HISTORY of Log Skidders

[@Fourandaquarter]

I still consider skidders to be the ultimate off-road vehicles.

[@idroadking]

I could not agree more! Monster trucks and ATV's are almost laughable in comparison IMO.

[@DSMattitude]

Articulated dump trucks would give them a run for their money.

[@jaydenrodger117]

Sherp?

[@Fourandaquarter]

I was driving in a logging road many years ago, and a skidder operator had to move off the road so I could get by. He drove it down into a very deep, steep-sided ditch filled with thick mud and debris. The tires were maybe 3/4s under. After I drove past, I had to stop to see if buddy could get out of it. A puff of smoke from the stack and out it came. It was a pretty cool site. Several times during the following week, I saw similar things happen. Those things can get into some interesting spots.

[@andrewmcglaughlin8412]

@@DSMattitude an articulated dump[ truck cant hold its own vs a log skidder offroad

[@TsunauticusIV]

Small wood skidders are neat but those massive trees being skidded by D9s was an amazing old bit.

[@IDT69]

The absolutely love the sound of them old D9s

[@mattdillon4398]

Been a logger my whole life and have NEVER once heard the word "snigging" until I saw this video.

[@ghostrider9978]

It’s an Aussie thing,, very common here .

[@HubertofLiege]

@@ghostrider9978what’s a timber dinker? At 5:00

[@flyingled3176]

It snigged up on you

[@Simo-bx2qm]

@@HubertofLiege it’s that big steel wheel thing the horses were pulling

[@Simo-bx2qm]

@@HubertofLiege but It’s called a jinker not a dinker

[@chadbinette3201]

So next time I get stuck I just got to whip my tractor, got it. Every fall we still go to the fair , the fryburg fair in Maine m, and they still have oxen and horse pulling teams as well as a lumberjack / woodsmen day . A few years there was an old timer with a set of oxen that never once used his whip those two oxen were trained like dogs all on voice commands. They would stop and pull and turn all with voice commands . It was quite impressive to watch.

[@IDT69]

I’m up in NS, there was an old farmer/cutter up the way that had a huge pair of oxen like that, he was maybe 5’ tall, quiet, arms like tree trunks lol he just said “get a goin’” and “woah” and they’d pull about anything put behind em, awesome to see

[@leebuck180]

the open cab on the John Deere 540B with exhaust leak, heat in summer, A/C in the winter, that skidder would pull the world!

[@peterlanum]

That's when men were men,

[@normcameron2316]

Started my apprenticeship as a HD mechanic in 1974, dozers, log skidders and wheel loaders. Screaming Detroits. Eaton Trojan wheel loaders, Patrick log loaders, Timber Toter skidders. Clark machinery. Timberjacks. Later Cat and JD. IH wasn't very common. Different era, amazing machines. Sure did a job. Even in the 1980's and 90's we were using D6's with a logging arch to pull out difficult wood. Now it's a Hi Trac D5.

[@robertwilliams2623]

Spent all most 35 year in the woods . Loved every minute of it

[@martykath4427]

I'm happy you survived. I spent 15 years driving tippers. There's no way I'd ever drive a jinker.

[@jvallieres1979]

My dad is still rebuilding Detroit’s from a lot of Clark 664 skidders in Central Ontario.

[@makattak88]

I’ve had the pleasure of operating a Timberjack 360 with a piler attachment. What a beast!

[@Wedget]

The skill of these old blokes and their bullocks were bloody unbelievable, thank you for sharing this prized video of early logging 👍

[@kenmcdougal97]

I work at Firestone as a tire builder and build forestry skidder tires

[@austindenotter19]

Thank you. The forestry special tire line has been amazing. Very durable tires.

[@job38four10]

I have gotten out wood just about every way possible with two axles and a engine, so far I much prefer a 70hp+ tractor with FEL...... It was a lot of fun 40 years ago getting a 540 JD skidder stuck in 4 ft of mud first thing in the morning, then run out of fuel at same time......

[@ridgwalkerg]

My grandfather bought a 26 ton Wagner in the pacific Northwest, first on in the Kootenays. He drove it there from the Okanogan, he was always rolling it once a day, or he wasnt going fast enough he used to say, before that he was Horse logging . I wish i had a chance to get to know him more, he died in a logging accident as a foreman near Invemere, 1959

[@TheSeastar19]

For anyone out there that is unsure if Timberjack or Garret manufactured the first log skidder please read this article online about Dwight Garret. So just search for " When Coal was King" , The Voice of the Valley. Unless this article is untrue it means the Timberjack actually were the first to manufacture the Log Skidder but again the timeline was close.

