Virgin no more. Couple firsts today. My first Shag and first load over the bridge. Nice mild day to go down,,,,,,,the hill that is Half of a big red oak came down two years ago. The break finally slid down last winter or spring. In an area of the property we’ve never gathered wood from. It’s down a hill and about as far from home as you can get. One of the reasons I built the bridge to cut the commute in half. Anyway when it came down it splintered a nice shag hickory. Never had hickory. Wanted to go get that bad boy before it rots. Had a hell of a time getting that stem up the hill. Had to use the winch off a few different trees to grind my way to the top. Doesn’t look steep in the pics but pulling up 1000 + or - with no weight on the machine doesn’t work. No other way in there. I’ll have to cut shorter pieces and double chain them to the arch to put weight on the tongue. PIA but maybe it will work.
No treatment. It will outlast me and that’s all that matters haha It’s a big oak for my neck of the woods. Guesstimate 44” at the bottom where I would cut it. I may leave the big half standing though. Too hard to get out and too dangerous to cut. It’s splintered up the trunk for about 20 feet. Wouldn’t want to see that thing barber chair. I don’t move that fast anymore.
It’s a homemade unit I bought. Got rid of the manual boat crank and installed an electric winch. Hand cranks are for people that don’t know how to push buttons
Man i like that... What size winch did you put on there? What size log can it handle? Which component restricts the size log you can handle...the arch itself (like design or how that one's made), the winch, or having to control it with an atv? I'm guessing it ain't fun having to control that thing with a good sized log on much of a grade...
Very neat bridge. Those log arches are amazing, allowing a light ATV to haul so much. Love the pictures! Sent from my SM-G930VL using Tapatalk
Impressive questions. Easy one first. It’s a 4500lb Warn winch. I wouldn’t go smaller. Nothing wrong with having oomph. Must remember a log arch is designed to pick and hold from one point. So you must have more weight hanging off the back than in front. Think holding a sledgehammer out by the end of the handle. Requires much more force than holding it in the middle. Design is definitely a factor. This one was built sturdy in the back. Found out one day it wasn’t designed strong enough in the front. Builder used thin wall tubing for the front arm. Just happens that is the weak spot when pulling force is applied. Had both arch tires stuck on a ledge and I gunned it on a hard packed trail. Geeek. I welded it back up with stiffeners and a different configuration to drop the nose a bit more. Drop the nose makes it easier to hoist the tail of the log higher. Some crooked logs need that I would say this and other log arches will handle any weight you throw at them. It’s the forces you apply while driving that will tear things up. Flat ground no problem. Driving hills rocks and over logs is when you find the weak spots. Adjustability of length is a big factor in how much wood you can pick. So far I’m using mine at its shortest length because I know that arm is weaker than everything else. Extending it will only make matters worse. That’s the shag I pulled yesterday. I also lost the battery on my way home. I swap this battery between my splitter and arch constantly so it’s only held in with a bungy strap. Upgrade required. Anyhow when I got home and realized the battery was still in the woods somewhere I unlatched the ball hitch and picked up the tongue with one hand,,easily. Lighter than empty due to the extra weight hanging off the back. It’s all about configuring those tires and where the weight is hung. Personally I wouldn’t mind if the tires were a few inches further to the rear to put weight on the tongue. Not worth the effort of redoing it tho.
Occurred to me last night that while going up hill with a balanced load the weight will shift to the rear. In essence pulling up on the tongue. Seemed to be what was happening. So I tried it different today. Shorter piece and hoist it in a way that it can be held with two chains. Put some of the weight on the tongue. Sort of a pain hauling small pieces but it worked. Chugged right up the hill. First load with two chains. Second trip I wanted to try two logs. Had em in (sloppy) position and realized I had lost my second chain somewhere along the trail Improvised by wrapping the rear chain around the back of the arch. Just a couple inches of weight shift,,,,,,maybe. Still attached to the same chain hooks on the arch. Transference and all that. I don’t know. Spun going up the hill but I made it. I’ll be welding some new chain brackets in place somewhere near the battery box. Maybe two sets. Should be able to go back to one chain and long logs that way. While I’m at it I’ll cut off that 45 angle that’s in the way of the front of the log. Some plates over the joints should be fine. My little pile of hickory rounds. It’s not much. Still some branches under that red oak. And yes, I need to fix the rubber on that pile LOL
