HOTYELL Chainsaw Mill Winch Kit for Chain Saw Milling - Efficient Chainsaw Accessories with Lever Arm, Perfectly Balances the Saw Mill, Easier and Smoother (Winch Kit + 4 Tree Felling Wedges)

All of the components were safely positioned inside the kit, which came in a timely manner and was well packaged. It comes with a winch kit and four tree felling wedges, which, when combined, are expected to make milling more effective and controllable. The directions were easy to understand and included sufficient information, which made the assembly process simple even for those who are not very mechanically inclined. The lever arm is, in my opinion, the most notable component of this kit. This characteristic ensures that the sawmill is precisely balanced, which makes the milling operation far less laborious and more streamlined overall. Before I started using this kit, I often had trouble keeping a steady cut, which produced slabs that were uneven and did not appear as professional as they should have. On the other hand, I could immediately see a difference in the quality of my cuts once I started using the lever arm. It is no longer necessary for me to use an excessive amount of power in order to keep the saw on track since it is able to freely move through the wood.

I wasn’t sure how much of a difference a winch kit would really make, but wow this one completely changed everything for me. I attached it to my chainsaw mill setup and instantly noticed how much smoother everything felt. The lever arm makes it way easier to manage the cut, and I feel like I’m getting cleaner, straighter slabs without wearing myself out. The included tree felling wedges were a nice bonus, solid quality and super useful when working with bigger logs. Honestly, it just makes the whole milling process a lot more manageable, especially if you're working solo. If you’re doing any chainsaw milling, this kit is absolutely worth adding to your gear. It’s one of those accessories that makes you wonder why you didn’t get it sooner.

Every thing works great, photo was very deceiving. ( bottom left pic ) does not come the package. Was thinking I was going to get the hole packed. Only came with winch cable and log mount. Bought other half later works great. May of went a different direction and found a all in one cheaper.

I initially bought this winch because I mill using an electric chainsaw and I thought it wasn't powerful enough to mill properly. Like others have said, before the winch it was taking me about 3 minutes per foot to get through 12 inch pine, using an Oregon CS1500 15 amp electric chainsaw, 18'' ripping chain, and Alaskan Mill G778. The thing is that (as the picture shows, the left board) it would not only take an immense amount of pushing power, the teeth marks were inevitable. But what the winch does is invaluable because it not only gives a huge boost in PULLING power, but it's perfectly horizontal, leading to perfect boards. Improvements after attaching winch: - less than a minute per foot (pine, as wide as the mill will allow me) - little to no effort, twice or more pulling power - almost always leaves boards without teeth marks - less sharpening required Why this isn't a default attachment is probably because an overpowered gas chainsaw will achieve similar results. But if you're like me and are trying to be precise with the size of machine you get/have, then this is an indispensable attachment. Specific to this listing, the winch is very well built, fairly easy to set up, and fits perfectly in the Alaskan Granberg G778 chainsaw mill (24'' and above).

Not quite the best or safest device to use for cutting logs into usable boards. Used a Stihl chain saw with this device but did not seem to really work the way the videos are demonstrated. Does not effortlessly pull the chain saw through the log like the video shows.

Got this chainsaw mill winch kit to try out before gifting it to my woodworking buddy. Assembly was pretty straightforward, took about 15 minutes to get everything set up. The winch mechanism's smooth, definitely makes the milling process less of a workout. Turned the handle at a steady pace and watched the chainsaw glide through a log - pretty satisfying, I gotta say. The upgraded lever arm's a neat feature, tilts back automatically at the end of the cut to protect the chain. Seems like it'd be great for getting consistent cuts without pausing. But it's not all sawdust and rainbows. The winch adds some weight to the setup, might be a bit much for smaller chainsaws. Had to fiddle with the tension a bit to get it just right. While it claims to work with most chainsaw mills, I'd double-check compatibility before buying. The instructions could be clearer, especially for sawmill newbies. Overall, it seems like a solid addition for someone who does a lot of milling. Should help my friend get smoother cuts with less effort. Just hope he doesn't mind that I took it for a test run first - all in the name of being a good gift-giver, right?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

As others have mentioned the carriage bolts that come with the kit do not fit into the channel on the mill without modification. May depend on the mill, but for mine I had to grind the shoulder of the bolts down to make them fit. Then for the ball connections the shoulders are too tall to allow for complete tightening and also required modification. The nylon bolt that prevents free spinning of the winch was broken on delivery. All easily fixed if you have basic mechanical ability which is the price of buys cheap.

Difficult to install. The bolts to attach it to my mill did not fit - tried to file it down to fit - not successful - had to order bolts to make it work. Then when used, had multiple problems with the winch not staying in place allowing the cord to drop and get wrapped around the shaft requiring a chainsaw shutdown and about 20 minutes to fix. I finally gave up on it and removed it from my chainsaw mill. It was more trouble than it was worth.

Don't bother buying the saw mill without it and a 70cc 372xp saws the minimum and even thats underpowered by time u buy a good saw the mill and chains you could've paid for atleast have the price of a bam saw mill

Not bad works as intended

This is one of those accessories that you will kick yourself for not getting sooner if you tend to make these kinds of cuts often. While it does take time to learn, and you will need to teach yourself how to use this both safely and efficiently, once you’re comfortable with it you’ll be shocked at how much faster it makes your work. If I had to give any advice, I would say go slow the first few times to get a feel for it, don’t use too much force (let the mill do the work, you’re not pushing through the wood), and practice turning the winch slowly but at an even pace until you get a feel for it. And of course as always, for the love of god follow basic safety tips like wearing goggles. Obviously a chainsaw mill winch kit is not for everyone (it’s probably one of the most niche things I’ve ever used from Amazon, and it’s not for the faint of heart (in general if you’re using a chainsaw you probably need to be pretty confident in what you’re doing anyways or you’re bound to make some big mistakes) but once you understand how to use it you’ll be glad you took the time.

All the aluminum parts are of a heavy gauge so it is very sturdy, not flimsy as I had first feared, and all required assembly tools are included, I lubricated the rope pulley/spindle axle with a bit of lithium grease (not included) to reduce whatever slight friction there might be and to eliminate any wear as there is no bushing in the spindle. With a proper ripping chain on the saw and the rail set that I also have, it made slicing a downed 18-inch poplar tree a breeze. What used to be a back twisting pain is now an ergonomic pleasure. This winch should last a long time since there is not much to wear out.

Initial setup was a bit tricky, and resulted in some wonky cuts... After a few uses, I was able to get it set proper and the cuts are spot on now. The winch makes it so easy, just gotta remember to let the winch do the work and dont force it. This unit seems to be very well made. Everything fits together tight, no play thats going to make you nervous while using. This is one of things you dont know how much you need until you have it. Sure you can go ahead and do it the traditional way, but the output with this is 5 fold. My fastest worker can only cut 2 by the time Ive done 8 or 9 so the numbers speak for themselves. Very impressed, would highly recommend. 10/10