Lewis Winch/chainsaw modification questions....

[smithie55]

Adrpk: Still cutting that same log, hey, smithie?

Ya still at it, as you can see it is pretty slow going, I swear I'll never get to the end of that ole log!!...........:monkey:

There is absolutely no place to anchor the winch without the cable digging into the edge of the bank. I have to anchor the winch on the other side of the road

Do you have a chain or cable that you could fasten on the other side of the road which would then allow you to place the winch at the edge of the bank?
How far from the edge of the bank to where the log is?
Can you get a vehicle anywhere's near the log?
What's the diameter of the log?
Can you use a chainsaw mill to slab the log and then yard the cants up the hill?
When you get to the point of yarding the log peel the bark off it will slide better provided the bark will come off.
Also when you use the Lewis Winch there is a tricky little thing that you will find challenging. When you let off the throttle and there is any tension on the cable the winch will start to spin in the opposite direction which will allow the log to start heading back down the hill, and the hand brake on the winch doesn't work well while under extreme tension, plus its hard to get a hand transfered from the winch to the brake in time to stop the winch.
Can you post any pics of what you are wanting to do?

 

[aquan8tor]

I was a little worried about whether or not the winch would let the load slide back if you let off the throttle. Hmm......
To clarify, there are trees on the other side of the road that I can anchor to, but nothing that'll allow me to get a line above the first set of logs to move. I may be able to get some around the second set, but my 23" cherry logs that I want to saw now are really nowhere near any other overhead trees. I don't have a long enough chain to get the winch to the edge of the hill, and even if I did, when I let off the throttle, they'd just slide back down.


As I said earlier, I don't have the winch yet--its still on the way, and taking forever. Gotta come from BC, Canada to Virginia. Snail mail. The really heavy logs I wanted to mod. the winch for are a project for the spring, likely.

 

[aquan8tor]

oh yeah.

50 feet from edge of hill to log.
NO WAY a vehicle is getting near except to road.
dia of this one--23", but there are some 36"+ logs that aren't ready yet.
length is more an issue for me really--some I'd like to pull out at 20 feet, just to make things more efficient.
I could slab it, but I really don't want to saw up anything where it is lying.

 

[smithie55]

Good Luck Man

Keep us posted, hope it works out.
Are you able to post some pics of the area and the logs?
Really interested to see how you work it out.
Later

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

You could anchor the cable end at the top of the hill, and attach the winch to the log. Then the cables not getting dragged through the hill. Also you would be there to babysit it, maybe even throwing rounds under it to reduce friction between the log and the ground.

 

[aquan8tor]

You could anchor the cable end at the top of the hill, and attach the winch to the log. Then the cables not getting dragged through the hill. Also you would be there to babysit it, maybe even throwing rounds under it to reduce friction between the log and the ground.

That's the solution. I can't believe that I didn't think of it. Thanks, Mike.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Sure, sometimes doing stuff backwards works better.
Another thought about getting some lift, which would really help, is to get something to run the cable over at the top of the hill, or even on the hill.
If a few feet would help, you could stack some old pallets up and go over that.
Sometimes getting just enough lift so the front of the log isn't digging in is all it takes.
One time I made a tripod out of some 10' angle iron I had laying around and hung a pulley inside, that the cable ran through. It didn't work great because it tended to tip over, especially if the angle changed as I pulled. But if I had the winch attached to the load, so the cable didn't move through the tripod, I bet that would have worked better.
One could make a support out of anything they have laying around, 4x6s or whatever.
One other thing, take a cant hook and roll the log back and forth a little as you pull, that seems to help.
If you scratch your head long enough you can think up some good stuff. Some of my ideas worked great, others were complete failures.

 

[ASEMASTER]

check this out

check this out I made one for a co worker it's not to bad to build and worked great.
http://www.montanajacks.com/html/themes/atv_wood_cutting.htm