On Fri, 23 Jan 2015 19:06:04 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"Leon Fisk" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:44:27 -0500
"Jim Wilkins" wrote:
BTDT. The most useful thing I carried was a folding pruning saw to
cut
a tree trunk lever to repeatedly lift the car and let rocks piled
against the tire fall into the rut, and then to cut short pieces to
make a few feet of corduroy track.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corduroy_road
I had an inexpensive folding saw break on me out in the boonies. It
worked like a big jackknife. Problem is they are weak side-to-side
in
the pivot/fold area. Thankfully I was only cutting a small blow-down
on
the way into a secluded area. Lesson learned though. Be careful with
then or carry a more rugged saw 
The Coghlan folding saw has been fine for me, but I rarely break
anything anyway.
The chain fall has served me as a slow and awkward manual winch. For
horizontal pulls a lever hoist is a much better choice. The jack is
more pull for a lot less money than a big lever hoist, though.
I consider the hi-lift jacks as problem solvers. They aren't the
best
for any particular job but will get the job done for many.
I'm looking for examples of what they can do that something else
couldn't. I don't like that they can tip the load onto the operator
so easily.
Have you seen the cable gripper type winches? Griphoist stuff:
http://tractel.com/us/series.php?id_serie=47
http://www.amazon.com/Tractel-GRIPHO...dp/B000KUCKI0/
http://www.bairstow.com/Griphoist-Ti...sts-p/ghwh.htm
God awful expensive but would be nice to have at times...
Leon Fisk
I have a pair of mountaineering ascenders that grip like that on
kernmantle. Unlike Prusik knots they don't need tension on the bottom
of the rope. They tear up Walmart rope.
I looked into those cable pullers after watching a power crew use one
to string up new lines. Most of the pulling I do is at ground level
where I can make short pulls, stop and shorten the lines. When I have
to change the lean of a large tree I use two pullers alternately.
The PBS show on salvaging the Costa Concordia has a cutaway animation
of the hydraulic jacks with fixed and moving cable gripper jaws that
pulled the ship upright.
-jsw
Hi, Jim. I bought my hi-lift jack in 1974, when I got my CJ-5. I
spent about 15 years surf fishing. I used it primarily to get other
folks unstuck, one or two a year.
One of my favorites was a couple of dudes in a short bed 4x4 Ford
truck with monster tires and a lift kit that tried to cross a slough
behind the beach between Sargent and Brown Cedar Cut. My (future)
wife and I were on our way down the beach when we saw a Bronco with
two women and a bunch of kids coming back. A little further on, there
were these two bozos waving us down with the truc in the slough.
They asked if I could pull them out. I looked, and the top of their
monster tires were sticking out about an inch out of the 2" of water
and who knows how deep mud. The diff must have been at least a foot
under. So I told them I couldn't pull them out, but could get them
out. We tried once with my 50' 3/4" nylon rope, no go. Duh.
Here's where the jack comes in. I had them get in that stinky bog,
and started dragging in driftwood. The procedure is keep pumping
boards into the bog with the jack. Luckily they had a big brush guard
so something was high enough out to receive the jack. It took about
an hour, and many boards, but finally the jack started to take a load.
It looked like the brush guard was going to bend, so I had them stop,
then take another bite.
Finally, there was a little sucking sound, and the front tires came up
less than an inch. We kept at it until the front was up and they got
boards under the tires. Then I went back to the rope and yanked them
out first try.
After, they asked what they owed, and I said I didn't care. They were
black mud head to toe. One of them dug in his pocket and handed
Brenda a wad of mud and money. Then they told us that as soon as they
got stuck, their wives and kids turned around in a Bronco and left.
Ouch.
We had a nice meal at Gaido's on that money after Brenda washed it
off. Don't remember catching any fish that day.
Pete Keillor