How to use cable to drag logs

[lutt]

I'm using it for the same thing as the OP is, without any real problems. Yes, it requires a little more care, but for me, that's a fair tradeoff when you factor in the extra safety. I'm sure in a commercial operation the little bit of extra time, cost and care required wouldn't be acceptable, but for those of us who do a day here and there moving trees, I'm not sure it matters. I have a major aversion to steel cables flying at me, so I'll pay a little more, replace it more frequently, and be slightly less productive to not worry at all about it flying back at me. :thumbsup:

I will say that in one way, it's faster...you don't have to wrestle with it the way you always have to do with steel cable...not a huge deal, but a nice benefit.

Cool. I may need to break down and put it on the truck,100' feet of 3/8" cable is a lot of weight when added to the winch carrier and winch on the front of the truck. Like we say,the saftey factor is over the top. Thanks,LUTT

 

[turnkey4099]

Yep, thems the the thingies. I often wished I had one but never bothered to get one. Put it on the cable at any point in the run.

Harry K

 

[Kioti Lee]

Sorry for the late response, computer issues . There are acouple of links that I think will solve my issue. THANKS

 

[DickThomas]

I'll pass on a tip my dad gave me 60 years ago: DO NOT EVER!!! use cable to snake logs. Use chain. Because it stretches only a few thousandths inch per link, it doesn't store large amounts of energy; If a chain breaks, it recoils a short way and drops slack. Cable may stretch several inches, storing thousands of foot-pounds of energy. Cable recoils like a bullwhip. In his teens, dad saw a man cut in half by a recoiling cable which snapped under the pull of a 4-hitch team of Belgian draft horses. Even a small CUT has more that sufficient drawbar pull to suddenly snap a cable if a log catches wrong. A cable large enough to be 'safe' will be too large in diameter to handle.
Another item: Have you ever watched a tow truck operator use winches & cables to draw a car onto a flatbed? Where does he stand? Way off to the side, using a remote control, in case the cable snaps. Now compare that with where YOU are sitting when towing a log - or anything, with a cable: Yep, dead straight in-line of possible cable snap. Dead being the operative word here.

A word to the wise.

 

[puckgrinder85]

Cut in half? Sorry, sounds like and old wives tale to scare you into teaching you where you need to stand. I dont blame him, i just dont believe it. Even mythbusters did a segment on breaking cable. It could kill you no doubt.

 

[Kioti Lee]

I am running the cable thru a snatch block so I am not in a direct line where it is most likely to break. I have broke a cable on my winch before and it sure does snap back. It is also very hard to drag 200 ft of chain around. Agree caution is required, but not always able to avoid cable

 

[roger4400]

Hi. My friend Albert used a nylon cable because his chain was too short.He was pulling with his tractor and somehow the chain unhooked from the log and the cable had stretch so it came back right to his face with the chain to its end. He was bleeding a lot and went to his neighbor house (closer) , when his neighbor's wife answered she fainted. My friend was trying to talk but only strange noises were coming from his mouth, his jaw was broken and half his face was out from the skull, and his eye was down in the middle of his face. He lost his eye and had a face reconstruction....he could die and this is not a tale, it is true. So if for any reason you have to use a rope, put a heavy cloth ( an old winter coat ) in the middle so the rope will stop from coming to you . A chain is a lot safer and a logging winch and a snatch pulley are a lot better, they are made for that.Good luck be safe not sorry. Roger

 

[murphy1244]

I have heard some use a tire.

 

[bcp]

I have heard some use a tire.

Lots of tires on cables in this video:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/271506-excavator-stuck-since-1992-a.html

Bruce

 

[Chilly807]

We stopped using the Amsteel blue synthetic cable at work, the riggers discovered that if you put a tight bend in it it rapidly weakens it to the point where there is no safety margin anymore. It'll break very close to it's rated working load, which is a LOT less than the safety factor we require.

I use a logging winch these days, got tired of fiddling with long cables and chains, nylon rope and snatch blocks. Some of the best money I've ever spent.

Sean