How to Make a Horse Drawn Logging Arch

Small farmers need the earning potential of old trees on their property. A log arch makes moving several small logs out of a heavily forested area easier and profitable. The arch uses one or two pair of wheels attached to the logs. Trucks or logging skids compact the soil, damaging the land for years. Even ATV̵7;s require removing underbrush and small trees and are unstable on hilly ground. But horses step around and through underbrush. Farmers are finding that horse drawn log arches give them the opportunity to protect and profit from their timber.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Car wheels with spindles
  • 1/4-inch steel plate, 13-by-20 inch piece
  • Welding mask
  • Torch cutter
  • 12 feet of square steel pipe, 1 1/4-inch diameter and 1/8-inch thick
  • Plasma welder
  • Welding flux
  • Metal filler
  • Drill
  • 3/8-inch carbide bit
  • 12 bolts 1-inch long and 3/8-inch diameter
  • 12 nuts 3/8-inch diameter
  • 2 Winch assemblies
  • 5/8-inch carbide tip
  • 60-inches round pipe 1 1/4-inch diameter
  • 11 feet of square steel pipe, 1-inch diameter and 1/8-inch thick
  • 4-inch steel ring
  • 1/2-inch eye bolt 4-inches long
  • Horse collar with chains
  • 1/2-inch diameter chains, 2 6-foot sections
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the spindle of the car wheels. The spindle is the plate that holds the hub of the wheel to the axle. Put on the welding mask to protect your eyes while cutting the metal. Cut two pieces from the steel plate the same size as the spindle plates. Cut four 6-inch squares from the steel plate. Cut each square in half diagonally so that you have eight right triangles.

    • 2

      Cut a 6-foot section of the 1 1/4-inch diameter pipe. Cut right triangles from the pipe 18-inches from the end on either side. The triangles will cut through three faces of the square pipe, leaving one face at the apex of the triangle, untouched. Heat the last face and bend the pipe so that the edges of the triangle meet. The pipe is now at a right angle. Paint the new corners with welding flux and weld one of the right triangles over each side of a seam with metal filler. This braces the corners. You will have four braces left.

    • 3

      Drill holes to match the holes for the spindle plates in the sheet metal you cut to match. Weld a plate to the end of the arched piece from Step 2. Bolt the spindles to the plates on the arch. You now have an arch with wheels.

    • 4

      Cut one foot off the remaining section of 1 1/4-inch pipe. Weld one end of the 5-foot pipe to the center of the arch. Cut the 60-inch round pipe in half. Weld one end to either leg of the arch and the other end to the 5-foot pipe. These struts add strength to your log arch.

    • 5

      Weld the 1-foot section onto the 5-foot section 18-inches from the joint with the arch. Weld the winch assembly to the 1-foot section. Change the bit on the drill to the 5/8-inch bit. Drill a hole 6-inches from the free end of the 5-foot pipe.

    • 6

      Cut a 1-foot length off the 1-inch diameter pipe. Set aside.

    • 7

      Cut a right triangle out of the 1-inch diameter pipe one foot from the end. Bend the pipe and brace it with two of the sheet metal right triangles. This is the hitch end of your log arch. Cut another right triangle on the opposite side of the pipe so that you can bend the pipe in the opposite direction. Bend and brace the pipe.

    • 8

      Weld the 1-foot section to the pipe 1-foot from the second bend. Weld the second winch assembly so that is facing the opposite direction of the bend in the pipe. The winch is on the top of your arch.

    • 9

      Cut a 5/8-inch hole through the pipe 2 inches from the hitching end. Cut the ring and thread it through the hole. Weld the ring closed to seal it onto the hitch end.

    • 10

      Drill holes every 6 inches along the longest portion of the 1-inch diameter pipe, starting 3 feet from the braced corner. Stop drill holes 2 feet from the free end. Insert the 1-inch diameter pipe into the end of the 1 1/4-inch pipe. Push the pipe until the holes of the smaller pipe line up with the holes in the larger pipe. Push the eyebolt through the holes at your chosen length.

    • 11

      Put the horse collar on the horse. Attach the chains on the horse collar to the ring on the hitch. Lead the horse to the log. Adjust the log arch so that the wheels straddle the log. Dig under the log and push the chain under the log. Adjust the length of your arch to the length of the log. You want the log far enough back that the log has no way to interfere with the horse. Thread a second chain under the log just below the second winch. Attach both ends of the chain to the winch. Wind the chains in the front and back with the winches. The chains lift the log from the ground, so only the horse̵7;s hooves and wheels move through the forest floor.