Logging winch- New user with questions!

[hslogger]

My two cents. Cable if you aren't familiar with it can be easily kinked. The kinks mess up you spooling, and an make the hands on operation less than stellar. Cable doesn't like sharp bends. Nylon, hemp, etc. don't much care. If pulling through blocks, Larger sheave blocks are best, otherwise if you risk rat tailing, your cable. Small blocks, small sheaves will work but they will mess up your cable when you put a hard load on.

Cable likes to be lubricated. It is metal.Steel. While you have your cable on the spool, dump some diesel or used motor oil on it. It will lessen friction and make spooling easier. Ideally you want your cable to spool nice and even with neatness. When your loops get crossed up, you can kink your cable.

 

[Spentit]

My advise. Hard hat, safety glasses, gloves and leave the snatch block on the shop floor. Use a peavey to roll logs around stumps. If you can't move the log with a single line pull than cut it shorter because your tractor is probably to small to pull it. The safest place to be when winching is in the operators seat buckled in. Get as close to the log with the tractor as you can. Keep pulls short. Don't pull logs up steep hills. Drop load, freewheel winch drive to top of hill and winch it up the hill. Go on your way. Slow and easy wins the race. Start with small stuff then move your way up to the heavy stuff once you have got some experience. Worked for my daughter. Be safe and enjoy the outdoors.

 

[KubotaGirl001]

Again, I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to share. The detailed explanations are excellent and now I am understanding WHY some things are recommended and some things are not. This is the kind of info the manual does NOT tell you! I wish I could respond to every single poster to thank you for sharing your expertise but that would make for a very long, repetitive thread
I do have help here (my dad and brother have woods experience but not logging winch experience, so I am not doing this alone). Spentit, you mentioned your daughter is involved in working in the woods! That is encouraging I'm getting ready to retire and need a new "job", so this is one of them (One where I can spend time in nature and stay healthy doing it...plus, learning something new is so much fun and fulfilling). And it also doesn't hurt to network with people from all over the world with similar interests Thanks again everyone!!!!

 

[CobyRupert]

The “tractor might get pulled backwards” scenario is usually when the winch’s blade is sitting on something other than ground, like rocks, or a stump, or tree roots, ice, snow, and once my driveway. In these cases, having your tractor in 4wd when winching gives a little more braking, but your winch is big enough to pull your tractor around like nothing if the blade isn’t set, and the load is big/stuck.

 

[John_Mc]

leave the snatch block on the shop floor.

If you are talking about the self releasing snatch block, I strongly disagree with that statement. A self-releasing snatch block is not really for doubling the line, it is for redirecting the pull, so you can pull the log around corners, rather than always having to pull in a straight line. It's a tremendous productivity booster, as well as a tool for minimizing damage to the trees you are leaving behind.

If you are talking about not using a snatch block to double the line pull, then I would agree. As a new user, the 10,500 pull her winch has is plenty. If something is not moving with that pull, she needs to rethink her approach. After she gets a couple of years of experience under her belt, she might consider using a snatch block as a doubler, but even then, if it can;t be moved with the 10,500 line pull she has available, it would be wise to slow down and think about options before jumping right to "pulling harder": more is not always better.

The safest place to be when winching is in the operators seat buckled in.

That really depends on your equipment. Most winches come with enough line that you can activate them from well away from the winch, and off to the side of the line of pull. You can generally position yourself where you can easily see what is happening with the log you are winching. I find that safer than being in the tractor seat, buckled in, and trying to twist around backwards to see what is going on.

Don't pull logs up steep hills. Drop load, freewheel winch drive to top of hill and winch it up the hill. Go on your way.

To be clear, I believe you are referring to don't skid logs up steep hills. (for someone new to this: skidding implies dragging the logs by driving your tractor with the logs attached.) Winching the logs up hills is fine.

Slow and easy wins the race. Start with small stuff then move your way up to the heavy stuff once you have got some experience. Worked for my daughter. Be safe and enjoy the outdoors.

Good advice

 

[52wej]

One more tip for use of the winch. If you should happen to cut a tree and it hangs up in another tree, (I assume all cuts will be true and the tree will fall properly, but just in case), you can wrap the cable around the butt of the cut tree once or twice and the tree will rotate when you pull on it and usually drop right out from where it is hung up. It will throw branches and limbs and maybe leave a snag or two so pause before you go in to check everything. The trick here is to wrap the cable around the cut tree so that it rotates AWAY from the tree it is hung up in.

If you follow all of the other good advice here, your experience with the winch will be very rewarding. You will find the self releasing snatch block to be very useful. You have a very powerful setup so be careful and stay safe. W Jones

 

[Furu]

It should be noted though that that self releasing block would not be suitable for use as a doubling block since the working load limit is well below what the winch would produce in that situation.

Do you know what the ratings are for the self releasing blocks?
I don't but mine are significantly more robust than the doubling block that is rated for 20K. The only ratings I have seen are for the web straps that are attached (Wallenstein)



As to the comment on not needing more than one self releasing block.
On a complex pull I have used up to three.
When pulling through a "busy area" and redirecting the log around stumps etc I have found that multiples have saved many a headaches more than once. It just depends upon the environment that you are working in.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Thank you for the excellent info, Oldpath. I never knew there was such thing as a skidding cone. Definitely going to look into that.

I've seen a shovel used as a "skidding cone". OK, it was me.

 

[KubotaGirl001]

I've seen a shovel used as a "skidding cone". OK, it was me.

Hahahaha!!! Thanks for the laugh! :cool2:

 

[Jstpssng]

Now that you've gotten your tree on the ground and hooked up, let's talk about trail planning. You want them to be as straight as possible; and it's worth it to spend a little extra time to get the stumps low and trim the brush back. (I can and do run my small pickup down my main trails.) As mentioned earlier, you don't want any dead trees that your twitch will catch on.