# Rigging cable and chokers



## Trx250r180 (Jun 15, 2015)

Trying to get logs up a hill ,i rigged up a block in a tree and a 150 foot cable tied to my small loader on a road above ,made a redneck yarder i guess ,i got hung up on a stump ,stepdad (retired logger)told me to turn the bell to the other side of the log (,i was sitting there with a small peavy trying to roll the thing ),and it will roll off the stump ,and it did ,and pulled up the hill ,any tricks or tips anyone would like to share for getting trees up a hill ? Any cable tricks or tips would like to share ? I do not think straitening cable chokers is possible ,but if there is a way ,i have 2 with 2 curls i would like to relax out of them .


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## treeslayer2003 (Jun 15, 2015)

i don't know of a way to straighten cable.........some times a very heavy load helps some, but i suspect a load heavy enough to straiten a 9/16 choker would break it.

in conjunction with where you hook the bell, i have run the choker or main on one side or the other of a stump to twist a log around obstacles.
have also run around a trash tree to change direction of pull while pulling one over.


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## northmanlogging (Jun 15, 2015)

pull the bell around, making a bight in the choker line, really helps em roll then.

I put a twist in every saw log, that way as soon as the winch tightens up and the logs roll all the limbs I missed are on the top side, makes my skidder saw chain last longer then 2 turns.

If you are using sliders you can hook one choker on a stump and the end choker to yer log and get them to redirect a bit, its hard on the cable though, easier then dragging a snatch block around.

For straightening... a really heavy load, if you can suspend it over night will work good... ish...

The old timers around here told me my grandpappy (never met him) would hang the biggest heaviest hemlock from a new choker over night, and the chokers wouldn't break as fast.


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## 2dogs (Jun 16, 2015)

LIFT! Yeah I know it's run what you brung but any lift will help. On kinks you can sometimes lay the bend over a stump and put some tension on it and then whack it with a BIG mallet. Like a mallet you make with a hunk of firewood and a hefty limb. Otherwise try never to bend it or kink it and don't use a big choker on a little log.


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## Gypo Logger (Jun 16, 2015)

Brian if your stuck behind a stump, flush the stump or make an angular cut on the butt flare.
Dont make a career out of this ok?
Just get a 440B and your problems will be over. Lol


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## Gypo Logger (Jun 16, 2015)

Speaking of skiddin' muh wood, isnt this a great pic?


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## bnmc98 (Jun 18, 2015)

I work a lot of steep ground and we use a line skidder for all of it. I usually try to quarter them down the hill or lay them almost sidehill if I can; that way they don't go for a ride and make more work or get caught directly below the stump. Getting hung up on stumps if you can't get them in the air will be inevitable. So you learn to look for the ones that are going to get stuck right a way. I use the bell on the opposite side trick and sling the choker cable between the butt and the stump. It will get it around the first one but no guarantees as it goes up the hill. Rehooking sucks as it is a lot of up and down but it will teach you in the long run how to do it more efficiently. Like gyppo said you can cut the stump to the angle of the ground to get it by on the bad ones you can see ahead of time or the high ones, but that is time. Leave stumps as low as possible (duh) If you have several chokers on you can hook heavier logs on the closer chokers and pull smaller ones out of obstacles with the end chokers. But don't put it in too much of a bind or you will curl your mainline. Without pics and what you are leaving its hard to tell all the tricks. Sometimes you can leave a longer tail on the log (hook the choker further down the trunk), and that can help float the butt a little (sometimes but it depends on the terrain) but really sucks in leave timber as it will snag trees and pull them over or you will get caught and have rehook time.

Straightening curled chokers, try to lay the curl on a stump and beat the cr** out of it with a hammer.

If you have a real bad one that you know will get hung up, try side-hilling it with a block face to keep it on the stump. Then you can trim most of the hinge off and yank the rest with the line.

Good luck!


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## Trx250r180 (Jun 18, 2015)

here is the spot was dragging them from ,was not too bad really ,a bigger machine would have been nice ,but i got em out ,the little one to the right was the last one out ,so that is all i got pics of ,the bigger ones are milled up now 




couple stumps in the way of this lil guy ,so i did the bell roll trick


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## Trx250r180 (Jun 18, 2015)

got a block in a tree to the right ,skid steer for pulling ,time to back up and see if the rigging worked and it rolls around the stump 




i see a log ,and it brought a lot of limbs up with it 




This is nothing like you guys do ,but for a guy milling at home that needs to get trees up the hill ,it gets the job done


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## dor-moor hands (Jun 19, 2015)

To break in wire rope you want to start with low weights and work your way up. It helps set all the strands. Any bad curls can cause you big problems. I am not a logger but I do rigging and crane work. I would agree that more work can straighten out wire rope but once it bends it will be weaker in that area.


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