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DanG-DeadHeader Log Lifter

Started by getoverit, February 21, 2006, 12:45:19 PM

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getoverit

I finally got the DanG-DeadHeader Log Lifter finished and had some logs to move. It took me a few minutes to figure out how it all worked, but in no time I had loaded several logs on the trailer and hadn't even broke out in a sweat doing it.






Thought I would give credit to the master engeneering minds that helped create this wonderful tool :)



You guys are geniuses !! Many thanks for all of the technical advice while this thing was under construction !
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

DanG

"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Murf

That looks like a DanG clever idea.  smiley_clapping

In fact, if ya put another one on the front and made a ridgepole up, you could have a pretty DanG big mobile pup tent.  ::)

For your log dogs.  :D

Ok, not such a funny joke.......  ::)
If you're going to break a law..... make sure it's Murphy's Law.

sawguy21

So how do ya make that puppy work?
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

SwampDonkey

Now if ya could just cut some of that lumber and design a door for the shop instead of using that wind whipped tarp...  ::) ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

jon12345

cut some of that lumber and design a door


least right now don't gotta worry about gettin locked out  :D
A.A.S. in Forest Technology.....Ironworker

red

looks good

and slightly redesigned
Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

Part_Timer

That's one fine looking loader there Ken.  I like the paint job.

So how do ya like that new truck of yours??
Peterson 8" ATS.
The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

getoverit

The truck runs like a top, and so far I've been real pleased with it. I even had some custom logos made for the doors  ;D



I'm working on trying to find some pine logs to cut to make the doors for the new woodshop. I'm alos going to panel the inside of it with pine boards that I cut myself, if I have to cut down one of my own pines to do it  ;D

sawguy21, if you look at DanG's gallery, you will find detailed pictures on how this works. Basically, it is a swinging "A" frame with a winch attached. The A frame is swung backward, lowering the top of it , and then a chain is attached from the log to the top of the A frame. when the winch pulls the A frame and streightens it up, the log is lifted and placed on the back of the trailer. From there, it is simply pulled onto the trailer by the winch.

I took DanG's idea and modified it a bit, and by golly it works! I have discovered that I can also use the winch and A frame as a crane, and lift some heavy loads up in the air by using a snatch block. I just chain off the A frame so that it is at about a 45 degree angle on the back of the trailer, and then use the winch, through the snatch block, to lift heavy loads.

The base of the lifter slides into the stake pockets in my trailer, so it is easy to remove when I want to use the trailer for other things. I addded a bolt in each leg, through the steak pocket, to hold it in place and keep it from bouncing out while I'm going down the road. Remove those 2 bolts, slide the legs out of the pockets, and its a normal trailer again!

Here is a picture of the "knuckle" at the base of the A frame.





Thanks for the compliments !!




I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

sawguy21

Ah so,  thanks, I learn sumpin here every day.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

getoverit

I had something happen yesterday that I thought was kinda funny. I had seen a really big Pine tree that someone had cut down in their yard, and left my card on their door. The guy called me back in a short while, and to make a long story short, told me to come get it. I was there in about an hour, with the "DanG-DeadHeader Log Lifter" in tow. 

This guy had already cut about 20' of the top of the tree into firewood size chunks, but what remained were 2 logs, each of them 20' long and both of them about 30" in diameter.

I told the guy I was there to get the logs, and he asked, where is your equipment?? I told him I had all I needed, and he said, well, who is helping you?? I told him I could load it and be gone in a few minutes, and he says " THIS I GOTTA SEE"

I backed the trailer up to the log, set up the DDLL in place, put a chain around the log, and in short order I had it on the trailer and ready to be trailered home. Because of the weight and diameter of the logs, I had to haul them one at a time, so it took me about 45 minutes to go home and drop off the first one before I could get back. Before I left, the owner was on the phone telling whoever he was talking to...."you gotta see this... this little short guy came over here with no more than a winch and trailer and loaded that big log all by himself and didnt even break out in a sweat doing it"....

When I got back for the second log, Not only was the owner there, but 3 of his sons (who turned out to be contractors needing large beams). I loaded the second log, and made deals with the sons for selling them custom sawn beams for their construction projects.

All the way home, people were breaking their necks trying to see who it was pulling this HUGE pine log down the road, and almost running me off the road trying to write down my phone number from the sides of the truck.

