Norse/Igland or Farmi/Wallenstein style?

[g_man]

  Great thread , lots of ideas.  To minimize ...stuff... I use a grab. already have chockers of various lengths. For protection if need a piece of tire tube works for me.  Put the chocker around the tree , place the grab then the snatch block.



 

  The winch is hydralic over mechanical. spools in ,spools out and free spools. Just a stiff cable to inside the cab.



 

  The tractor allows the option of a grapple if need be for wood or brush.

Did you build that grapple Stephen ?? Looks like a very handy thing. I'm trying to figure out what that angled piece going across the hinge points does ??
gg

[Stephen Alford]

   Good morning Mr Gman .  the idea for the grapple came from Scandanavia back in the late eighties when wood was being trail cut in thinnings.  It has become a tad obsolete with excavators  with live thumbs. Good working implements do not seem to lose much value however. It was beneficial when the tractor was being paid by the hour.
   The cross piece extends from one pivot point to the other for strength.  If the wood cut was piled for extraction by the grapple it worked well. Especially in the winter when the pile was covered with snow. In recent times it has been used for handling slash and brush piles.
    One addition made a couple years ago was drop chain. Holds the wood in place as the grapple closes.



 

 

 

[John Mc]

Thanks for those close-ups, Stephen.

I'm not entirely clear what the drop chain accomplishes. What was happening before it was installed that is not happening now?

[beenthere]

   

  The tractor allows the option of a grapple if need be for wood or brush.

Did you build that grapple Stephen ?? Looks like a very handy thing. I'm trying to figure out what that angled piece going across the hinge points does ??
gg

Looks to me like that angled piece would keep both grapple arms at the same opening or closing gap. Otherwise, without then one arm might move less or more than the opposing one. 

[g_man]

Did you build that grapple Stephen ?? Looks like a very handy thing. I'm trying to figure out what that angled piece going across the hinge points does ??
gg

Looks to me like that angled piece would keep both grapple arms at the same opening or closing gap. Otherwise, without then one arm might move less or more than the opposing one.

ahh yes - that would be it. Thanks !!
gg

[mike_belben]

The adjustable loop sling i described.  

[Stephen Alford]

   Hey Mr John Mc , when trail cutting everything goes down to 3", mostly firewood pulp and some stud.  Some of the piles are small diameter wood and no two piles are ever the same size.  As the open clam drops over the pile the chain conforms to the shape of the pile and and adds enough weight to get the individual pieces in place.  As the clam closes the chain helps to keep the wood in place.  This also occurs when the clam is opened. When you are dropping the loaded clam on a second pile for pick up or  placing the wood on a pile the wood does not spread out as much. The grapple will pile the wood about 4 ft high.
     The hydraulic winch is used about 85% of the time for wood extraction.  Sometimes i trail cut if there is a risk of the wood being stolen at the landing. Also if the site conditions do not permit the use of the tractor for a few days I can trail cut then yard when ready.
     Got to say yarding wood with the grapple in fresh snow at night is very peacefull and quite enjoyable with the heater on and listening to a few tunes.

[WV_hillbilly]

Thanks for being enablers .   I finally got off the fence and bought a Wallenstein FX85 yesterday. i Should have done it years ago as it will be safer and save me time cleaning up my property .

 The older i get , the less willing i am to take chances , have been lucky a couple of times working in my woods .   no more cutting chunks off hung up trees to get them down . It should be a nice addition to my equipment for tree harvesting /clean up .
   

[thecfarm]

You will like it!!!
Put a rolling hook onto whatever you are trying to winch in. Meaning put the hook down low so the log/tree will roll over. helps out when limbing, that way what was on bottom will be on top now. You can see what you missed. A 6 inch stub can dirt up a trail and make it harder to pull.
I ran six slides on my winch. Sometimes all 6 are used sometimes only one. Those 6 sure do come in handy cutting small wood. I have four 8 foot chains and six 4 foot chains. Guess which gets used the most?
Don't pull at an angle, move the tractor!!! Or use a snatch block.
Don't know how other winches are, but I have an old one. When I pull down a hung tree I get some slack on the drum. If I don't pull that slack out, it can cause a mess in there.

[wisconsitom]

Ray, in everyday operation does the cable wind up evenly on the capstan?

Back when I was working, had a crew that ran a water truck with a hose reel.  Must've been 350 feet of hose on that reel.  Every now and then, run it all out and wind up nice.  These rigs like that?

