# Me again Skidder winch info



## G Jackson (Dec 2, 2010)

Sorry to bother you all again. I have found out that it is an eaton winch. Do I need any special end at the winch or just the plain cable? I tried a search but that didnèt pan out too well. Thanks again Gerry


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## logging22 (Dec 2, 2010)

I run timberjacks with eaton winches. What are you asking again? End of what? End of the mainline or how it attaches to the winch itself?


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## 380LGR (Dec 2, 2010)

Go with a 100 to 125 ft 7/8 swedged to 5/8 cable. You will only need a ferral on the end you stick in the winch becuase you will tie a knot on the end with the sliders.


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## logging22 (Dec 2, 2010)

What you guys think bout the new 'rope' by Amsteel? Just wondering.


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## 380LGR (Dec 2, 2010)

You can never convince me to run it..


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## 380LGR (Dec 2, 2010)

You got to run swedged cable. Non swedged will not slide through the sliders well.


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## logging22 (Dec 2, 2010)

Not gonna run it either. Too many $$$$, and after all it is rope, not steel.


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## 380LGR (Dec 2, 2010)

I got a T40 winch and you can snap 1 in swedged cable when u get pissed theres no way a rope will come even close.


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## logging22 (Dec 2, 2010)

380LGR said:


> I got a T40 winch and you can snap 1 in swedged cable when u get pissed theres no way a rope will come even close.



:agree2:


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## 056 kid (Dec 2, 2010)

380LGR said:


> I got a T40 winch and you can snap 1 in swedged cable when u get pissed theres no way a rope will come even close.



i snapped a brand new 3/4 swedge like it was thread. . . I cant imagin that rope would be even close. .

If you are asking about how to secure the cable to the drum, you can either use some wedges if it has the hole or just tie a knot. .


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## hammerlogging (Dec 2, 2010)

True, I tied a clove hitch for a skidder driver once and it held nicely, though I don't know how it did once the cable got shorter, and shorter, and shorter.


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## Slamm (Dec 2, 2010)

380LGR said:


> I got a T40 winch and you can snap 1 in swedged cable when u get pissed theres no way a rope will come even close.



Well as they say, ignorance is bliss. The Amsteel is stronger than the same diameter steel cable, it just can't handle a lot of abrasions, that being said, it can still handle a lot as I have used it for 2-3 years and as long as you go up one size larger than the steel size you will do fine. Its benefits to the skidder and operator are very nice, and when you do break it, I can resplice it back together with a pocket knife and electrical tape in under 4 minutes without any cussing, LOL.

It is so light that you can pull the whole winch line out and hold it off the ground with one handle. I could go on and on about the benefits, but it is obviously pointless at this point.

Sam


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## logging22 (Dec 2, 2010)

Slamm said:


> Well as they say, ignorance is bliss. The Amsteel is stronger than the same diameter steel cable, it just can't handle a lot of abrasions, that being said, it can still handle a lot as I have used it for 2-3 years and as long as you go up one size larger than the steel size you will do fine. Its benefits to the skidder and operator are very nice, and when you do break it, I can resplice it back together with a pocket knife and electrical tape in under 4 minutes without any cussing, LOL.
> 
> It is so light that you can pull the whole winch line out and hold it off the ground with one handle. I could go on and on about the benefits, but it is obviously pointless at this point.
> 
> Sam



Sam, is the wear something you can live with? Or does it wear out quickly?


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## G Jackson (Dec 2, 2010)

I will put a bell on the end where the chokers go. I was just wondering how the winch cable attaches to the Eaton drum. I have not seen the winch yet, I was just going to order the cable. Thanks again Gerry


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## joesawer (Dec 3, 2010)

you can order a cable a cable with a ferrule termination on one end and then put your sliders on and put a quick ferrule on the end on the drum. 
This is the way most pre made skidder winch lines are set up.
It looks like this
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=WL+58100K&catID=245

But for some reason I usually wind up tying a knot in the slider end. If you get a good overhand knot started in the end park the skidder on the tail an pull it down until it pops out. That will get it down tight enough to hook a choker on something and pull it down the rest of the way. When you get it pulled down good an tight cut the tail off leaving at least 4 or 6 inches. Use a torch if at all possible to cut the tail off as it does not fray and make a nest of jaggers like a cable cutter or axe will. 
Remember that you need a different slider for your termination.
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=17930&catID=242


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## tlandrum (Dec 3, 2010)

G Jackson said:


> I will put a bell on the end where the chokers go. I was just wondering how the winch cable attaches to the Eaton drum. I have not seen the winch yet, I was just going to order the cable. Thanks again Gerry



the bell or button goes on the winch end,tie knot in the other end,my skidder breaks knots pretty quickly so it would be a waist of time to have a button out there for a week. with a 60000lb winch nithing holds up very long. my skidder will break a choker and never slow down the mainline on the way back. and ill never,ever buy amsteel. every thing about logging is abrassive so if it cant handle abrassive stuff youd spend more time splicing it than using it where i log.