[@DavidSmith-zr3nd]

I spent a lot of years chasing skidders and cutters around. Those old Detroit 2 cycle engines would sing a tune.

[@HubertofLiege]

Brings back good memories, I had 453s, 653s,and a 471.

[@iffykidmn8170]

I can still remember at times still hearing them running in my ears hours after being shut down while laying in bed.

[@peterlanum]

My ears are still ringing.

[@rp1645]

​@@HubertofLiege Wish you could HEAR my (353) plus I have an (8V-71) both in working equipment. I love the screaming DD-2 ST.

[@austindenotter19]

​@@iffykidmn8170😂😂😂 yes!

[@UltraMagaFan]

That Tigercat 635 D with the dual rear axels is a beast. Its crazy how the logging industry over the past century has went from oxen a machine like that.

[@richardpeasleejr470]

Awesome content I wish I could find more old time logging.

[@y2kxj]

Timberland also converted log skidders in to underground scissor lifts, and flat beds... for use in underground ground mining...

[@maddawgnoll]

I would've loved to live in an era where the trees were bigger than life. One tree would take a crew of men to get to the mill. Now the trees are so small in comparison. I'll never get to sink my teeth into a tree I could lay across. 😢 Our ancestors and forefathers were beasts of men to do what they did with the equipment they had.

[@carlwilliams1570]

635 Tigercat gets it done! Of the older cable skidders the 666C Clark was a real workhorse. Good brakes and winch plus it was well balanced. One of the best of that era!

[@michaelvrooman5681]

No mention of the Gafner Iron Mule skidders. Very popular in the pulp wood industry.Built out of Ford and Massey Ferguson tractors

[@austindenotter19]

Not a skidder.

[@chadbinette3201]

Quite amazing to see how much larger the trees were back then. I'm sure different areas of the world and what not but I know here in Maine logging is still a big industry up north and millions of acres are owned by lumber companies and every year 100s if not 1000s of acres are cut and replanted and always wondered how we get 2x12s in the building world cause as soon as a tree is larger enough to get a 2x4 out of they are cutting them down. Old lumber had tighter grains and a lot less knots compared to today. Areas planted in the 1990s are already being cut when trees are maybe 6-8 inches wide compared to those black and white films in the beginning with trees 4-5ft wide and larger.

[@Destinationdiesel]

Totally agree with you pal.

[@jerrylynch5611]

I met a guy the other day who works in Forestry in Brazil, down there they have Eucalypts from planting to felling in 12 years....For pulp but still pretty amazing I thought

[@austindenotter19]

In wisconsin we have millions of acres of mature white and red pine. Not much market for them. The west and the south grow quality timber faster than we can.

[@mariogordon2450]

However I still loved the video. Those were some tough times back then. I also remembered every year going to the Logging Expo in Atlanta GA. That was the highlight of the Southeast logger’s year. Every manufacturer brought their new ideas and really listened to the customers.

[@philhawley1219]

The County 4x4 equal wheel tractor was much favoured in Britain and Europe. I had an 1174 with double Iglund 8000 winches, a dozer blade and a crane . Not much I couldn't move with an outfit like that.

[@dawsoncanfield5386]

Didn't see any Pettibones in that clip. There are good and bad types of skiddders and operators. Conditions can be such that cable winches work better than grapple, and grapple has advantages over the winches. Cable can be played out so the machine can get across a muddy spot, or up a slippery hill, where a grapple would struggle. But a grapple works great with a feller buncher.

[@Remington-ll9gl]

That's why you can buy grapple skidders with a winch

[@mgbill793]

I have 3 Pettibone forklifts at my sawmill. 2 of them are super 8 with 353 Detroit, and the other is a super 10 with a 453 Detroit. Never let me down.

[@logancarter2134]

Amazing video of how it was done in the old days. Thanks for sharing.

[@laneburgess1643]

This a great video. Thanks for sharing it.

