Friction Wrap/Lowering device

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northernmover said:
How much time & effort is worth saving $100? Go buy the porty & get back to cutting trees.:chainsaw:
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Because for a lot less, you can make a much better product. It's really not the money savings, the darn thing they sell is too small.
-Ralph
 
JayD said:
Hi All,
After reading the posts I decided to make a larger Friction Wrap and I thought you all might like to see it,the yellow one is my original and its a 2" one the larger is 4" it's been cut to size and all it needs is weld and a little bending and it's ready to go into service,if you have any doubt about your ability to weld! do not try and make this tool..me in another life I was a structural welder,if it breaks I fix it,If I can make it up I do,and it usually keeps me busy between quotes and bad weather which here in Sydney it has been bucketing down,high winds.Having work and not being able to do it because of the weather is nearly as bad as having none.
All The Best
JayD

frictionwraps006mu4.jpg
frictionwraps004ec8.jpg
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Is the yellow one powder coated or painted? I made a big double barrell lowering device that is powdercoated and it has streaked my lines. Kinda wish I left it raw.
 
formationrx said:
buy one... dont make it...
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I definitely agree with that.

If you just have to make one though, set up a safe testing system to ensure it's reliable, and test it at 10X the loads you're going to be putting on it. That means you'll have to sacrifice a rigging rope too, so if you're doing it to save money you're probably better off buying one.
 
...

i would never trust a ratchet strap like that with the size of the wood i lower out... if that thing exploded the device would hit my ground guy in the face or it would go up the trunk and drop a bomb on him... i ll stick to my fat single eye loop and my bought friction brake... using homemade equipment is just asking for trouble... and it in this business its trouble with a capital T...
 
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I make things, because I can. I don't even care if it cost me more in the long run. As I have always said, you have to pay tuition to go to college, I will call this course lowering devise 101.
 
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formationrx said:
i would never trust a ratchet strap like that with the size of the wood i lower out... if that thing exploded the device would hit my ground guy in the face or it would go up the trunk and drop a bomb on him... i ll stick to my fat single eye loop and my bought friction brake... using homemade equipment is just asking for trouble... and it in this business its trouble with a capit

That ratchet strap is rated @ 5000lbs. It is for my light duty rigging. And to be honest I trust my welds more than some mass produced Chinese welds. I can understand if you aren't familiar with welding or metal fab. Not everyone is. On the other hand I have a lot of experience welding heavy duty critical pieces, The bigger device mounts in a notch cut to into the trunk with the ratchet strap and an eye sling as a backup. I have tied off bull ropes to it and used it to guide whole 25"dbh oak trees the only thing that happened was powder coat got rubbed off. I have put it thru tests that are well within the loads I will be using it for. I can appreciate your concern tho. If not done right it can be fatal...,
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[/QUOTE]That ratchet strap is rated @ 5000lbs. It is for my light duty rigging. And to be honest I trust my welds more than some mass produced Chinese welds. I can understand if you aren't familiar with welding or metal fab. Not everyone is. On the other hand I have a lot of experience welding heavy duty critical pieces, The bigger device mounts in a notch cut to into the trunk with the ratchet strap and an eye sling as a backup. I have tied off bull ropes to it and used it to guide whole 25"dbh oak trees the only thing that happened was powder coat got rubbed off. I have put it thru tests that are well within the loads I will be using it for. I can appreciate your concern tho. If not done right it can be fatal...,[/QUOTE]

i gotcha... i m sure some guys like you can make an ass kick device... hell i could make one too... but not everyone can... i can see a lot of ######## seeing that and wanting to make one and someone ends up dead... having a backup sling on it is the right way to go... those straps are made by lots of companies and they are not all the same quality... i prefer the rope sling cuz its a single piece and its easy to spot damage... a ratchet strap has all those moving parts and they all depend on each other... if one tiny part is defective or damaged its easily overlooked... and that may put the hurt on someone...
 
That ratchet strap is rated @ 5000lbs. It is for my light duty rigging. And to be honest I trust my welds more than some mass produced Chinese welds. I can understand if you aren't familiar with welding or metal fab. Not everyone is. On the other hand I have a lot of experience welding heavy duty critical pieces, The bigger device mounts in a notch cut to into the trunk with the ratchet strap and an eye sling as a backup. I have tied off bull ropes to it and used it to guide whole 25"dbh oak trees the only thing that happened was powder coat got rubbed off. I have put it thru tests that are well within the loads I will be using it for. I can appreciate your concern tho. If not done right it can be fatal...,[/QUOTE]

i gotcha... i m sure some guys like you can make an ass kick device... hell i could make one too... but not everyone can... i can see a lot of ######## seeing that and wanting to make one and someone ends up dead... having a backup sling on it is the right way to go... those straps are made by lots of companies and they are not all the same quality... i prefer the rope sling cuz its a single piece and its easy to spot damage... a ratchet strap has all those moving parts and they all depend on each other... if one tiny part is defective or damaged its easily overlooked... and that may put the hurt on someone...[/QUOTE]

Yeah, u are right there. I would just hope that anyone who ever think s of making something as critical as a lowering device or anything that will support a person's weight would really think it thru thoroughly, just like when doing dangerous removals everything should be well thought out and the outcome should already be known. Now that u mention it I'm just waiting to hear about a weekend warrior getting hurt or damaging property because be thought he could make something himself...
 
Some of the Stuff we build @ the shop.

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Everybit of this car was fabricated @ the shop I work at. The car dyno tested with 660 HP with ls1 turnkey motor. And is I.F.S. we built one with a Dana 60 front axle that is mostly for rock crawling. The I.F.S car is for desert racing and has raced in the King of the hammers and several other big races. I am truly lucky to have 2 jobs that I absolutely love...
 
Here is a better view of the big one.

[video=youtube;ZPVBffzLMdo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPVBffzLMdo&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

I only use the eye sling on trees that are not being removed in whick case a rubber mudflap goes in between the device and the tree then a 3/4 tenex slingis choked to bottom ring which is thru bolted and welded to bottom of device. It is very secure when it is mounted into a notch tho. And usually there is almost never any reason to remove such large heavy limbs on prunes. Unless of course it is hazardous or damaged. But usually I use the small one which has a piece of angle iron that bolts to the top and sits in a kerf cut which helps to keep the device from running up on heavy loads..... I tend to think outside of the boxalot when it comes to fabrication...:boss:
 
You guys are right about weekend warriors. I have seen a few home made devices, they are freakin scary! The welds!! Hell, THEY look like they could slice a rope! All jagged and ****,one even had wire still coming off the back end of a bead, and they painted it like that!
I can weld pretty good........I think, been a long time, but that stuff I would leave to actual fabricators, with the right tools.
 
sgreanbeans said:
You guys are right about weekend warriors. I have seen a few home made devices, they are freakin scary! The welds!! Hell, THEY look like they could slice a rope! All jagged and ****,one even had wire still coming off the back end of a bead, and they painted it like that!
I can weld pretty good........I think, been a long time, but that stuff I would leave to actual fabricators, with the right tools.
Click to expand...


Yeah, having access to a 4x4 torchmate is so awesome, it can cut put anything with precision. Plus we have tube benders (digital hydraulic) tube notcher, lathe etc..... We can make anything and I mean anything... That's funny about the weld with a piece of wire sticking off of it. Atleast snip it off or grind the welds down if they ain't purty... Lol
 

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