# Lift that log



## BobL

Here small something I whipped up a couple of weeks back to lift logs and only got a chance to try it out today. I usually use a smaller forklift loader to place the logs on some blocks to get them off the ground and on a bit of a slope. After milling a couple of slabs I like to lift one or both ends of the log further. I could use the loader but often it is being used for something else, and besides I wanted something mobile that I could take with me up bush. I have used a conventional hydraulic car jack but you have to get the logs a reasonable way above the ground first and they generally have a limited range of lift.

The "thing" is an adapter that loosely bolts onto the lifting claw of a hi-lift jack and goes underneath the end of a log allowing it to be lifted while addition blocks are added. 







The adapter is made from a couple of scraps of 1/4" angle iron welded into a box shape together with two main main cross pieces. The two short side pieces can be adjusted using wingnuts along the length of the cross pieces to suit the log diameter.






The adapter slides onto the main jack claw and if required can be held in place by a bolt, or the adapter can be screwed onto the end of a log.






This shows the typical milling angle and extent of lift I like to used. It looks a little silly on this little log but it should be able to lift one end of a 30" hardwood without any trouble.






I only milled this short boxtree today as I was sorting out and stacking stuff into the Seatainer. After the second slab I noticed that a couple of the cutters had been badly dulled and I thought I must have hit something but couldn't see anthing till I squirted water onto the first slab and found a 4" nail that the chain had cut right through. It's strange that it didn't really affect the cutting speed that much so I finished the log with the dull chain.


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## dustytools

Nice jack Bob! It looks a lot like the old jacks that my father in law used to use to press his tobacco bales.


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## woodshop

Great idea... this is one of those "hey why didn't I think of that" things. I use a floor jack to get my logs onto horses, but as you say, there are limitations on how high they lift at a time, so I built some extensions to fit on the jack that will lift the log high enough. I still usually have to do it in several stages temporarily blocking as I get higher. I solve the problem of getting the log high enough to get the jack under initially by rolling it onto a contraption I designed that get it 5 inches off the ground using the cant hook. For very large logs I dig a small hole under the end of the log to get the jack under. However, I like your method better, if only because it gets the log way higher in one shot. 

Lots of good ideas on this forum. What I need is a welder... and then need to learn how to use it!!


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## BobL

woodshop said:


> . . . . I still usually have to do it in several stages temporarily blocking as I get higher. I solve the problem of getting the log high enough to get the jack under initially by rolling it onto a contraption I designed that get it 5 inches off the ground using the cant hook. . . . . . .



Yep - you got it - that's primarily why I made it. I also need to get the ends of the logs 5" off the ground to get this thing started. I wouldn't mind seeing your "contraption".


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## woodshop

BobL said:


> Yep - you got it - that's primarily why I made it. I also need to get the ends of the logs 5" off the ground to get this thing started. I wouldn't mind seeing your "contraption".



It's just a 2x6 I cut out the top a bit from and put a T on the end to keep it upright. I put lag bolts on the "ramp" to facilitate the log going up when working it with the cant hook as sometimes the log slips instead of climbing. Rolling the log up onto this gets it off the ground enough that I can slip my floor jack under.


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## BobL

Looks good,  Will be storing that one away and maybe use it on my next contraption - I'm thinking of making a large scissor type jack out of 4 x 2 rectangular hollow steel section but I will need to get the logs 8" up onto it so some kind of ramp will be needed.


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## MikeInParadise

That is a good idea. I was just looking at one of those farm jacks on sale and wondering what my "Need" to buy one was.


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## poleframer

There are quite a few ways you can use those jacks! A few times when I've worked on beams over my head I've used 2" pipe sections slid over the post of the jack. A lot more stable than a jack on blocks.


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## aggiewoodbutchr

You seem to have endless time on your hands to play with your toys, Bob. I'm jealous!

Nice rig!


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## woodshop

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> You seem to have endless time on your hands to play with your toys, Bob. I'm jealous!
> 
> Nice rig!



Ya know... I was thinking the same thing  

I envy you Bob for having the time to invent and play as much as you seem to have. Don't you ever have a toilet to fix, roof that leaks or wife with a to-do list a mile long?????? Maybe I should move to Australia... think?


