# Lewis winch?



## CLEARVIEW TREE (Oct 20, 2008)

Anyone use a portable gas winch? I'm interested in the Lewis, because it can work off of a chainsaw. Are they reliable? What do they usually go for? Thanks for any advice guys!:monkey:


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## Brushwacker (Oct 21, 2008)

I've seen post on it in the past with quite a bit of info.


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## Swamp Yankee (Oct 21, 2008)

CLEARVIEW TREE said:


> Anyone use a portable gas winch? I'm interested in the Lewis, because it can work off of a chainsaw. Are they reliable? What do they usually go for? Thanks for any advice guys!:monkey:



A bit scary to run

Several years ago we bought one for Engineering evaluation. I was the guinea pig so to speak. Hooked it up and started winching a medium size 12-14 inch dia. X 12 ft or so log. It was straining a bit, but what turned me off was when the log shifted and rolled. The whole winch flipped and rotated in less than a second spraining, but not breaking my wrist. I never had a chance to let go.

Trust me I'm not a newbie when it comes to winching, and I would strongly urge against this or any portable anchor winch that requires the user to hold to operate for safety reasons. A winch should always be operated from a distance unless it is bolted down to a proper mount.

FWIW
Take Care


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## B-Edwards (Oct 21, 2008)

This could be fixed very easy with a control cable on the throttle so you dont have to hold the saw handle.


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## deeker (Oct 21, 2008)

And to anchor the winch. Always anchor it from twisting. It can kill fast.

I want to try the Lewis winch for logs in remote areas that I cannot get my arch over.

Kevin


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## Adkpk (Oct 21, 2008)

New ones are like $900. but you can have this one for $600. 

http://www.arboristsite.com/pp-clas...duct=1369&cat=16&limit=recent&date=1167868532


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## Swamp Yankee (Oct 21, 2008)

B-Edwards said:


> This could be fixed very easy with a control cable on the throttle so you dont have to hold the saw handle.



Not to be rude,

Please don't take this the wrong way but if you've ever seen one of those chain / cable anchor winches gas or electric dance you wouldn't want to be anywhere near it. It'll twist anything including a remote cable pretty quick. They're always shown pulling a light load, in a straight line, for a reason.

Take Care


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## B-Edwards (Oct 22, 2008)

I know your not being rude, we are disscusing. I have never used one of them. just thinking of ways to make it safer. I never made one but always wanted a winch i could put on my skid-steer or dingo with a capstan on it. I have a picture sent to me by the guy who makes the branch manager grapple ,of one he sells, very very cool design.


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## TimberMcPherson (Oct 25, 2008)

We use chainsaw winches quite a bit, they are great bits of kit so long as you understand there limits. When put together with the right rigging the impossible and back breaking becomes easy.

We have a saw powered rope capstan winch and a cable pulling harbegger winch powered by a 066. Boy does it pull. We put down about 60 tonnes of pine last week and had to move it all up to 30m and pile it up in a confined area on a slope. We had to set up ladders just to get to the job. Fun stuff.

Heres the little guy making our life easier, it runs 8mm cable continously like a tirfir but you can load it from any part of the cable by opening the winch and setting the cable.

In pic 2 you can see the winch set on the RHS on the pine with the cable that links to a porty to a rope which goes to a pully at the base of the tree behind the photographer and then up to the top of the tree to return back to the top of the picture to the log. Easy!


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## smithie55 (Nov 13, 2008)

I use my Lewis Winch all the time. 
You have to always be thinking ahead of what you are doing.
They will twist and roll, you never want to be on the down hill side of the cable and never get your self in the bit of the cable.
Using a double pull with a block is the method of choice for me, provided I can reach out far enough.
I have snapped a few cables but between the brush and amount of cable I had spooled out the recoil is dampened.
Anything of this nature can be intimidating, but I think by using common sense and taking your time it works well.
I had a Stihl 044 Pro hooked up and was breaking cables right and left to hard to judge the pulling power. I now have an 026 Pro with a muffler mod and works OK but isn't the perfect fit. A 60cc saw would be the best fit.
The one draw back is over shiving the cable on the spool. tends to flatten the cable and can cause weak spots in the cable. Don't spool the full 150' of 
3/16 cable. 75 to 100' works better. Also I think it works better hooking up to a choker on the log.
I have pulled 20' long 24" Douglas Fir logs, 10' long 30" maple and Douglas Fir logs, side hill down hill and on the flat.
The newer Lewis winch is lighter weight then the older ones.
I paid $600.00 for a new one from my local chainsaw dealer.
I love my winch, it has allowed me to get logs out that I would not be able to get out otherwise, because I don't have a piece of heavy equipment!!
Nothing like a good wench.....


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## AT sawyer (Nov 29, 2008)

*Lewis winch practice session*

Here's what I did with mine, after some discussion with other A-site members. I haven't used it at full capacity yet, but as a test case, I got everything to work OK. Two things I did to keep it safe and snag-free was to keep the winch in direct line between the anchor tree and the directional snatch block, and the other was to make a spooler out of a broken axe handle -- that keeps the winch line from bunching up on the drum. 

