Rope/chain and pulleys, block & tackle, or winch

[rick carpenter]

Our neighbor had a big oak tree fall on her house last year. I helped the family move the logs and debris to two large piles. Now that I have a saw and a smoker pit, I want some of that wood but I'll have to pull it from the piles before I start cutting on any of it. I can't use the tractor because too many trees are around it, so I was thinking about how else to extract the limbs and logs I want. Any good advice here or youtubes on the needed ratings for the right chain/rope and pulley, block & tackle, or winch, and maybe how to use them best? There are plenty of youtubes on skidding/etc but I haven't seen ones that go into detail on the strength ratings of the equipment they use.

[WV Sawmiller]

Rick,

   What is the diameter and length of the tree/logs you want to move? I use a lot of 1/4" cable and it will drag a pretty big log. I use 20,000 lb snatch blocks from HF. They are up to about $25 each now for the snatch blocks and they work great. Have 2 eyes that rotate apart, insert the cable or rope, put a chain through the eyes and hook to a convenient tree then pull where I want them. Heavier cable gets hard to drag in the woods but if I were logging for a living I'd use 3/8 to half inch I guess. I'd be comfortable dragging a fresh cut 18-22 inch diameter log 16' long.

   I am sure you could do a web search on the internet for the size of the cable and find the weight capacity. You get a mechanical advantage when you use 2 or more. I usually just use one to change the direction and often get my 4 wheeler pointed down hill to use gravity for more weight and traction.

    Be careful and make sure the area is clear when you use them just in case something goes south on you.

[DDW_OR]

I use my 51 Hp tractor and a 11,000#  pull Farmi Winch.
have moved many 12 to 16 inch logs in one pull, or one 32 inch by 18 foot green Fir log.
sometimes i add one or two 20,000lb snatch blocks. look for the ones with a grease Zerk, Ebay about $25 with shipping.

[Kbeitz]

I've moved some big stuff with this little tractor...



 

[rick carpenter]

Whatever limbs I want from the piles -- say 4" & up -- I'll have to pull. Max trunk diameter is about 2.5' but it was bucked to 2-3' logs for easy transport so they'll be easier to extract, the limbs were just dragged as is and are all entangled. Rather than a block and tackle setup, I have two come-alongs with 3/16" braided steel cable that I can use, one is direct drive and the other has a pulley but they have no ratings stamped into them. Question 1: come-alongs with 3/16" cable & no pulley seem to be commonly rated at 2 tons, if so is the one with a pulley rated at 4 tons? Question 2: is 2 tons enough? I won't be skidding with this, just pulling enough out of the piles to cut into length (maybe buck first?), then pull some more & repeat. I kinda had visions of being an old sailor with double pulleys/etc, but I can use my come-alongs and some chains much easier.

[Brucer]

My standard gear for pulling over trees and yarding them out of the bush include:
- 3/8" wire rope chokers.
- 5/16" grade 70 chain for anchoring and adjusting lengths.
- An 8000 lb. wire rope come-along that uses 1/4" wire rope.
- a snatch block rated for up to 1/2" wire rope.

The come-along is rated for 4000# direct pull and 8000# using a pulley to double the line.