Homemade Log Skidding Cone

Brett McLeod, associate professor of forestry and natural resources at Paul Smith’s College (NY), made this Homemade Log Skidding Cone from a plastic barrel, which should be proportionally sized to the log’s diameter. For the 10-inch-diamater log pictured here, McLeod chose a 35-gallon barrel that had held commercial cooking oil. First, he outlined with a marker a U-shaped opening on one side of the barrel and a 2-inch-diameter hole at the bottom. Then he cut out the opening using an angle grinder with a cutting wheel and the hole with a hole saw. To use the cone, he places a choker chain diagonally across the bottom of the log, rolls it partly into the cone, sets the choker, then threads the end of the chain through the hole and attaches it to the pulling vehicle (e.g., pickup, ATV, tractor).

Cost: Nominal

Impairment Category: Back, Lower extremity, Strength/endurance, Upper extremity