Hey guys, here is a project I've been meaning to get done and I finally found the time to do it. I have an Igland 3501 3 point winch that I use behind my MF 1552. It's a great little winch; very powerful and the price was right. It came with one chain box on the side which I added extensions to and made another box identical to it on the other side. Other than that, I swapped out the end hook for a swivel to keep the cable from twisting and I have used it to skid out dozens of cords of wood since I bought it new. What I have found, is that the chain boxes suck. They are small and having a solid bottom they fill up with crap all the time. Plus, I have had trees bang against them when skidding and I have bent/loosened/broken the two 6mm bolts that hold them on. I pulled off the old boxes and you can see how full they get: You can see how narrow they were as well: So new boxes is what I built first. These are 3/16" thick, about 16 cubic inches more in volume, and have an expanded metal bottom to hopefully reduce litter buildup inside.
The other part that was crappy was the guard. It was made from 1/8" thick round tubing. It was bolted to the top of the winch with one bolt and the two ends slid over rectangular stock welded to the side of the winch inside the chain boxes. Unfortunatley, this allowed it to be bent when a tree would come against it. I've taken it off and straightened it several times, and finally got tired of it. You can see how twisted it was: Here you can see how the tube ends just slid over the bent rectangular stock and you can also see how it pops off of there: Here, you can kinda see the single attachment point on top of the winch spool in the center:
So, I started by removing the chain boxes and the guard. Then I ground off the rectangular stock that the end of the guards sat on: Then, I welded on the new chain boxes. I'm not sure why they look crooked in the photo but trust me they are plumb and true. The square tubing underneath is 2" square x 3/16" wall. This was the base of the new guard and the entire guard frame was made from that material> By the end of the first day I had the outer frame pretty much mocked up:
Looks like I missed some pictures along the way. I added square tubing horizontal supports above the chain boxes using 1-1/2" x 3/16 wall square tubing. The screen was made from pallet racking screening that has .23" diameter wire. I used 3/8" dia rods to make 3 chain hooks on the left side outboard, some tool mounts on the left side inboard, and a total of 6 hooks, 3 inboard and 3 outboard on the right side. Here it is in primer on my custom deluxe rolling stand for it....
Here are the finished pictures painted and touched up a bit. And here she is loaded up and ready to work. I have a saw scabbard made from left over Ipe decking material that I keep my Husky 346XP in. 6 choker chains ride on the hooks. A self-releasing snatch block with tree strap. A choker grabber. This side carries a peavy and I have 3 more hooks for chokers available.
Hopefully welding everything like I did won't cause me worse issues down the road, but we'll see. Thanks for viewing!
If possible I would get the saw mount down so the power head is not sticking up over that guard . Working in the woods for 35+ years has me envisioning a tree limb catching the saw and bending your bar or worse smashing power head .
Nice work. I have the same winch, but even with a ton of skidding it is in good shape. The biggest grip I have is the rope pops off the Cantilevered pulley, so I fish it out or pop the cover off quickly. I now just keep tension on it, but otherwise no issues. How much weight did you add?
Awesome improvements with well thought out design. As mentioned the saw scabbard might be a little high, but the lower area looks pretty filled up. I love the light covers on your fenders. When can I stop by and pick it up?
Thanks for the comments Flamestead! Justwood, my old guard had the saw mount similary located. I just log on our own property so the tractor itself stays pretty much on established trails so the saw is usually safe. Now that I mention that, I've probably jinxed myself! Hi Maina, I skidded a few trees out yesterday and it does seem to be user friendly. The only thing I wish I had was a place to carry my fuel and oil but I think I have an idea in mind... Thanks Tbone; I wish I knew how to weld too...well, I wish I was better at it anyway! Woodsnwoods - I have never had that problem, I wonder if the designs are different? MAF143 - Thanks for the comments on the winch and the tail light covers. I paid Agco for two of them before I smartened up and made the guards!
Nice view of the valley in the background. It reminds me of good times while at Ft. Devens back in the '80s. Pretty country there. Is that you out there raking hay in the overhead pic? Nice place.
Man that's gotta be handy for pullin logs outta the woods! Nice job on the rebuild, especially that guard.
