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Tell m how you are moving your big beams and post

Started by fishfighter, March 11, 2015, 10:05:23 AM

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fishfighter

Lifting some post and beams lead me to popping out my right hip. Very painful. So now I have to figure a better way to lift and move things. I bought a tripod plant holder that has three sets of wheels per holder. Two of them, one on each end, I was able to move them as needed. Well, the wheels didn't last. Kind of knew that. So I replaced the wheels and that is working out good.

I'm still lifting these wet Red Oak cants. My next thing is to find one of those roll around auto lifts that has a hydraulic jack. I'm sure that will work.

Now, how do you lift and move things around?

Dave Shepard

Hydraulics. I think Jim Rogers should have some pics of different timber carts in his gallery. Always try to lift only one end at a time.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Jim_Rogers

Yes, timber carts are the way to go.

Here is a story about some:
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,62871.0.html

Do a search here and you should find other stories or designs.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

fishfighter


razor

 

  Timber Cart. Home made from doug fir utility cross arms. Wheels and axle from Princess Auto

fishfighter

Those are nice, but I would need something with way wider tires due to the mud I have to deal with. It is so bad now that I have to fight the mud just to move my backhoe. It is at the point that I had to shut down the mill all together now.

Were I am working on post and beams is concrete, but unable to get the backhoe up under.

beenthere

Fishfighter
What are your plans for handling the muddy areas that you are having problems with?

From some pics posted, looks like you are setting up on just dirt.  There will always be rain, so just wondering what you have in mind.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

fishfighter

I will be starting to build a trailer for my mill once the rain stops. We are getting extra pounded the last two weeks with rain. The area that I had set it up at is a area that I had just clear not three months ago. Problem is that the dirt hasn't settled yet. That and I have a pond close by that has over filled. I been draining that down as fast as I can, but 2" to 3" of rain each day for the last week hasn't helped. Everything drains to my pond. Rain in the forecast till Saturday morning.

Come summer time, I have a bunch of dirt stock piled that I will move into the area. And I will fix the drainage better. Kind of hard to drain flat land. ;D

GAB

Fishfighter:
As an FYI: The larger the wheels, within reason, the easier it will be for you.
If you have hilly terrain you might want to consider adding hand operated brakes.
Gerald
W-M LT40HDD34, SLR, JD 420, JD 950w/loader and Woods backhoe, V3507 Fransguard winch, Cordwood Saw, 18' flat bed trailer, and other toys.

fishfighter

Only hill around here are red ant hills. That is something y'all northern guys never want to cross paths with. Last guy that came down from up north laugh at those little red ants till the alarm went off and about 10 of them started to bite him.  :D

Been raining all night. This has to stop. Got a little work done on a beam yesterday till my hip start to hurt.

thermos

donkey had all the pull... the rest of us were just steadyin that walnut log  :)



 


beenthere

thermos
Welcome to the Forestry Forum

Here is a story about that donkey pulling the cart with all the "hangers on" following along.  ;D

http://www.marchhareblog.com/2015/03/09/warmer-weather-and-pulling-together-a-dancing-rabbit-update/
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

LittleJohn

Quote from: thermos on March 13, 2015, 10:30:58 AM
donkey had all the pull... the rest of us were just steadyin that walnut log  :)
...might be able to use a few goats, instead of a donkey  :D

Brad_bb

You didn't say the exact situation so I'll give you a couple. 
Forklift is the preferable method to move beams around.  Here's my favorite one.


 

If you are moving softwood beams, one of the timber carts from the guild is good for small moves. You could also build one of your own.


 

For short lifts, like handling while you are working on them, technique is important to preventing injuries.  Here is a video of one technique that we sometimes use.
https://youtu.be/BorJbNik7LQ

Lastly, you also want to use techniques that use leverage to move beams around.  To slide a heavy beam, have one guy put his weight on one end while you move the other end, then do the opposite to move his end.  Also use a timber wrench or modified Cant hook to roll big timbers, or use two guys to roll it.

Work smarter, not harder!
Anything someone can design, I can sure figure out how to fix!
If I say it\\\\\\\'s going to take so long, multiply that by at least 3!

Magicman

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, thermos.  Now how about sharing some of your lumber/wood interest with us.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

fishfighter

Thanks Brad. I forgot about using a rope like that. :embarassed:

terrifictimbersllc

DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

fishfighter

With more rain, it is almost impossible to do any milling. I had parked my backhoe at the mill. Using my tractor to move logs in and lumber out has helped. I still need a few 16' beams, but I think that is going to have to wait till it dries up some.

The post and beams I been working on are just about finished. Had to shut that down due to my arms, hands swelling up to the point I couldn't use them.

So, this weekend I will be mixing concrete for footing. ;D

esarratt

A few thoughts:

The absolute #1, "bestest" tool I have bought is a Portable Winch for $1500 (yes, the one from Canada--just get the big model).  It is the bomb.  It took me a little while to really get the knack for using it correctly--yes there is a learning curve if you have no experience with capstan winches, but once you get it--takes about 20-30 pulls to work out your kinks.  It is awesome!  Go ahead and buy the 100 meters (300 ft) of their rope.  I tried other ropes and theirs works best.  I have not found the "cone" to be that useful. 

