Simpson Capstan Rope Winch

Jason Axe

hey guys was wondering if any of you have every use one of these if so how did it work Simpson Capstan Winch

Grais

Well i have never used one, but Graham M. uses one to climb the tree in this vid.......

Cool huh.
Looks like they work pretty good to me.
-Grais

Jason Axe

thanks thats a cool video havnt seen that one before

Grais

Thinking more about this Axe, I cannot see why these babies wouldn't be the cats ass(its a saying sorry!!).
As I understand it, by varying the wraps taken on the capstan, you vary the speed at which it will winch.
Right now we got a manager/GF who is absolutely clueless, he keeps asking us what gear do we need, so maybe next time he asks Ill tell him we NEED one of these for a 'special' situation.
Hell probably order one, with any luck.
If that is the case Ill let you all know how thy work, but if Graham McMahon has payed out cash for one, or a very similar capstan winch, then they are probably hella useful.
Graham doesn't seem the type, just by watching him climb mind you, to waste money on frivolous things, so if they got one, there is probably a damn good reason why.
Stay safe climbers, ahhhh....okay and groundies as well.... have a good one,
-Grais.

Willard Holmen

I know the Simpson is a good product, but check out the Honda powered portable forestry capstan winch www.portablewinch.com
I know of loggers in Quebec Canada who skid pulpwood 8 hours a day with these winches in park selective logging.
For my tree service a GRCS [Goods] self tailing marine capstan winch setup powered with a gas drill or handle would be the best setup. But I'm not going to fork out $3,500 US to buy it. I can get that same Harkin winch from a marine supply for around $1,500 and built my own mounting bracket.
I already have a 2-speed Stihl gas drill so $1,500 wouldn't be that bad. The Honda winch is about the same price but you will have a much lighter capstan winch then the heavy duty Harkin marine, plus the Harkin is also self tailing for easier use.

Garry Brockley

Holmen do you have any pictures of your winch set up?

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Jason Axe

im tinking about buying one for my self, the only thing i dont like about it is that it cant use 1/2 three strand rope like i use for my come alone. thanks for your imput

Willard Holmen

No I don't own one yet. The picture of my Harkin winch setup is not on paper yet, only in my head, ha ha.
My invention would go like this. Buy a 2-speed mid size Harkin marine capstan winch with self tailer[ big enough size to accept a hydraulic motor splined shaft on the underside], fabricate a base bracket to mount it to. The base bracket and winch can be attached to a tree with a sling, to a vehicle receiver hitch, or bolt it onto a hydraulic motor mounted on the back of a chipper with the chipper hydraulics powering the motor.

I can power this winch at the chipper or make it portable by attaching it to a tree or any solid anchor and power it with a gas drill or last resort, the handle crank.
I have faith in the durability of these marine winches. Ekka had some old videos of Gerald Beranek shock loading these marine winches with a 3/4" rope and a truck falling out of a tree. Totaling amazing video, maybe he can show it again!

Willard Holmen

Nice setup you have their Mark.
I was thinking in the lines of mounting the winch down low at the back corner of the chipper at about waist high with easy unobstructed rope access to the spool.The winch being that low you would have to skid your logs with a poly cone over the butts. My chipper is only an 8 inch model so I'm not interested in winching the logs into the infeed, just pull the tree with limbs top and all to the chipper, [I'm a powersaw man]. The winch I am interested in getting is the larger ones with the hydraulic drive under neath the base of the winch as some of the big sailboats have them mounted on their decks. Of course I wouldn't bother with the expensive marine hydraulic motor but use a motor like yours, but just have the motor mounted permanently at the chipper bumper with the shaft pointing up. Then when needed I would bolt the winch onto the motor when not using the winch anchored to a tree etc.
From the advertising I have seen on the GRCS winchs they claim a gas drill will power it. But your right I had doubts that my Stihl drill would have enough torque for the big loads, even in 1st gear. Maybe for pulling a choker full of brush quickly over long distances, but thats about it.

Tree Machine

I've got one. I used to run it with a husky 395XP, which was very overpowered. I blew out a shear pin and had to send it back to the manufacturer (I was towing an entire felled tree out of a yard). When I got it back I didn't really ever use it again. I could really use one off the back of the chipper for skidding tarp loads of debris, but anywhere else, I can do much of all else with the truck and a redirected pulley, or mechanical advantage and cammed work pulleys etc.

I think it could be very valuable, given the right situation. It really works like a charm, just don't go too big with it . Also, you ideally need to dedicate a saw to it as swapping back and forth between saw-saw and winch saw is impractical in the sense of production and efficiency.

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rbtree

Grais, That's not a Simpson. That unit is Italian made. There's now a couple similar units, one is US made by an eastern arborist, not yet on the market.

rbtree

Varying the wraps has nothing to do with winching speed. With both the Simpson and Graeme's unit, line speed is determined by the powerhead's rpm.