It was a good day !! ;D
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

metalspinner

I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

Fla._Deadheader


  Maybe it's time to start receiving them "royalty checks", EH ??   ;D ;D ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Part_Timer

Way to go Ken

Sounds like things are starting to pick up for ya.

sound like quite a gig picking up the free logs and turning around a selling it right back to em.

Tom
Peterson 8" ATS.
The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Lud

Well done, Ken.   Nice RED paint and excellent Lettering. 

Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

wiam

Harold maybe you can talk him into half of what he paid for the logs. :D

Will

eagles nest

say how tall is the A frame & what thickness square tubing did y use

WeeksvilleWoodWorx

Brian - 2004 LT40HDG28 owner.

getoverit

Thanks for all the kind compliments !

The REAL praise should go to DanG and Fla_Deadheader though. It was those guys that inspired my creation and got me started on the physics of the log lifter.

I will add one note though. For small logs, the 8' A frame lifts the logs a pretty good distance off of the ground, and when it gets past the 1/2 way mark, the Log is moved forward and the log and the A frame comes crashing down on the trailer with a thud.  For the LARGE logs like the 30" diameter by 20' long log I loaded the other day, it is just right on the lift height and because the log weighs so much, it doesnt come crashing down and falling forward when it hits. It's a nice gentle landing on the trailer.

The A frame legs are 8' long, and it is 3" square tubing , 1/4" wall. Its kind of heavy to be using for the little logs, but just right for this monster log. There was plenty of room on each side of the log for the lifter to lay down.

One advantage to having an A frame is that it can help to "winch" the logs down and hold them in place when transporting. Just lay the A frame down on the log, and tighten the winch cable going to the top of the A frame. It centers the log because of it's design, and holds it in place too. I use a 2" winching strap at the front to hold the logs in place on the front end of the trailer.
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

Fla._Deadheader


There is quite a bit of geometry involved with building the first log loading arch. The reason I fastened the base of the arch about 18" forward of the rear end of the trailer, is so that "crashing down" could be controlled.

  Also, I did not use the original arch as a "boom", by pulling on it with the cable. I ran a cable through a snatch block, that was hooked in a chain on the arch. My design will allow the placing of logs anywhere on the deck by simply sliding the block from one side to the other. We used a chain to "grab" the arch before it fell "over center", and when you release tension, the arch settles back down in it's original "set" at approximately 45° to the trailer bed. Then you slip the cable loop farther down the log and winch it further onto the trailer, OR, take the cable out of the block and winch the log forward.

  My operating instructions were not completely followed as I described, so, the arch is used differently by DanG and Ken.

  Oakiemac has the trailer now. Maybe he is using the arch, maybe not ??
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

SwampDonkey

I wonder if you used a chain hook at the apex of the arch and a hook on the end of the chain you wrap around the log on the ground to adjust the length of chain from arch hook to log set. Short chain  for long logs and longer chain for short logs.  ???
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

getoverit

I already to this. In order to get the lift AND the forward movement necessary to set the log on the back of the trailer, it ends up raising the small logs further up in the air than I would like them to be. For the larger logs, the weight of the part of the log still on the ground is enough to slow this down and make it a really slow and smooth landing. It's really not a problem on the small logs, it just startles you the first time it happens and you have to plan on it and not be in the way.
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

jpgreen

Can't wait to build the DanG DHLL..  :) 8) :)

Truck looks real good Ken.  You lookin' professional and all..  ;D
-95 Wood-Mizer LT40HD 27 Hp Kawasaki water cooled engine-

DanG

Ken, just keep monkeyin' around with the angles.  Don't drop the arch back quite so far, and you'll get more forward movement and less lift.  I don't ever pull the arch past the vertical, so I don't get crashes.  Are you using the snatch block?  If so, try it without it.  Just a drop chain with a big loop around the log will do the trick.  If you stop the forward motion 10-15 degrees before reaching vertical, then reverse the winch, it will set the log down on the trailer lightly, every time.  The chain will automatically drop back for the next pull as you lower the arch.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

getoverit

I had a chance to get some more free logs today, so I hitched up the DDLL and headed out. This oak log was about 30' long, and I had to cut it into 2 sections to get it all. Here is the butt log. The picture really doesnt do it justice because of the weight of the log. I have an 8000# winch on the trailer, and it was ALL I could do to get this part of it loaded.

As usual, this drew a crowd. One lady was so happy when I got it loaded up that she yelled out:

YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK!!  :D :D


I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

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