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## BobL

woodshop said:


> Ya know... I was thinking the same thing
> 
> I envy you Bob for having the time to invent and play as much as you seem to have. Don't you ever have a toilet to fix, roof that leaks or wife with a to-do list a mile long?????? Maybe I should move to Australia... think?



Guy's - if only you knew what I have to deal with at work you would understand why I do what I do but let's not go there or I will just get . . . .. One way for me to stay sane in this environment is to make stuff - I spend a lot of time at work at pointless meetings during which I design stuff - that's where BIL mill was largely designed - I find it saves a lot of time in the shed if plans are well formed in my head. 

Yep - wife has a todo list a mile long (including a leaking toilet and leaking roof ) but is very understanding as I am of her work problems which she deals with by a far less productive hobby than woodworking. She is also very handy herself, she does most of the garden  and got so tired of looking at the undercoated back windows that she painted them herself during here last holidays.    

To some extent I'm still living off the kudos from the loft rennovation I did during 2005 - I spent nearly every Saturday and Sunday up there for ~5 months creating a 15 x 12 ft space for mainly her stuff! Time is running out though and will have to get back to the mounting chores real soon.


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## 820wards

BobL said:


> Guy's - if only you knew what I have to deal with at work you would understand why I do what I do but let's not go there or I will just get . . . .. One way for me to stay sane in this environment is to make stuff - I spend a lot of time at work at pointless meetings during which I design stuff - that's where BIL mill was largely designed - I find it saves a lot of time in the shed if plans are well formed in my head.
> 
> Yep - wife has a todo list a mile long (including a leaking toilet and leaking roof ) but is very understanding as I am of her work problems which she deals with by a far less productive hobby than woodworking. She is also very handy herself, she does most of the garden  and got so tired of looking at the undercoated back windows that she painted them herself during here last holidays.
> 
> To some extent I'm still living off the kudos from the loft renovation I did during 2005 - I spent nearly every Saturday and Sunday up there for ~5 months creating a 15 x 12 ft space for mainly her stuff! Time is running out though and will have to get back to the mounting chores real soon.



Bob,

I just retired this past September and I know about Honey-Do lists. Once the list gets started it never gets smaller. I just finished remodeling a bathroom and since I did such a good job, she said I should do our second bathroom. Arrrggg...I'm building a mill for something I want to do along with my hunting-reloading/fishing/playing in a band and working on my cabin. So for you working guys, us retired guys don't have much extra time to spare.
jerry-


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## 046

good idea!


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## ericjeeper

*Is that an Original Hi Lift Jack?*

If so it is cool to see that a "Bloomfield jack" as we call em here makes it all the way down under. That factory is less that 50 miles from me..
You know you can get a longer beam for them. I called down there and talked to Dallas and he shipped me the 48 inch beam. It is more suitable for offroad rigs.. 
If you get stuck in a set of ruts. you jack one end or the other up high enough to clear the ruts then just push the vehicle sideways off the jack.
Always watch the handle on a Bloomfield jack.. They have knocked many a teeth out over the years.


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## BobL

ericjeeper said:


> If so it is cool to see that a "Bloomfield jack" as we call em here makes it all the way down under. That factory is less that 50 miles from me..
> You know you can get a longer beam for them. I called down there and talked to Dallas and he shipped me the 48 inch beam. It is more suitable for offroad rigs..
> If you get stuck in a set of ruts. you jack one end or the other up high enough to clear the ruts then just push the vehicle sideways off the jack.
> Always watch the handle on a Bloomfield jack.. They have knocked many a teeth out over the years.



Cheers guys! I've been looking around for such a jack for a while but finding an original in the sea of cheap chinese knock-offs was not that easy. The original ones (even used) also command a premium price but I managed to find this one through an Aussie woodworking forum. It was rusted solid and I spent a couple of hours freeing it up. 

I've amazed myself what you can do with a big cant hook and a jack like this. At one stage I had to untangle a pile of logs and I used the jack to lift one end of a log above another (that was well and truly stuck) and then the cant hook to roll the top log over the log underneath it.


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## peter nap

I use my farm jack with this hook from Northern:






works real well.


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## woodshop

peter nap said:


> I use my farm jack with this hook from Northern:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> works real well.


I have that very same pair of tongs from Northern, but I use them to pull logs from a tangled pile or drag them short distance to easier place to mill with a chain hooked to the bumper of my van. So add a 20ft chain and a pair of tongs to that list in that other thread of what to bring with you milling.


