Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips?

   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #1  

Calvin

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Jan 5, 2009
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I have been looking at designs here for ideas. Many different designs and ideas. Started mine now out of 100% used steel I had available. The drag part works fine. Frame is nice a sturdy. Now for the winch part. I had the winch and use it on my 4 wheeler. It is set up to mount on the back bumper either on the right or the left side. When not in use, its tucked away inside. Figured that since I had it, might as well adapt it to the log drag so I could winch logs in too. I kept the mount for the winch the same. I can put it on the right or the left side of the log drag. I tried some winching yesterday on some big branches that fell down during a recent storm. Problem is this: how do I keep the cable wound evenly? Unless I am in a straight line with what I am pulling, I can't get the cable wound straight. I was thinking that maybe I should mount the winch in the top center and make a pivot that can be locked securely so I can angle the winch any way it needs to be to be to get a straight pull. Using a lever to guide the cable in under tension is dangerous and not easy. Guess you could just wind in, then wind out and rewind nicely by hand until there is tension again, but that's a lot of work. I have a fairlead, but that does not help too much with even spooling. I can mount a pully on the front arm for pulls at off angles. I'm not planning on using it all the time, just the occasion tree work here and there. Any ideas?
 

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   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #2  
If it was me I would center the winch on the boom. Then on the end of the boom I would mount a cable fair lead to help with angled pulls. Whatever you do I would suggest the fairlead for sure.
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Yes, considering that. A fairlead of some sort or small guide hole at the end could help keep the cable a bit more centered. Since the beam is about 2' long, it might give a bit of distance to keep things straight?
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #4  
Calvin said:
Yes, considering that. A fairlead of some sort or small guide hole at the end could help keep the cable a bit more centered. Since the beam is about 2' long, it might give a bit of distance to keep things straight?

Exactly. The more distance between the fair lead and winch drum the better the cable will re spool. My wallenstein skidding winch has a spring loaded arm that keeps tension on the cables as it is spooled out to prevent birds nest. Most tow trucks have some things similar. It might be worth thinking about that as well it sure saves a lot of headaches.
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #5  
That Ramsey 8k winch is a good one - first heavy duty winch I ever bought. Both the Ramsey and my current Warn 8k units spooled unevenly even when using a roller fairlead and a fairly straight pull. Its frustrating to say the least. I wonder if it has anything to do with the cable diameter - thicker cable has a tendency to self-align easier? Or perhaps the up/down angle of the cable as it is reeled in?

I don't think the deuce and a half army trucks for example have any type of spooling aid, but they also use 1/2" cable too.
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #6  
Working with tow trucks and the like its hard to keep a wire rope straight when just using the winch straight on. Ideally you want to run the rope through a sheave and have the sheave at the centerline and the winch drum set perfectly as possible to perpendicular to the sheave as possible. An example with our flatbed is when we have off center pulls is to use a sheave that sticks in the back of the bed to the centerline of the bed, this spools the rope perfectly. A simple way you could possibly achieve this is a snatch block to change the direction of the rope.

On some of the new flatbeds the mount the winch way on one side of the bed with the drum facing towards the center of the bed (90* from normal), they then run the rope through a sheave at a 90* angle and then out to the car. The sheave can be slid toward or away from the winch depending on the pull point on the car, this keeps the rope wound perfect.


The other thing is to keep the line taught as much as possible. Its kind of like using a baitcaster fishing real, you cant let the drum spin without line going out or it will unravel the drum and screw it all up. Free wheel nice and smooth, dont yank on the line if you can help it. A nicely spooled winch should glide very easily.


Looking at your setup you may be able to center the winch with the boom and put some kind of boom head/ sheave setup at the end of it to direct the line straight at the middle of the drum.


Somthing like this may work http://www.intheditch.com/itd4229.htm
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I like the boom head idea! My plan now is to mount the winch in the center, then spool the cable over the boom with some sort of purchased or self fabricated head. Will see if that improves things. It will need to be some sort of multi angle device so the cable can come in from any angle. Similar to this:
 

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   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #8  
Keep in mind the futher the head from the winch the better they generally spool up too. Might have to try it out and see, but if you look at tow trucks it will give you great ideas, and preserve the wire rope you're using.
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #9  
I put my winch inside the frame with a boom that pivots from the toplink where it hooks to the tractor and pivots on the top of the frame. By hanging a pulley out on the end of the boom keeps the line coming in more to the center of the winch. It will still not wind evenly all the way across as you need to be about fifteen feet away from the winch for the line to spool evenly. Will try to put up a pic if I can find them. Also having the boom attached in this way I am able to hang a set of tongs on and lower them to the ground and still get them several feet high with the lift.
 
   / Log Drag/Log Winch Even Spooling Tips? #10  
here are a couple of my toys. Sorry about the yellow one but you can get an idea from what I was saying. You can see where the toplink is, I replace that with the boom when I need it. the orange one is hers.
 

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