Guess I'll have to put it to work for real now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OS31kUOl9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nulOLxehBpk


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## Dirtscooter5 (May 3, 2017)

I have a Lewis winch the newer style on I bought a few years ago. I bought it brand new. Site says up to a 7 hp saw so I put my 660 on the winch.. not a good idea. broke the cable 3 times way too much power for the cable. I called lewis winch and they sent a new cable free of charge. I put it on and put my 362 on the winch and figured I would never have a problem again. I used it for several dozen pulls no problems, then helping a buddy pull cedar logs I broke the cable single strand. Seen sparks and before I could stop the cable snapped and smoked me in the face. I am lucky not to loose an eye it left a big cable burn across my nose and above my left eye below the right eye. I really think the lewis winch is a neat tool but the problem I have is the working load of a 3/16 cable is 840 lbs. how does a company put on a cable that's working load is 1/4 the amount they advertise the winch will pull? Things don't add up. The winch is no where near handling 7hp either.


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## AT sawyer (May 3, 2017)

Dirtscooter5 said:


> I have a Lewis winch the newer style on I bought a few years ago. I bought it brand new. Site says up to a 7 hp saw so I put my 660 on the winch.. not a good idea. broke the cable 3 times way too much power for the cable. I called lewis winch and they sent a new cable free of charge. I put it on and put my 362 on the winch and figured I would never have a problem again. I used it for several dozen pulls no problems, then helping a buddy pull cedar logs I broke the cable single strand. Seen sparks and before I could stop the cable snapped and smoked me in the face. I am lucky not to loose an eye it left a big cable burn across my nose and above my left eye below the right eye. I really think the lewis winch is a neat tool but the problem I have is the working load of a 3/16 cable is 840 lbs. how does a company put on a cable that's working load is 1/4 the amount they advertise the winch will pull? Things don't add up. The winch is no where near handling 7hp either.



I had the same problem with my 362. Dragging anything over broken ground where the load could get snagged puts immediate over-tension on the small wire. Breaking an overtensioned wire rope is way dangerous. Probably less a problem if you fitted it with Amsteel. Though Amsteel is more expensive than wire, it's much cheaper than a new eye.


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## Dirtscooter5 (May 3, 2017)

I have seen some info on Amsteel rope, buy don't know a whole lot about it? Is is suitable to use on a lewis winch? What is the size and load rating like? I really like the winch and would love to find a safe way to keep using it.
Thanks Nick


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## AT sawyer (May 3, 2017)

Dirtscooter5 said:


> I have seen some info on Amsteel rope, buy don't know a whole lot about it? Is is suitable to use on a lewis winch? What is the size and load rating like? I really like the winch and would love to find a safe way to keep using it.
> Thanks Nick


I've used it for highlines but not on my Lewis. I know that it's getting lots of use in the 4X4 world. It's very slippery, so you'd have to keep a lot of wraps on the drum to prevent it from slipping. It doesn't do heat or friction very well.


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## Dirtscooter5 (May 3, 2017)

okay sounds good thanks, would you recommend putting the 3/16 amsteel or maybe step up to 1/4?


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## AT sawyer (May 3, 2017)

I haven't used it on a Lewis, so I'd just be guessing. What I don't know about those machines is how much total torque the gearing could take. If you upsize your rope and run a 660 on it, you could overstress the gearbox. I'd pose that question to the Lewis company POC.


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## Dirtscooter5 (May 4, 2017)

okay I don't plan to ever put the winch back on my 660. It will probably stay on my 362 possibly try it on my 461 if I run it awhile and feel the cable can handle it. I think the roll pin on the drive hub is made to shear if the winch is overstressed but its never sheared on me only broken cables


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## Dirtscooter5 (May 7, 2017)

Well I ordered 100' of 1/4" amsteel blue I will post when I get it put on and try it out.


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## AT sawyer (May 7, 2017)

Be sure to file away any burrs or nicks on the Lewis winch fairlead and any place the Amsteel will travel, including the side plates of snatch blocks if you use those. Amsteel is a fiber and much less resistant to abrasion than steel cable.


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## Dirtscooter5 (May 7, 2017)

okay I'll check it over for burs and such before I put the amsteel blue on. hopefully I made the right choice and will like it okay


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## Ted Jenkins (May 8, 2017)

Mine has 12,000 lb aircraft cable with 600'. My targeted weight is comfortable at 8,000 lb. It has always been chained to something that is secure. Trees and solid stumps make pretty good anchors. When ever the anchor chain gets a little loose it will bounce around a bit. It has loaded large logs on trucks, stacked logs 20' high and dragged logs several hundred feet up embankments. In 35 years it has not slipped, but it is over engineered. Would like to set it up to be fully remote controlled. Thanks


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