Skidding Winches

[Smittyy]

Sun light eats the ropes up too, along with abrasion problems...

You won't be seeing one on my winch...

SR

a couple good points there. yes he likes the light weight. and that he can get about 200 feet on it. I sit around 100 feet with my cable

 

[Smittyy]

i dont know if the strength would be there for me. i wouldn't mind another 50 feet of
length tho

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The strength between the two is the same, at least when the rope is new...

I keep about 165' on my winch...

SR

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have been unhappy with the 3 clamps and hook on the end of my winch cable. It is stiff and often in the way. I always put the first log on the top (red) slider and then the next log on the second slider, and on down the line. That way I can always repull the cable to hook the next log. Most times the hook is unused. That leaves a stiff section of cable with 3 clamps and a hook sticking out into the hitch. Sometimes it gets buried in the middle of the hitch, or hooks onto a choker during the skid out and it's a pita to undo when I get to the landing. Or if I use the hook that log is not held in tight and even with the rest and hangs low.



So I cleaned up the cable end up by replacing the 3 clamps with a ferrule type end button and putting the hook on a 5th slider. I think I will like it better - time will tell.





I hooked up to a stump and pulled hard enough to move the tractor a foot with brakes set and ice chains on all four tires. It held.



I am running 1/2" cable. The smallest quick ferrule I found was for 7/16" to 9/16" cable.

D4 Wedge-Type Quick Ferrule - 7/16" - 9/16" Wire Rope

gg

 

[Oldpath05]

1/2" cable is bigger then mine, I have 8mm. I took my hook off, it was always catching weeds and sticks so I just have a loop at that the end secured with cable clamps.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

That's considered a no no… You can see in your picts. why...

It kinks the cable every time you pull a single load, single loads should always be hooked to the very end, so it doesn't continually kink the cable.

SR

 

[Gordon Gould]

That's considered a no no… You can see in your picts. why...

It kinks the cable every time you pull a single load, single loads should always be hooked to the very end, so it doesn't continually kink the cable.

SR

Your comment is not w/o merit however I would call that a bend not a kink. A mild bend comparable to going over a pulley. The sliders have a radius to them to minimize cable kink. Anyway in my thinking, life is full of trade offs. The end of the cable has to be redone periodically no matter what you do if you run sliders. If I have three or four trees down up in the woods that will make up a hitch, such that I have to run the cable up thru the trees using different paths for each one, I hook the first one onto the top slider and pull it to the tractor. Then I grab the cable and pull it to the second tree. Then winch that one back. Etc. When they are all pulled in to the tractor I set the brake, lift the winch, and take off. To me the ease and convenience of working that way far outweighs worrying about weather my cable is perfectly straight. It took me about a half hour to put that end on and it is reusable. This is a logging cable not an overhead high-rise construction crane cable. Just The way I think and the trade off I am willing to make. You may not agree.

EDIT: Take a look at the new Wallensteins. They have knob ends and sliders just like most cable skidders which is where I got the idea.

gg

 

[tractorcrazy]

I have a tajfun 45e I use behind my L4310 kubota it has around 280 ft of cable I have a remote switch with it.i can go down a steep hill in the woods and follow the log back up the hill to the winch by using the remote switch .sometimes I hook the cable to my four wheeler and pull it down through the woods then hook to a log and follow it back to the winch while riding the four wheeler while holding the remote switch really saves a lot of Time Thanks Rick

 

[Oldpath05]

That's considered a no no?/strong> You can see in your picts. why...

It kinks the cable every time you pull a single load, single loads should always be hooked to the very end, so it doesn't continually kink the cable.

SR

So that's what I been doang rong all thees yeers..... Every 20 cord or so , if I make it that far, I end up taking off 6"-ish just to get rid of the hair and any kinks that accidentally occurred while doing my professional logging............

 

[John_Mc]

I posted this in another thread on here somewhere, but this is what's on the end of my cable:

There is a wedge in the body. Cable runs up through the body, over the top of the wedge and back down the other side (the cable end remains just barely inside the body, so no ends to get poked by). I have a grab hook on a short chain I can put through the keyhole when I need a hook for something, but I don't use it much. I could attach the chain from the grab hook directly onto the clamp body, replacing the keyhole/swivel, but I'd lose the swivel action if I did that. I do like that swivel action: it helps keep the cable from twisting up if I'm winching a log on a side-hill and ir rolls down the hill a bit.