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## 056 kid (Dec 3, 2010)

this thread reminds me of stuffing frayed cable through the end slider


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## joesawer (Dec 3, 2010)

056 kid said:


> this thread reminds me of stuffing frayed cable through the end slider



That reminds me of why some good cotton gloves are so much better than leather! lol


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## G Jackson (Dec 3, 2010)

Thankyou everyone for the info. I will order the cable today. I am sure I will have some more questions once I start using the machine. It should be a real beast! Thanks again!


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## Slamm (Dec 3, 2010)

logging22 said:


> Sam, is the wear something you can live with? Or does it wear out quickly?



Well depending on how its used it will wear out more quickly than steel, but for instance I am using 3/4" and in 2+ years I am only on my third line. The first being 5/8" and we were pulling a lot of 36" and bigger trees it lasted long enough that I didn't feel I got screwed but I decided to go with the larger 3/4" and that made a huge difference. Due to the size of the trees and my smaller 540B skidders the 3/4" is perfect and this summer we pulled a lot of 2 tree hitchs where the mainline looked like a Z or W between trees and the opposing sliders and it held up just fine. Like I keep saying the benefit of amsteel is noticed if you aren't short sighted.

This is a fact it doesn't break any more or faster than Steel, I stand my 20,000lb machine on its tail and drag both locked tires with the amsteel and it doesn't break.

You or your operator will not be near as fatigued, because its like pulling yarn/string or rope, LOL, not some heavy steel ....... that alone will make up for the difference in production in a years time. Unerstand this, if you pull out the needed length right there at the back of the skidder and then walk to the two/three trees, you are not pulling anything, zero, all you are doing is carrying chokers. Now that is easy, you can't say that about a steel cable, period.

Amsteel doesn't get jaggers in it that stab your hands.

Amsteel can be spliced to full strength right in the middle. You can't do that with Steel cable, so if you mess up a steel cable in the middle you have not compromissed the strength a lot, and you have jaggers and pretty soon it will just break there and then you will be spending another $250-350 dollars on a new steel cable, or running around with a 60'er, LOL.

With Amsteel you can splice that new cable onto whatever length you still have on the winch after it has gotten shorter. For instance right now I only have about 50' on the winch, I ordered 130' more feet of Amsteel I will now splice that onto the end of the old 50'er and have 180' of cable on my winch, because you can hold a lot more Amsteel on a winch than you can Steel cable.

The benefits to the machine is (for 2-3 years that I have used it), I have not one single time had to free wheel the winch and pull the machine forward to line up the wraps correctly, like you do with steel cable, because if you don't you will damage the steel cable in the first 10 trees. You can set your winch to spool out as free as it can and never worry about having to hit the brake to stop a crows nest or prevent a mess on the spool, because Amsteel won't crows nest, which damages the steel cable badly and shortens its life. This all increases production and damage to your skidder because you aren't stopping production to relay a dumb steel cable, repeatedly. And anyone who says that aren't doing that is either lying or going through a lot of steel cables ......... again with Amsteel you will never have to do this.

You hear above what it takes to splice a steel cable, cut off wheels, Cutting torch, pulling the cable tight, having ends put on the cable, blah, blah, blah. My little girl or my grandma could splice Amsteel its that easy. I have pictures of the tools needed and what it looks like in my thread "Logging, sawing and something or another thread" in the Chainsaw Forum.

Again, Amsteel has two cons, cost and not as good of abrasion resistence.

The cost is easily made up for in the increased production ...... probably a lot.
The abrasion is made up in the ability to be spliced again from the old line to the new line and you don't or won't ever have to throw that last 50' section away, it just becomes part of the new line.

That is my experience with Amsteel, these other people are too smart to use it. You have to have enough vision and work/production to overcome the initial cost and to give the Amsteel time to pay for itself and see the benefits. If you lack either of those two things, then it might not be worth your time and you had better stick with the normal. I have a lot of logging work, I know I can and have benefitted from Amsteel in a production setting. I don't ever pull (pro) or break (con) an Amsteel line and wish I had just stuck with steel, like all the others that lack vision or work or a desire to run as efficiently as possible. I try new things in every industry that I have worked in and I push the envelope in every industry that I work in, because I'm not afraid to try new things, especially, when it increases the amount I make at the end of the week or it decreases the amount I have to work for the same production.

Later,

Sam


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## 056 kid (Dec 3, 2010)

Amen to some good cotton gloves!!



I worked with a guy that lived near WV, that dude was like 6'6'' well over 300lbs, he would take 6 chokers on the cable & tote them up the hill through brush like they where string, I wish he was around when we where pulling yarder cable. .

Haha, he sounded just like a damn cow when he coughed LOL. A GOL logger, but a damn good dude..


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## floyd (Dec 3, 2010)

This is relative. I have an ATV with rope instead of steel cable on it. I have broken the end 1x in a yr. I do skid some logs with it.

It is nice not getting splinters from the cable in my hands.

Guy at the ATV place claimed I would like the rope better for lifting the snow plow. 

I would get rope for this 3500# winch again.

I understand this is not a skidder. I still drag the line on the ground in the woods, over rocks, & whatever.


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