Plan B—using a come-along winch to get out of a mess

My come a long is my friend.

 

Just a 2 ton harbor freight cheapie. 25 bucks.

 

I have a Grip Hoist. It’s way more tool than could be justified for firewood gathering. It costs about 100x what a 2 ton Harbor Freight goes for.

It’s fun to use. This one primarily gets used for trail building to move large rocks/boulders. Industrially, one of my friends uses them for pipe fitting. I know another guy who was a stage hand and said they used them at times for lights etc. A pair of them can be used to raise/lower scaffolding.

There’s no ratchet mechanism in it. The cable goes in either direction so you can raise/lower or slack off on something that you are pulling. The cable runs thru it so you are not limited by the capacity of a spool. You can rig temporary cable crossings over rivers, swamps or ravines with it.

There’s a pipe lever that goes on the nubs.


We pulled this rock level, then stuffed as much crushed rock under it as we could pound in, then released the cable tension.

 

Been there, done that.

 

I would have done same
Tree is down, got wood no injuries = win

 

Simply amazing what can be accomplished with nothing more than pulleys and levers. I like that the cable goes through yours so you aren’t limited by spool capacity. That was an issue with mine but I got around that in my situation by also using a ratcheted tow strap. I did use one spool and it wasn’t enough so I released the tension, pulled the spool cable back out, did the tow strap tight and then went back to the come along pulley. Just one time back-and-forth and then it was on the ground. Reminded me of doing a three or four point turn but with ratchet pulleys if that makes any sense.

 

Got it split and stacked today. Expectedly, the lower half had the sap. Came in at 19% on the moisture meter. Upper part was about 11%. This stuff dries fast once cracked open and exposed to air. Since it’s pine, it’s still a bit too wet for me to burn for my liking. But after sitting in the sun and wind this summer it should be good to go.

 

Somewhere I’ve seen a photo post of masons using those as guidelines to drop huge rocks down steep hills. Built a staircase up from a river if I recall correctly.
I’ve seen them used on FB marketplace. Even used they’re pricey. Very useful tools tho.

 

My grandad always told me “ it is what you learn after you know it all that really counts”
I have hung a few trees in my day, I mainly cut standing dead on private land and always back in the woods. I feel pretty dumb right now. I never thought to pull the bottom out. Duh…. I always used a synthetic winch rope from Harbor Freight for an atv and throw it as far as I can up the tree. Use a truck to snap it and pull it down , rope has some kinetic properties. It usually doesn’t work that well but eventually it will free up. Seems your way makes more sense. Thanks for posting.