Wire Rope

[BlueKnife]

good idea but in practice when pulling trees in the bush those lock levers seem to last about ........ hmmmm......... 1 minute.

these "c" hooks be about same price, available all over, and will outlast my remaining years.

Cheers
View attachment 821943

Yeah, those are the way to go for skidding with chain. The hooks with the little sheet metal latch are good for stuff where the hook never sees the dirt. Drag logs with them and they rarely last a quarter of a day.

 

[hslogger]

In the PNW, companies like WESTECH are the suppliers for real loggers. I've read here about gripes about wire rope kinking or jaggers. A choker of wire rope is a fixed unit. You don't shorten them. The nubbin on the ends don't come off and when set through a choker bell, if set right, do not fail. Sometimes a chain choker will come undone if you set it and you go a long distance to your tractor to pull it. Choker bell has its' purpose. Most farmer stuff is reliant on chains and hooks.

You will learn that no matter what you use, choker or chain, buy setting the pull on certain angles to the log, you can put a roll on it which can put a roll on it if you want.
I logged all kinds of stuff for decades. Around the farm I just dink around with chains for short pulls. Sometimes a combo of wire rope and chain for long distance or block and tackle pull, or directional block pull. You can't run chain through blocks.

 

[WinterDeere]

In the PNW, companies like WESTECH are the suppliers for real loggers. I've read here about gripes about wire rope kinking or jaggers.

But their usage is different than many here. Most of my skidding is onto and off of a trailer, with an expanded metal gate, hard metal edge at back of trailer, and metal side walls. The chain offers nice rounded links to help the log "roll" up over and past all of that, where a steel cable is just going to get abused. I believe most of these PNW loggers are lifting one end of the log to haul up a hillside to a landing, where that cable is never rubbing against hard steel angles.

 

[LARGEONE]

There are so many of these 50-100 ft cables almost being thrown away by the 4X4 community. Most guys who buy a winch with cable on it, will remove it and replace with synthetic rope, due to the weight of the metal cable on the front of their trucks. If you know if a shop around you that modifies J&&ps, just aske them...they likely have a plethora of nearly free cables they can "give" you. Almost everyone in my 4X4 club has an unused cable in their garage that they will never use!

 

[JRH02]

I want a wire rope assembly with a thimble already crimped into the ends. I am looking for a 3/8in 50ft wire rope I can use to pull trees over or logs out of the pasture. Any recommendations where I can buy it?

Want to die young? Cable is a way to do that.

But seriously, the pulling rig should never be able to exceed the rating of the rope. If it can then you will do it and maybe kill yourself. Then add wear and tear and broken strands.

Just yesterday I was working with a logging choker. I hate and love those things.

 

[charlessenf]

I want a wire rope assembly with a thimble already crimped into the ends. I am looking for a 3/8in 50ft wire rope I can use to pull trees over or logs out of the pasture. Any recommendations where I can buy it?

As I saw with the first response "Chain"

When I started cutting trees for firewood years ago my neighbor showed me a chain with hooks on either end. The links are about an inch and a half long and (guessing) 3/16" diameter. I use 1/2" hooks from Harbor Freight tools. I used it with my Bombardier Outlander 330 to haul logs off the mountain and such, and with my Kubota B7800 when the logs proved too much for the 330. I was dragging them flat until recently when I tried slipping the chain through the mounting hole for the post hole auger (see picture) that allowed me to raise the one end of the log to clear any obstructions and let me drag some 24" caliper 12-14ft logs from a bottom pasture up a steep bank in AWD LOW GEAR recently.

I've some wire rope that would serve, but it is simply no where near as convenient as the chain. I can stow that 20' of chain "anywhere" quick and easy. Wire rope's a relative PITA to coil up, secure and stow - think Band Saw Blades or even garden and air hose.

Joe taught this 'city boy' several lessons and the chain was one of the best!

SPECS ON CHAIN: Welded Chain Specifications - Industrial Rope

To be honest. I do not know the specs on teh chain I've been using. I'm pretty sure I bought it in a package - 20' length - at lowes or tractor supply ten or more years ago. What I found online today was such a variety that I could not figure out what to suggest save the CLEVIS HOOKS from HFT (good price - never failed).

I did split this chain into two lengths at some point and cannot honestly recall if it failed or I cut it for some reason. Likely the latter as a failure would stick in one's memory if they survived - and, I'm still here . . . so . . .

 

[charlessenf]

Wow, I was expecting some sort of crimping would be required. How many lbs is something like this 'good for?'

 

[ning]

I hate cable with a passion, just dealing with coiling & uncoiling it is bad enough and I don't ever want to deal with frays. Glad to heft around chain.

I have a few smaller pieces, a couple 20's, and a bucket of 75' and a bucket of 90'. I got the 90 when I was pulling out some big blackberry brambles - I found that if you pull a chain around a bramble and put a slip on the end, you get most of it into a big ball and pull out many of the roots in the process. I use a long pole to stick the chain through the middle of huge brambles that a 90' won't go around.

