Log arch build finally complete Video added )

[bandmiller2]

Somehow gilding the lily comes to mind, that DanGed thing is too pretty to take in the woods. Great job mate. Frank C.

[21incher]

Thanks again everyone. I just found out that when finishing it up I slowed it down. The winch came with 50 ft of cable and when finishing everything I decided to cutoff the 30 feet I did not need without thinking :embarassed:. This removed about 3 layers from the drum which in turn caused the time it takes to drop and raise the claw from 10 seconds to over 14 seconds. So much for my 30 second lift time. >:( Just set myself up on YouTube and will try to make a video in the future.

[Magicman]

Too much unused cable on a winch is a pita.  With your skill, I suspect that you will increase the drum size on the winch.

[Gadrock]

I surely hope your youtube video is gonna be as exciting as the project build. If it is remotely similar it will be an item of purr-fection.

Hopefully some day our paths cross as I will indeed enjoy the visit.

David G


carry on

[beenthere]

Too much unused cable on a winch is a pita.  With your skill, I suspect that you will increase the drum size on the winch.

Agree with increasing the drum size... maybe some plastic pipe cut to length and with a side cut that will will snap over the drum. Then a larger one over that...  have used this idea to make spacers that snap on and off for adjusting the forks on my FEL.  Make the side cut wide enough to get the spacer to snap over and not fall off.

[21incher]

Hopefully some day our paths cross as I will indeed enjoy the visit.

Hopefully we will meet at a pig roast in the future.

Too much unused cable on a winch is a pita.  With your skill, I suspect that you will increase the drum size on the winch.

I have decided to live with it for now and in the future will most likely replace the cable with a larger diameter cable that is slightly longer because I feel the Chinese cable is undersize anyway. The winch relies on the friction of the first half dozen wraps against the drum to keep the cable from pulling off so any slippage from a spacer could be trouble.

[Billbob]

Fer Gawd's sakes don't take that into the woods!!    If you scratch the paint it'll just depreciate in value!
You're putting the rest of us to shame!  Excellent job!!

[danreed76]

Excellent job on the arch.  That is a great implement!  Definitely envious of the craftsmanship and the fabricating facilities.

[Alligator]

That is one fine piece of equipment. Showroom floor perfect. Logging eye candy.

[Piston]

You sir, just raised the bar on log arch builds!  I don't think anyone is going to top this one for quite a long time.  Log Rite has nothing on the "Log Claw"  ;D

Certainly the best built arch I've seen on here.  I envy your skills. 

[21incher]

Thanks again everyone.  After seeing many other arch builds before starting this I realized the biggest problems were trying to move the log out of tight places with it swinging side to side and not being able to secure the front of the log for traveling down a bumpy road. The front lift solved these problems for me and is basically the only difference between this and any other arch out there. My lift got a little complicated because I used materials I had on hand and am lazy so I wanted to automate it, but a very simple hand operated version of the idea could easily added to any arch out there. I can't wait to mill some logs that don't have mud and rocks ground into them from dragging out of the woods on the ground behind my tractor. The savings in blades alone should pay for the arch.

[redbeard]

Now for phase 2 !  Add a fork lift on it like what was featured in this months issue of Sawmill & Woodlot magazine. I know  with your skills you could come up with a versitile lifting Arch.  Beautiful piece of equipment you have built. Heavy Duty love it.

[Deese]

Thanks, but there is a difference.  I built an arch.  You crafted an arch, a piece of art, a masterpiece.   

Couldn't have said it better myself  smiley_clapping

[beenthere]

21

Is there a video yet of the arch in action?

Or is that a "later" when in the woods logging?

Anxious to see how it works in the woods..

[21incher]

21

Is there a video yet of the arch in action?

Or is that a "later" when in the woods logging?

Anxious to see how it works in the woods..