The drawback of moving timber or cants with the portable winch through the mud or forest in this manner is they get a bit dirty, but for some of the wood I move there is no other choice as I don't have oxen.  I just wash off the wood with some water and scrub them with a stiff wire brush a bit before milling.  Works fine.

Tool #2.  I built a timber cart with small wheels like people have talked about.  It works, but it is tippy.  When I get around to it I will put on larger (much larger) wheels, something akin to wagon wheel sized.  That way I can strap logs on from underneath like you see on some of the old-timey black and white pictures (google it).  If I had it to do it again this is what I would have built in the first place.  For my new wheels, instead of wagon wheels (they have been hard to find in my area) I will sandwich two pieces of plywood together with screws and reinforce the centers with some 2x4's screwed around the hole that the axle goes through.

Tool #3: A big tripod.  I bought a Harrington 1 ton winch (Japanese product) and have been very pleased.  I looked around at lots of different winches and this one got enough positive reviews so I bought it.  I then build a tripod out of galvanized steel 10' 1-1/4" poles.  At the top I experimented with tying the tripod with rope, but that sucks--the rope moves on the pole.  Instead I attached metal chain at the top and rubber gromets (look in the plumbing section for these) to keep the chain from moving; I used screw clamps to stabilize the gromets.  I used the army's manual for moving heavy objects for my design that is often mentioned on this formum.  One thing I didn't think was useful, but actually turned out to be essential, was the importance of stabilizing the legs of the tripod.  For this I nailed a 2x4 to the top of a piece of 12x12 square piece of plywood.  I then routed out a hole the size of the bottom of the galvanized pipe in the 2x4.  I set each pipe leg in its own 2x4-plywood platform.  I keep these "tripod leg platforms" from moving with a 1' piece of rebar hammered through a hole in the platform and then into the earth underneath.  I can now move 2000lb beams up and down (and left a right a bit) with ease.  I use my cart, winch or a peavy to put the timbers under the tripod.

Tool #'s 4,5, & 6: A big peavy (5' logrite) (or a cant hook), a destruction bar, and a big tamping bar (nothing expensive, just the ones you get from the big box stores)

Hope these ideas were useful.

fishfighter

Some good ideas there. Thanks.

Got some of the footing poured this past weekend. Still wet around the mill area. I still have a bunch of post/beam braces to make. Hope to get back on this project soon.

Biocmp

Quote from: esarratt on March 29, 2015, 11:46:46 AM
A few thoughts:

The absolute #1, "bestest" tool I have bought is a Portable Winch for $1500 (yes, the one from Canada--just get the big model).  It is the bomb.  It took me a little while to really get the knack for using it correctly--yes there is a learning curve if you have no experience with capstan winches, but once you get it--takes about 20-30 pulls to work out your kinks.  It is awesome!  Go ahead and buy the 100 meters (300 ft) of their rope.  I tried other ropes and theirs works best.  I have not found the "cone" to be that useful. 

The drawback of moving timber or cants with the portable winch through the mud or forest in this manner is they get a bit dirty, but for some of the wood I move there is no other choice as I don't have oxen.  I just wash off the wood with some water and scrub them with a stiff wire brush a bit before milling.  Works fine.

Tool #2.  I built a timber cart with small wheels like people have talked about.  It works, but it is tippy.  When I get around to it I will put on larger (much larger) wheels, something akin to wagon wheel sized.  That way I can strap logs on from underneath like you see on some of the old-timey black and white pictures (google it).  If I had it to do it again this is what I would have built in the first place.  For my new wheels, instead of wagon wheels (they have been hard to find in my area) I will sandwich two pieces of plywood together with screws and reinforce the centers with some 2x4's screwed around the hole that the axle goes through.

Tool #3: A big tripod.  I bought a Harrington 1 ton winch (Japanese product) and have been very pleased.  I looked around at lots of different winches and this one got enough positive reviews so I bought it.  I then build a tripod out of galvanized steel 10' 1-1/4" poles.  At the top I experimented with tying the tripod with rope, but that sucks--the rope moves on the pole.  Instead I attached metal chain at the top and rubber gromets (look in the plumbing section for these) to keep the chain from moving; I used screw clamps to stabilize the gromets.  I used the army's manual for moving heavy objects for my design that is often mentioned on this formum.  One thing I didn't think was useful, but actually turned out to be essential, was the importance of stabilizing the legs of the tripod.  For this I nailed a 2x4 to the top of a piece of 12x12 square piece of plywood.  I then routed out a hole the size of the bottom of the galvanized pipe in the 2x4.  I set each pipe leg in its own 2x4-plywood platform.  I keep these "tripod leg platforms" from moving with a 1' piece of rebar hammered through a hole in the platform and then into the earth underneath.  I can now move 2000lb beams up and down (and left a right a bit) with ease.  I use my cart, winch or a peavy to put the timbers under the tripod.

Tool #'s 4,5, & 6: A big peavy (5' logrite) (or a cant hook), a destruction bar, and a big tamping bar (nothing expensive, just the ones you get from the big box stores)

Hope these ideas were useful.

esarratt, you have any pics of your tools? I'd be interested in seeing the items you suggested.

esarratt

Ooooo I knew it was coming.  Give me a few days and I will post pics of my setup and the tools I use.

FWIW my first "tool" to move timber was my Honda Accord.  I have since upgraded to a small 4WD pickup. ;D

Eric


 

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