I keep checking every once in a while to see if a seller screws up again but I haven't seen this good deal I got a few years ago:

The shipping alone probably cost most of that price.
(Current amz price $236 shipped - still that's only $3/ft shipped, not terrible)

Two days after I placed that order I checked for a friend if they still had it up and it had gone up to $220 suddenly...

 

[charlessenf]

"Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns" - Thomas Jefferson

I would like to know the source for this quotation. Was it in one of his letters to John Adams? To James Calendar? His papers are at the Library of Congress so a citation should not be difficult to provide. Or are we talking hearsay?

For the record I Googol'd it and could find no such citation at all.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Wow, I was expecting some sort of crimping would be required. How many lbs is something like this 'good for?'

Your sense is correct. In a cable like that the collar is swaged tight. They just didn't show it. A cable clamp is required if you make one up in the door yard. The beauty is you only need one clamp not three because the loop will not slip.

gg

 

[bcp]

For getting your chain choker under a log, make a 16in or so 1/4 inch rod with an eye on one end, connected to one end of the chain.

Bruce

 

[jyoutz]

I have to disagree with people recommending chains for skidding logs. A wire rope choker has long been the standard for log skidding in the industry. The bell makes it really quick and easy to choke and release the log. And the cable slides nicely over obstacles.

3/8" x 12 ft Cat Choker w/ Eye - 11000 lbs Breaking Strength

Made from 6x19 class wire rope, IWRC EIPS specification End fittings are professionally swaged (aka pressed) according to industry standards Includes a Micro-Midget choker hook Place nub into choker bell which creates a choking action around the log Ideal for skidding / moving logs NOT FOR...

www.westechrigging.com

 

[Trackerjoe]

For the log end, I prefer this style choker hook. I have not have any problems with it becoming disconnected from the log. Amazon.com

I don't know if this style can be found preinstalled on a chain you can buy. I had to change out the hook ends on mine.

edit: there is this choker chain with the hook preinstalled: Amazon.com

I use the spring latch style you posted to connect to the tractor clevis on the drawbar.

There is also this style latching hook which I think may be more resistant to bending than the spring latch on the other type of hook, but I haven't used it to be able to say for sure. Amazon.com

Had never seen that third link before. Clip looks much more durable and it's there when you need it and out of the way when you don't. Can you buy the clip separately when you. misplace it?

 

[2manyrocks]

I doubt you can find the clip separately, however, it has a spring engagement on it and it's made of much heavier material than the thin metal spring clasps they put on other hooks. So I don't think you'll lose it. It is more fiddly to engage, IMO.

 

[WinterDeere]

Had never seen that third link before. Clip looks much more durable and it's there when you need it and out of the way when you don't. Can you buy the clip separately when you. misplace it?

See my post #22, oval connecting link. This is an easy way to add a second grab hook anywhere in the middle of the chain, when you need to effectively shorten a chain for the odd job. I always have one or two either in my winch toolbox, or dangling from one of the chains I always carry.

Depending on the chain and the connecting link, you sometimes have to drop down one size to get the threaded bit to pass thru your chain's eye, if hooking in mid-chain. Since this method is almost always used when doubling the chain over to hook to itself, stress on that link is only half the load, so the diminished strength of a slightly smaller link isn't going to be a limiting factor.

 

[BlueKnife]

Just go to harbor freight and buy a winch cable. Hook already on the eye. Or cut the hook off if you just want the eye. Been doing that for years. But I'd use chain for your purpose. Maybe a cable with two eyes, chain on one end.

You should give a cat choker a try. If you've been using a winch cable for skidding logs for years, you'll be amazed at how much nicer it is.

 

[jyoutz]

You should give a cat choker a try. If you've been using a winch cable for skidding logs for years, you'll be amazed at how much nicer it is.

Yep. I posted a link for professional logging cat chokers. They’re specifically designed for the job, professional loggers use them, and they’re not expensive.

 

[BlueKnife]

Yep. I posted a link for professional logging cat chokers. They’re specifically designed for the job, professional loggers use them, and they’re not expensive.

For sure. Folks don't know what they're missing. I beat you to it with that link. We posted the same thing. Westech is great.

 

[WinterDeere]

For sure. Folks don't know what they're missing. I beat you to it with that link. We posted the same thing. Westech is great.

I used cable previously, but found chain both works and holds up better for dragging logs over rocky creek beds and steel trailer tailgates. Not only does chain not fray and stab me, but it rolls over the terrain better.

Again, there's no one perfect tool for all jobs and situations. Loggers running a skyline overhead to skid logs up a hill have very little to do with the way most of us are skidding logs with trailer winches and tractors.

 

[jyoutz]

I used cable previously, but found chain both works and holds up better for dragging logs over rocky creek beds and steel trailer tailgates. Not only does chain not fray and stab me, but it rolls over the terrain better.

Again, there's no one perfect tool for all jobs and situations. Loggers running a skyline overhead to skid logs up a hill have very little to do with the way most of us are skidding logs with trailer winches and tractors.

To each their own. Loggers used to use cable chokers all the time for tractor skidding, not just skylines. Nowadays, there’s not much tractor skidding anymore; it’s mostly big bucks feller bunchers or forwarder machines.