Picking Up Logs with my Son

We’re going to do a log pickup today, so I am getting the arch ready to go back onto the trailer.

When I take the arch off the trailer, I put the hinge pins into the toolbox that’s built onto the trailer. It’s really nice to have onboard storage, but the disadvantage is that it’s open to vandalism. In my case, the vandals are my children. They like to go through the toolbox, take all the stuff out of it, and lay it all over the trailer. Today as I was setting up the arch, I couldn’t find the hinge pins in the toolbox. I found one in the lawn, but I haven’t been able to find the other one, and I need two to get the arch on.

To get another one, I cut another piece of one diameter shaft stock. Simple as that, I can put the hinge pins in and get ready to go. 

Here is what I’ll be bringing with me. This is going to be a pretty softball pickup, but people often ask what I bring with me, so here you go! I got some blocks to put underneath the stabilizer jacks in the back to help distribute the weight if I’m on some soft ground. I’ve also got my old winch battery as well as my new one. I’m also bringing a farm jack in case I need to persuade something wherever it needs to go. I’ve got the PV, which gets used quite a bit for just maneuvering things around. I’ve got the log tongs in case we need to pick a log up to get a chain underneath it. I’m bringing my chainsaw in case I have to trim anything. And then I’ve got the long cant hook in case I need something really long to really persuade something. This is going to be a really easy pickup, so I don’t think most of this is going to get used, but it’s better to have things I don’t need rather than need things I don’t have. 

On the trailer itself, I have all of the chains I’ll need. I’ve got the binders,  a snatch block, a hammer, and other various rigging things. I also have a roller, which I don’t think I’m going to use either, but I’ll have it just in case I need a roller to put under a log to make it roll on the deck of the trailer. 

Here is what I’m going to pick up. I got an email from a viewer who did a removal and was going to have the log sawed up on site, but the sawyer wasn’t able to get out there, and now the log needs to be removed. It looks like the log is really close to the driveway, so I can back right up to it. It is almost perfectly cylindrical, and it’s already up on some logs and blocks, so it’ll be really easy to get a chain wrapped around it. It’s supposed to be 34 inches diameter by 12 feet long, and it looks like they cut the crotch off the top of it. As far as I can tell, it’s going to be a very softball loading compared to the weird knobby monstrosities that I’m used to. 

It’s on a downhill slope, and we got a lot of rain recently, so I don’t want to go too far onto the grass. But luckily I can get pretty close for loading.

Got the log and the crotch loaded in only 43 minutes, so now we’re heading back home.

I’m going to get this hinge cleaned up, and then we’ll do some end sealing.

JR is going to do the end sealing for me, and he is glad his art classes are finally paying off. He said he doubted that I could get this log on the trailer, even though he’s picked up much bigger logs than this with me when he was a baby. 

That’s going to do it for this one! Thanks for joining us, and until next time, happy woodworking!