@fedops So the winch was on ebay for cheap, because someone had bought it but never even taken it out of the box. I couldn't have paid the new price for it, There does not appear to be anything at all wrong with it. Which is just as well, because it's still a lot of money for me to spend!
@GlasWolf aye, possibly. Professionals use "log arches" with substantial wheels on either side to support the front end of the log. Whether that would work in the sheer chaos of my wood is another question. But in any case, I'm at the limit of what I can afford just now.
@simon_brooke Oh yes, I see! I was thinking something like a simple half funnel made of metal, but just chamfering the log end is probably the cheat's way!
@GlasWolf@simon_brooke I agree it would cause infinitely less drag and cause less damage to the soil. I did hear of a very simple ‘slip tray’ - slidey scoop idea for use in narrow areas by horse loggers, precisely to minimise the cutting effect of the leading lip of the log.
Getting the cable to coil nicely on the winch is definitely not easy and probably in practice unsafe when the winch is under load. In terms of sheer pulling power this makes the manual Tirfor winch I've been using up to now look a little silly. On a modern tractor with a higher throughput hydraulic pump it would run faster, but from a safety point of view that might NOT be a good thing! I don't know how much diesel this will burn.
@peluchecero better for the sunshine. The wind is still high here — gusting severe gale overnight, which is tough. But I am better for the sunshine, especially considering it was forecast to rain much of today (and mostly hasn't).
@simon_brooke Glad to hear that! I'm originally from a windy area - I know wind can make being outdoors really miserable. Hope you have a sunny window to sit by (hehe, this may be my "blessing" from now on: may you have a sunny window to sit by)
@peluchecero my big front windows face east, which is very good for morning sun. Now most of the wood has blown down, my back windows get quite a lot of evening sun — which feels a more mixed blessing. I like it, but I'd prefer to still have the trees!
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