Pulling logs/sticks with rope?

[BeeVee]

Quite a while back I had a chance at more than ten cords of fire killed Jack Pine...( dead standing) that was more than 200 feet from the traveled portion of the slash . I figured if I fell the wood towards the road and limbed it then I could pull the tree length log out to the road by using a snatch block to get 90 degree pull on the log.
Problem was there wasn't anything to attach the block to, plus the pulling path was a mine field of stumps left by the cutters .
Next time that I was out there I brought along my 8 inch post hole auger and dug a hole about 4 feet deep in the sandy soil on the far side of the road from the trees . I then put an 8 inch (partly peeled) strong dry 20 foot pole in the hole . I had fastened a strong pulley (with rope)to the top before standing up the Gin Pole and my snatch block to the bottom of the pole near ground level .
Now after cutting enough trees for a 1/2ton truck load of 8 footers (about ten trees) I could pull them out over all the stumps and lay them across the road for easy bucking.
I used to take down my rope and top pulley everytime that I went home ...but I forget how I did that without climbing the pole or using a ladder......I musta had a rope loop tied to the top of the pole and used that to raise and lower another rope tied to the pulley containing the pulling rope(was more than 20 years ago)
Got more than ten cords from that bunch

 

[hammerlogging]

I can get a 500' spool of 1/4" Galv. wire rope with 7000 lb breaking strength for $103.60 plus shipping.

That'll make a bunch of great keychains.

 

[056kid]

I'm saying the 10 bones a cord he's paying the timber company vs. straight up buying the wood (prolly 180.00 a cord min.) or dealing with a ####load of hassles related to ropes and friction

gotcha

GET the 250' spool of 3/8" for 91 bucks....makes sense, no...?? Yes....???

100 feet of 9/16 swaged cable will run you around 250.00 on average. you might be supprised how crappy your 3/8 econo cable is for pulling logs. . .

 

[PB]

I look at it like this, if you're getting this stuff for 10 bones a cord then a 100' length of 3/8 cable with a bell and nubbin on one end and a loop on the other has already paid for itself after 1 cord, then you can pull as much as you want within reason and you don't have to worry about it frazzling itself apart from rubbing the ground in a couple spots

I look at it like this, if I am trying to SAVE money, why would I shell out money for an entire cord of wood for something that may see limited use over its lifetime? I see what you are saying and tend to agree with you, but if I am going to shell out $200+ for cable I might as well call and have a cord of wood delivered to my door. If i wasn't trying to save money on heating my house I would just buy the wood, but that defeats the purpose of having a wood stove in my opinion. I am not doing this on a commercial scale, all I asked was if the rope would work for my purpose not what would be best in the ideal situation. I know cable or chain is best, but we don't live in a perfect world where money falls from strippers g-strings.

 

[PB]

GET the 250' spool of 3/8" for 91 bucks....makes sense, no...?? Yes....???

+$70 for shipping and I can have almost a cord of wood.

 

[PB]

Cable is no where near as expensive as I thought it would be.
Erigging - Catalog
I believe I'm going to order some and try this out seeings as how it isn't going to bankrupt me like I thought it would.
I can get a 500' spool of 1/4" Galv. wire rope with 7000 lb breaking strength for $103.60 plus shipping. I guess the shipping is what is going to kill me.
250 feet for $52.55.

Or spend $9.99 for 100' of rope with greater breaking strength. Tell me the economical benefits of cable in this situation again?

ROPE SUPERPRO.63 5/8 BLUE CO-POLYMER 100' HANK *LQ* 733528

 

[imagineero]

just buck that stuff up and carry it out on your shoulder. 10", 100'? And you're only taking out 1 cord? You could nearly throw it that far if you tried hard enough You could have had it all bucked up and loaded in the time it took for this thread to eventuate, forget about the time to drive to your store, buy the rope, unravel and untwist it, splice it, run it, break it, resplice it etc etc...

 

[PB]

just buck that stuff up and carry it out on your shoulder. 10", 100'? And you're only taking out 1 cord? You could nearly throw it that far if you tried hard enough You could have had it all bucked up and loaded in the time it took for this thread to eventuate, forget about the time to drive to your store, buy the rope, unravel and untwist it, splice it, run it, break it, resplice it etc etc...

It's not the carrying that I am most concerned about, we did it last weekend. I want to use the rope to pull the logs out/off the pile so I can safely cut them on the ground. We are trying to save money with a little more sweat equity, but a trip to the hospital is not cheap. Standing on those piles with a running chainsaw is not an ideal situation. I would rather have it on the ground where I know something isn't going to break, give way or roll under my foot. If I can pull a log off of a pile and at the same time get it closer to the road I will, but I don't anticipate doing it every time I cut a tree.

Just for reference, seasoned cords of wood are going for $225 to $250 up here and that is if you can find it. Green is a lot cheaper but that won't do us any good this year. We bought the house in July and decided 2 weeks ago to have a wood stove installed. Next year is won't be an issue because we will have all year to plan. We are getting more than one cord from the timber company, more like 5-6 to make sure we have enough for the winter. Our goal is to have the stove installed, cut the firewood and heat our home for what we would pay in oil. At the current rate we would spend about $2800 on oil for the winter, but we will have about that much tied up into have a wood stove installed and 5 cords of firewood. So we are going to break even this year but the savings next year will be really nice, and even more the following winter. If we bought the firewood the return on investment isn't so great.