[WV_hillbilly]

Thanks for the tips  .
I'm sure there will be a learning curve . The good thing is i've been using one of those 2 HP Portable Winches that uses rope for 10 years now . I have learned a lot using that winch and still have it. I think the skidding cone i got with it will come in handy.  I have several snatch blocks also.

[thecfarm]

As long as the cable is being pulled in tight, things work good. It's just when I get some slack things can go bad.
On mine I can see the drum, but I have to look at it to see if the cable is tight against the drum. Seems like if I get some slack and don't check the drum is when things go bad. 
I think I had to take the mast off 3-4 times because it wrapped wrong/bad on the drum.
I run mine out whenever it starts to bother. Does not happen too much. Sometimes I use most of the cable anyways. I am cutting a meadow off now, next to the road. I am pulling out all the cable every time. No way I would dare to put the tractor on there. I might get away with it once but go in the same spot twice and I might sink.

[mike_belben]

Any cable would appreciate a full respooling now and then.  Once i get two full wraps on i oil my cables.  In my opinion it helps relax kinks, prevent rust and helps keep every single wire equally tensioned which is where the strength comes from, every strand carrying the load.

[NE Woodburner]

If your winch comes with a solid hook on the end, my advice is don't use that hook to pull logs. Use the sliders and add more if you need to. If you use the hook and the cable gets twisted or caught on something the hook can put enough force on the cable to break it where a slider would allow the cable to move and probably not break the cable. Ask me how I know.

[Stephen Alford]

    I know I have posted some of these pics before but the hope is they will be help full to anyone using a tractor  and winch for wood extraction.  The best modification to the winch was the addition of an hourglass fairlead.  A little chain oil on the roller lubes the cable and the high sides trough made a huge difference in maintaining the cable.



 

 

  The reversable  digger teeth for breaking the tractor and log pushing.  The receiver hitch is very usefull.  

 
 

 

[wisconsitom]

Thanks Stephen, very instructive.  I think you're saying that type of fairlead helps the cable wind up evenly.

[mike_belben]

keeps the cable from jumping off the side of the roller and getting jammed between the roller and frame.  stephen whered you find the big flange roller? 

dozer bottom rolls and chainlink fence gate rollers can work. the bottom roll doesnt have as deep a flange but its steel and super beef. 

[PoginyHill]

I was able to find an aluminum hourglass roll on eBay that was used as a pulley to hang high voltage wire. It is definitely a wear item and won't last forever. I've since sold this arch, but it worked for me for 3-4 years or so.
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[thecfarm]

Hey mike, he made the roller

reply #133

[g_man]

Hey mike, he made the roller

reply #133

Yes he did. I remember when he posted some pictures of the process. Stephen is quite a craftsman.
The top pulley on a Farmi type winch performs the same purpose as a fairlead. The longer the free line between the top pulley and the drum the better the cable wrapping characteristics. One of the reasons winches are so tall.

gg

[mike_belben]

wow not only did he make the roller from sheet, but it appears he made the winch too.  what a humble fellow that stephen alford.  

[thecfarm]

He does it all!!!!!  ;D
Mighty good steward of the land too.  ;)
His tractor is made for small scale logging. 

[WV_hillbilly]

NE Woodburner  the Wallenstein winch line comes with a crimped on bell and slider liker on a skidder winch line and 2 sliders for choker chains

[PoginyHill]

the Wallenstein winch line comes with a crimped on bell and slider liker on a skidder winch line and 2 sliders for choker chains

The crimped bell is not for straight pulling. Meaning a log should be wrapped on the main cable before using the slider. The crimped bell relies on the friction of the log. If sliders are used and pull directly on the bell, it will probably come off the cable.

[g_man]

the Wallenstein winch line comes with a crimped on bell and slider liker on a skidder winch line and 2 sliders for choker chains

The crimped bell is not for straight pulling. Meaning a log should be wrapped on the main cable before using the slider. The crimped bell relies on the friction of the log. If sliders are used and pull directly on the bell, it will probably come off the cable.

Are you sure ? I don't know Wallenstein's but consider them quality equipment so I am surprised by your statement about the bell not being able to be used as the cable end by itself, like you would on most cables. Just wondering, as that would be a big limitation for the way I work. When I build a hitch I always put the first log on the top slider (closest to winch) and fill them down towards the end. That way I can always drop the hitch and pull out cable to hook and winch in another log w/o taking the everything apart to get the cable end free. I run a reusable  ferral on the end of my cable.


 
gg