Hardwood Log Bucking and Loading Efficiency in West Virginia‪.‬

Abstract The efficiency of bucking and loading central Appalachian hardwood logs was investigated by using a knuckleboom loader together with a sawbuck. Bucked tree stems averaged 15.32 inches in butt diameter with lengths ranging from 19.50 to 106.00 feet. The average number of logs bucked per stem was 3.4 with an average volume of 47.29 board feet (BF) Doyle scale per log. The majority of logs bucked were saw and peeler logs (68%), followed by pulpwood and scragg logs (31%). Hourly bucking production was 4.56 thousand BF per productive machine hour (MBF/PMH) with a unit cost of $14.65/MBF. The loader grappled an average of two logs per turn with an average small-end diameter of 10.50 inches and average length of 9.61 feet. The loading productivity was 7.19 MBF/PMH with a unit cost of $9.29/MBF. Results indicated a typical knuckleboom loader with a sawbuck can be employed efficiently in the region with a typical balanced manual harvesting system or a mechanized harvesting system.