trewhella winch

[Treewolf]

Anyone fancy knocking up a vid of one of these behemoths working? I'd love to see it working to its potential

 

Found this on YT:-

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NOp3RFXjFQ]YouTube - RS Monkey Winch.wmv[/ame]

[Treewolf]

An update to this long-dormant thread on Trewhella winches....

 

I was rather sorry to learn yesterday that Trewhella Brothers of Birmingham went into liquidation in early May of this year, 2017. So no longer will spares for the Monkey Winch, the Wallaby Winch, and the various other tools they excelled in (such as wire strainers, etc) be available.

 

Although in today's economy this doesn't surprise me, I find it sad that another great  British engineering company, and one that has been around for decades, has gone, like so many before and no doubt so many to follow.

 

Valete, Trewhella.

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Treewolf

[Brian COOK]

On 22/10/2010 at 20:58, Treewolf said:

I currently have four of the things of various ages and am slowly refurbishing them. I have also been in contact with Trewhella in Birmingham about spares and found them to be generally very helpful - they supplied a operators' manual on request and entirely FOC (although it is a rather "third world" manual - small and photocopied). They still makes the winches and can supply as far as I understand it all spares.

 

However I have never seen any mention on a formal SWL or limit on the pull. I have often heard them referred to as 10 ton capacity, and I think that this is probably a reasonable estimate for a single line pull. The basic design dates from a time when common sense prevailed rather than legislation, and you are unlikely to break a Trewhella that is in good condition unless you are excessively stupid! The manual does IIRC suggest that two men on the handle is usually enough (but I am sure that I have also seen a reference to having more men on a rope attached either side of the handle)! None of mine have any form of marking that states the max load.

 

I am fairly sure that the reason the winches are no longer sold new in the EU is because they don't come with test certificates, CE marks, and all the rest of the things that have superseded common sense now.

 

The most important thing to remember is that however many men are needed to apply the load must be used to release it. This is because the principle of operation is exactly the same as a Hi-Lift or farm jack, and as with the jack the handle can 'run free' if allowed to get out of control while releasing.

Hi Treewolf, My apologies but as these "beasties" are hard to find I am hitting dead ends in trying to complete an otherwise perfect Monkey Winch.  It's missing the "thumb lock" at the spring return and whatever bolt/shaft?  That lives  and engages the round ratcheting assembly on the opposite side.  Do you know of anyone that may wish to sell these parts or where I may get them as I know Trewhella has gone belly up in the UK.  Thanks in advance. Brian

[The avantgardener]

I came across a complete Monkey Winch at a friends yard last week, I reckon he would part with it if he was made a sensible offer.

[Brian COOK]

6 hours ago, The avantgardener said:

I came across a complete Monkey Winch at a friends yard last week, I reckon he would part with it if he was made a sensible offer.

Thank you!  However I live in Tasmania...Australia so purchasing a "complete" Monkey Winch would be cost prohibitive on shipping to this Country.  Just hoping to find a thumb lock tab and the insert that fits on the opposite side.  Open to suggestions as despite these being made here in Australia, most have been scrapped as "they are hard work" and an air conditioned excavator is so much easier.  Thanks for the contact.

[Stubby]

No good showing you the one on Ebay at the moment then ...

[peatff]

I was fascinated reading about these winches and watched a video where one man pulls a stump out with no pulleys just a straight pull, truly amazed by them now.

 

[difflock]

My father reminisced about pulling large Ash trees over with a borrowed "monkey winch", some of the butts were 3' in diameter(from my hazy memories), cut with a Remington saw, which he must have bought about 50 years ago, and as far as I am aware, this saw is still sitting on the bench at the home place.

It was an absolute pig to get started, and was rapidly replaced by an 08S powered Sithl saw.

mth

N.B.

The only tractor at that time would have been a TVO Major.

Edited November 20, 2018 by difflock

[peatff]

There's a seller in India doing a successor to the Monkey Winch.

[Brian COOK]

3 hours ago, peatff said:

There's a seller in India doing a successor to the Monkey Winch.

Thanks, however I have searched every available "source" including that Manufacturer in India.  I actually sent him an e-mail asking if he sold individual repair parts!  The response I got was a quote for a complete winch with a shipping weight of 500kg!  So, another dead end. Appreciate the advice, thank you for trying.