Add at least 2" per end or 4" overall to the diagonal measurement.

That depends on the actual log. A log with a larger amount of taper would only have sapwood on one end, the narrow end.

No.....

Yes.

I don't have any experience with an ATV, so I can't give you any advice on that.

Jim Rogers

I made a big A, I think they call it shear legs, out of 4x4's. I put a piece of 3/4" all thread about a foot from the top. You can make them as big as you need them, but mine were only about 6' tall or so. I put a comealong from a tree to the A frame at a slight angle over the log and used another comealong to lift the log up and slid the cart under it. I would try and get the weight balanced so the cart was supporting the log with the towing end a little lighter but not so much that the tail dragged.

OK, I'm finaly getting in here with some pics. We use these guys and I don't know what I'd do without them!





It's amazing how much weight and old bicycle can carry!

I have dealt with back problems and have learned to lift wisely. I have sometimes found it easier to move timbers on my own rather than with the 'help' of another - the other person not knowing how to lift properly can easily wreck a spine (and fingers/toes!)
A canterlevered timber can make it's way quite a distance with stratigicly placed horses; pushing down on a timber is a lot better than lifting one up.
Good Luck!
*K

"Work smarder, not harder"

Carefully controlled balance, leverage, pivots, fulcrums, rollers, comealongs, peavies, wheels, gin poles... NOT muscle.

Practice and you will learn the skills our predecessors used every day before internal combustion. And it is amazing what can be done. You will develop an intuitive sense and the impossible becomes everyday. You will walk prouder and taller amongst mere mortals.

How much "work" does it take to purchase and maintain a front loader or forklift? Are you then working for yourself, or the bank? Does it actually save "time" overall? Maybe yes, maybe no.

As a society we have let cheap horsepower replace grace and skill and knowledge - a $4000 riding mower seems necessary only because we no longer have any idea how to get a scythe truely sharp.

There is a great video clip on "u-tube" that shows a single man working alone raising a 20 (?) ton concrete column to vertical, just using small wooden wedges and buckets of sand as counterweights.

The Pyramids, Easter Island, and Stonehenge were built without power equipment...

End of Rant. I have to go invent the wheel and discover fire. ;-)

Pete

Hi TB;

Sorry it took me so long to reply. The pvc rollers I referred to are for use between the beam and a solid surface like a well supported plank or subflooring. I have moved cut granite foundation stones with 4" pvc rollers, but solid wood rollers would be stronger. The long beams we moved were uphill from the foundation so we pivoted the beam onto the axle, secured the beams to the axle with ratchet straps, tied a rope to the axle, not the timber, and walked the timber downhill. The rope in this case was tied to a small pickup truck uphill of the timber to restrain the beam from freewheeling. The rope tied to the axlle allowed me to steer the beam around the corners and onto the deck. Having the axle almost centered allowed me to "carry" one end without much effort and allowed us a turning radius of zero. We could temporarily raise one end of the beam up over obsticles on the jobsite. If the beams were on the downhill side of the foundation, I am sure a 4x4 pickup could have easily towed them around.

Maybe you have seen a utility company truck towing utility poles down the road on a special cart. In this case they bolt a trailer hitch to the pole to attach the pole to the truck. This was the same idea.

Good luck; Jim