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## peter nap

woodshop said:


> I have that very same pair of tongs from Northern, but I use them to pull logs from a tangled pile or drag them short distance to easier place to mill with a chain hooked to the bumper of my van. So add a 20ft chain and a pair of tongs to that list in that other thread of what to bring with you milling.



I use them for the same thing but one day I was trying to figure out how to lift a Big log, and it dawned on me that I could just shackle it to my jack. So they get to do double duty.


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## 820wards

BobL said:


> Here small something I whipped up a couple of weeks back to lift logs and only got a chance to try it out today. I usually use a smaller forklift loader to place the logs on some blocks to get them off the ground and on a bit of a slope. After milling a couple of slabs I like to lift one or both ends of the log further. I could use the loader but often it is being used for something else, and besides I wanted something mobile that I could take with me up bush. I have used a conventional hydraulic car jack but you have to get the logs a reasonable way above the ground first and they generally have a limited range of lift.
> 
> The "thing" is an adapter that loosely bolts onto the lifting claw of a hi-lift jack and goes underneath the end of a log allowing it to be lifted while addition blocks are added.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The adapter is made from a couple of scraps of 1/4" angle iron welded into a box shape together with two main main cross pieces. The two short side pieces can be adjusted using wingnuts along the length of the cross pieces to suit the log diameter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The adapter slides onto the main jack claw and if required can be held in place by a bolt, or the adapter can be screwed onto the end of a log.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This shows the typical milling angle and extent of lift I like to used. It looks a little silly on this little log but it should be able to lift one end of a 30" hardwood without any trouble.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I only milled this short boxtree today as I was sorting out and stacking stuff into the Seatainer. After the second slab I noticed that a couple of the cutters had been badly dulled and I thought I must have hit something but couldn't see anthing till I squirted water onto the first slab and found a 4" nail that the chain had cut right through. It's strange that it didn't really affect the cutting speed that much so I finished the log with the dull chain.



Bob,
From the looks of that pile of wood behind your milled slab, it looks like you have about five years of milling ahead of you.
jerry-


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## BobL

820wards said:


> Bob,
> From the looks of that pile of wood behind your milled slab, it looks like you have about five years of milling ahead of you.
> jerry-



The piles right at the back is just firewood pile - see the log splitter right at the back. There are still some choice short bits to picked up of those piles which I do occasionally because its all pretty well bone dry although a lot of it is split but they still suit many of my small projects. eg this




Of the pile on the right I have milled all bar that bigger curved mother Redgum - still trying to work out what to do with it.

The trunk marked X was a beautiful sheoak log the loppers used for CS training - absolute tragedy!

I haven't been back to the yard for 2 months as it has been too hot to mill. I'm told there is a big pile awaiting me when I do return! The tree loppers can always generate logs faster than I can mill em!

CHeers


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## big daddio

woodshop said:


> Great idea... this is one of those "hey why didn't I think of that" things. I use a floor jack to get my logs onto horses, but as you say, there are limitations on how high they lift at a time, so I built some extensions to fit on the jack that will lift the log high enough. I still usually have to do it in several stages temporarily blocking as I get higher. I solve the problem of getting the log high enough to get the jack under initially by rolling it onto a contraption I designed that get it 5 inches off the ground using the cant hook. For very large logs I dig a small hole under the end of the log to get the jack under. However, I like your method better, if only because it gets the log way higher in one shot.
> 
> Lots of good ideas on this forum. What I need is a welder... and then need to learn how to use it!!



i've used one of the old bumper jacks with a chain [the hook that fits into the slot of the bumper acommodates a small link chain] to lift the end of a log. once used two of them to load a pallet of stickered lumber. most often used them when loading with ramps and the log slips.


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## TNMIKE

*Cool*

That adapter for the hi lift jack is pretty nifty. I will have one this weekend. Thanks for the great idea.


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## rayvil01

*Which model Hi-jack?*

Which model of Hi-jack do you guys recommend? 

I've never heard of Hi-jack. But, this looks like a must-have tool...or at least a should-have. Looks like the height is the major variable.

Thanks.


