Attach hook to cable end

[Provincial]

It sounds like you want to use "Micro" size bells. I use them for 3/8" cable. "Mini" size bells work well for 1/2" cable. I have Mini size sliders on my bulldozer winch.

I can't imagine trying to use chain chokers. One advantage of cable chokers is that you can push them under the log because of the inherent stiffness of the cable. You may have to take a stick or limb and dig a small hole for the cable nub to get under a log that is up tight against the ground. A chain has to be pulled under the log, there is no push!

There is a lot of logging done in my area. Most has gone to machine harvesting and "shovel logging" using hydraulic log loaders to bunch and shuttle the logs from the stump to the landing. Because of this, there are lots of used chokers, bells, sliders, etc. available on the used market for reasonable prices. If you have places nearby that cater to the logging industry, check them out for hardware.

Edit to add: I use 5/8" main line, four sliders, and 1/2" chokers with Mini bells on the winchline of my small crawler dozer. Its winch is rated for 30,000 lbs. pull with a bare drum, which is half again more than the weight of the dozer! For your 1/2" mainline, 3/8" chokers would work well.

 

[gard]

The choker chains I use have a metal rod welded to the end, that is what you poke under the log, then pull the chain under. I can see where the cable would work well for that. How do you store the cable chokers when driving around? I have places on the winch that the chain hangs from. The chain allows me to hook the slider to the choker right next to the log if needed. This way when I lift the winch the front of the log comes up off the ground. I am guessing you have wire chokers of different lengths for different size logs.

 

[Provincial]

The choker chains I use have a metal rod welded to the end, that is what you poke under the log, then pull the chain under. I can see where the cable would work well for that. How do you store the cable chokers when driving around? I have places on the winch that the chain hangs from. The chain allows me to hook the slider to the choker right next to the log if needed. This way when I lift the winch the front of the log comes up off the ground. I am guessing you have wire chokers of different lengths for different size logs.

Yes, different lengths so you can get the butt end of the log off the ground without winding the choker around the winch drum.

The most common storage method is hooks formed from steel rod attached above and/or to the side of the winch. They are high enough above the winch to stay out of the working area, but low enough to reach from the ground. I welded a couple of lugs on my arch so I can drape the chokers on them. They are toward the front of the machine, which keeps the chokers out of the line of fire.

Unused chokers are wound in circles and hung on the hooks out of the way. I usually keep at least three chokers hooked to the sliders. The end slider hooks up first and keep working up from there.

 

[gard]

As promised, here is the connector piece I made, I suspect there is a version of something like this commercially available someplace but I have probably spent as much time on the internet as it took me to build it. Plus I like making stuff.
I started with 3/8 x 2" cold rolled steel from the hardware store, welded it to a 1 1/8" diameter piece of shafting. It looks like it should be way stronger than the slider or 5/15 choker chain.


Drilled some holes and whittled it down some, mostly for looks handling. It would of been safer to round the end ends with it mounted to a rotary table but the ghetto method was good enough for who its for.


The final part


And here it is next to the cable. This will have to be disassembled and threaded on from the opposite end of the cable when I get ready to install the new cable on the winch.

I am happy with how it came out but obviously have no experience using it in the woods yet. I hope having the hook pulling strait on the cable without causing any bend in the cable will result in longer cable life but I probably won't know that for years. I am open to any comments or suggestions of where something like this might be commercially available for 1/2" cable.

 

[David2011]

Have you had an opportunity to try it yet? It looks solid and even if commercial forged ones last longer, you can replace them as needed.

 

[gard]

I have still not found a commercial forged option for attaching a hook directly to the end of a cable with the choker button ferrule on the end that pulls straight on the end of the wire.

This has become a bigger project than I thought. I was looking closer at the new 1/2" swage cable and realized it is likely overkill for the size winch I have (it was recommended by the local farmi dealer and special ordered). The drum is a little under 4" in diameter and this cable is very stiff. I obtained some 1/2" standard cable and measured the stiffness of both cables. The swage cable is almost exactly twice as stiff. I could show details of the measurement if anyone is interested. I had read the swage cable is stiffer but did not realize how much until getting it. I am also in the process of rebuilding the winch with new clutch pads, thrust bearings, drum brake and PTO universal bearings so no chance to try it out yet.

I have come to the conclusion that what I should be using on this winch is either 7/6 standard cable or 3/8 swage cable. These 2 are about the same strength because the swage cable is made from the next size larger cable and compressed down, The flattened outside diameter makes it more durable for dragging thru the woods and is only about 15% stiffer than the larger standard cable.

 

[Jake M]

Logging stuff is often way over rated, and or (chains especially) built to larger dimensions but out of lower grade materials, It's not about the weight, it's about the abuse/misuse/rugged envrionment that it's in. So "overkill" is not really as overkill as it first seems. Cables "thin out" very quickly when they're flexed and cycled with dirt and grit all in between the wires.....

That swaged cable will "soften" some over time. It will remain "somewaht" stiffer than a standard cable of the same size, but not much.

 

[Provincial]

There are two basic types of cable, rope core and solid core. as the name implies, only the outer strands of rope core are made of steel, and the soft core is intended as a spacer. Solid core is all steel, and surprisingly, isn't that much stronger than rope core.

Steel core is stronger, and more resistant to kinking. Rope core is lighter, and more flexible. Rope core is more prone to damage if crossed up on the drum. It will wind on a smaller diameter drum than the solid core.

 

[gard]

First, is experience. We use those clamps on 3/8 "standard" 7X19 IWRC ropes, on 8,000 to 10,000 pound hydraulic winches. Our winches (and any that I have encountered on the repair side as well) are all rated in pull strength on the bottom wrap. With the drum full, our winches ALL have a pull rating about equal to a specific cable type, construction, and material that will be called out on the data tag, which is WAY less than the winches capacity. We've also used them on the larg(er) "medium duty" wrecker, which uses 1/2 "standard" 7X19 IWRC on 12,000 pound winches. The mismatch of capacity there is not a mistake, it's just how the ratings and matchings are done. And as I said, those particular clamps are not the weak link when we do it.

Jake, can you tell me approximately what the drum size is on the winches that uses the 3/8 and 1/2 cables?
My winch specifies 11,200 lb on the first wrap and 4,200 on full drum which I will never have (speced as 262 ft of 3/8). The drum is 3.6" diameter.
Thanks for sharing the experience that the swage wire will soften up some with use.

 

[SLK001]

As promised, here is the connector piece I made...

Be very careful using your connector. It's not as strong as you think. When it fails, it will be your welds that have failed. Keep looking for a forged version of your connector.