One man log lifter

[BlackbuttWA]

Can't remember where I got this idea from but it certainly works.
Pair of old strong shelf brackets, 2 aluminium hooks & a couple of 12mm boards. Plus a ladder which most of us have anyway.
Seen here lifting a im x 45cm wet WA Peppermint log.
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Having a crook back this lifter & the saw horse were made out of necessity .
Just rolled the log onto the lifter, lifted & dropped on to saw horse. Then cut to length, & ripped down the middle for bowl blanks.

To lift it higher for loading onto a ute etc just fit lifter onto the appropriate rung of ladder.
Hope this helps anyone with a crook back.

Cheers
Col

[dai sensei]

Great idea Col :2tsup:

[Bruce White]

Excellent! Great for those of us who think we can still do now what we did at 21.

[KBs PensNmore]

Excellent! Great for those of us who think we can still do now what we did at 21.


Great idea thanks. I'd just like to remember, what I did at 21:(
Kryn

[Paul39]

Col,

Good idea. I really like the saw horse.

[Rod Gilbert]

Who said the simple idea's are the best knew what they were talking about thank you for sharing I am sure this could easily save a few back's even when there are more than one of us lifter's who aren't very smart but can lift heavy object's(well I used to be able to.)
Regards Rod.:doh::D

[Cliff Rogers]

:2tsup:

[BobL]

An even simpler method would be to use the horse itself as part of the lifter.

A pair of long wooden arms could be attached permanently and help strengthen the horse, or the arms could be made from something like galv water pipe and be loosely attached by pipe brackets to the horse. The pipes could then be removed for easier access and transport

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=333876&stc=1

[Cliff Rogers]

I like that idea too. :2tsup:

[dai sensei]

Yes good idea, but then you are lifting the horse as well as the log, plus your leverage is no-where near that of an extendable ladder

[BobL]

Yes good idea, but then you are lifting the horse as well as the log, plus your leverage is no-where near that of an extendable ladder

Huh???
The leverage issue is irrelevant as the levers can be made as long or as short as one likes.
Even if the levers are as long as a ladder they could be made lighter than a ladder.
Using the horse to hold the log also means no additional bracket is needed which reduces the weight that needs to be lifted.
The effort required to lift the horse will be minimal and while it might weigh as much as a ladder it has to lifted over a far shorter distance.
The heaviest thing by far in the overall scheme of things is the log - unless the horse is made out of RSJs the rest can pretty much be ignored.

To assist with the lift, a length of RSJ or other weight could be attached to the the back legs of the horse as once this weight passes over the rotation point of the front legs on the ground it's weight will assist with the rotation of the system

[KBs PensNmore]

Now all Neil has to do,is to work out how to fit it to the slabber, and then store it in the NEW trailer:D. It should save the shoulders a bit.:2tsup:
Kryn

[dai sensei]

...the levers can be made as long or as short as one likes. ..

True


Now all Neil has to do,is to work out how to fit it to the slabber, and then store it in the NEW trailer:D. It should save the shoulders a bit.:2tsup:
Kryn

I was thinking of using my aluminium milling ladder (like normal ladder but has moveable rungs). The frame being able to be located along the ladder using different rungs for different lift heights also interested me :rolleyes:. Still have to see if I can get the log on the ladder in the first place, but the cant hook should do it.

[BobL]

. . . . Still have to see if I can get the log on the ladder in the first place, but the cant hook should do it.

Instead of putting the log on the ladder what about VV?

Attach a suitable length prop to one side of the ladder.
Lay ladder arcross log
Ratchet strap log to ladder at suitable height
lift ladder, log and prop.
Once it has reached a suitable height place saw horses under the ends of the log.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=333950&stc=1

[BlackbuttWA]

Thanks for all the comments & ideas guys.
BobL...Please let me know how you go with your design variations & building them.

I will stay with my design for now because.....it was easy to make, no costs involved, & it suits what I want to achieve
It is very portable which is good when collecting logs etc for our club members http://mandurahwoodturners.com/

The sawhorse also suits my needs. logs can be cut to length, & when left on the horse the centre 50mm can be ripped out & it still stays upright.
The other side I use for slicing burl caps in the upright position.

Cheers
Col

[BobL]

Col, I can appreciate that portability is a major issue for wood turners.

I'm unlikely to be making up any of my ideas in the near future as the logs I cut tend to be a bit heavy for any of these methods. :)

FWIW this is my one man log lifter that I use when setting up for chainsaw milling.
It's based on a kangaroo jack that is good for around 3.5 tonnes but the heaviest log I have lifted is around 2.5 tonnes
http://www.woodworkforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=127207&stc=1&d=1263826828
The lifter only works on one end of a log at a time but by supporting swapping ends I can eventually get a big log about 750 mm above the ground.
For safety reasons I usually only lift about 4" before adding supporting pieces of 2 x 4 s underneath, then I lift it another 4" etc
For larger logs I usually only lift one end of the log, while for smaller logs I have a pair of 500 mm high custom made saw horses that can take a ton which I place under underneath.
Getting the log off the ground means I can stand up to the log while milling it as opposed milling it on my knees.

[Old Croc]

Hey guys, I am a bit lost with the physics here. If the log is tied at 500mm from the bottom of the ladder and weighs 100kg and you lift at 2.5m along the ladder, you only have to apply approx 25kg. Is that correct? Where is my Physicist daughter when I need her?
rgds,
Crocy.

[BobL]

Hey guys, I am a bit lost with the physics here. If the log is tied at 500mm from the bottom of the ladder and weighs 100kg and you lift at 2.5m along the ladder, you only have to apply approx 25kg. Is that correct? Where is my Physicist daughter when I need her?
rgds,
Crocy.

The basic physics equation is the clockwise torque (force x radius) = the anticlockwise torque

or
0.5 x 100 = 2.5 x effort

This means the effort = .5 x 100/2.5 = 20 kg

Strictly speaking the torque due to the ladder also needs to be considered.

[BrianM]

Another idea
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g332/BAM157/turning/loglift_zpsb7338a3a.jpg

http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g332/BAM157/turning/loglift2_zps77c1c7d6.jpg


Instead of having the little shelf , the one I made years ago had extended arms . Worked great for getting large chucks into the trailer without cutting them in half. This one is from http://www.hiltonhandcraft.co/Articles/LogLift.html (http://www.hiltonhandcraft.com/Articles/LogLift.html)