Wallenstein FX 8000 skidding winch questions

[Gordon Gould]

On the oiled wire rope-- be very stingy with the oil. Oil is made to migrate over parts surfaces. Any oil gets on your clutch faces and you will not be pulling much wood. Farmi puts large notices in their manuals that the drive chain and cable should not be oiled for this reason. Another thing - you drag the cable thru the dirt. An oiled cable will pick up and hold more dirt and grit which will wear the cable quicker as it acts as an abrasive. Like most things some people use oil and some don't and every thing has trade-offs . I am not saying it is good or bad. Just be aware of the consequences of to much. I have never oiled my cable. It may seem "dry" after sitting a while but with use it slicks right up. 10-4 on the protruding wire slices - gloves come in handy.

Winching yourself in works to tension your cable. Find a slight uphill slope so you won't get rolling from the momentum and loose your tension. (EDIT: or set the parking brake so it drags a little.) Easiest is to just drag in a log or some other thing that drags hard. When I have help I hook to the lawn tractor or 4 wheeler and winch it up a good hill on the road while the grandson steers the lawn tractor/wheeler.

gg

 

[drysalty]

So I got the bits and pieces all screwed back together where they belong. I had spent a good amount of time straightening the badly damaged protective screen only to find that when nearing the top of the three point travel it was going to hit my canopy. So off it came and I leaned the top 8 away from the operators station. Then I fed the wire through the sheave and onto the drum and laid it out across the field to work the twists out of it and dragged a small log to wind the cable on the spool. Then I picked up a big hompin piece of white pine, 24 in diameter and 16 long and dragged that the full 165 and found that the tractor barely broke a sweat. The rain came in shortly after and put an end to the reindeer games but hopefully I値l be able to get up in the woods and put it to use in the next few days. Im going to put up some pictures because everyone likes pictures.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Looks good :thumbsup: Nice shop too !!

Looking at your pics reminded me of another tip. The dozer blade is bent, very common and not a particularly bad thing. The thing that causes that most often is winching your hitch in to close or tight. If you hang your logs off of the slotted rail on a short choker or you leave them on the cable under the lower pulley in such a way that when you raise the winch to skid them out the log(s) rest against the lower edge of the dozer blade then as you skid out the edge will dig into the logs and hold them. When you go over a little rise the front of the tractor dips down causing the winch to roll forward and up. The hitch can become cantilevered with the butts held against the blade edge and the short chokers trying to pick up the tail end of the hitch off the ground. It puts a tremendous force against the dozer edge. Leave enough slack so that the hitch can swing. You don't want the hitch to act like a stiff straight rudder. It makes steering much easier, especially with a small tractor, and the hitch won't try to cantilever on uneven ground if it can swing.

gg

 

[Citydude]

Glad you got it back in action. Looks like it’s in great shape. Paint does nothing to enhance performance.

I have to watch where I adjust my hydraulic top link because if it’s shortened, I can come real close to hitting my cab with the safety screen when I lift the three point.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

I'll only add do not ride the clutch. It's engaged or it's slack.

 

[drysalty]

I still haven’t gotten up into the woods to put this to actual use, been repairing some low spots in my drive way and tying up some loose ends. Now we’ve got my sister and family in for a visit so hopefully I’ll get out in the woods in the few days. I’ve ordered a snatch block and strap to secure it to a tree that should arrive soon. I’d like to have a couple more chokers, is there a good source for those? There’s a logging supply house about ep miles from here that I’m sure would have them but I’ve become accustomed to ordering online and having things arrive with out investing half a day driving.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Try Labonville on line in Conway. I would get 5/16" chokers for your set-up. Look under winch accessories.

gg

 

[Citydude]

Labonville Store|Outdoor|Forestry|Chainsaw Chaps

I’ve ordered from this site before.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Their site seems hard to navigate unless you know where things are and the exact name. You can get premade chains with hook and pin for $45 or just the hook for $10 and make your own with some 5/16"chain and a piece of 5/16" rod

Norse Winch Attachments

gg

 

[drysalty]

Ok, looks like the ones Labonville is offering are identical to the two I have. I could shoot over to Tamworth and get them at windy ridge I’m sure; it’s too bad as I was over that way last weekend but we ended up taking a short cut to get home earlier to feed the dogs and I didn’t think to get them there. Maybe I’ll jump on the motorcycle for a ride over if the weather is decent next week, or since I’m heading to Stark later this coming week to help a friend get his sons new home framed and sheathed before the weather turns I can come home via Conway and stop at labonville. I appreciate the tips!