Ideas on moving and placing timbers manually without equipment?

[Daburner87]

I am finally in the beginning stages of my first project.  This is the reason I bought a sawmill 3 years ago.  I have a small bobcat that can move timbers around my property no problem but it only has an 7-8 foot lift capacity at max.  So I am looking for advice and ideas on how I can manually move timbers up, down, around, and into positions where I need them without getting hurt.   

I've seen one guy use a "stairs" method so he built two mini sets of stairs.  He would lift each end of each timber up one step at a time until it got where he needed it. That could work fine for me I suppose, but I'm interested in other ideas aside from renting equipment. Any advice appreciated.

[Joe Hillmann]

On my log cabin for the first 10 rows or so I simply lifted them into place by hand.  Only the bottom few rows were full length.  Then the logs got shorter once I got to the windows and doors.

Once I got to full length above windows I put a 16 foot tall pole in each corner and screwed it solidly into the walls.

I then used two chain hoists to lift each log into place.

When it came to setting the ridge beam 10 feet above the top row of logs I put one 16 foot pole at the center of the end wall and used it and a chain hoist to lift another 16 foot pole so it was 3 feet higher than what I wanted the ridge beam to be.  Then I use that pole to lift the first pole just as high.  I did the same on the other end wall and hung a chain hoist between each set of poles to lift the ridge beam.  I would raise each end about a foot than screw a 2x4 between the two 16 foot poles to catch the beam if necessary and give myself a ladder to work from.

I then used the ridge beam and a block and tackle to hoist the rafters into place.  Once all the rafters were in place I was able to remove the 4 16 foot poles.

[Don P]

One of my bosses said the biggest part of the job is outsmarting heavy things.
I had some pics in my gallery of things I've seen  .

Hinged post bases and windlass;


Chainfall and wheels on the scaffold. (When on floors think about punch thru!)


Block and tackle


Pump jacks


Genie lift


A crane all day is less than an hour in the ER and 6 weeks down. Why can I not remember that.

[rusticretreater]

Watch a bunch of you tube videos and see what the idiots do, and then don't do that.

[scsmith42]

You can buy (or build) a boom pole extension for your bobcat that's designed for setting rafters. 

Something like this:

[Ljohnsaw]

I built up a block and tackle from HF parts. A hook on a pulley rated at 1,000lb, IIRC, and a 20k snatch block. Mounted some iron to clip onto at the top end of a full dimension 2x8 with a 1,000lb wire winch near the other end.



Note the 2x4 diagonal brace to keep the 2x8 from flexing (overhead on pic) and the additional strut from the post.

[Daburner87]

I built up a block and tackle from HF parts. A hook on a pulley rated at 1,000lb, IIRC, and a 20k snatch block. Mounted some iron to clip onto at the top end of a full dimension 2x8 with a 1,000lb wire winch near the other end.



Note the 2x4 diagonal brace to keep the 2x8 from flexing (overhead on pic) and the additional strut from the post.

That looks pretty dangerous.  What is the 2x8 mounted to?

[Daburner87]

Youtubed a bit today, and this is the method I've seen that I was referring to in my initial post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0752s9NJdo

He does it different then what I described but essentially its the same.

[Ljohnsaw]

2x8 is lagged into timber at it's base. 2x4 lagged also. Bad pick but angled 2x4 also lagged. Very sturdy.

[classicadirondack]

We use a gin pole and the U S Army Rigging Manual

[barbender]

 That US Army Rigging Manual is a great resource, and it should be available for free download online.

[Hilltop366]

Ideas.

If the stairs were closer together and more of the beam hanging out each end it would reduce the effort required to raise the beam, done right it could all be done from one end by lifting up then pushing down on the beam.

A "step beyond" that may be steps that flipped up as you raise the beam and flip back down after you get past it then you don't have to swing the beam out past the step just slide it along up. Off set the steps by 1/2 and then everytime you lift one end you are raising it a step but only 1/2 a step relative to the other end.

[Hilltop366]

I would be very leery of adding a boom to a typical front entrance skid steer/ bobcat if working alone, exiting or entering a skid steer with the loader up in the air puts you in the danger zone every time.