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## BobL

rayvil01 said:


> Which model of Hi-jack do you guys recommend?
> 
> I've never heard of Hi-jack. But, this looks like a must-have tool...or at least a should-have. Looks like the height is the major variable.
> 
> Thanks.



I would avoid the cheap chinese knock offs - this device works by steel rubbing on steel and if the steel is not reasonable quality the critical components will wear unnecessarily and that is not a good thing when you have a heavy log up in the air.


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## Works4me

ericjeeper said:


> If so it is cool to see that a "Bloomfield jack" as we call em here makes it all the way down under. That factory is less that 50 miles from me..
> You know you can get a longer beam for them. I called down there and talked to Dallas and he shipped me the 48 inch beam. It is more suitable for offroad rigs..
> If you get stuck in a set of ruts. you jack one end or the other up high enough to clear the ruts then just push the vehicle sideways off the jack.
> Always watch the handle on a Bloomfield jack.. They have knocked many a teeth out over the years.



I've always called that style jack a Wagon Jack, might be a local thing.


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## Haywire Haywood

when I was young, we had something like that called a bumper jack. The (steel) bumper of the car had slots to accept the jack head. No crawling under the car to find a place to put a cheesy scissor jack.

Ian


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## Freakingstang

Haywire Haywood said:


> when I was young, we had something like that called a bumper jack. The (steel) bumper of the car had slots to accept the jack head. No crawling under the car to find a place to put a cheesy scissor jack.
> 
> Ian



The high jack or high lift jack is the same principal but super heavy duty. I thought they were originally designed for military duty, but could be wrong. They were so veratile and practical that farmers and all kinds took a liking to them. The jacked up 4x4 guys really like them. 

If the stuck in a rut push over doesn't work, you can use it as a come-a-long if you have chain. They are very handy and the originals are hard to find.


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## peter nap

BobL said:


> I would avoid the cheap chinese knock offs - this device works by steel rubbing on steel and if the steel is not reasonable quality the critical components will wear unnecessarily and that is not a good thing when you have a heavy log up in the air.



Actually, I have one of the cheapies from Harbor Freight. I can't tell any quality difference between the two. I think they are both made in Uncle Wongs jack factory.

The Hi Lift accessories even fit my jack. My son has the expensive one. No practical difference.....except price.


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## BobL

OK found the original Hi-lift compay - I was googling for "high lift" instead of "hi-lift".

They also have an ebay store and you can get parts and accessories as well. They also have a PDF copy of the user instructions/manual for those who have lost theirs or buy a used jack where the instructions on the handle are worn away.

There are "all cast" and "cast and steel plate models" up to 60" of lift. The main lifting pin is designed to shear at 7000 lbs so that's your limit - I don't know what Uncle Wong's will do - in this case it probably won't break at all and the jack will break somewhere else - hopefully not with whatever you have up in the air. At 7000lbs you should be able to lift the end of a quite big log. As others have said you can also use it as a come-along to pull logs off piles.

The all cast 48" jack retails in Australia for ~US$150 - you guys in North America pay about than half that. 

BTW for those contemplating using these to lift logs, I do make sure the other end of the log can't roll using a couple of big wedges. I also build up the support under the lifted end as I go up, so if the jack tips over the log aint going too far. ie don't just hoick the log 3 ft into the air and then start building the support underneath it.


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## peter nap

*
There are "all cast" and "cast and steel plate models" up to 60" of lift. The main lifting pin is designed to shear at 7000 lbs so that's your limit - I don't know what Uncle Wong's will do - in this case it probably won't break at all and the jack will break somewhere else - hopefully not with whatever you have up in the air. At 7000lbs you should be able to lift the end of a quite big log. As others have said you can also use it as a come-along to pull logs off piles.
*


My HF cheapie cost about 35.00 and I bought the Hi Lift base and a few other High Lift accessories.
I have USED it. 
My Tractor weighs around 6500 pounds and It lifts it on a regular basis.
Just a note, these jacks are unstable and dangerous if you are not careful.

I have several shackles that I use with it. They can also be used as safty pins in case the pin does shear.
They are good to attach things (like the tongs) to it.

I'm not knocking the Hi Lift. It's a good jack but I am not convinced it's any better than the HF.


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## crowbuster

we have always called them a handy man jack. dad and g-dad used them to build fence, stretch fence, change tractor tires etc. I have an old one with a wooden handle that was painted a very dark green. My newer one is Red, not sure when or why the color change. Very valuable tool, always in my truckbox.

