Hand Winch

[junkman]

You feel like messing with 12,000 to 16,000lb hardwood logs and heavier, questions? No....good. Plus....I can mill uphill in a bad lay. And then there is this stuff called dead white oak and dead locust.

I thought he had a tractor to lift the log,i use my skid loader with forks to pick them up so propping one end is not time consuming.

 

[Marshy]

I thought he had a tractor to lift the log,i use my skid loader with forks to pick them up so propping one end is not time consuming.

I have a small compact tractor yes but its rated at 1100 lbs at the pin on the FEL. A skid steer can lift way more than your standard compact tractor, they are no joke. The point was, most of these logs are not on my property and it's not very practical to trailer a piece of equipment like that to the site where the log is. Not practical for me anyways.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I thought he had a tractor to lift the log,i use my skid loader with forks to pick them up so propping one end is not time consuming.

I have a 58 Hyster forklift available at the old shops in Tabernacle. It weighs 13,500 so it is not very portable. Has six inches of ground clearance and 40" ground hawg type tires. The logs need to be broke down to get there or cut large slabs to transport. The biggest logs we get local are parks, township roads and yard trees. Most local small forests were logged out in the fifties. I do know where a 7ft wide pine tree lives.

Right now I need post and beam materials and have no calls to kill trees but many places to go fetch 14-20ft yellow or white pines. The best pile is an hour away from home. 12 to 30 inch logs in a stacked pile. Should go there and mill some rather than haul logs. Need to check on a cutting permit for state ground east of here.
A better pile but a bit punky on the outsides, they have sat since Hurricane Sandy, has 52" pine up to 9ft long. Very old jersey yellow pine trees. Hence the need for a winch. Might be spalted might be rotten trash. Ends are solid.

I have several on an up hill lie but not enough to be even on the feed by hand. Smooth and plumb is my goal, not fast. Milling up hill appears to be more consistent with the feed rate but tough to do by hand. Just remember some logs can only be milled from one side or direction when buried in someone's woods who refuses to clear saplings and small trees. I want those tree huggers logs!

 

[Lightning Performance]

My 3-1 winch seems to work well except when you're trying to run a fast feed rate with a single line pull. The rope will start to stretch and then become spring-loaded. So, you have to slow down on the winch and back off the throttle a bit in small stuff under 6" in the cut. On a pulley @6-1 it is fine. Cheap starter rope in 3.5 My crank handle will be short @ 6" seems fine. Using aluminum bar stock for it and a bolt with some pipes on it for the spinny thingy.
Found a small aluminum spool to mount up on a beam cutter with a handle. Should be much lighter than a steel winch. No gears 1-1 is what I'll test first.

 

[Sawsearcher]

I'm finally going to add a hand winch to my mill. I milled 3 slabs of maple 2ft wide and about 15ft long and I was fatigued. I'm going to injure my wrist if I dont change something.

I bought this winch from harbor freight. They had two available, this one was the more expensive one and has the larger capacity. The reason I bought it was because it has a 40:1 ratio (worm gear) and its drive is 90 degrees to the drum rotation. The other one they had was something like 3.5:1 ratio and more like a boat winch that has a ratchet latch.

My plan is to ditch the cable and use a braded rope. I'll also shorten the handle so I can crank it faster. With the 40:1 ratio I already have all the leverage I need.

View attachment 181519 View attachment 181520

Anyone have pics of their winches?

The winch I bought was $17 and has a quick release that you can lock open. And the orange parachute cord was $10 for 100ft... Amazon... If anyone wants the links I'll post them. I had to drill two 5/16 holes in it and a few bolts, washer and nuts for the local hardware and boom! What a difference that made! I'm cutting cherry 30" to 42" wide 9ft long. So nice compared to pushing it by hand.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I moved that 3-1 winch I have to the big sled mill with a custom six inch handle.
Ready for testing again this week.

 

[Sawsearcher]

I moved that 3-1 winch I have to the big sled mill with a custom six inch handle.
Ready for testing again this week.