[@Red-head-triple1]

I still use old Clark skidders and tree farmer and John Deere I don’t have anything new the newest thing I have is a 1992

[@petergracemeguide1280]

Skidders are great for firefighting as used by South Australian country fire service. And a privilege to use them

[@UltraMagaFan]

I have never seen one used for firefighting but I’m still not surprised by that statement. The sprayers they put on those tractors are ginormous. You can dump a lot of water with them.

[@petergracemeguide1280]

@@UltraMagaFan look forward up South Australian country fire service Tatiara skidder A & B. We cut dry breaks around bad terrain . One has a big set of discs, the CAT tows a large A frame v plow and leaves near smooth dirt Road behind to allow 4x4 fire trucks to access and put out the fires. The skidders have fire suppression safety systems on board in case of burn over. These are more effective than dozers on most terrain

[@UltraMagaFan]

@@petergracemeguide1280I've never seen a skidder with a crane arm fitted onto it instead of a grapple. I didn't know that was a thing. That's cool as shit. I don't know what you guys use it for but I'd imagine It would be really good for recovering stuck or disabled vehicles.

[@petergracemeguide1280]

@@UltraMagaFan the crane job is for unloading the heavy A frame plow and raising and lowering the plow settings on the job. But recovery would be another use " UN officially?" Bureaucracy prevent s us performing those tasks.

[@ryanstewart1521]

10:14 in the vid guy slamming the whoops 3rd gear pinned in his skidder! Priceless

[@brentstewart59]

I felt that

[@terryburgettburgett965]

I have helped my grandpa log with mules

[@BryanClark-gk6ie]

Back in the mid 60's when my family was logging' we didn't own a mule so my dad made me and my oldest brother pull logs by hand' they were no where as big as the logs in the video' around 16'/20' in length' 2'/3' at the butt end were the largest and several 10' to 14' ones. They weren't that bad on level ground but pulling them uphill' at times could be a challenge. We figured out by using a rope instead of a chain reduced the weight and made our job a lot easier.

[@terryburgettburgett965]

This was the time of Big timber

[@mariogordon2450]

I noticed you mentioned that the grapple was introduced around 1978. Gordon Logging of Estill SC have pictures of their Franklin grapple skidders in 1972.

[@FullMetalFab]

Woodstock Ontario Canada, the Log Skidder was invented 3 hr from my place !

[@omeganickum]

I've got a 1998 Timberjack 360 that my dad bought brand new and a newer John Deere 540 3G

[@EdisonCastro-n8o]

I like 518 Caterpillar Skider in Ecuador Mountain.

[@chipps1066]

Man using the beasts of burden is God given!

[@AprilBowser-w6t]

Cant remember the manufacturers name, but post ww2 , they converted 2 1/2 ton trucks "deuce and a half" , into skidders. Im told "that" was the first skidder many old outfits bought.

[@viseshseernam39]

you missed the tracked skidders which are called mountain goats because they can go anywhere swamps steep hills muddy grounds they are the best in the logging industry

[@dano4572]

GREAT VIDEO!!

[@BushmansAdventures]

Epic video!

[@robertoinsaurralde2494]

very good

[@Bull3tBikes]

2:10 wow how much horsepower is that like fifty!?

[@jasonmyers4816]

Thats awesome

[@robertgoetz2678]

And latil from france was not by far earlier in the market with log skidders?

[@clarencetrice4442]

I 😊😊 still can remember the old skidders FRANKLIN TREE FARMER TIMBER JACK JOHN DEERE the old 1S now 2 day U dont see any more a old fellow had a logging company he used a timber skidder 4 years clean the drive ways years ago it sure was alit better than a shovel /he was a old fellow years ago when I was a kid dad worked 4 him be 4 he went 2 the sawmill and went 2 work dad use 2 turn logs 2 when he was young it wasn't long after that dad was sawing and uncle mack also worked also worked at the sawmill and turned logs also 😊😊 OMG 3 4 2O24

[@coastal9181]

Used to build Franklin Treefarmers in 92-94. Then I became a Merchant Mariner

[@stetson-ross]

You left out the AMF tracked skidded, ran one a lot in the eighties

[@HubertofLiege]

FMC?

[@stetson-ross]

Too old I guess, your absolutely right! Was a fast machine

[@HubertofLiege]

@@stetson-ross I had two, loved them. Put that arch up in the air and let that jimmy scream as that winch pulled, rocking back and forth on the torsion bar suspension.

