Main line question on 205B TJ

jerrymidd · December 23, 2018, 07:42:55 PM

I'm getting close to putting my little TJ 205B in the woods my last project will be the main line and rear screen.
I would like input on diameter and length.

It has a Tulsa 34L 30,000# winch. I really haven't had a chance to pull the cable that is on it out all the way to see how long it is, or measure its diameter.
Thanks

dsroten · December 23, 2018, 07:48:38 PM

I put 125 ft of 3/4 swaged main line on my 540a, that's what the manual said it would hold. I wont do that again. It's just to darn heavy to pull. And if it doesn't spool perfectly it's too much for the drum. I'll likely go back with swaged 5/8 next time.

Maine logger88 · December 23, 2018, 08:16:11 PM

I use 75ft of 5/8 cable on both my cable machines and try like heck not to use all of that lol

ohiowoodchuck · December 23, 2018, 09:27:37 PM

I put 125 foot of 5/8 on my 440b and that was a very bad idea. 65-75 foot will be plenty. It's to much for the drum. If you pull at a slight angle it will all wind up on that side then you got to hook it to a tree to pull it back out and it will cause the cable to kink and just wear itself out

Cub · December 23, 2018, 10:44:56 PM

We ran 75' of 5/8 on the 440a we had. Seemed to be just about right.

teakwood · December 24, 2018, 07:12:27 AM

Quote from: ohiowoodchuck on December 23, 2018, 09:27:37 PM
I put 125 foot of 5/8 on my 440b and that was a very bad idea. 65-75 foot will be plenty. It's to much for the drum. If you pull at a slight angle it will all wind up on that side then you got to hook it to a tree to pull it back out and it will cause the cable to kink and just wear itself out

I had 160' of swaged 5/8 on my 540A and that was still too short some times, it was a PITA if you pulled at a angle. This year i installed 175' of swaged 1/2 and the drum still has some room, not much but alot better than the 5/8. will see how the cable holds up, i am just in smaller to mid sized wood but i hook up lots of them.
you don't need anything bigger than 9/16 on those small skidders, cables are rated 20tons and higher and the winch can just pull 8-9tons.

jerrymidd · December 24, 2018, 08:56:28 AM

Thanks Guys, that is awesome info just what I was looking for.

logman81 · December 24, 2018, 01:27:13 PM

I just put 75' of 9/16 on my c4b.

62oliver · December 25, 2018, 07:31:30 AM

If its just a hobby machine even regular 1/2" is fine, thats what I have on my 240e, its used and was free, but works fine for what I'm doing. Merry Christmas to all!!!

David-L · December 25, 2018, 08:52:09 AM

If your just doing this part time, no big hitches I would recomend 1/2 '' just like the bigger tractor winches run. My 240 Timberjack gets 5/8" reg and the tractor winch I own ( Iglund 4501 ) has 3/8". Good luck, be safe.

logman81 · December 25, 2018, 09:28:07 AM

Keep your rigging light you will thank me.

ohiowoodchuck · December 25, 2018, 09:05:53 PM

Quote from: logman81 on December 25, 2018, 09:28:07 AM
Keep your rigging light you will thank me.

You got that right. On mine with a 5/8 mainline and six 1/2 chokers it can can be a pain to pull out. Sometimes it beats the daylights out of me just dragging out on the ground hooking logs.

teakwood · December 26, 2018, 06:21:42 AM

Quote from: ohiowoodchuck on December 25, 2018, 09:05:53 PMYou got that right. On mine with a 5/8 mainline and six 1/2 chokers it can can be a pain to pull out

I feel ya. 160' of 5/8" with 8 1/2 chokers and making 10-12 turns a day with up to 14logs attached per hitch gets old pretty fast. then get in and out of the deere like 70 times a day doesn't help ether. that's why i went with a lighter cable and i always skid with a helper. He helps dragging and hooking cables, prethinking in which row of trees we will outlay the cable, sometimes making bundles of logs.

Grandpa · December 26, 2018, 07:37:31 AM

I put 150' of 1/2" swaged on my 440. I think I am the only one that does that though. I also use 7/16" by 8' chokers. Go light and go often.

Mountain_d · December 26, 2018, 08:35:56 AM

I believe "swagged" refers to the two piece collar and centre used to secure the end of the mainline? I have a question on mainline cable. When I bought my Skidder it came with a spare role of cable that the previous owner said was a spare mainline. I noticed the well used mainline that was on the Skidder had the outside strands of the cable flattened out. The replacement role had strands the were round (not flattened). My question, is Skidder mainline cable supposed to be flattened strands when bought new or does the flattening just happen with use? I am wondering if the spare roll is not suitable for mainline and is intended for something else?
Mountain.

ohiowoodchuck · December 26, 2018, 07:16:54 PM

Swaged is where they take say a 3/4 cable and run it thru a say a 5/8 die. Which in turn creates a smaller denser diameter and increases the strength.

teakwood · January 13, 2019, 07:51:06 AM

now that we have tried the swaged 1/2" cable some days i have to say i love this cable, it's light and spools a lot better than the thicker cable. I don't have to line up the machine every two seconds so the cable spools evenly, i can pull at an angle.
Just make sure you don't pull small angles by zig zacking the line, the smaller the cable the faster it kinks up and will look like a pigs tail.