Hey Fellas, just want to get some opinions on the easiest way to skid Madrones for firewood. I live in SW Oregon and have a commercial permit to cut standing seasoned madrone in forestry land. Most of our terrain is very steep and most all the wood has to be pulled uphill to road/landing. Currently i use 200ft of 7/16 cable with 1 or 2 6" snatch blocks. Only problem is when its wet(which is often) The red clay in the area turns to slime. You can't get good traction to pull nice and steady. Lots of run and gun with your truck which beats it up pretty good. I have done alot of research on capstan winch's and they seem pretty interesting. Has anyone had similar experience using one in my kind of situation? Logs can be pretty heavy as well. 16" to 24" base and any were from 20-50ft long. Ive seen http://www.portablewinch.com/en/ video's on youtube, but pulling a 20ft limbed straight log on flat grass really is not that impressive. I also saw an electric capstan rated at 8000lbs on Ebay which looked real interesting. Should of probably bought it an got a little generator to run it. If anyone has a slick setup please post picks. Thanks fellas!
Snatch Block VS Capstan
- Thread starter jaystomp
- Start date
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MaddBomber
ArboristSite Operative
Depends upon the size of the capstan... Hopefully it's not a homemade rig. The company I work for uses a Warn Thermometric winch rated at 16,000lbs, and that sometimes get bogged. A capstan has the benifet of constant pull power... it should work fine using quality products. It's worth a shot. Keep the trucks ready just in case.
by the way 3 snatch blocks can double your pulling power and line speed... hope this helps, good luck.
by the way 3 snatch blocks can double your pulling power and line speed... hope this helps, good luck.
what does your company use the 16000 warn capstan for? I believe everytime you run your cable through a snatch block at 180deg angle you double your pull. Three blacks at 180deg opposing angles should equal triple power. Thanks for the feedback bud!
badmotorfinger
New Member
I've got a Simpson winch with a 49cc Tecumseh engine. It pulls steady but slooowww. If you're using it in a commercial setting that might be frustrating.
Whereabouts in SW OR are you? Anywhere near Myrtle Creek?
Whereabouts in SW OR are you? Anywhere near Myrtle Creek?
Spotted Owl
ArboristSite Guru
Can you 2, 3, or 4+ part you line to rduce weight and tension. Basically make a block and tackle with your snatch blocks. If you could do this you might be able to get away from a capstan. Capstans can be a very spooky thing when things start going wrong. It's hard to get totally out of the bite when your running one. If something bad happens you're gonna be right in the thick of things. The capstan is my least favorite part of my job and we use them regularly under very heavy load and strain. Thats a PTO capstan on a big set up. If you go with a capstan you might think about a heavy rope instead of a wire cable set up. The rope will generally be a little more forgiving and will give you more warning signs of problems before breakage than cable will.
Owl
Owl
Zodiac45
Paleostoveologist & Sawwhisperer
Yeah I sure agree with that statement. Scary stuff. When I was working the stern of a scallop dragger, you had too be constantly in the bite. No more. I'm too old for it now!
thanks for the response fell'as. lots of helpful info. i have a buddy who is a linesman and can get me high strength capstan rope 18,000lbs to 20lbs working load. I agree, i would not be interested in using cable on a capstan.
A bit confused here. The thread title is Capstan vs snatch block. I don't see the "vs" bit. A capstan puts a direct pull on whatever it is attached to, it doesn't multiply force. A single snatch block properly rigged will double the pulling power (and half the load speed).
Seems to me that you still need the snatch blocks even with a capstan.
Harry K
Seems to me that you still need the snatch blocks even with a capstan.
Harry K
i will try to clarify. When a skid logs currently i use a cable and 1 or 2 snatch blocks to pull the logs up the hill. The VS in my question is to anyone that has used a capstan to do the same job. the amount of snatch blocks used between both types of rigging is not what i reallly care about. What i am after is if anyone has used a capstan winch to do the same thing, and what there experience is with a capstan as i have never used one before. If a capstan was strong enough to do the job the advantages might be worth it to look into buying one. I like the idea of hauling around easy to handle rope vs the 100lb of awkard to handle cable i use now. Also being able to see the log being skidded vs being in the cab of my truck when pulling my cable. Also using less gas vs running my 460 big block, and being able to use any length of rope. But if it doesnt do the job(the capstan) none of the advantages matter. Hope this clarifies
Cowboy Billy
ArboristSite Operative
I ran a small soil sampling drill rig for seven years. We ran a soil sampling spoon with a 140lb hammer and rope on a capstan. Or a 350lb weight for driving casing. They can be very dangerous. When the rope gets wet it gets very grabby. I have had the rope grab and take the hammer 30' to the top of the boom then break the 1 1/4" rope 10-15 times over the years. Also getting dirt on the rope and feeding it through the drum can make it grab harder. Getting the rope going under a loop on the drum can cause it to pile up on the drum. Also you have to be carefull not to to stand on the free end of the rope. Because if the rope gets caught up in the drum it can and will pull the free end back in and should you foot be cought in a loop of the rope bad things happen.
Be carefull and safe!!!
Billy
Be carefull and safe!!!
Billy
