Something I made that saves my ropes and doubles my production

[calamari]

I'm 80 years old and have come to the conclusion that there are very few new things in the world, only things that are reinvented. That said I imagine this is used all over but I just hadn't seen it. It's two grab hooks on three links of chain. I apologize if I'm plowing old ground.
I pull my logs with my 4wd pickup like a lot of guys out west. Most of the wood is cut on the national forest or single problem trees on private property. It's surprising how heavy a log you can pull in 4wd low range but often the pulling involves a rope run through one or more snatch blocks to pull the log to the block and if it's set high enough to stack the log too. I use a 14' tow chain that used to only allow me to pull one log at a time because the closest I could put my rope was 4-5' from the log. I'd double the chain back on itself which usually left a doubled chain about that length. It doesn't seem like an issue but surprisingly it was for me. That's when I made this "whatever you call it" to see if it would help get the log closer to the block.
I hooked the chain around the log and then clipped the WYCT to the chain next to the log making a loop in the chain that I ran the rope through. I noticed that left a good length of chain so I choked another log with that end and put the WYCT between the two logs tight to the choker hooks. I could then pull two logs at once and stack them on the pile.
I just bought a 14' 3,300 WLL chain I'm going to cut in half and have two more chokers I can put hooks on and clip them to the big choker and pull 4 logs at once. Now if my back and transfer case can just hold up for 10 or 15 more years, I'll have it knocked.

 

[rwoods]

Here's my former go to WYCI after a few tugs on a large red oak stem with a CAT D7H. The stem was double chained. The WYCI will be replaced with a stronger chain and hooks. The detachable link comes in handy, but it is not for serious loads.



Ron

 

[calamari]

I knew I was never going to spend the patent checks from my WYCI.
A D-7 has way more grunt than my PU but the WYCI actually didn't fail. Just a bad hook.

 

[rwoods]

It was way too much of a load, but that was all I had available. As you can see in the picture, the CAT put a serious dent in the chain link that was attached to the dozer line before the hook relieved the load. Before its destruction, I found my WYCI most useful for skidding with my compact tractor and small crawler.

I had wanted to try one of these, but I can't find one with 3/8" hooks so I will just make an upgraded WYCI.



I hope I am still at it at 80, I have so much more to learn.

Ron

PS Picture of my crawler. You were 14 or so when it was built.

 

[calamari]

Thanks for the replies. I stopped posting on this site because of all the jerks on it. Good to meet someone different.
So does that Dear John have a donkey engine you start to turn the main engine over? Amazing what ether can do.
I like the surplus truck. M34, 39? I've never seen one that seems to have counter weights on it wheels. What's happening there?

 

[calamari]

I tried to find that pear ring with 1/4" grab hooks but like you said they don't seem to exist. You're going to have to make one.

 

[fields_mj]

I pull my logs with my 4wd pickup like a lot of guys out west. Most of the wood is cut on the national forest or single problem trees on private property. It's surprising how heavy a log you can pull in 4wd low range

I'm not surprised at all. When I bought our house, the farm I was cutting my firewood on had some really deep ravines, and that's where the firewood was at. The property had been select logged (1100 trees IIRC, and you really couldn't tell they had cut any when they were done). The trees were mostly oaks with some hickory mixed in, and the remaining tops were 24" or more at the base. I'd cut 10 to 15 pcs of firewood off the end and stack it across the tail gate to add weight to the bed ('93 F250 with 7.3L IDI). I'd limb the small stuff off that I didn't want to cut, and then drag the rest out with the truck. I'd normally have to use 3 or 4 15' to 20' chains to reach the tree with the truck, and make several pulls moving 8' to 10' at a time and then backing up and repeating. It was slow going, but it got the job done.

I've changed my process noticeably since then, mainly because I'm cuttings a lot farther from home. I have a 15' 10k equipment trailer that I used to haul stuff home. I limb the trees and cut them into approx 16' or 32' logs, then drag those out to a landing area using either my truck or a tractor (old Ford 1710) if the ground is wet. Truck is MUCH faster, and if the ground is frozen or dry it can drag a LOT more weight. I normally use 10' or 20' 1/4" G70 chains to drag them with, but will also use a G70 5/16 chain if I'm pulling several logs with one chain. Once at the landing, I have an attached to the back of my trailer. I move it with a 13K winch mounted to the tongue of the trailer. I made a couple of chain saddles out of some 1/2" rebar, and they've come in handy for making a noose or connecting to the middle of a chain. I also made some skidding tongs that I normally use with the log arch. I've used them to skid logs behind the truck and tractor too, but I prefer wrapping a chain around them because I can often use a saddle to wrap the chain around 2 or more logs. Ideally I do that twice with each load and skid 4 32' hickory logs at a time. I also built an overhead rail that sits in the front stake pockets. It has a piece of 2" x 2" x 1/4" sq tube that runs across the top with a short piece of 2-1/2" squ tube slid over it. The short piece has a couple of ears welded to it and a 1/2" bolt goes through them. I use that to hang a snatch block off of it to keep my winch rope up out of the way when I'm loading the trailer.

