Maine Custom Woodlands is a fully-mechanized timber harvesting company, which means that we use a combination of machines to conduct your harvest. The process of getting the wood from the stump to the mill is known as a harvesting system. Here is an overview of what you can expect to see on the day your harvest begins, up until the day the last truck leaves your property.

The Feller Buncher/Harvester

The first to arrive is the feller buncher or harvester. The guys on the crew will refer to it as “the buncher”. This huge logging machine has a circular saw head that cuts select trees at the stump, grabs them and lays them down in hitches. The operator will cut select trees following the Harvest Prescription. This machine will also clear the landing, skid road and trails in order to bring the harvested wood out for processing.

The Excavator and Bulldozer

Once the landing is cleared by the feller buncher, the excavator and bulldozer will arrive to build the access road, stump and smooth the landing.

The Service Truck

This small truck carries all our service needs on the job. Anything the crew may need to service the machines is stored on this truck and moved from job to job. Chainsaws and personal protective equipment is transported this way, also.

Two Knuckle Boom Loaders

Two knuckle boom loaders will then be delivered to the landing. They will be set up opposite each other, leaving a clear path for the skidders to drop wood between the two for processing. These loaders lift and move trees with ease. One is for chipping, and one is for delimbing and slashing.

The Chipper

Our whole tree chipper chips tops and trees for biomass and bole chips. One knuckle boom loader feeds the chipper.

The Slasher/Delimber

As the skidders drop their hitches on the landing between the knuckle boom loaders, one operator pulls the trees though our Pull-Through Delimber in order to remove all the branches. Then the tree is slashed or chipped and sorted, based on species and grade.

The Skidders

Two grapple skidders work to pull the hitches up from the woods. They follow the trails created by the harvester as they drag the trees to the landing for processing.

Chip Trailer and Log Trailer

You will see two types of tractor trailers hauling your product to the mills. One is a chip trailer, which is fed by the chipper to haul biomass to energy producing plants, and the other is a log trailer. Log trailers may have their own knuckle boom loaders.

The job ends as it starts, with the excavator and bulldozer closing out the trails and smoothing out the landing. This process not only stabilizes the soils on the trails, but also protects water quality by installing water bars to secure the soil on the stream banks.

To learn more about harvesting systems or the value of your timber, call:

207-688-5334
for a free consultation