Mini Skyline for firewood...

[JimS]

I have some steep hills that are wooded. Too steep for the tractor and prone to erosion. I have a number of 12" diameter and under dead trees, some a bit bigger that I want to use for firewood. How to get them up to the top without tearing up the hillsides, the tractor or both? Then I saw an article about a mini skyline:

The Mini-Skyline: A Homemade Yarder to Bring Firewood up a draw by James F. Deaton. Published 0601

This looks just about ideal. Easy to move around too. I could cut the wood in sections of about 200 lbs each and pull them up the cable. He used 1/8" cable - VERY light - I think he either didn't do the calculations right or used the breaking strength of the cable rather than the working load. I planned to use 250 ft of 1/4" or maybe slightly bigger. A few tree straps and pulleys, some rope for winch line, a spool on the old rototiller and I think we are set. I can even get some wood from across a small creek at the bottom of the hill.

Anyone tried something like this? Any suggestions? Cheap sources of pulleys, line, etc?

I have gotten a few ideas looking at zip line sites...

 

[Skyco]

Similar situation here- have some steep land I can't get mechanized equipment into. Let us know what you build and how it works. I can say from experience trying to make a zipline once for the kids it is amazing how much force is generated on the anchor points when supporting weight in the middle, about pulled large pine trees over

 

[groundcover]

I thought I needed to go in that direction but was able to pull my Oak up a very rockey and steep hill with a PTO Farmi winch Tractor Mounted Winches - Farmiwinch.com - Farmi Winch

The auto release snatch block is well worth getting as well.

 

[ChrsDrn]

I can say from experience trying to make a zipline once for the kids it is amazing how much force is generated on the anchor points when supporting weight in the middle, about pulled large pine trees over

If you where to guy the tree to anouther tree close to the ground stress on the first tree would be greatly decreased, look at the way that utility companies do it. In particular the telephone company... stress on the tree is equal to the weight applied to the wire even though it is suported on bothends. the real force multiplier is the distance from the ground you are attached for instance if you apply 100# load to the center of the span and it is attached 20' from the ground it will have 2,000 ft/lbs of torque.
Chris

 

[charlz]

Can you get to the bottom of the hill? We used to 'skid' out 8' logs in the snow just using a short piece of rope and dragging them by hand. Downhill the ones with no bark would just about run you over once a skid trail was established.

 

[JimS]

No access to the bottom. And some pieces would take a 200 ft pull. A logging winch cost is not justified and would tear up the hills. I am looking for a way to do this for without a lot of $$.

 

[shinnlinger]

HI,

I just looked at a book in the Library. and saw a book which I think was called Home heating with Firewood or something close. The author discusses a homemade skyline, but also a chute system and a few other options for you. He also sites a resource another gentleman wrote about home built skyline.

Both of these guys were from Vermont I believe. I would think that book would be an excellent resource for you as it had some very inexpensive, practical and efficient ways for a landowner to do just what you are proposing.

 

[simplicityguy92]

id build her just watch if that cable brakes ive seen video of a skyline breaking and i threw logs through the air like popsicle sticks

 

[RonMar]

Tremendous ammount of stress on a skyline, as in many times the weight of the log being lifted. If money is an object, a winch will be cheap compared to the ammount of high strength cable required to lift a log completely off the ground. Have you thought of using a 4 wheel cart? The rolling wheels would do less damage to the land. The tounge of this cart could be attached to a single winch cable to be hauled up the slope. This would only require a single line strong enough to lift the weight of log and cart. IE: several hundred pound test vis several thousand pound. You would only need a single length of line long enough to reach the bottom, instead of several lengths necessary to rig a skyline.

If room is available at the top, you could run the line thru a snatch block attached to the base of a tree at the top and onto the drawbar on the tractor to pull the line. If room is a problem at the top, depending on your tractor, you may be able to fabricate a capstan drum to bolt onto a rear wheel hub(in place of wheel weights?). This along with a cable guide bolted to the frame, might allow you to place the rear axle of the tractor up on blocks so the wheels are just off the ground, anchor it to a tree so it won't be pulled backward, and using the difflock and a very low gear, use the axle rotation/capstan drum to winch the trailer with log up to the landing.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Afew years ago I was in the Smokey Mountains and saw a rig like a skyline that a small lodder was useing. He had a 65 HP MF tractor with a loader. o nthe back he had a 3 point rig that looked like a tower and I asked him about it. He told me what it did and I told him I knew about what a yarder was. His set up was neat this thing had a set of long storage and staionering legs and it folded down for transport. The legs were kinda like a carry all to. It had a cylinder to unfold the tower. I went back the next day to see it setup. He had it guyed down and the tractor was running he had the other end down the slope about 300 feet. He used half inch cable for the main line and the fairlead was 3/8ths. He had a Garwood ccu off an old AC crawler for the main line. Then the fairlead winch was a LeTourneau pcu off an equally ancient D4 cat. His trolley was a set of sheave wheels in a 3/8ths plate body. He made the machine several years ago I tlked with him for a long time and watched it pick up 1o to 12 inch logs 10 feet long off the ground and pull them up the slope about 2 feet off the ground. He liked the ccu because they powered one day and could hold in middle position and then free fall to lower. WHen he got it to the landing he would hold the fairlead and dropp the mainline and it would lay the logs on the ground. He did alot of debris removal as well as tree clean up in hilly areas to stop eroision. every thing he had was home built except his skid steer and 2 trucks.