I have a Simpson....before I got my GRCS, I modded it for bidirectional use, to allow for lifting tree parts, then lowering them. It worked, but wasn't optimal due to the small capstan, which can result in wraps getting locked on themselves. Plus, you can't do any dynamic loading.

rbtree

I have a Milwaukee right angle drill, a 15 amp Super Hawg. Works great with the GRCS. Four speed choices......

In use here:

Tree Machine

I would think RB's GRCS/right angle hawg would be a more versatile setup than the Simpson capstan, except for you need an electrical source. Honda has a really nice 2000 watt generator for under a thousand.

A couple things that I didn't quite jive with on the Simpson capstan are 1) You need three hands to work it, one to do the throttle on the saw and two hands to tail the rope. This is a non-cleated capstan, so if you release tension on the rope, friction on the drum is lost all pull is lost. This makes one-handing the rope possible, but kinda clumsy. 2) If you are the throttle guy, you are in direct line of a snapback if a rope breaks. I used a spring clamp to do the throttle and in that way I was able to tail the rope out of the line of fire, so to speak. However, there is no varying the speed of the saw with this method. The saw screams on high, which I really don't like doing to the saws for any length of time, but with the capstan system, that's sort of the way it is. The saw-driven capstan is NOT fast, and when your saw is screaming on high it can seem to take forever. However, don't let this detract from the fact that it's a very effective tool.

Grais

So just to be clear, Ive never used one of these yet(soon to change), but as I understand, you CAN vary the pulling speed, or perhaps better suited word is pulling power, with more or less wraps on the capstan ?
I understand the saw would turn the capstan at whatever rate you have the throttle set, but , for instance, if you take one wrap on the capstan, and the rope slips 1" back for every 2" forward(just an example), is that not going to vary the winching speed ? That is the point I was getting at, through friction, the speed, or pulling power can be varied ?
Is that not the case at all ?
We got one on the way, it is a Husky chainsaw winch that is what my GF told me, should be able to try it out in the next week or two. then I will have a working knowledge of the bloody things.
Stay safe gang,
-Grais.

Tree Machine

No. The number of wraps on the capstan increases the amount of friction you can be afforded. If you are pulling something light, a wrap may do. Something heavy, and one wrap will cause the capstan drum to keep spinning while the rope remains stationary. You would need to tail more tightly to effect the pull, or take another wrap, or two or three. This increases the amount of rope surface available for friction, allowing you to effect the pull with less forceful tension at the tail.

You can slow the rate by releasing tension on the tail, causing the capstan to slip somewhat, and that will give you a move-stop-move-stop sort of slowdown, but you can not increase the speed of the intake beyond that of what the capstan's RPM, which is not fast. So you either get not fast, or slower than not fast. Slowing down the rate is better done at the throttle, but trust me, you are not likely to want to slow it down.

Speeding this system up would be a higher RPM saw, a bigger diameter capstan or higher gear ratio inside the gearbox. Like rbtree says,

rbtree

When using a Simpson, or any winch, say the GRCS, when lifting, no slippage is wanted. With both devices, the capstan is best filled with wraps, which, unless there is a self-tailer as with the GRCS, will need to be held tight to allow for full speed. Anything less is not desired.

rbtree

Here a vid that Gerry B just put up, from the West Coast Get Together.

I didn't make the event, dang it...

Grais

Cool thanks guys for clearing up MY confusion.
Look forward to learning to use a new tool, feel like I got a good head start on it.
-Grais.

Eric Frei

From the video:-
"New motorized ascender called the Raptor invented by Paul Clarks of Charlottesville Virginia" .... maybe a copy of this one?

Power Ascender makes canopy access a breeze - no sweat | power ascender

PME Power Ascender | Products | Actsafe-Ascenders

Who have been making them since ....

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rbtree

The Odysse isn't sold in North America. Costs a lot more than the Wraptor, which Paul is still refining......Though the same concept as the Odysse, it's Paul's own design. I'm pretty sure he has not had his hands on that one. It's also lighter, has a higher line speed, and a guard for the capstan, to keep body parts and anything else clear.

Eric Frei

However saying he "invented" something when it already exists in commercial quantities is a little trumped up eh. I'm sure he done research, and the McMahons have toured USA with their device years ago ... its not like it was unknown.

If he indeed didn't know anything, then that's near a typical stereotype that doesn't look beyond their own borders.

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rbtree

Blablabla.....Complain to Gerry, he called it an invention.

Sure, the units are similar....but Paul has applied for a US patent, and it has differences....

Graeme didn't bring his Odysee when he was in Seattle in 2002......

Eric Frei

I'm just pointing out the facts... a similar device has been in the market place for 12 years.

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Eric Frei

Video link is now dead, message comes up "This video has been removed by the user."

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Eric Frei

Hello, seems ole slippery just reloaded it and it has a different URL.

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