Winch log turner

[Hackermatack]

btulloh & jemclimber asked in another thread to see some pictures of my simple log turner.             


                     

[Hackermatack]

And by golly I am having a heck of a time trying to get pictures posted. I can make it work in other forums but this one has got me befuddled.

[thecfarm]

Looks like you are doing fine. Hit that enter key a few times so the pictures don't touch. preview and work on it some more.



 




 


I hit the enter key 3 times.Just drops any words you want to add to the pictures away from the pictures.

[btulloh]

Thanks for the pics.  I thought I was the only one that finds it cumbersome to get pictures into a post. 

I've got several days of bad weather coming up and some heavy white oak to saw after that so I think I'll make a claw turner since it's too wet to bushhog or saw or any of the other things that are backing up this spring.  I've got a little winch that should be just right for this.  I've got materials.  Looks like like I'll have some rainy days ahead so it's a good time to start a rainy-day project.

I was sawing a red oak log today and my current claw turner stopped by the mill but was unable to manage even this small 6ft long 16" log.  Wouldn't off-bear either. 



 

[thecfarm]

Pictures look good. That cat is just about saying,You better say this slab looks good.

[btulloh]

The cat was saying "it's TIME FOR LUNCH!  PUT THE PHONE AWAY!".   

It's hard to find good help.

[Jemclimber]

Thanks for the pictures. It's still just a bit hard for me to see how it functions.  Yours looks adjustable by changing pin position?

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I saw somewhere where someone used an old engine hoist to turn logs. Seemed like the cheapest easiest poor man's turner that you could get....

[Kbeitz]

Thats what i use....



 

[sandsawmill14]

you guys have made some nice turners i wish i had found this forum when i was still running my manual mill i have seen some great ideas we have 2 hyd mills now and i hope i never have to go back to the manual mill but will have some great ideas to make it easier if i had to

[Hackermatack]

Thanks for the pictures. It's still just a bit hard for me to see how it functions.  Yours looks adjustable by changing pin position?

I have more better pictures in my gallery that I guess you can look at. I just plain got myself befuddled posting them. Really all you need to turn a log is something that will lift underneath the log that you can position a little off center so it encourages it to roll while lifting. I simply used a hinged arm that runs under the track from one side to the other. The cat claw is placed on top of the arm and positioned in the most likely position and the winch lifts the free end of the arm. The pin helps keep the thing from falling off the arm but it is not necessary to remove it to reposition to a different anchor point.  This will only work if you have sufficient clearance und the track for the lift arm to work, I sometimes remove a couple shovel full of dirt after the mill is leveled up to give it more clearance. When I had my mill setup as a ground mill I used a setup similar to the one Kbeitz has only with a electric winch, never got the hook shaped just rite and it often did not hold but it did have the advantage of doubling as a log loader for the mill. The cat claw could have been made much lighter and simpler I just started welding pieces of scrap together until I came up with something that worked, when I have a chance I will make a new lighter better one out of 2 pieces of steel. I came up with this after I used my old handyman jack to turn a large difficult log by placing the lift dog under a log and jacking to turn it.