I would like to see a few pictures of it if it's not too much trouble

 

[Lightning Performance]

I would like to see a few pictures of it if it's not too much trouble

 

[PA Dan]

I just bought the Granberg winch setup. Should be here any day now. Seems like as good idea and right now I have no time to build one.

 

[usmcbuckwild]

Not a bad simple solution.

What about using the throttle cable and hand grip from a backpack blower? Can mount the handgrip/trigger assembly (with the throttle lock) on top of the rig.

 

[andy at clover]

I just bought the Granberg winch setup. Should be here any day now. Seems like as good idea and right now I have no time to build one.

I got one too last year when they first introduced it.
They had to send me a new one as the original was binding so bad it froze up.
It seems a bit lightly built but .... that's why I got it.
My mill rig is heavy enough (3120 60" mill "cage").
Adding a trailer winch seemed overkill considering how little pull is actually required.
The Granberg winch is way overpriced though... the bullet has been bit !
Interested in how it works for others.
I wish it had a click stop option sometimes.... it only freewheels.

 

[PA Dan]

I got one too last year when they first introduced it.
They had to send me a new one as the original was binding so bad it froze up.
It seems a bit lightly built but .... that's why I got it.
My mill rig is heavy enough (3120 60" mill "cage").
Adding a trailer winch seemed overkill considering how little pull is actually required.
The Granberg winch is way overpriced though... the bullet has been bit !
Interested in how it works for others.
I wish it had a click stop option sometimes.... it only freewheels.

Ya I read a little about that. I saw they made a revision on it and added a tension screw. I hope it works the way I want it to!

 

[Marshy]

What about using the throttle cable and hand grip from a backpack blower? Can mount the handgrip/trigger assembly (with the throttle lock) on top of the rig.

Its the end that connects to the rear handle that is the biggest trouble to make. The lever end is easy I suppose.

 

[usmcbuckwild]

Its the end that connects to the rear handle that is the biggest trouble to make. The lever end is easy I suppose.

Shouldn’t be. The carb end of the cable is the same/similar as most saws. Just securing the cable housing is the issue.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Shouldn’t be. The carb end of the cable is the same/similar as most saws. Just securing the cable housing is the issue.

Your better off imo to connect up on the existing trigger and not dick with the saw handle or throttle linkage. That is my thought and the way I'm going.
Muffler gets a portable pipe this week

 

[usmcbuckwild]

Your better off imo to connect up on the existing trigger and not dick with the saw handle or throttle linkage. That is my thought and the way I'm going.
Muffler gets a portable pipe this week

My assumption was that the saw was dedicated to the mill, hence making a “semi-permanent” setup.

 

[Lightning Performance]

My assumption was that the saw was dedicated to the mill, hence making a “semi-permanent” setup.

Assumption noted. Hooskie or Dolkita would be best for a direct throttle cable. I'm picking up what you laying down.

 

[usmcbuckwild]

Assumption noted. Hooskie or Dolkita would be best for a direct throttle cable. I'm picking up what you laying down.

You gave me an idea. Utilizing the aforementioned blower throttle/handgrip with a small, clamp on bracket to go onto the saw handle. The cable shroud of the throttle cable locks into it, there would be a ‘C’ shaped trigger actuator that would loop around the stock handle and press against the original trigger. When the blower trigger is depressed it pulls on the cable and the ‘C’ shaped trigger actuator would pivot on the clamp on bracket and depress the saw trigger. This allows the use of the blower throttle and throttle lock on any saw utilized on the mill without any modifications.

I should draw it up.

 

[Lightning Performance]

You gave me an idea. Utilizing the aforementioned blower throttle/handgrip with a small, clamp on bracket to go onto the saw handle. The cable shroud of the throttle cable locks into it, there would be a ‘C’ shaped trigger actuator that would loop around the stock handle and press against the original trigger. When the blower trigger is depressed it pulls on the cable and the ‘C’ shaped trigger actuator would pivot on the clamp on bracket and depress the saw trigger. This allows the use of the blower throttle and throttle lock on any saw utilized on the mill without any modifications.

I should draw it up.

Yup get your crayons. I like to keep up, yaknow?...

 

[andy at clover]

^^^^
Them some awful fancy zip-ties ya’ll are talking about.