Log Chute Report

Background
In association with Jon West Horselogging and Forest Enterprise,horse logging has been one of the methods of woodland management on the 230ha Hafod Estate over the last three and a half years complimenting conventional harvesting techniques.

Introduction
In a thinning operation of 5ha of managed 50 year old Beech woodland on the Hafod Estate using horse extraction it was decided to incorporate a log chute system to avoid a 300 meter round trip extraction route through a non productive area which included a long uphill stretch. The estimated tonnage to be extracted was 150 tonnes.

Equipment

Motor manual felling plus:
Horse logging equipment including Ulvins Timber Arch and Kombi-Drag.
Log chute- based on recycled plastic chemical barrels.

Working Method
The Beech was felled motor manually (by chainsaw), cross cut at stump (shortwooded), forwarded using horse and Ulvins Kombi-Drag to the top of the chute where it was unloaded by hand directly into the chute.The produce was then stacked by a second operator while another load was being collected.
The chute was made up of plastic drums cut in half with a section comprising four half drums bolted together. These sections were then joined with simple tie straps, the strap being bolted to the end of a section with a pin going through the adjoining section held in place by an R clip.

Considerations in setup of chute
The initial setup of the chute took about an hour and a half with the horse taking the majority of the chute sections to the top of the steep ground above the chute area on the Kombi-Drag. 10mm polypropylene rope was used to tie the chute in place on the corners and to also provide stability on the straight sections. As the initial position of the chute was expected to take the bulk of the produce being extracted about 15 minutes per hour was spent in fine tuning the position of the ropes and ensuring the bends in the chute were working properly on the first morning.
Because of the steepness of the ground and the slippery nature of Beech the chute was setup with a long straight section across the gradient with a long sweeping curve down to the forest road. Even so it was necessary to incorporate a system of baffles to slow the produce down to an acceptable speed in the chute. These were made up of logs suspended in the chute from a rope tied between two trees, the idea was that the produce would hit the end of the baffle, stop momentarily and then carry on at a reduced speed. If the produce became trapped the following piece would usually free it. This generally worked well with just a few trips down the chute to clear any blockages each day. On wet days three baffles were used(due to higher speeds) and on dry days only one. The chute was about 100 meters in length.

Extraction output and produce cut
Produce cut:
2.5m Mining timbers min 21cm tdub (Top Diameter Under Bark)
1.9m Mining timbers min 21cm tdub
2.5m Bars min 15cm tdub
1.9m Bars min 15cm tdub
2.1m Pulpwood min 7cm tdub
Output, based on a two man team with both men felling in the mornings and extracting in the afternoon with a maximum extraction distance of 300 meters from stump to top of the chute was four to six tons per day. Any produce that was too big to send down the chute was extracted seperately using the horse and Timber Arch. This was mainly the Mining timbers, large bars and butt ends. In general if the produce was to heavy to load onto the Kombi-Drag easily it was too big to send down the chute.

Conclusions
Overall the chute worked above expectations, the main limitation being manpower. A third operator could have been used to operate the chute to work all day enabling a possible daily output in excess of 10 tons to be achieved which over a long extraction distance is considered very respectable.
Wet weather was not too much of a problematic factor in the speed of the chute due to the multiple baffle system but any ice in the chute made the speed of the produce very difficult to control.
The chute available was probably being worked close to its maximum loading and for long term use with this size of produce a heavier duty chute would be needed.
It would be worth trying a chain and hook method of joining the chute sections. Also having eyes bolted to the outsides of the sections to facilitate fastening ropes would speed up installation.

Acknowledgements
Jim Waterson and the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust for the use of the chute, Michelle Bromley and other Forest Enterprise Wales Harvesting And Marketing staff for facilitating the contract and the staff of The Hafod Estate for their assistance.

Authors
Richard Crompton <richard.crompton@forestry.gsi.gov.uk>
Jonathan West <jon@jonwest-horselogging.co.uk>
Photography and HTML by the Jonathan West.
Both authors c/o The Hafod Estate Office, Pontrhydygroes, Ceredigion, SY25 6DX.

This is the web version of this report with a published version to follow. For any further enquiries please contact one of the authors.

Jon West Horse Logging

Report

The use of a log chute to compliment a horse extraction based thinning operation in Mid Wales