Logosol 'Timber Pusher' - Help!

[NSansom]

Hi! I bought this Logosol product a few years ago but didn't get around to using it until recently. If anyone has any experience with it, I would be grateful for some help in its use (the manual isn't at all helpful apart from providing detailed assembly insturctions). So, I can extend it to lift stuff but it then get's stuck and will not disengage. There doesn't appear to be anything obvious which disengages it from the extended position. The instructions indicate not to exceed 500kg, but I would estimate the test load I've put on it to be about 50kg... Anyone got any advice? I'd be super grateful.

 

Cheers, Nigel

[skc101fc]

Yeah I've one that I used to use for moving timber around the sawmill. Which bit's sticking. -The extension that you use for pushing back leaning trees or the spiked lower section. Both of these are a very tight fit on the square section frame. I've never yet got the pusher section to slide freely, despite stretching the metal all round with judicious hammer blows.

If its the ratchet brake that appears to stick, its supposed to be like that and requires a force greater than the lifting effort to release it. Having severely abused it many times with hugely overweight logs, I  can tell you sometimes it takes a huge effort to reverse the ratchet to lower it back down again.

 

[NSansom]

Oh thanks for this, that's super useful. I was using the lower spike bit to lift something heavy to test if it was working. It was but then appeared stuck in that position. I managed to free it by using another thing to lift the weight even higher, and expected that without the load on it the item would be back to being free but it's just resolutely refusing to move into the closed position. It will extend even further out, it's just returning to the rest position is an issue. Seems mad to have something that's so very hard and requires so much effort to reverse though. Maybe this is why Logosol have discontinued them...

 

Many thanks, Nigel

[skc101fc]

Without using the ratchet handle does the spike assembly slide up and down the shaft freely? It should.if it doesnt its poor construction making it bind.

If using the handle under load, the handle doesn't want to lower said load again, then the brake is operating as it should until you give even more effort to lower down again. Under load it wont just slide down. It's a safety mechanism. If the load jolts going down it applies the brake even tighter, meaning you have to heave even harder to get it to move down again. You have to physically wind it down over brake resistance.  Don't worry theyre really robust. You won't break the mechanism.  As I said I've used it with logs way heavier than recommended  - just have to put more effort in

 

[NSansom]

Thank you for this, it's really useful and I appreciate the help. I have freed the thing from the item that was presenting the load. I've tried lying it down and standing on the handle to apply the unwinding force, but that's not working. Might try something even heavier later and see if that works.

In truth, I can't recall if the spike assembly slides up or down or not. I do recall when I first had it that I could wind stuff back down again, but it seemed to have trouble actually lifiting loads. Winding it to a point of tension under load was always easy, but actually completing the lift seeemed too hard for it, though I do remember now the downward movement to release it. This is probably why I stopped using the thing. Maybe I just assembled it badly..

[skc101fc]

I bought mine solely for use as a log lifter and positioner so to remove excess weight I intended removing the pusher bar. This proved to way easier to think about than do. The construction of the simple square bracket which the pusher bar slides through was constructed so incredibly tightly that there was no way it would simply pull out. I remember almost ½ a day spent beating with a club hammer to stretch the bracket, beating the bar upwards, and pulling / pushing and generous spraying with silicon to get it finally out. 

The lifting spike element was almost as tight, and slightly misaligned too. 

Lots of silicon spray and judicious hammering around its slide bracket to stretch the metal made it a great bit of kit for what I needed.  Don't use oil on the slides. It only attracts dust and makes it even more likely to stick. 

Perhaps yours was equally badly constructed.  The winch element is simple to dismantle to clean up. Lay each piece out in order of disassembly and clean off any corrosion and contamination from sliding and rotating surfaces. Spray with a ptfe based spray.

 

[NSansom]

Thanks for this. Super helfpul. An update though! I have finally released it. What a nightmare bit of kit. 

 

Have a great rest of the day. 

 

Kind regards, Nigel

[skc101fc]

I initially thought it was pure gimmicky shit. It came as part of a multiple order that logosol f@@ked up on and sent it to me at ridiculously low price due to a mistake on their part. They took it on the chin though and honoured their mistake and said " our error our loss". Anyway it actually became one of my favourite bits of kit for swinging big timber onto sawmill and repositioning when no loader available. 

Use it often and get used to it,your opinion may change as it gets looser.

I use it for changing wheels on trailers, building work, lifting and swinging my quad out of where I've bogged it down this time... the list still goes on.

Glad you're sorted

Shaun 

Edited August 15 by skc101fc
Spelling

[NSansom]

Thanks Shaun. It is exactly the job of swinging big timbers onto the logosol mill bed that I bought it for, so will definitely take your recommendation and persevere with it. 

 

Many thanks, Nigel