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Sorting and gripping

Timber grapple

Curved jaws of a log grapple in the foreground, open, in front of stacks of debarked trunks and a yellow loader.
The two curved jaws of a log grapple, open in the foreground of a timber yard.
It takes an armful of trunks; it cuts nothing.
Photo:
Mark Stebnicki, Pexels licence, via Pexels, sticker removed.

Two curved jaws, made for the shape of timber.
It takes an armful, lifts it and lays it down:
it cuts nothing.

Other names for this tool: timber grapple, extraction grapple, log grapple, woodcutter's grapple.

The essentials
Family
Sorting and gripping
Classes (t)
All
Coupler
All, by plate
Power source
Hydraulic, two circuits (opening and rotation) — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine

Identify your coupler →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, the curved jaws hug the wood, the armful holds without rolling. On the right, jaws open above the logs, ready to grab several of them. Computer-generated image.
the curved jaws hug the wood, the armful holds without rolling jaws open above the logs, ready to grab several of them
Left: the curved jaws hug the wood, the armful holds without rolling.
Right: jaws open above the logs, ready to grab several of them.
What sets it apart:
it carries and sets down, it cuts nothing — the felling head, for its part, is another tool.
Computer-generated image.
The grapple grips the bundle of logs and sets it down further away.
The rotator turns the load without moving the machine.
Synthetic video.
A forestry grapple holding an armful of logs above a stacking area; the two curved jaws follow the round shape of the timber, and the rotator is visible under the arm.
Two curved jaws, made for the shape of timber:
it takes an armful, it cuts nothing.
Synthetic image.

The jaws follow the round of the timber:
an armful of logs or branches holds without rolling, which a bucket cannot do.
The rotator is half the tool here, because a heap of timber is never oriented like the machine.

Loading a trailer, stacking, feeding a splitter, clearing a felling:
the forestry grapple works in a short, repeated cycle.
It is that repetition that decides its size, more than the heaviest piece.

A load suspended from a grapple that loses its pressure comes down. A hose torn off, a coupling that lets go, and the armful falls where it is.
The subject is dealt with through the check valve and through the running of the site, not through caution. See the safety check valve.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

It fits machines from 1 t, via a mounting plate on all quick couplers, or directly on the pins.
On a mini-excavator from 2 to 5 t: from 95 to 120 kg; from 5 to 10 t: from 95 to 240 kg.
On an excavator from 10 to 20 t: from 240 to 990 kg; above 20 t: from 800 to 990 kg.
On a micro-excavator, its weight: we calculate it with you for your machine.
It also comes with a farm loader, telehandler or compact loader hitch, to be checked with you.

What the tool does

It opens and rotates hydraulically, with built-in or add-on rotation.
It weighs from 95 to 990 kg.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It needs two hydraulic circuits, one for opening, the other for rotation, with their control.
Recorded pressure: 200 bar on a mini-excavator or a 5 to 10 t excavator, up to 300 bar above that.
The flow: we calculate it with you for your machine.

Figures taken from 7 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

How to read these values →

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Tell us what you handle and where you set it down, with the height.
Say whether the machine also has to cut:
that points towards a head, not towards a grapple.

What we need to answer you
  • Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
  • The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
  • The coupler in place Its system and its class.
  • The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Landing in a pine forest: a grapple loader lifts a load above a blue log truck, logs stacked in the foreground.
On a forest landing, the grapple loader works around a log truck.
The grapple carries and puts down:
it cuts nothing.
Photo:
BLM Oregon & Washington, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, resized, company name removed.
04 Choice

What determines the choice

  • 01 — The gripping area It is what holds the armful:
    a large opening with narrow jaws holds badly.
  • 02 — The rotator, built in or added Built in, it is sized with the tool; added, it is for you to size it.
  • 03 — The loading height It decides the useful reach, so the load chart, so the size of the grapple.
  • 04 — The timber handled Regular logs or branches in bulk:
    the jaw is not the same.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • The diameter and length of the timber Described, not guessed.
  • The place of laying A trailer, a heap, a splitter, a lorry.
  • The hydraulic circuits and their control Opening, rotation, and something to work them with.
  • The safety of the lift Check valve, condition of the hoses, working area on the ground.
In the timber
What you need under the boom
Cutting, not gripping
To go further
A question about an attachment? 01 84 16 55 49 Send my photos