Mechanical Advantage

If a tree falls at the inlaw’s house, I certainly paid attention! The tree had to come down- it wasn’t doing very well, but it had a fair amount of timber in it, and the trunk had (has) a decent thickness.

Given I was looking for a trunk to test out the slabbing capabilities of the Torque Workcentre, it was perfect timing. I asked the inlaws to ensure the trunk wasn’t cut into small lengths, so have ended up with a 2m long section, and a 1/2m section. (And a whole lot of firewood as well).

Next problem was getting the trunk home- it is too heavy to lift, so I came up with a way to roll it onto the trailer. I took a couple of lengths of Cyprus Pine, each with wheels attached at either end to create a sled for the log, and used a lever to raise the log up high enough to slip the wheels under either end. The log then was able to be rolled easily, up to the back of the trailer, and my homemade ramps.

From there, I needed some serious pulling power, so a chain block was the winner. With 3m in working range, and a maximum working load of 2 tonnes, it took no effort at all to get the log up the ramp and onto the trailer. It is going to be harder getting it onto the Torque Workcentre!

So now, when the new chainsaw arrives (2000W (equiv to a 2.8HP petrol) 16″ electric chainsaw) and the chainsaw mount for the Torque Workcentre, we will get to see how the TWC performs doing heavy-duty slabbing. I went with an electric chainsaw so I could use it in the shed without concerns (minor issues such as CO/petrol and exhaust fumes). I have a small petrol chainsaw for out and about.

Going to be fun.

Now all I need to do is work out how to use the chain block in the shed for all those times I want to lift excessively heavy items. I joked recently about how useful a gantry crane would be, and now if only I had an I beam running the length of the shed, I could use that. Something will come to mind.