ericm979
Super Member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2016
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- Santa Cruz Mountains CA, Southern OR
- Tractor
- Branson 3725H Deere 5105
For the same pulling power and price you can get a PCW-5000 portable winch.
Norwood Skid-Winch
- Thread starter bob51
- Start date
- Views: 19240
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
To the OP, get a REAL 3 point skidding winch, you can and WILL thank me later!!
SR
SR
4570Man
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2015
- Messages
- 18,497
- Location
- Crossville, TN
- Tractor
- Kubota M59, Kubota L3800, Grasshopper 428D, Topkick dump truck, 3500 dump truck, 10 ton trailer, more lighter trailers.
A 2000 pound winch seems useless. You aren’t going to bring 20” trees out with that
Looking at that frame, it won't take long to destroy it. The trees you are talking about weigh well over 2000 lbs. You can buy a new 3pth winch for $1500 more; while it may cost more in the short run you can use it until you are done than sell it and recover most of your money.
crmorse
Member
I tried to buy one myself about 2 years ago and they told me they won't sell them separately from a sawmill. Since I wasn't in the sawmill market I went off and built my own based on their design. Now it's entirely possible I screwed something up along the way but in the end I was sorely disappointed in the results. The capstan method just isn't suited for heavy loads.
The biggest log I successfully skidded with it was about 1000lbs and I was pulling it downhill. But doing so burned up my rope so badly from slippage that a section is no longer usable. Add to that it was more effort on me than it was ever worth because I had to pull the rope REALLY hard to get enough tension to keep it from slipping. I've sense made a capstan that's twice as tall so I can get more loops on it but haven't tested it yet. Honestly just don't feel it's worth the effort.
Once I get other projects cleared out of the baffles I'm going to break out the welder again and convert it to a drum winch style instead.
The biggest log I successfully skidded with it was about 1000lbs and I was pulling it downhill. But doing so burned up my rope so badly from slippage that a section is no longer usable. Add to that it was more effort on me than it was ever worth because I had to pull the rope REALLY hard to get enough tension to keep it from slipping. I've sense made a capstan that's twice as tall so I can get more loops on it but haven't tested it yet. Honestly just don't feel it's worth the effort.
Once I get other projects cleared out of the baffles I'm going to break out the welder again and convert it to a drum winch style instead.
Jack Murdock
Silver Member
I have used a Norwood Skid winch for a couple of years on my 30HP JD and am happy with it. I am in Stephentown NY its hilly here and the winch kept me from having to get too close and still be able to take out the trees I needed. If I had a larger heavier tractor and a lot of money I would have a Wallenstein or similar but for me the Norwood works fine. You do need to add a valve from your rear remotes. I pulled 30 cord +/- with it the past two winters combined with no issues.
Jack
Jack
There's a used Farm I JL 4573 for sale in New Hampshire, asking price $1300. This would probably be more suited for your use but it won't last for long if it's in decent shape. It is about 190 miles for you one way.
raybender
Member
I seriously looked at a Norwood Skid Winch. I have 50+ acres of woods that are under a NY DEC 480A forest management plan that requires cutting down stands of hop hornbeam. Many of the stands are far from trails, but since the hop hornbeam is excellent firewood I looked into skidding options. In the end, I built a hydraulic capstan winch on 3 pt King Kutter Carry All (Craigslist) using a Eaton Char-Lynn 104-1022-006 Geroler motor (eBay) and a 2 1/4" capstan (Northern Tool). I spent $600 in purchased parts and materials and put in ~25 hours building it.
Overal,l I am very happy with it on my 59 HP tractor and am easily able to skid 10" trees up to ~20 feet long. Based on my experience, I doubt that it would skid 20" trees greater than 6-8' feet long and agree that a Frami or Wollensak would be needed to routinely handle logs of 20" in size.
For lighter work that I need to do, I have found the capstan winch to be adequate and very convenient. It is very easy and fast to set up and skid the the smaller trees I work with. I use 1/2" double braid rope and found it to hold up well. I have stalled the hydraulic motor with four wraps on the capstan trying to extricate a large blown down maple log at the bottom of a tangled brush and branch pile. This was reassuring since it indicated to me that the rope was stronger than the motor pull. It is important prepare for the possibility of snapped ropes. I stand well to the side of the winch and tie towels to the line if I need to "pull hard". The capstan operation gives good control of the pulling force and I have used it for skidding as well as puling down snags and hung up trees with snatch blocks. Handling rope is easier than metal cable.
Build details for those interested:
As I designed the winch, I was trying to match the pulling speed of the PCW-5000 that ericm979 referenced. The Eaton motor displacement is 4.9 cubic inches. The geroler motor I used is more expensive then a typical geroter, but works smoother at lower rpm and was rated for the pressure of my hydraulic system. I use the winch on a 59 HP Yanmar and the rear hydraulics are rated for ~9.4 GPM at ~2300 PSI. By calculation, this converts to ~14 HP with a pull ~2750 lbs at ~2.5 fps. In the end it pulls a little faster and thus with less force. I bought a 1.25" shaft diameter motor but I think this was not needed. A 1" shaft would be adequate and would not require boring out the capstan. To fabricate, I used a MIG, drill press, metal chop saw and angle grinder to make most of the parts. I had to use a lathe from work to make a large Delrin washer that fits over the capstan and is mounted on the hydraulic motor base to provide a low friction surface for the in-feeding rope.
Overal,l I am very happy with it on my 59 HP tractor and am easily able to skid 10" trees up to ~20 feet long. Based on my experience, I doubt that it would skid 20" trees greater than 6-8' feet long and agree that a Frami or Wollensak would be needed to routinely handle logs of 20" in size.
For lighter work that I need to do, I have found the capstan winch to be adequate and very convenient. It is very easy and fast to set up and skid the the smaller trees I work with. I use 1/2" double braid rope and found it to hold up well. I have stalled the hydraulic motor with four wraps on the capstan trying to extricate a large blown down maple log at the bottom of a tangled brush and branch pile. This was reassuring since it indicated to me that the rope was stronger than the motor pull. It is important prepare for the possibility of snapped ropes. I stand well to the side of the winch and tie towels to the line if I need to "pull hard". The capstan operation gives good control of the pulling force and I have used it for skidding as well as puling down snags and hung up trees with snatch blocks. Handling rope is easier than metal cable.
Build details for those interested:
As I designed the winch, I was trying to match the pulling speed of the PCW-5000 that ericm979 referenced. The Eaton motor displacement is 4.9 cubic inches. The geroler motor I used is more expensive then a typical geroter, but works smoother at lower rpm and was rated for the pressure of my hydraulic system. I use the winch on a 59 HP Yanmar and the rear hydraulics are rated for ~9.4 GPM at ~2300 PSI. By calculation, this converts to ~14 HP with a pull ~2750 lbs at ~2.5 fps. In the end it pulls a little faster and thus with less force. I bought a 1.25" shaft diameter motor but I think this was not needed. A 1" shaft would be adequate and would not require boring out the capstan. To fabricate, I used a MIG, drill press, metal chop saw and angle grinder to make most of the parts. I had to use a lathe from work to make a large Delrin washer that fits over the capstan and is mounted on the hydraulic motor base to provide a low friction surface for the in-feeding rope.
Jack Murdock
Silver Member
I work from home and live in 12168 if you want to see the Norwood Skid Winch. It is not on my tractor only because I bought a new tractor.