Something I made that saves my ropes and doubles my production

[Del_]

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.

I appreciate your offer but I won't be making one.

I admire your handiness. I've seen the arch before and it is a great idea for converting a horizontal pull to a vertical lift. I was just wonder if it had a special name as it functions as much than just an arch.

I'm sure you are familiar with ' parbuckling, another neat idea.

D

 

[Del_]

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.

I imagine the firewood is going to the cities. I'm surprised you can even burn firewood is California.

Keep up the good work!

 

[fields_mj]

I appreciate your offer but I won't be making one.

I admire your handiness. I've seen the arch before and it is a great idea for converting a horizontal pull to a vertical lift. I was just wonder if it had a special name as it functions as much than just an arch.

I'm sure you are familiar with ' parbuckling, another neat idea.

D

Its what happens when a kid grows up on a farm and gets a degree in mechanical engineering while working at the campus machine shop. LOL

I've seen guys that load their trailers like that. Makes good sense, but my fenders are in the way too much.

 

[calamari]

I'm surprised you can even burn firewood is California.

It is surprising and not all air basins can do it. I live in Auburn, CA. where we can burn wood for heat without restrictions so far. If you drop down 1,500' and get into Sacramento, they have strict requirements for burning wood for heat due to winter inversions where a cold air layer forms a lid in that basin trapping the smoke next to the ground. Once a wind blows and stirs things up, burning is approved until another inversion forms.
I'm old enough to remember what smog was like in the valley and especially in the LA basin. I've had a healthy life and when I was in those areas before the Clean Air Act became active, it was really terrible. AS bad as the pictures you see of Beijing, China.
They used to burn the harvested rice fields too that are all over the Sacramento Valley and it was as bad with stubble smoke. They can't do that any longer and have to flood their fields with water and force the stubble into the ground for it to decompose. Better air, worse duck hunting.

 

[HavinFun]

Here’s a very useful tool for harvesting logs and moving stone. It’s a steel cable choker. Loop around object, push knobby end through the passage, and when you pull the chain end it tightens around log. Can use with a chain spider, but that bad boy is heavy. Only use for real large objects. But, if you were moving four or so large logs with a M352 or dozer it would save time and build your muscles.

 

[calamari]

That's a standard cable choker isn't it? Looks old and well used.
That chain setup scares me. Heavy as hell and looks a lot like some sort of Goth date night dress accessory.
Getting wood is bad enough but if Nancy knew there were ways I could move stone around, my life would be over.

 

[fields_mj]

Getting wood is bad enough but if Nancy knew there were ways I could move stone around, my life would be over.

You're looking at it all wrong. You need a loader with a grapple to move stone.... Right???

 

[calamari]

Thanks. I'll use that as the excuse for me not building a rock edifice of some sort for her although, she'll still think I'm just being lazy.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

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.



View attachment 1192310

My applause to you for 80 years of good living. Keep up the hard work and smart ways.

I was a bit confused by your first post in that I thought you had figured up a trick, fabbed up rig, etc to preserve the life of your ropes.
Unless I am wrong, YOU are showing us these hooks and chain setups to SAVE rope from using these and lengths of chains to drag logs.
I have also done most of my dragging, hauling, pulling work with chains, truck. skidsteer.

At 60 years old, my thoughts of tree climbing days have passed me by, but having ropes to process tops of trees to the ground have not.
Ropes and rigging gear are not cheap, so anything I can learn to preserve the ones I do buy, will go a long way. Thanks again.

 

[calamari]

I just wrote a long reply and somehow was able to lose the whole thing while I was trying to add a photo. I hate these machines! I don't have the strength to do it again so maybe tomorrow.
What I was doing today.