A winch pulled CSM

[steve fryar]

I have posted this on our forum in Australia,thought I'd do the same here.Do any millers out there use a boat winch to pull their CSM along?I know putting the log on a slope helps but some of the logs I will be milling,with a 60" bar,weigh tons.
I have an Alaskan style mill.I have no problems with pushing the mill with a 30" bar,but the big 60",phew.And I have no permanent offsider to help me hence the idea of using a boat winch to pull it along the rails.I was thinking of a setup in a Y configuration with the winch hight adjusted as I get deeper into the log.The mill will be ballasted to keep it firm to the rails.
Cheers, Steve.

 

[olyman]

type winch into search--more than one have done it--

 

[Matildasmate]

Hi Steve I have a simple winch on my mill designed a long the logosol version , I can see how that would work quite easily , the diameter of my winch shaft is only about 1/2 an inch , which gives you a lot of grunt , not that you will need it and the winch line is only builders string , very strong stuff , I dont actually use mine any more , I still only have a 36" bar max . cheers MM

 

[BobL]

type winch into search--more than one have done it--

Oly - I tried that - if you type winch you get 100 entries for people who use winches to haul logs for every one you get on hauling saws and most of those are for rail type mills. There are actually very few threads I could find on winches hauling CSMs.

There was a post around mid 2007 with a really nice set of pics of someone who had set a csm up on a trailer - I think he used a winch - I think he had a blue pickup in his photos. Anyone remember that one?

 

[Backwood]

I read a book " chainsaw lumbermaking " that showed in detail how he did it. He could sit in a chair at the end of the log and crank the handle. You can usually find a copy on ebay but because it is out of print they bring top $$. I bought mine there for 50 bucks and after I read it I sold it there for 75. Was thinking when I bought it that it was crazy to spend that kind of money but after reading it I think it was worth every penny. The book has chapters on making several other jigs, like a mini mill, circle cutting jig etc....

 

[steve fryar]

Oly - I tried that - if you type winch you get 100 entries for people who use winches to haul logs for every one you get on hauling saws and most of those are for rail type mills. There are actually very few threads I could find on winches hauling CSMs.

There was a post around mid 2007 with a really nice set of pics of someone who had set a csm up on a trailer - I think he used a winch - I think he had a blue pickup in his photos. Anyone remember that one?

Bob is right.I tried that.And what is with those capstan winches that go onto a chainsaw.If something is to heavy to lift/drag,do you go flying along while hold the saw?Why would anybody want to spend money on that?Sheesh.

 

[Backwood]

Steve I have never used a capstan winch but I dont think you would try and hold it , I think you would maybe chain the saw to something like a tree or truck then pull what you are pulling.

 

[poleframer]

 

[Brmorgan]

Thanks so much, I just found a good job for my old sh!tbox chuckless drill when I get my bandmill bought or built! Where did you get the worm gear there? And I'd love to see some more pictures of that mill, it looks VERY similar to something I tried building a few years back but never got to work very well. With the knowledge I've obtained since then, though, I think I could make it work much better and it would hold me over until I get a band setup. I had a 10hp electric start Tecumseh on mine though.

Steve / Backwoods - Is a "capstan" winch the same idea as a Lewis winch? If so, it was my understanding that you have to bolt the winch end of those setups down, either lag-bolted to a tree etc. or machine bolted to a steel base, such as your truck bumper. Having never used one though, I don't know for sure. I'm thinking you could build your own using a wormgear setup similar to the one in Poleframer's mill above, just drive it with a chainsaw. The framing might have to be a bit beefier though. Hmm... Ideas, ideas in this thread.

 

[Stihl 041S]

Bob is right.I tried that.And what is with those capstan winches that go onto a chainsaw.If something is to heavy to lift/drag,do you go flying along while hold the saw?Why would anybody want to spend money on that?Sheesh.

This type of joke is know as irony, which has lost all meaning with the internet, because someone always beleives them. He was joking, ..........I hope.

 

[BobL]

This type of joke is know as irony, which has lost all meaning with the internet, because someone always beleives them. He was joking, ..........I hope.

Yeah, he is an Aussie! And Aussies are always, as we say, "taking the pi$$" out of everything.

 

[olyman]

there was a gent--that had the winch hooked on his mill, then thru a pulley on the end of log, then thru one on the end of shed, then thru another one to the winch--- in the shed----dont remember who---

 

[steve fryar]

This type of joke is know as irony, which has lost all meaning with the internet, because someone always beleives them. He was joking, ..........I hope.

Sorry.As Bob said,I was taking the p*ss.Anyway most fo us outdoorsy type people have a winch on the 4WD.If it pulls a ute out of bog,it'll move a log.

 

[kkmonte]

how about this one

how about this one for a link to youtube of someone who did exactly what you want to do I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP-YMWQohCQ


Ken