The big log in the pics is from a large pin oak in my back yard that died. I took three 12' logs to the saw mill to have sawn into boards. The bottom two logs I had to saw in half first in order to get them loaded on the trailer, and the very bottom log (pictured) I could only haul one at a time. The weight wasn't really an issue, it was how they would have sat if I had tried to take both halves at once. The other pics are of a partial load of locust.

 

[calamari]

Thanks for sharing how you work your wood. Personally, I think if you want innovation perfectly usable home made tools, look to firewood cutters. If you want dogma and stuff bought from stores, ask an arborist.
You must sell a lot of firewood. I used to just cut what we need although I'm now trying to keep 3-4 years ahead of that for when I can't do it anymore.
Since being in California just east of Sacramento, it doesn't get too cold for very long. We will burn 1.8 cords to almost 3 depending on the year. I keep track.
So what about those counterweights on your truck rims? I can see an episode of "Roadkill" just about those wheels.

 

[Del_]

Thanks for sharing how you work your wood. Personally, I think if you want innovation perfectly usable home made tools, look to firewood cutters. If you want dogma and stuff bought from stores, ask an arborist.

Most arborist give their firewood away.

Plus arborist seldom work in the woods and there isn't much 'dragging of logs with a pickup' going on in finished landscapes.

Wood is a low value waste product of the industry.

Ditto with wood chips.

 

[fields_mj]

If I were going to climb trees or even just routinely work from an elevated position, I'd buy ALL of my gear from the store so that I had some level of assurance that my gear was built to an acceptable level of quality for the application I intend to use it in.

 

[calamari]

I agree that some stuff has to be purchased from "the store." It's just when those people look down on people who fabricate their own tools where it becomes an issue for me anyway. Lots of guys have been doing it that way for 50-60+ years w/o an injury and only the occasional scare. Some have been up in trees cutting big limbs and can still count to 11 with their appendages. Knowing your limitations is the real safety method.

 

[rwoods]

Thanks for the replies. I stopped posting on this site because of all the jerks on it. Good to meet someone different.
So does that Dear John have a donkey engine you start to turn the main engine over? Amazing what ether can do.
I like the surplus truck. M34, 39? I've never seen one that seems to have counter weights on it wheels. What's happening there?

The crawler has a 6 volt starter. The two cylinder engine probably isn’t much more powerful than many pony motors.

The truck is a 1997 M35A3 which was built on average from 3 M35A2 carcasses. It has a CAT diesel and Alison 4 speed automatic. The wheel weight is to counter balance the CTIS valve, plumbing and the steel rock shield. The other “upgrades” were air assisted steering (not spectacular), hydraulically driven winch vs pto driven, super singles, smaller steering wheel and air ride driver’s seat.

Ron

 

[calamari]

Thanks Ron. I assume the CTIS valve is to inflate the tire while your driving. It and the shield must be pretty heavy given the size of the counter weight.
You've got great machines that you've modified to suit your needs and personality. Always fun to see such thing.

 

[rwoods]

I enjoy making things. If I could weld, I wouldn't get any wood cut.

Ron

 

[fields_mj]

I enjoy making things. If I could weld, I wouldn't get any wood cut.

Ron

Not hard to learn, and the equipment doesn't have to be terribly expensive either.

 

[calamari]

One thing, have you had trouble with your re-bar pear link collapsing? A friend was an iron worker most of his life and I remember him telling me that rebar was "soft" and was meant to be able to be bent more than once.
I found a number of outlets with 5/16" pear links for sale but have since lost the links. I bet a 5/16"grab hook would hold 1/4" chain OK or you could enlarge a 1/4" chain grab hook slightly to fit the 5/16" pear link.

 

[fields_mj]

I've not had any problems with them deforming. That was a concern of mine originally, but I've used them with the log arch to pick up some pretty sizable logs without issue. Generally, my 13k winch starts to struggle long before the steel becomes an issue because I'm on the 2nd to the outer wrap of cable. I use them quite a bit when I'm dragging logs and loading them onto the trailer. Sometimes the chain between the arch and the log is still a bit snug once the log gets on the trailer. If I have a saddle already on the chain, it makes it real easy for the winch to grab it and drag it forward to where the log actually needs to be, and create so slack so I can unhook the chain from the arch and log. That was a lesson I only had to learn once...