No video yet. I wait until the leaves fall to start pulling out logs so that is when I will make one. With all the rain it is to muddy to get into the lower part of my property now anyway. I set up a YouTube account and have to figure out which video format to set my camera for and find a place to upload it because I only have a metered 3g connection. Right now I am spending most of my time canning, making sauce, and pickling so I haven't even looked at it in 2 weeks. I did finally get the palm ratchets so it is 100% complete. I also have to get the mill trailer I built last fall sandblasted, primed and painted before I get started because the wet sawdust rusts everything.

[21incher]

I would like to add a warning to anyone using one of the low cost Chinese winches on anything. Add a disconnect between the battery and control box as they can turn themselves on.
I went out in my shop this morning and found this


 
The claw laying on the ground


 
and the winch cable snapped with a dead battery. It seems that the winch turned itself on stuck in the retract position and snapped the cable (which is to light for the winch), Then continued to run until the battery died. No one has been in the shop the past 3 days and that is when it happened. We had some terrible lightening storms during that period and I am wondering if that may have triggered the remote control circuit. I will now be adding a disconnect to the winch control box power wire as I don't trust it any more and a heavier cable. I charged the battery some and the winch remote functioned properly. This proves that you get what you pay for.

[beenthere]

Don't that beat all.  Any other problems in your shop?  Maybe you have a ghost or two? 
A good friend, now deceased, would have sworn positively that such a happening was a ghost.  ;) ;)

[21incher]

Don't that beat all.  Any other problems in your shop?  Maybe you have a ghost or two? 
A good friend, now deceased, would have sworn positively that such a happening was a ghost.  ;) ;)

No other problems, and it would have to be a pretty smart ghost to hold down the on button on the remote to turn on the winch and then hold down the retract button until the battery died. I think it must be a defective Chinese made product that was falsely triggered and went haywire. If only the cable were heavier it would have blown the circuit breaker and shut down.

[Magicman]

I can just see it now; every time that you raise the garage door, the arch lifts a log.      :D

[21incher]

I can just see it now; every time that you raise the garage door, the arch lifts a log.      :D

I think it is the other way around, the door goes up and the log goes down ;D

After looking it up the working strength of the cable that came on the winch is only 560 lbs with a breaking strength of 2800 lbs with a 2500 lb pull rating of the winch. Which actually means it was not safe to use on the winch anyway and could be a dangerous combination if you were standing there when it broke. The winch turning on may have been a message from above to warn me. Going to have to enlarge all the grooves in the pulleys to install a larger cable. Looks like I should have spent the extra money on a brand name winch upfront.

[Larry]

I went with a friend to pull out another friends tractor off the back side of a pond dam.  He had a 12,000 pound Champion (Chinese of course) winch on the front of the truck.  It was an easy pull getting the tractor out and he was reeling in the cable when the contactor stuck in the run mode.  The winch kept running until it caught on roller fairlead.  Tripped the breaker.  If it had happened when the tractor was on we would have pulled the tractor over the dam and into the pond before we could disconnect the battery.

All in the life of a old fart. :D

[21incher]

Finally got around to fixing everything today. Something randomly triggers the RF receiver and I can't find out what it is. I think it must be defective. Replaced the cable with the next size up that is rated for 4000 lbs. Had to open up the grooves in all the pulleys to fit it in.


 
I also placed a disconnect on the winch power so it doesn't happen again.


 
And I also added a small solar panel to the top of the chain box that should help keep the battery charged. Now it is a little greener.


 
Just waiting for the leaves to fall to get out and use it.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Lots of bright colors. Nice.

[21incher]

Today I started taking down some trees and made a video of the arch picking a 24" x 11 ft walnut log.


 
This was my first video upload upload and it took over 2 hours on my 3g connection for 1 minute of 720 video. I hope this link works   http://youtu.be/7p4W3JcZ6Oo

I had already backed over the log and started from there. Moved a wack of logs today and it worked great. Sorry it took so long to post a video.

[woodworker9]

Truly a great fabrication job.  It sure seems to work great.  Very nice job all the way around.