“Cradle Lift” Brings Logs To Sawmill
“We needed a way to get medium-sized logs to our bandsaw mill, so we used scrap materials to construct a cradle lift that lifts and transports heavy logs from the ground onto the sawmill. It lets us position the logs accurately and rotate them as needed without having to handle them by hand,” says Charles Pearcy, Weatherford, Texas. “It also can be used to lift riding mowers and engines and for other heavy lifting chores.”
Pearcy and Jeff Meador operate a sawmill service where they make custom cuts to produce everything from fireplace mantels to lumber, flooring, posts and beams. They built their own bandsaw mill using plans from Bill Reeks, the creator of do-it-yourself wheel-driven bandsaw mills that have been featured in past issues of FARM SHOW. The sawmill head is designed to ride back and forth on steel tracks.
The cradle lift rides on 4 small wheels and rolls back and forth on the same tracks as the sawmill. Its heavy frame is made out of 2 and 3-in. tubing, with the uprights made from 2-in. tubing and the rest of the frame from 1 1/2 or 2-in. angle iron. An upper front cross member is used to attach a come-along or chain winch. “A screw in the bottom of the cross member prevents the hook from ‘creeping’,” says Pearcy.
To use, the operator positions the frame behind the desired bunks and wraps a short chain around the offside lower frame to prevent tipping. He then wraps a chain around the log, which can be easily lifted all at once or one end at a time onto the bunks. “By hooking the log off center, even the heaviest logs can easily be rolled for the best cut,” says Pearcy. “Various hooks and chain combinations can be used to increase the cradle lift’s versatility.”
Pearcy and Meador are selling plans for the cradle lift.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles G. Pearcy, Two Old Guys Sawmill Service, 211 W. Couts St., Weatherford, Texas 76086 (ph 817 596-3344 or cell ph 817 994-1546; wells-pearch@msn.com).
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“Cradle Lift” Brings Logs To Sawmill WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous “We needed a way to get medium-sized logs to our bandsaw mill so we used scrap materials to construct a cradle lift that lifts and transports heavy logs from the ground onto the sawmill It lets us position the logs accurately and rotate them as needed without having to handle them by hand ” says Charles Pearcy Weatherford Texas “It also can be used to lift riding mowers and engines and for other heavy lifting chores ” Pearcy and Jeff Meador operate a sawmill service where they make custom cuts to produce everything from fireplace mantels to lumber flooring posts and beams They built their own bandsaw mill using plans from Bill Reeks the creator of do-it-yourself wheel-driven bandsaw mills that have been featured in past issues of FARM SHOW The sawmill head is designed to ride back and forth on steel tracks The cradle lift rides on 4 small wheels and rolls back and forth on the same tracks as the sawmill Its heavy frame is made out of 2 and 3-in tubing with the uprights made from 2-in tubing and the rest of the frame from 1 1/2 or 2-in angle iron An upper front cross member is used to attach a come-along or chain winch “A screw in the bottom of the cross member prevents the hook from ‘creeping’ ” says Pearcy To use the operator positions the frame behind the desired bunks and wraps a short chain around the offside lower frame to prevent tipping He then wraps a chain around the log which can be easily lifted all at once or one end at a time onto the bunks “By hooking the log off center even the heaviest logs can easily be rolled for the best cut ” says Pearcy “Various hooks and chain combinations can be used to increase the cradle lift’s versatility ” Pearcy and Meador are selling plans for the cradle lift Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Charles G Pearcy Two Old Guys Sawmill Service 211 W Couts St Weatherford Texas 76086 ph 817 596-3344 or cell ph 817 994-1546; wells-pearch@msn com
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