5/16 grab hooks work fine with both 1/4" and 3/8" chain. I don't use a grab hook with that link. The saddle acts like a grab hook on one end. The other end is either grabbed by a slip hook (like what's on my winch), or I wrap the chain through and use its grab hook to choke up and hook onto itself. The link in the picture is one of the first ones I made, and I was a little to stingy with the rebar. I should have made the narrow end a little longer so that the links would slide a little farther down into the slot. I lost of few of them in the woods, so I made a few more last year and corrected that issue.

 

[Del_]

I'm not surprised at all. When I bought our house, the farm I was cutting my firewood on had some really deep ravines, and that's where the firewood was at. The property had been select logged (1100 trees IIRC, and you really couldn't tell they had cut any when they were done). The trees were mostly oaks with some hickory mixed in, and the remaining tops were 24" or more at the base. I'd cut 10 to 15 pcs of firewood off the end and stack it across the tail gate to add weight to the bed ('93 F250 with 7.3L IDI). I'd limb the small stuff off that I didn't want to cut, and then drag the rest out with the truck. I'd normally have to use 3 or 4 15' to 20' chainView attachment 1192495s to reach the tree with the truck, and make several pulls moving 8' to 10' at a time and then backing up and repeating. It was slow going, but it got the job done.

I've changed my process noticeably since then, mainly because I'm cuttings a lot farther from home. I have a 15' 10k equipment trailer that I used to haul stuff home. I limb the trees and cut them into approx 16' or 32' logs, then drag those out to a landing area using either my truck or a tractor (old Ford 1710) if the ground is wet. Truck is MUCH faster, and if the ground is frozen or dry it can drag a LOT more weight. I normally use 10' or 20' 1/4" G70 chains to drag them with, but will also use a G70 5/16 chain if I'm pulling several logs with one chain. Once at the landing, I have an attached to the back of my trailer. I move it with a 13K winch mounted to the tongue of the trailer. I made a couple of chain saddles out of some 1/2" rebar, and they've come in handy for making a noose or connecting to the middle of a chain. I also made some skidding tongs that I normally use with the log arch. I've used them to skid logs behind the truck and tractor too, but I prefer wrapping a chain around them because I can often use a saddle to wrap the chain around 2 or more logs. Ideally I do that twice with each load and skid 4 32' hickory logs at a time. I also built an overhead rail that sits in the front stake pockets. It has a piece of 2" x 2" x 1/4" sq tube that runs across the top with a short piece of 2-1/2" squ tube slid over it. The short piece has a couple of ears welded to it and a 1/2" bolt goes through them. I use that to hang a snatch block off of it to keep my winch rope up out of the way when I'm loading the trailer.

The big log in the pics is from a large pin oak in my back yard that died. I took three 12' logs to the saw mill to have sawn into boards. The bottom two logs I had to saw in half first in order to get them loaded on the trailer, and the very bottom log (pictured) I could only haul one at a time. The weight wasn't really an issue, it was how they would have sat if I had tried to take both halves at once. The other pics are of a partial load of locust.

Really nice equipment you've built there!

What is the hinged lifting device that you built called?

I've got the exact same trailer you have. It must be a design that has been copied all over the country.

 

[fields_mj]

I call it an arch. I made it out of 2" x 2" heavy wall steel tube. I made a pair of Y type yolks that sit in the rear stake pockets and use 1/2" grade 8 bolts as the hinges. I put a 1/2" bolt in the bottom to keep the yolks from coming out of the pockets. I generally leave them in unless I'm putting side pannels on to haul a load of manure for the garden. The predecessor to that big log in the picture actually bent the arch. If memory serves, it was in excess of 3' across and 12' long and likely weighed in the neighborhood of 4,000 to 5,000 lbs.

I didn't cut that log in half, and picked it up too close to the center so that its entire weight was on the arch. 3/4 of the way up, the log spun crossways of the trailer at which point one of the legs started to buckle. I was able to cut it, straighten it, and reweld it, then I added some gussets to make sure I could load the rest of the logs.

Its on my trailer now. If you are interested in one, shoot me a PM and I'll take more pics of it and send them to you. I think I've also got a drawing that gives the orginal cut dimensions of the 2x2 tube that I used.

 

[calamari]

Most arborist give their firewood away.

I just saw this and it sure isn't the case around the central California's foothills. The climate changes have really hurt the oak with them breaking off like bad broccoli. A big blue oak broke off in our yard a couple weeks ago that I'm removing and will be the subject of another thread.
In addition to the big supply of broken oak, they are pulling up walnut and almond orchards like crazy. You can see big truck and trailers heading down the highway that follows the Sacramento River full of split almond and walnut stacked neatly and ready to pull off in 1/2 cord pallets.
I've gotten free oak by looking on Craig's list but it was always individual problem trees that the property owner wanted removed. The tree crews removing trees for to create defensible space, if the owner doesn't want the wood will chip it or sell it.