Highleading with a double drum igland

[Charlieh]

Anyone used the older manual lever clutch and brake type igland's for highleading? I'm aware this technique pretty much went out of fashion about 30years ago but I am keen to utilise it on a few sites and would be keen to pick someone's brains if possible.

 

I'm finally sorting my igland 3000/2's out that have sat about for far to long, as I have been to look at a couple of jobs for this and next winter that require trees coming across some very soft ground and also up some short but steep slopes that we cant skid up or run kit over but all brash and timber must be extracted off site. Going to get the winch converted from county mount to 3pl as its going to have to go in on the alpine due to site access routes being very narrow (<6ft) so would be keen if anyone has done much highleading with this type of set up

[sandy2210]

did a fair bit of this as you say about 30 years ago can be sore on the haul back drum brake if you use it to gain a bit of height also had good results using a "skyline" set up between 2 trees and tightend by a tirfor but it was a lot of faffing to set up and needed good spar trees and anchors at each end

[openspaceman]

did a fair bit of this as you say about 30 years ago can be sore on the haul back drum brake if you use it to gain a bit of height also had good results using a "skyline" set up between 2 trees and tightend by a tirfor but it was a lot of faffing to set up and needed good spar trees and anchors at each end

 

I did some and I 'd use a fairly long strop on the pull back pulley and anchor that such thet the force on the spar was only downward.

 

As you say it was such a faff and the double highlead pulley would twist and need lots of fettling we only did it for a couple of coupes of alder and willow.

 

It needs a gentle touch on the pull back line brake just to keep the pulleys off the ground, very little chance of keeping the tush out of the mud, you need a skyline for that with a locking carriage.

 

The 3000/3 is crown and pinion and not as suitable as the 4000/2 which has a bronze worm gear. I do still have a couple of drums and clutch plates somewhere from one where I broke the gearbox.

 

I'd have loved to develop it to make it quick to deploy and more usable with a mechanical tension system to avoid the power wasted in the haul back brake but the costs were so much higher than forwarding or skidding and our sites not high value timber that I don't think we used it after 1987.

[Wood wasp]

Key thing is height so put pulley as high up the spar as possible and I assume you've got a tower to bolt onto the winch too? Never really heard of 3000's being used for hi lead, was usually 4000's. There's a couple of 4000s with extended drums along with towers lying in yard, ford mountings but been a good few years since they've been worked.

[Charlieh]

can be sore on the haul back drum brake if you use it to gain a bit of height also had good results using a "skyline" set up between 2 trees and tightend by a tirfor but it was a lot of faffing to set up and needed good spar trees and anchors at each end

 

that's good to know about the brake, I did wonder about the tirfor skyline route and do have the potential to do this, basically its a small volume of timber on a highly sensitive site, and as such the felling is a tiny part of the job and the main bit is clearing it off and burning up off site.

 

I did some and I 'd use a fairly long strop on the pull back pulley and anchor that such thet the force on the spar was only downward.

 

As you say it was such a faff and the double highlead pulley would twist and need lots of fettling we only did it for a couple of coupes of alder and willow.

 

 

The 3000/3 is crown and pinion and not as suitable as the 4000/2 which has a bronze worm gear. I do still have a couple of drums and clutch plates somewhere from one where I broke the gearbox.

 

with the long strop I assume this was as well as the strop holding the pulley up the tree??

I have the 3000 and its only going on an alpine, my biggest issue is the drums are small in terms of capacity but I was thinking about using something like 8mm on the drums. are the bits you have for a 3000 if so I would be interested in the spares

 

Key thing is height so put pulley as high up the spar as possible and I assume you've got a tower to bolt onto the winch too? Never really heard of 3000's being used for hi lead, was usually 4000's. There's a couple of 4000s with extended drums along with towers lying in yard, ford mountings but been a good few years since they've been worked.

 

Yep the one I bought has a high-leading frame that goes above the winch frame about 8ft up, I would be interested in any info on a 4000 with frame you may have as im aware there not actually a lot bigger unit than the 3000 and im looking at more and more small tricky to access sites with restrictions on ground movements.

[Wood wasp]

I think the 4000 winch head should bolt straight onto the standard igland mounting, think it's same fittings for all that era of winches - 3000 through to 8000.

 

Something else you can do when hi leading is to put oil on haul back brake but once you start doing this you always need to do it.

 

Edit: There's also a drum of skyline cable lying in yard, it's been oiled so still in reasonable condition. Running it out and tightening up with tirfor is a faff compared to powered skyline drum but once you get into routine it doesn't take too long, you'll need trewella (spelling?) and triangle though.You can run this setup with just normal carriage (or pulleys bolted together), it doesn't need to be a locking carriage. Again though you need to use haul back brake to keep load up though with experience you easily get knack of just enough brake to keep butts up and then more applied to clear hazards, the bing etc.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Wood wasp

[Brushcutter]

You probably already have them Charlie but i have the Forest research thing on High lead. A Norwegan book on highlead/skyline and the worksafe BC skyline stuff. I can ping them over to you on email if you don't and you'd like them.

[slack ma girdle]

You probably already have them Charlie but i have the Forest research thing on High lead. A Norwegan book on highlead/skyline and the worksafe BC skyline stuff. I can ping them over to you on email if you don't and you'd like them.

 

May i butt in and jump on the e-mail band wagon

[Charlieh]

Got the fc one but would be interested in the Norwegian and worksafe bc ones

[Brushcutter]

May i butt in and jump on the e-mail band wagon

 

What's your email Murray. I use to have it I'm sure but i cant find it.

 

 

Charlie - you should have a big email with it all in.