Hi,

I am looking for some help / guidance on making a very simple gin pole / crane that can be used to lift and position logs from the woodland collection stack so that these can be orientated, lined and converted.

Does anyone have any photos / drawings / links that they can share please ?

Ken Hume
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Looking back to see the way ahead !

Hi Roger,

I have now downloaded the army rigging manual and shall now read all 184 pages of same !!!

Thank you.

Ken Hume

Ken is referring to a post in another thread. Quote

Ken, US Army Field Manual Rigging Techniques, Procedures, and Applications FM 5-125 should be good for initial help. I hope the link works in the UK, if not, go with google.

http://www.petrospec-technologies.com/Herkommer/knots/FM5-125.pdf

We lifted various parts of the frame using a home made sheerlegs (two actually, one made of wood, the other made from scaff tube). What I can recommend from this experience is Spirafix ground anchors. I have no link to the company other than being a very satisfied customer. You basically drive them in with a mallet (or screw them in in softer ground), attach a shackle and haul. They do a bracket which links two anchors together which can resist more significant side loads than a single anchor.

If I were starting the build again, I'd invest about 4 times as much in these things! In a forest, you can probably simply attach to the trees, but if there's not a convenient tree it takes less than 5 mins to get an anchor point.

To return more directly to your original question, our sheerlegs can be seen in action here: http://dyiu.hoovesofdestiny.co.uk/2012/10/03/topping-out/ I used a simple lever winch to adjust the angle allowing a forward and back movement. Side to side adjustment involves moving the sheerlegs which is not so convenient. A gin pole requires more people to operate the side to side movement (You have to operate two ropes simultaneously as I understand it) I used a sheerlegs because for various parts of the build I was on my own.

Hi Jon,

Thanks for that insight which prompted me to revisit how the Harcourt cruck was raised using shear legs that were made on site.

The Harcourt Shear legs were man handled into position by quite a few people and were repositioned by the same method i.e. by stint of hand and foot.

I would like to be able to lift and move logs so I think that your shear leg lean adjustment is a step in the right direction.

I also note that your idea about using ground anchors is mentioned in some detail in the US Army Rigging Manual.

Regards

Ken Hume

http://youtu.be/SqjMlUzVwFM


A short time lapse of the Mullens demonstrating an A frame and a gin pole at the TFG Conference in BTV.

Ken, why not just roll them onto a movable bunk system and process/hew them where they are. Move the tool to the log.

Rigging would be good practice, don't forget your snatch block. I have often thought of a gin pole with an adjustable boom that can be moved up and down the pole and the boom swung. Wouldn't be all that complicated to fabricate.

Hi Tim,

Your idea of processing the logs where they are currently located was my first thought until I realised too late that these have been packed together too closly to allow for easy rotation and set up of same. The larger pieces shown in the woodland collection stack will go to make cruck blades and so these will need to be rotated and set ready for conversion by hewing, Alaskan sawmill, or scie-sawing.

I think that the answer might well be a combination of moving using a gin pole and local bunking.

There is a cruck framed building only a few hundred yards from the timber collection stack and that building, which probably dates from the mid 1300's, demonstrates the uses of scie-saw conversion of the main cruck blades (see saw pit link below for picture of same).

I have a Saw Pit in the woodland close by to the collection stack and wondered if we might have a go at experimenting with using this in combination with a saw break to convert the cruck blades. These logs would need to be towed to the pit using the Alpine Tractor or winched using a come-a-long and rollers.

Mike,
The time lapse moved so fast that I fear that I probably missed the really important messages but it demonstrates the efficacy of using this method.

Ken Hume

Hi Ken,

I am assuming you want to stay as traditional as possible. If not, scaffold cranes, or shear legs are very easy to build move and lift with. It is kinda old meets new in the way of a lifting apparatus that one or two can build and lift some rather large elements of a timber frame. I have lifted and lowered the entire bent of a 12 m barn, so they are more than strong enough.

Regards,

jay

I'm not sure if I could find it again (it may in fact have been the Army Rigging Manual), but I did once find an explanation of force transfer through gin poles, sheer legs and tripods (It's pretty simple actually but the article was quite helpful).

TIMBEAL: The device you describe is a derrick crane (or near enough). Relatively simple to build and use (I believe) as long as you correctly manage the jib - pole connection.

http://www.oilyhands.co.uk/home_made_derrick_crane.htm