homeowner pulley/ block tackle setup

[A10egress]

Hobby firewood cutter here looking for some affordable suggestions for a pulley/ block and tackle setup for occasional leaning tree work. I have a 100 ft length 1/2 samson rigging rope, smaller ropes, chains, cables and a 2 ton cheapy come- along. I am sensible enough to know safety first and when i simply cant do the job with my equipment/ skills.

Just looking to add an item to the equipment that i could have used a few weeks ago to drop a VERY dead tree. I didnt have a pulley so instead used a chain slip-hook to use as a direction changer for me to use the come-along to encourage the tree to go in a desired direction.
I thought the tree might have some inner dead based on cracks and sound of the trunk... it was solid wood but better safe than sorry..

anyway, thoughts, thanks....

 

[Hoodiegadoo]

Really depends a lot on whether you want a block that can handle a dynamic load or not. If you do, they aren’t cheap but they’ll last your lifetime. Ideally you want a block that has a 4 to 1 bend ratio based on the diameter of the rope you are using. (1/2” rope= 2”sheave minimum) I use wesspur.com for most of my equipment. They are excellent to deal with. See the rigging section for options that are available. You’ll notice blocks made for ropes have larger side plates to protect the ropes around the sheaves and they have smooth edges. It would be worth your time to do a little research on how much force you’re applying to each piece of equipment while rigging as certain factors increase the load exponentially. You’d be amazed how quickly the numbers jump.

 

[A10egress]

hey, thanks... yeah, as you can tell, im a noob in this stuff. guess this isnt a simple answer and I'll research a little more... thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Hoodiegadoo]

Nothing wrong with being new as long as you’re willing to learn and read up. It is truly incredible how fast numbers multiply when it comes to calculating rigging forces. A lot of folks don’t seem to realize sooner or later you WILL learn...whether or not it’s the hard way is completely up to you. Rigging is one of those things the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know.

 

[A10egress]

before posting my question, i was looking at the CMI 2" service line pulley w/ bearing. Was i at least in the right direction? Like i said, this is just for added insurance on keeping the desired felling direction on questionable trees... not for ongoing rigging operations or whole weight of trees. I will however read about rigging as i need to learn more knot tying, load limits and consider more gear to keep in my arsenal.

 

[greengreer]

I'd opt for little bit bigger stainless cmi pulleys. I think the bushing one is around $60. A good deadeye sling and a steel carabiner or shackle and you're all set.

 

[Hoodiegadoo]

Agreed. A 4” heavy duty stainless with bushing is probably ideal for your application. I’m hoping by now you have done your research and you already knew that [emoji12]Sorry I missed your last question. Not sure why it didn’t pop up.

 

[arathol]

This is something you don't want to skimp on. Get a high quality redirect that is rated for several times what you would expect to use it for. If you are going to use it to pull trees over as in

keeping the desired felling direction on questionable trees..

you will have the full weight of the tree on it at times. I have seen people who should know better try to use lowering pulleys rated for ~ 3000 lb WLL for pulling over large trees with less than stellar results. You don't want to be loading the pulley at or above its WLL every time you use it. The won't be any margin for error and if something goes wrong it could fail. When I went looking for one, I got a 6" Skookum A6R rated for a 6.5 ton safe working load.