combo, even across sloggy ground.
But the mini skid or articulating loader are still on the short list radar.
 
Back
Top