 

[flushcut]

Thanks guys, I will pick up some this weekend and give it a go. Any place to get a tutorial on splicing? I have never spliced rope but would like to learn.

Youtube has some good ones just practice on some junk rope first.

 

[avason]

Can you take some pics of your set-up when you finally get around to it. Sounds interesting and would like to see how you do it.

 

[Sport Faller]

I look at it like this, if I am trying to SAVE money, why would I shell out money for an entire cord of wood for something that may see limited use over its lifetime? I see what you are saying and tend to agree with you, but if I am going to shell out $200+ for cable I might as well call and have a cord of wood delivered to my door. If i wasn't trying to save money on heating my house I would just buy the wood, but that defeats the purpose of having a wood stove in my opinion. I am not doing this on a commercial scale, all I asked was if the rope would work for my purpose not what would be best in the ideal situation. I know cable or chain is best, but we don't live in a perfect world where money falls from strippers g-strings.

That 200 bones was for a 250' roll which you do not need, I had some 100'ers made up this year and I think I paid around 80.00 for each one

BUT, I realize you already got a bunch tied up in this new stove, so hopefully it's best case scenario and the rope works good for ya and you can snag out your winter's heat pretty cheap

 

[PB]

Youtube has some good ones just practice on some junk rope first.

I watched a bunch, and think I got it on the 3rd try. I am rather impressed with myself.

 

[PB]

That 200 bones was for a 250' roll which you do not need, I had some 100'ers made up this year and I think I paid around 80.00 for each one

BUT, I realize you already got a bunch tied up in this new stove, so hopefully it's best case scenario and the rope works good for ya and you can snag out your winter's heat pretty cheap

Thanks, are goal is a $0 oil bill. The $200 that i was talking about was for cable made locally, only 100' from the local skidder shop. It was either 3/8" or 5/16", can't remember but it was more than I wanted to spend.

 

[PB]

Can you take some pics of your set-up when you finally get around to it. Sounds interesting and would like to see how you do it.

I will try to remember, but no promises.

 

[avason]

Thanx man

 

[PB]

Sorry guys, no pics but the rope did work fine for pulling the logs. It didn't work, however, at preventing injuries. I think I broke my foot but we will see what the ER doc says in a little bit. I guess you can only plan for the worst and hope for the best, but the planning didn't pay off this time. I was loading a 20" round of birch into my truck and caught my foot on the brush underneath and felt a snap. Oh well, live and learn!

Stay safe!

 

[Gologit]

Sorry guys, no pics but the rope did work fine for pulling the logs. It didn't work, however, at preventing injuries. I think I broke my foot but we will see what the ER doc says in a little bit. I guess you can only plan for the worst and hope for the best, but the planning didn't pay off this time. I was loading a 20" round of birch into my truck and caught my foot on the brush underneath and felt a snap. Oh well, live and learn!

Stay safe!

Hmmmph! I told you to get some boots. Those second hand penny-loafers that you've been buying at the thrift store just don't make it. Good thing your day job involves a lot of sitting.

 

[Metals406]

Lee, find an oil rig/yard and befriend the "Tool Pusher" (or Yard manager). OSHA requires them to swap cable about every 5 minutes, and they toss it, and it's usually in great shape.

3/8" is a minimum IMO for pulling logs, and galvy cable is junk for loggin' work. The oil rigs use good carbon steel cable, and I bet you could even score some 1/2".

The best setup would be 100' sections, with an eye on one side and a T-Bar on the other. Take some beer money and have a couple 1/2" X 12' ring-chokers made up (or order them from Bailey's).

That setup will pull wood for you for a long time if you're not hard on the stuff, and you pull smart.

Good luck with that ankle mang.

 

[Sport Faller]

Lee, find an oil rig/yard and befriend the "Tool Pusher" (or Yard manager). OSHA requires them to swap cable about every 5 minutes, and they toss it, and it's usually in great shape.

3/8" is a minimum IMO for pulling logs, and galvy cable is junk for loggin' work. The oil rigs use good carbon steel cable, and I bet you could even score some 1/2".

The best setup would be 100' sections, with an eye on one side and a T-Bar on the other. Take some beer money and have a couple 1/2" X 12' ring-chokers made up (or order them from Bailey's).

That setup will pull wood for you for a long time if you're not hard on the stuff, and you pull smart.

Good luck with that ankle mang.

Yup, we had a couple sections of Boyd's crappy (but it was free) 5/16 cable we were using today, it broke twice, that #### was like a damn Boomslang whippin around. You can bet that this fat kid was behind a good sized tree or 3 when they put a good strain on it

 

[Metals406]

Yup, we had a couple sections of Boyd's crappy (but it was free) 5/16 cable we were using today, it broke twice, that #### was like a damn Boomslang whippin around. You can bet that this fat kid was behind a good sized tree or 3 when they put a good strain on it

Yeah, don't ever be in the bite, it'll cut you in half.

Putting an old towel (or sweatshirt) on lines actually does work good to keep the beast leashed (somewhat) if it breaks.