[@donchristianson3153]

Get your facts straight Dwight Garrett invented the log skidder right after ww2 in Enumclaw Washington

[@TheSeastar19]

Please read this article online about Dwight Garret, it is "When Coal was King " The Voice of the Valley. Then you may want to change your opinion on who was first to manufacture the Log Skidder

[@Infinityinfohub]

Wow 😮😮

[@dawnmoore1977]

Good video but you got three facts wrong 1 john deere made the first skidder in 1940 the 440a with the John deere two cylinder engines 2 clark made the grapple in 1972

[@TheSeastar19]

So if John Deere manufactured their first skidder in 1940 why did they wait until 1965 to release it???? Watch the section in the video at 11.08, I think you are referring to John Deere rubber tire tractors in 1940 not skidders. About the grapple skidders. Yes they did have grapple skidders before 1978 but most of these were all cable operated grapples and not hydraulic so if you a referring to hydraulic grapples then I have to agree with this channel it was around 1978

[@herval307]

A very interesting think appearin this vid! Its the damages done to the forest ground made by mecanisation. In Europe , in the very difficults forest beefs bin reintruduced.

[@HubertofLiege]

Hooves have a higher compaction because of the small space

[@nigelreinikka4751]

Just brilliant top stuff they done tough 😂

[@jeffydahmer-ln6go]

1:23 a fart!

[@snakebite2841]

👍👍

[@northmanlogging2769]

So, uh... Garrett made the first skidders in 1949

[@TheSeastar19]

Correction, actually Timberland which was just a bunch of loggers in Canada designed and built their first wheel log skidder in around 1947 but used it for their own use but then later changed their name to Timberjack and started manufacturing and selling skidders commercially.

[@dawnmoore1977]

Wong john deere in 1940

[@northmanlogging2769]

@@TheSeastar19 I'm sure there were plenty of folks converting trucks to pull logs, not exactly the same as the articulated skidder we know today, which was started by Garrett, including planetary drive axles, and the Gearamatic winch that everyone else still use. later being licensed by CanCar, Treefarmer and Pettibone.

[@TheSeastar19]

@@northmanlogging2769 Yes it is very true that they converted ex army Blitz trucks into crude wheel skidders that was in the beginning but really that is where the whole concept really started and sure there was many other brands to follow in the early fifties but actually Timberjack did have articulated frame and planetary drive axles shortly after this first concept. so I still think that Timberjack was the first. In my opinion I agree with this channel.

[@northmanlogging2769]

@@TheSeastar19 well, your opinion isn't fact, Garrett started manufacturing articulated skidders in 1949 (which means development likely started several years prior), not cobbling together spare parts for their own use, which is why I commented on this video in the first place, the folks behind Timber jack are certainly not the first to modify a truck, there are plenty of Ford Model T's that have been modified with anything from tracks to tractor tires to pull logs, plows, wagons etc to say nothing of military surplus stuff left over from WWII.

[@bobbertee5945]

Ol' 2 stroke diesel....

[@AntonioManoel-um4jt]

Acabarao cam tudo agora ke que amazonia sauva o mundo

[@r.ccustomtruckingsydneyaus4632]

look at the little sticks they drag out in America compared to Australian logs 😂. where the men in this business not America or Canada 😂😂😂😂😂

[@robertdvaughnjr5777]

John Deere's 1st Grapple Skidder was the 740 built in 1973 not 78. I ran a 440 cable skidder from 1973 to 77. Ran a 540 grapple skidder in 1983 for 5 weeks until a timber cutter thru a tree on it and me. Grew up in a Logging World, My how things have changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEVER HEARD OF "SNIGGING" UNTIL THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@TheSeastar19]

So what do you guys call snigging logs where you are from? Have you got a photo of the 1973 model 740A with a factory fitted hydraulic grapple??? I thought John Deere didn't fit any hydraulic grapples to their skidders until 1976, when they fitted it to both the 540 B and the 740A before then they had only cable skidders. I owned 3 x 540 B grapple skidders but the oldest model was a 1978, so this is all I know. There was cable operated grapples available before then but I wasn't aware that John Deere ever had these fitted before 1976. This channel did refer to the 1978 year as approximately only so I guess they were not to far out.

[@user-tn2os8ts7h]

Skiddah please