Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Bought a chain today

That's exactly how I learned to 'drive'.
Big deal when you can reach the clutch and shift on your own!
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Yep, little boys want to do big boy stuff.

DF[/quote]

One of my earliest childhood memories:I was driving the farmer's brand new Ford 6000 for Dad while he was stacking bales onto a hay slip behind. He hollered to me to turn right at the bottom of the field. Me, it being the summer before I started first grade, did not know right from left yet. As I rounded the last bale in the row I began a sharp turn around.

Dad yelled at me, "That is not RIGHT!"

So I, being an obedient child, immediately started to reverse my turn.

There was a large drainage ditch at the bottom of the field, and Dad became concerned that I did not have room to make the turn without running into the ditch. Dad ran up the cable connecting the hay slip to the tractor , dropping his hay hooks along the way. He came up over the back of the tractor and slid in behind me. He stomped the clutch and jammed the tractor into reverse, whereupon he abruptly ran the rear tire of the tractor over his hay hook. A large traction tire filled with graphite powder. A very expensive repair.

The next day I was in the same field on the seat of a 58 GMC 1 1/2 ton with an eighteen foot flatbed equipped with a clear field elevator. I would slide down under the steering wheel and step on the clutch. Dad would slip the tranny into granny, and the two speed into low, and pull the hand throttle out a smidge. I would hold the clutch until he climbed out and onto the bed of the truck. Then I would make a valiant effort to put every bale into the mouth of the elevator.

I would let the clutch out then climb up and sit on my knees on the seat to drive. When ever Dad wanted me to stop, he would whistle, and I would climb back down under the steering wheel and stand on the clutch. A second whistle meant go again.

Now, that was pretty innovative.

My driving never got that fancy...

DF

Yes, and for what you are doing you could just give a wrap around the damn axle and giv'r a tug.

worse part about pulling bushes is there is nothing to hang on to with the chain. 5/16 chain probably would have been perfect for what you are doing, you can rig it a little tighter than a 3/8".

[quote=White_Bear

A note about all of this chain talk. The proper grade of chain is probably more important than the link size. I won't have anything less than grade 70 around my place. I've busted 1/2" grade 70 chains on a dead pull without jerking. The low grade china junk will kill ya quick. I can't remember the last time I spent less than $80 on a chain

I’m a little surprised that this was not mentioned earlier. Chains have ratings much like bolts do. Personally I don’t trust Chinese hardware, especially lifting or pulling equipment. Those log chockers are really good for this type of work too. Less popular are the chockers that line crews use for setting poles. They have a factory eye on one end and the dog knot and buckle on the other.

All of the cautions And recommendations about pulling with a low center of gravity are well founded.

This was a pretty big bush,...about 8' tall and 8' in diameter. There must have been about 40 individual trunks,... each measuring 1.5" to 3" in diameter. I was pulling about 5 trunks at a time. A smaller chain would have done as well, but the 3/8" chain had no problem cinching up tightly enough. The root ball left a hole that required 3 healthy wheelbarrows of dirt to fill. The ruts my tractor dug in the back yard took a couple, also.

Fortunately, I'm digging a fire pit out back to burn off all of this brush that has accumulated. So when I require some dirt to fill a hole, it just means that I dig the fire put bigger.

Grade 70 is what I bought.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...binder-chain-3-8-in-x-20-ft?cm_vc=-10005

Now, that's a chain. No cheap Chicom stuff.

Going first class may cost more, but is usually worth it.

DF

I didn't put any study into it, actually. I wanted a chain,...Tractor Supply had them all rigged up with hooks in 20' lengths, so I grabbed it up. I didn't know it was grade 70 until it was mentioned here, so I went and looked. I just bought it because it looked like it would do whatever I'd ever need a chain to do.

Everybody needs a heavy length of chain with hooks. I should have bought one a long time ago.

That's what I use too.

DOT regulations require at least a Grade 70 for booming equipment.

http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Flatb...ansport-Chain-Grade-70-3-8X20-Short-Link

Nice looking chain!

Yup ..... When we drag out moose with an ATV, we hook the rope underneath at the front of the ATV. Keeps the front down.

I pulled with the drawbar yesterday. But since I discovered that mount up under the differential, I'll be hooking to that from now on. Seems to me like it would be pretty difficult to get the front end in the air if you're hooked up that low and that far forward.

Never doubt how fast that tractor can kill you, if a spinning tire catches a root , one half a tire rotation kills you, the time it takes to get your foot on the clutch is surprisingly short as the front end raises, short wheel base tractors have their shortages. It sounds like you are on the right track with your hitch.

"Everybody needs a heavy length of chain with hooks. I should have bought one a long time ago."
Or 5......

Modern tractors can kill ya too. But it's amazing how far things have come with 4x4 differential lock tractors, and ROPS.

Just got done fixing a tank dam that had washed out for a client, and then filling and back dragging a bad low spot on my place.

All with my 45hp.

TVA has some good ones, but it hard to get a 40footer out in a lunch box
lol

lol,..

17 plus mentions of chain link size, but it took five pages before the important part of chain grade comes up.

A thread about wire rope would boggle minds & wow children.

You mean like plow steel and improved plow steel? Seems like there is another one or two. We used to have some on the dozers that had a purple strand in it.