Pig tail on steel, machine-mounted winch cable

[Doug Tait]

Sounds good. That, and be precious about how the cable lays on the drum.

[JonnoR]

Just now, Doug Tait said:

Sounds good. That, and be precious about how the cable lays on the drum.

Lesson learnt!  Thank you all for the tips.  I'll post pics when I get the new hardware!

[slack ma girdle]

4 hours ago, JonnoR said:

Would this be appropriate do you think for my needs? 

J1 New England Style Choker

WWW.CHRISFORESTRY.CO.UK

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Wallingford's Golden Bell Chokers. Made in New Hampton USA. Light and durable. J1 chokers are made with a ferrule on one end and a turnback eye with 3 links of chain on the other...

 It seem that I could use this for both my cable winch and my capstan winch, which would use the chain links.

Those bell chockers are not very good on small diameter wood,  they have an annoying tendency to slip off. But they are much easier to unchock when you have pulled down a load of bramble with the timber.

[JonnoR]

9 hours ago, slack ma girdle said:

Those bell chockers are not very good on small diameter wood,  they have an annoying tendency to slip off. But they are much easier to unchock when you have pulled down a load of bramble with the timber.

That's good to know thanks!  The issue might be made worse by the very smooth bark texture of the hornbeam.  The smaller stuff I tend to bunch together for winching.

 

Grube in germany sell suitable hardware and also offers a choke chain with an eye on one end:

https://www.grube.eu/p/choker-cable-ftf-55-with-loop/P42-133/?q=Choke#itemId=42-133-2,0

https://www.grube.eu/p/nordforest-skidding-chain-with-split-j-hook-and-ring/P41-183/?q=Choke#itemId=41-183-3,0

[Mike Hill]

That cable has" spun with the lay" of the rope. Most cable is RHOL right hand ordinary lay which means all wires and strands apart from the core twist to the right . That's called " Pig tailing".

 

So in order to fix it you cut it off and then wind on the cable under load allowing the cable to twist in order to get the life out of it. Make sure that when you wind it on under load each wrap is tight on the drum,against the previous wrap. This is called " fleeting".

 

Instead of using a choker,use a length of chain and a hook or your going to be continually cutting the pig tails off the winch rope.

[JonnoR]

1 hour ago, Mike Hill said:

That cable has" spun with the lay" of the rope. Most cable is RHOL right hand ordinary lay which means all wires and strands apart from the core twist to the right . That's called " Pig tailing".

 

So in order to fix it you cut it off and then wind on the cable under load allowing the cable to twist in order to get the life out of it. Make sure that when you wind it on under load each wrap is tight on the drum,against the previous wrap. This is called " fleeting".

 

Instead of using a choker,use a length of chain and a hook or your going to be continually cutting the pig tails off the winch rope.

Many thanks for the tips!  I've just ordered a square chain (

Tauern Skidding Chain (square link) | GRUBE.EU

WWW.GRUBE.EU

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Boost your productivity with our Tauern Skidding Chain with robust 90kN strength and compact, lightweight design. Buy now for faster, safer logging!

).  I'll swap the winch hook out for a swivel one I found.  I probably won't immediately cut the cable as I can live with it this season, 

[openspaceman]

11 minutes ago, JonnoR said:

I probably won't immediately cut the cable as I can live with it this season, 

That's right, it will let you know when it has had enough😉.

 

Just keep it simple, add the keyhole slider to the wire rope and pass the chain through that. Hitch the chain round the log about a foot back and then shorten it so the keyhole is a couple of inches in front of the butt end when you pull.

[JonnoR]

Will do - thanks again!