Hobbs device

That looks awesome. If you need to, can you still use the bar after the mod or does the socket block the holes?
 
I have the first Hobbs that came out 30+ years ago paid $500.00 for it and 150 foot of 5/8 lowering line from Meyers in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania Bought it at a trade show he didn’t want to carry it out to his truck because it was so heavy I offer them 500 and he gave me the lower line also the best deal I’ve ever made also modified Then put the socket wrench set up in the middle works A thousand times better one man operation by the way what’s going on Riggs in Bryn Mawr taken lotta ash trees down
 
I also still have my original Hobbs which is over 30 years old. 2 buddy's and I went to the original Sierra Moreno in Mountain View Ca, and purchased 3 of them directly from Don himself.
A true innovator in the field, monster tree-man, and genuine baddass..
 
the socket I used was slightly oversize, and used a bench grinder or sanding disc (can't remember which) to get it whittled down a bit.
It was a tight fit (hammer needed). Drilled and tapped a couple of holes to bite into socket. Used red loctite on both socket and gib screws.
Have had zero issues with it, and sometimes even slide the pipe onto the ratchet handle to get more torque on the drum / tension on line.
Very easy to tighten line using one hand working the ratchet, and the other keeping a little tension on the lowering line.
 
Pelorus said:
the socket I used was slightly oversize, and used a bench grinder or sanding disc (can't remember which) to get it whittled down a bit.
It was a tight fit (hammer needed). Drilled and tapped a couple of holes to bite into socket. Used red loctite on both socket and gib screws.
Have had zero issues with it, and sometimes even slide the pipe onto the ratchet handle to get more torque on the drum / tension on line.
Very easy to tighten line using one hand working the ratchet, and the other keeping a little tension on the lowering line.
Click to expand...
Did you tap the steel socket as well? 1/4" screws?
 
Pelorus said:
the socket I used was slightly oversize, and used a bench grinder or sanding disc (can't remember which) to get it whittled down a bit.
It was a tight fit (hammer needed). Drilled and tapped a couple of holes to bite into socket. Used red loctite on both socket and gib screws.
Have had zero issues with it, and sometimes even slide the pipe onto the ratchet handle to get more torque on the drum / tension on line.
Very easy to tighten line using one hand working the ratchet, and the other keeping a little tension on the lowering line.
Click to expand...

I already have this ratchet from my time working for Caterpillar.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/202496311151

I have been bouncing back & forth between this & a GRCS as my next medium sized purchase once I’m completely profiting from the Wraptor.( recouped all invested money)

This thread has me leaning towards the Hobbs & modifying to use my ratchet.

Thank You.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
MikePowers321 said:
Did you tap the steel socket as well? 1/4" screws?
Click to expand...

I tried to drill into the socket using both HSS and a (cheap) cobalt bit.
No love there.
Used some 5/16" hex head bolts.

forgot to mention I've had some good size weighty chunks and butt ends of limbs whack the Hobbs (by accident not intent), and that sucker is definitely robust enough to take a beating.
 
Can you use the bar still?
If you wanted, could you use both? One guy on ratchet, one guy on the bar?
 
No, you would have to drill bar size holes in the socket to use the bar.
But you can slide the pipe handle of the bar over the handle of the ratchet to provide lotsa leverage. And vice versa for tightening up the strap securing the Hobbs to the tree.
 
One other mod I would like to do is to mount a spring of some sort to the pawl for when you are mounting the Hobbs to a tree, esp. a large dia. tree by yourself. Your hands are kinda occupied trying to hold the Hobbs in place, while using the bar to tighten the strap. Since that damn pawl isn't spring loaded, it is a PITA. Anyone who has tried this knows exactly what I'm talking about. Black top of marker is pointed at it.image.webp
 
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If you can't keep the Hobbs in place with a kerf cut to slide that metal piece into, then just choke some thin line above it to hold her in place while you mess with the strap. Just like some of the other Stein Bollards

Certainly be nice if it were spring loaded though
 
I too have modified my H2 to except a ratchet about 3 years ago and it's the best mod that I have ever made to a piece of gear. Will try to get some pics this week.

The Hobbs is a beast and I would like to thank Ed Hobbs, Don Blair and Ken Johnson for all their hard work.
 
chris_girard said:
I too have modified my H2 to except a ratchet about 3 years ago and it's the best mod that I have ever made to a piece of gear. Will try to get some pics this week.

The Hobbs is a beast and I would like to thank Ed Hobbs, Don Blair and Ken Johnson for all their hard work.
Click to expand...
Would love some pictures of how you went about your mod
 
kiteflyingeek said:
I'm looking forward to the rest of the mods discussion.

However, I am posting to see if @Jehinten ever purchased one of the bollards in this thread.

--andrew
Click to expand...

I have not purchased one of these bollards, at the time I was really leaning towards the Stein due to the price and the how little lifting I actually do. It would be perfectly capable of pre tensioning ropes for me. Since then I have bought a rope Jack and it works great for that function with the porta wrap, midline attachable and has about a 5:1 mechanical advantage.

Since then I have picked up a mini skid and if I need to lift a limb now I would use it for the pulling, however I would like to use it in conjunction with a ratcheting bollard on the big ones. This way the mini does the pulling, but the bollard would take the dynamic load instead of the mini or the BMG bollard.

Do any of you guys with a Hobbs pull through it with a mini? The mini would be a faster pull than cranking and could easily be done with one ground guy. If you need to let it run once the piece is free you can just drive forward until it's under control.
 
Jehinten said:
I have not purchased one of these bollards, at the time I was really leaning towards the Stein due to the price and the how little lifting I actually do. It would be perfectly capable of pre tensioning ropes for me. Since then I have bought a rope Jack and it works great for that function with the porta wrap, midline attachable and has about a 5:1 mechanical advantage.

Since then I have picked up a mini skid and if I need to lift a limb now I would use it for the pulling, however I would like to use it in conjunction with a ratcheting bollard on the big ones. This way the mini does the pulling, but the bollard would take the dynamic load instead of the mini or the BMG bollard.

Do any of you guys with a Hobbs pull through it with a mini? The mini would be a faster pull than cranking and could easily be done with one ground guy. If you need to let it run once the piece is free you can just drive forward until it's under control.
Click to expand...

In my mind (I’m not a physicist) pulling through with the mini could over load things in short order. You don’t gain a ton of MA on a ratchet bollard but you do gain some. And with no physical contact with the rope tension could get out of hand quickly.
When ever we have used the mini to lift a limb there isn’t really any dynamic force on the system. We put 2-3 wraps on the BMG, one hand on the rope and one backing up. This gives us that over load protection. Lift with little to no drop.
 
flyingsquirrel25 said:
In my mind (I’m not a physicist) pulling through with the mini could over load things in short order. You don’t gain a ton of MA on a ratchet bollard but you do gain some. And with no physical contact with the rope tension could get out of hand quickly.
When ever we have used the mini to lift a limb there isn’t really any dynamic force on the system. We put 2-3 wraps on the BMG, one hand on the rope and one backing up. This gives us that over load protection. Lift with little to no drop.
Click to expand...

I always aim for no dynamics when I am lifting a piece, but I guess I was thinking of when things don't work out perfectly and a hinge breaks a little early. It may be a non issue, as I do not have a BMG yet (planning on purchasing it next) but I was thinking that it would be best to protect it from any impact by using the bollard on the tree. I'm probably over thinking it, as I haven't actually seen a BMG in person.
 
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