Recovering Cherry Logs with a Mini Skidsteer

Today we are going to haul the skid steer and do something with it!

This is the set up I use to get smaller logs that might be inaccessible to my truck and trailer. Today I’m heading back to the same property where I picked up another larger red oak log. That big log was right by the street, and I could literally get my truck to it. The smaller cherry tree I’m picking up today is down in the back of the property, which is up a hill and through the woods, so it’s not accessible to vehicles. The only way to get that out of there would be to manually get it out with a roller or a dolly, or to use a smaller machine. Since I will have the skid steer with me, I can also load them onto the trailer. 

I’m not super into smaller logs, to be honest. Smaller logs just aren’t all that exciting to me, and this trailer is really built for hauling big stuff. That said, cherry trees only get so big. I already know this property pretty well, so this should be a fairly easy and quick pickup. 

In order to get the the cherry logs, I have to head up a pretty steep hill, go around a septic mound, through some flowers, dodge some trees, and then arrive at the logs. So it will be a lot of time on the skid steer driving around.

The logs are already cut to length. We’ve got a 10 footer, two logs that will go in the trailer next to the skid steer. 

Then there is another log with a bend in it, so we will cut that log and put it in the back of the truck. 

So those logs look a little different now. They have been transformed into boards since I picked them up last summer. In the next post, we’ll actually be sawing these up. So we’ll see the full circle of these logs, from picking them up and then actually sawing them up into some pretty awesome boards. 

When I was first looking at these, my perspective on logs had been skewed. I thought those logs were small, but they actually produce some pretty decently sized boards.. I just have this warped perception of reality now, since I’m so used to big stuff. 

So that’s going to do it for this one. If you have any questions or comments on the sawmill, please feel free to leave your comments. As always, I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have, and, until next time, happy woodworking.