C.B.


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## Lloyd H

*HiLift jack*

As Clearance, Corsair4360m and Ericjeeper said, have a deep respect for a HiLift jack. They are incredibly handy thus one tends to do the difficult or near impossible with them. Especially watch the handle, never let go of it unless it is all the way up. If the ratchet slips with the handle up the handle stays up. If the rachet slips with the handle down even a little the handle goes up with great speed and force. Actually they are like a chain saw, handy but worthy of respect. I highly recommend both.


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## BobL

Freakingstang said:


> The high jack or high lift jack is the same principal but super heavy duty. I thought they were originally designed for military duty, but could be wrong. They were so veratile and practical that farmers and all kinds took a liking to them. The jacked up 4x4 guys really like them.
> 
> If the stuck in a rut push over doesn't work, you can use it as a come-a-long if you have chain. They are very handy and the originals are hard to find.



A few months ago I was in the milling yard packing up to go home and everyone had gone.

Go to start my diesel van - flat battery - left lights on.

Looking around the yard I see I am ~60 ft away from a locked truck - I figure if I can get the van to the truck I can use my jump leads to start the van.

Unfortunately pushing the van was not an option because it was parked in patch of sawdust and woodchips about 10 ft away from a hard limestone roadway. 

Enter HiLift, attach serious lengths of aborist rope to the van and truck and put the HiLift in between - took some time to clear the sawdust patch but otherwise it was dead easy. 

Once on the road I was able to push the van over to the truck and 10 minutes later I was away.


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## RikBrooks

I use an engine hoist that I bought from Autozone for about $200


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## gemniii

RikBrooks said:


> I use an engine hoist that I bought from Autozone for about $200



But Rik - most of BobL's tools are designed to be able to be packed into the log. Packing that engine hoist across a beach, or thru timber would be a royal pain.

One of the advantages of CSM is portability.

I would prefer an overhead gantry, but they are not very portable.


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## BobL

gemniii said:


> But Rik - most of BobL's tools are designed to be able to be packed into the log. Packing that engine hoist across a beach, or thru timber would be a royal pain.
> One of the advantages of CSM is portability.
> I would prefer an overhead gantry, but they are not very portable.



Yeah I looked at engine hoists but even a basic 1 ton gantry weighs around 200 lbs. A hi-lift jack weighs about 30 lbs and can lift over 3 tons. 

Also a wheeled gantry also needs a firm even surface to work on.


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## RikBrooks

Well there you go. For me I can bring the engine hoist to the tree. I guess we have different situations.


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## smokinj

BobL said:


> Here small something I whipped up a couple of weeks back to lift logs and only got a chance to try it out today. I usually use a smaller forklift loader to place the logs on some blocks to get them off the ground and on a bit of a slope. After milling a couple of slabs I like to lift one or both ends of the log further. I could use the loader but often it is being used for something else, and besides I wanted something mobile that I could take with me up bush. I have used a conventional hydraulic car jack but you have to get the logs a reasonable way above the ground first and they generally have a limited range of lift.
> 
> The "thing" is an adapter that loosely bolts onto the lifting claw of a hi-lift jack and goes underneath the end of a log allowing it to be lifted while addition blocks are added.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The adapter is made from a couple of scraps of 1/4" angle iron welded into a box shape together with two main main cross pieces. The two short side pieces can be adjusted using wingnuts along the length of the cross pieces to suit the log diameter.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The adapter slides onto the main jack claw and if required can be held in place by a bolt, or the adapter can be screwed onto the end of a log.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This shows the typical milling angle and extent of lift I like to used. It looks a little silly on this little log but it should be able to lift one end of a 30" hardwood without any trouble.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I only milled this short boxtree today as I was sorting out and stacking stuff into the Seatainer. After the second slab I noticed that a couple of the cutters had been badly dulled and I thought I must have hit something but couldn't see anthing till I squirted water onto the first slab and found a 4" nail that the chain had cut right through. It's strange that it didn't really affect the cutting speed that much so I finished the log with the dull chain.






Thats Slick I need one!


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## BobL

smokinj said:


> Thats Slick I need one!



This is the upgrade.

I also have upgrade II on the drawing boards.


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