Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Hewing setup

TB,

I don't use heavy equipment to set my stands up or place my logs on them.

You can accomplish a great deal with ropes and levers, if you know how to use them.

TO get logs up onto a stand, take a cant hook and get it to where you have a space under to log -maybe roll it up onto some blocks. Wrap a strong rope or strap around the log so that the end loops up over the top facingi n the direction you want to move the log. Wrap this rope around the log as many times as you can.

place long ramps up to your stands -just boards or planks will do fine.

Now simply pull on the rope. You will be amazed at how easy it is to move a heavy log this way. You may want to have a helper who can go behind and block up the log so it can't roll back down the log. But I've done this many times by myself. You have a mechanical advantage equal to the circumference of the log -which is a big one. I can get a log 3 feet off the ground this way with no heavy equipment. It's good to have a helper though who can lever the log to adjust the direction it is travelling.

There is a reason why so little is said about the setup. This is because everyone has their own way, and pretty much any way you do it is going to work. Don't fret the details, it's not really worth it.

That said, I like BIG supports under my logs. They don't move around as much if they have a massive surface under them to absorb the shock.

Biggest thing is when you chop the log, don't beat it. Let the axe do the work, don't swing hard. If you do this, the logs won't shift around that much. You will learn to pay attention to things like the angle of your axe, etc. Once you get these things down, securing the log really is trivial.

As I said before, I don't use log dogs or anything like that. I don't like them, they are annoying. I used to, but found out how unnecessary they are with the tools and methods I use.

I can't recommend this, though, if you hey in the normal American style. Not that it won't work, but that I don't know if it will.