One of these days, I'll try to get some better pictures of it, if anyone is interested.

 

[Oldpath05]

I posted this in another thread on here somewhere, but this is what's on the end of my cable:
View attachment 634102

There is a wedge in the body. Cable runs up through the body, over the top of the wedge and back down the other side (the cable end remains just barely inside the body, so no ends to get poked by). I have a grab hook on a short chain I can put through the keyhole when I need a hook for something, but I don't use it much. I could attach the chain from the grab hook directly onto the clamp body, replacing the keyhole/swivel, but I'd lose the swivel action if I did that. I do like that swivel action: it helps keep the cable from twisting up if I'm winching a log on a side-hill and ir rolls down the hill a bit.

One of these days, I'll try to get some better pictures of it, if anyone is interested.

I bought that couple years ago from someone who suggested it, it might of been you. I am still waiting for my cable to brake to put it on, this might be the winter, if it does I'm ready with cable cutter and Bk tape on board.........

 

[Sawyer Rob]

There is a wedge in the body. Cable runs up through the body, over the top of the wedge and back down the other side (the cable end remains just barely inside the body, so no ends to get poked by)..

There's a few different kinds of those wedge blocks, here's one of them,

SR

 

[Oldpath05]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
But that one looks like it might have a bite to it if grab wrong, I already get blanked off enough...............

 

[tractorcrazy]

I'll send some of mine when I get my computer fixed I can't figure out how to send them on my phone. I have a tajfun 45 on a kubota L4310 with a brush grapple on the loader nice little setup.

 

[Oldpath05]

I'll send some of mine when I get my computer fixed I can't figure out how to send them on my phone. I have a tajfun 45 on a kubota L4310 with a brush grapple on the loader nice little setup.

Maybe you should post picture question on this thread, XFaxman and others know more about that. https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/news-feedback/385891-help-uploading-images.html#post4874389

 

[Gordon Gould]

When I am trying to set the rope operated brake on my Farmi winch I often wish I had three hands. One for the brake rope, one for the clutch rope, and one to guide the cable, hitch, or something else. Or sometimes it just feels like a clumsy operation because of the position you have to be in. I made it easier today by adding a lever and spring. With the lever down the pawl brake operates manually with the rope like before. With the lever flipped up a spring holds the pawl engaged so there is no need to pull the rope. As soon as you stop winching in the brake is applied. Makes a good safety for holding the brake on when the cable has no weight on it too.







gg

 

[CobyRupert]

When I am trying to set the rope operated brake on my Farmi winch I often wish I had three hands. One for the brake rope, one for the clutch rope, and one to guide the cable, hitch, or something else. Or sometimes it just feels like a clumsy operation because of the position you have to be in. I made it easier today by adding a lever and spring. With the lever down the pawl brake operates manually with the rope like before. With the lever flipped up a spring holds the pawl engaged so there is no need to pull the rope. As soon as you stop winching in the brake is applied. Makes a good safety for holding the brake on when the cable has no weight on it too.

gg

That’s really cool. Patent it and sell it to the Big Guys, they can sell it as an option.
I can see it being really handy when winching / falling a standing tree that you trying to ensure falls in the intended direction.
It’s always hard to balance pulling just enough vs. too hard, with the timing of the cut, movement of the tree. You definitely don’t want someone to release the tension at the wrong time before they can pull the “other rope”.
One rope operation would definitely be handy when the selection (and experience) of winch operators is “limited” (aka: “the wife”)

(Bluetooth headsets would help too.)

 

[Oldpath05]

Or you could stay with two hands and get a Fransgard winch, one hand for camera, one hand for rope or remote, depending on how much green you have................ Tractor winching, showing Fransgard auto brake - YouTube
Fransgard V 4 Winch - YouTube

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My winch has two ropes, one for the clutch the other for the brake.

If needed, I can hold/pull them both with one hand, or use them one at a time. Seems like a great system to me.

SR

 

[Gordon Gould]

Or you could stay with two hands and get a Fransgard winch, one hand for camera, one hand for rope or remote, depending on how much green you have................ Tractor winching, showing Fransgard auto brake - YouTube
Fransgard V 4 Winch - YouTube

Now mine works just like your Frangard with the auto brake. I flip my auto brake on when I stop to put the cable under the lower pulley. Then it self locks just like in your video when I get the hitch height right below the pulley.

gg