[Baystatetom]

My off steer has been a step ahead of the near one since day one. I have moved my staple a inch to the off side and it has made no difference. The slow near steer seams to be happy to lag back and let his partner do all the work. If I try and prod him along all three of us end up running. Like Tim says call on your slow one first so they at least start together, once they are moving its less of an issue. My near steer always seems to know when I need him though. A big log coming up hill for instance he picks it up a notch and pulls hard. I have finally decided as long as I get the job done its not worth worrying about. I did try and tie a halter to the load chain with some success but I always had to readjust it if the chain came unhooked or if I lengthened it or shortened it for some reason.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Thanks again Tristan, I passed on the bits about curling up the back edge of the runner and putting some sort of grippers onto the stake for loading to my welder. I should have it in a few days, can’t wait to go try it out!
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

You might be right Tim, but for some dumb reason I think of stoneboats as being used for exercising a team and for pulling contest. I just never considered it as a working tool before seeing your videos. I really should try it sometime.
I told the welder to make my new go devil 4′ wide with 4′ runners and axed the hinged stake idea. He figured $375 but thought if he could find enough scrap steel around his shop it would be cheaper.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I have been using sort of a short stoneboat, a bunch of 4×4 s about 4 feet wide and four feet long with a angle cut on the front held together with threaded rods. It seemed to make a huge difference in the snow but lesser on bare ground. At least it keeps the buts from digging in. After seeing Tristan’s pictures I started dropping the trees right on it. What a great idea that I might not have thought of on my own. Just the last few days I have started using the team more to load and stack logs. I thought I was being faster by using a peevy but my back is sore as hell every night. I am still an amateur but get better everyday. Thanks for sharing!
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I showed my welder friend your pictures today and asked him for a price. I just kind of guessed on the measurements that I thought I would want. If you can easily post some of yours I might just double check and call the welder back. He said he was slow and could probably have one ready for me in a couple of days. He wants to make the stakes on a hinge so they act like a ramp as well. Not sure how I feel about that except I can have him change it if it doesn’t work out.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Great video! I am still loving your go devil, I just made up my mind to have a welder friend of mine take a crack at it based on your pictures.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Andy I like your comment about pulling styles, I have seen mine do all four generally transitioning from lighter to heavier loads, I notice the butt down stretched out style going uphill. I am not into the ox draw scene myself but I am friendly with several guys who are. They all say that you can’t win without Chinaninas. Most of the guys now think nothing is stronger in the 3200 pound class. Maybe that desperate style is what works best, at least 6 feet at a time with several times their body weight on the stoneboat.
Here are some more pulling pictures from the New England Ox Teamsters page http://www.neotaonline.com/photo%20gallery.htm
Erica you can take whatever you want off my facebook page if there is anything there you want, but they are all off my phone probably no the best quality.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

I had thought about mounting a ATV winch run off a car battery to a scoot as well. Just in case. Kind of like having a credit card in for emergencies though pretty easy to get in over your head just because you can.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

The frost just came out of my main skid trail, I can’t believe how much harder the steers have to work. We are getting some snow now, I think Friday I am going to go out and pull all the biggest logs and leave the second and third logs for next week when the snow has melted off again.

[Baystatetom]

Ha Ha Tim that is true, certainly more common to see oxen working then kids at my place! The news did a nice piece for my friend and neighbor. He always donates his opening day profit to Habitat For Humanity which was the focus of the news story but they did have a nice shot of my kids and the steers. I would post the link but if you blinked you’d miss it.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Showed up at my neighbors pancake breakfast sugar house with a tank of sap on my ox cart the same time as a television crew. The reporter was more impressed with my kids carrying buckets then my steers and wagon but that’s fine with me. Maybe we’ll will be on Channel 40 out of Springfield MA tonight.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Heading out to gather for the first time. Using a cart this year instead of a sled, we’ll see how it goes. The cart is wider then my little sled, might be hard to maneuver between trees like I am used to.
I have also used sap to brew beer, just remember the sugar in the sap is only there for the yeast to eat. It will give you a higher alcohol content but will not make your beer taste like maple syrup.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

We are on high alert in New England. All I have heard is doom and gloom from the scientist its not a matter of if but when. One research guy at UMass is hopeful for a control soon but he is the minority with that line of thinking. They drew a 100 mile quarantine circle around the last capture site in New York, that line falls about two towns from me. If there is any bright side at all its that all the quarantines have really given our ash markets a good boost over here on the “safe” side of the line.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Thanks for all the advice. I like Carl’s idea of using a block in front to get some more lift. Most of the tricks I have learned from experience don’t really apply now. I always cut trees low enough in value that I could just keep blocking off 4′ at a time or have the cable skidder rip them down. Smaller trees can often be spun out with a peavy as well. I have heard you can bore a hole with the saw and insert a pole for use as a lever but that’s not to good for a log worth a couple hundred dollars.
Mitch also hit the nail on the head when he said it is not a race. The first day I ran out there hell bent on putting a good pile of logs on the header as fast as I could. We all know that never works. I’ll just keep plugging along and hope I am smart enough to learn from my mistakes.
~Tom

[Baystatetom]

Sounds like I was doing it right. I think it just comes back to the limitations of my 2400 lb team. One of those trees was a 20″ DBH cherry that I got 3 twelves and a 10 off from and it was hung soundly in a hemlock. There was just no way my team was going to pull it out. Hence 45 minutes with a come-along. I had thought about a block and tackle rig to double the pulling strength of my steers, guess I’ll put that on my wish list.
Your right Brad, professionals like us shouldn’t hang trees or pinch saws either. Can you imagine I heard about a guy who did both at once one time.
I sell a few million bdft a year to mechanical guys who just love to pick on the forester who hangs up trees. Fact of the matter is when working with a skidder it doesn’t matter at all. Sometimes with a skidder its easier to just lean it into another tree and pull it down then it is to fell it at the wrong angle for the skid trail.
~Tom

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