Largest size lumber fit down 8" hole?

[bikeoutback]

I'm preparing for the winter and although I'm a bit early on this one as we wont' have drivable ice for along time I'll be in the cities and thus near a lumber store this weekend. I've heard of guys pulling their trucks out when stuck with a come along and a large piece of wood stuck down an 8" hole. I tried this while stuck last year with pieces I had in my truck but ended up just breaking them instead. Anybody know the largest diameter size wood to fit down an 8" hole? I'm going to pick one up and then cut it to 5'8" so fits in the bed of the truck and just keep it there all winter. It's just another item I'd rather have and never use.

[InTheNorthwoods]

Call me crazy, but if you got a round pole, like a telephone pole, I'm guessing you could get something with an 8" diameter down the hole. That might even be your best bet, as a square piece of wood may get "sloppy" when placed in the hole.

[student]

Interesting idea. I suppose a person take an 8 x 8 and round off the sides or use a large round fence post from a farm supply store.

I would guess that it's best to not drill the hole all the way through?

[hydro]

That is exactly how the tow truck anchored itself when pulling vehicles out of Clearwater Lake. They used a piece of telephone pole as mentioned above and chained the truck to it so it would not slide. I would imagine a 4' chunk of 6X6 would work if you are planning on having something on hand.

[McGurk]

Let's see; 8" diameter...4" radius...4" divided by the square root of 2 for the hypotenuse length...that's 2.83"...that times 2 is 5.66"...so the max dimension for a square piece of lumber is 5.66 by 5.66". A finished 6'x6' is 5.5"x5.5" so that's what you need: a length of 6x6.

That shouldn't leave too much slop, and a ring of 2x4s around the center will stop if from slipping through the hole (not like it would anyway: it should float!). Pressure treated 6x6s are available all over the place.

[dougger222]

Heard a story a few years ago of guy who would drive his truck into permanent fish houses. The story goes this was stoped by a telephone pole in a hole in a permanent fish house.

Just one more use for a telephone pole!

[dfv87]

Mcgurk... nobody said there would be math for this question... and me with without my sliderule. (does sound like he is right)

[LightningBG]

There are so many problems with the ideas here. Let me whip up some pics and get back to ya'all.

[wallyeye]

A few years ago when we had a strong warm wind a buddy's house fell in.

We drilled an 8" hole and took a 4' long 4"x4" and hooked a chain around the center of it. We pushed the entire 4x4 down the hole and turned it on its side so it was under the ice across the hole. We then hooked a winch onto our chain. Worked great for winching the house out.

[Powerstroke]

I'm thinking a treated 6x6 is going to be your best bet. Interesting discussion. I never thought of that and being an anchor. I do carry my comealong so it looks like I might be picking up some new lumber.

[LightningBG]

McGurk is definitely on the right track.

Walleye is too.

So there are 2 ways to go about this that I know of. Vertical and horizontal.

Vertical -

Take a 6x6 piece of lumber (for an 8 inch hole), cut it to 24-30 inches long (not 5 ft) put an eye bolt or screw in eye to it near an end, but not at the very end.

For use. Drill a hole up to 24 or so inches down. Doesn't have to be all the way through the ice. place the timber into the hole with the eye bolt as close to the ice as possible (to reduce torque). (Can also drill the hole at an angle to slant the timber away from the truck (top furthest away)

#2

Cut a 4x4 to about 15 inches long. Put an eye bolt through the timber with a washer/nut on the back. place a second smaller eye bolt on the end, attach a rope to this smaller one. Attach a HD chain to the bigger eyebolt

For use, the second method involves drilling a hole all the way through the ice. Push the 4x4 under the bottom of the ice and allow it to turn sideways (rope slacked)center the timber under the hole with the chain in hand. attach winch or whatever to the chain. To remove from the hole (which should always be done). push the timber down and to the side with a stick or something. pull up on the rope to align the timber vertically, pull up.

Sit down an have a beer, you just avoided a tow.

[JeffB]

If you want something a lot smaller and as good or better weld a 6 footchunk of chain onto the center of a 3 foot piece of heavy steel. Weld it off center just enough that it will cantilever up the hole when not under tension. I just made mine from an old square shaft and is small enough for use for the wheeler and strong enough for a truck. I've never used it for the truck but it sure worked well with the wheeler and winch.

[hydro]

Hey McGurk, You can also multiply the side of the square post (adjacent angle or 5.5" for a 6X6) by 1.414 to get the hypotenuse and you have the diagonal dimension or 7.7", so mathematically it should fit into an 8" auger hole.

Ps. 1.414 is the inverse of the sine of 45 degrees, which is .707. If you know the hypotenuse and multiply it by .707 you will get the side of the square. Both of these numbers are very handy when working with squares in layout or construction and worth writing down in the toolbox for reference!

[DP]

I saw a guy get stuck a few years back on LOTW, be busted his front wheel through over a large crack in about 24" of ice. The resort owners came out and drilled a couple holes at about a 30 degree angle, then put what looked like 6"x6" posts down the holes, then they used come-alongs to ease him out. Worked pretty good, drilling holes at an angle was the trick.

[McGurk]

Hey McGurk, You can also multiply the side of the square post (adjacent angle or 5.5" for a 6X6) by 1.414 to get the hypotenuse and you have the diagonal dimension or 7.7", so mathematically it should fit into an 8" auger hole.

Ps. 1.414 is the inverse of the sine of 45 degrees, which is .707. If you know the hypotenuse and multiply it by .707 you will get the side of the square. Both of these numbers are very handy when working with squares in layout or construction and worth writing down in the toolbox for reference!

If I didn't already know it by heart, I'd write it down on my toolbox, too! Already knew about the relationship of the sides of a square relative to the length of one corner to the opposite corner, and its trig roots. My old man was a upper level HS math teacher, and some of those things really stick!

BTW, I knew the size of the hole he had and worked backwards from that. Gotta start with the controlling factor and go from there.

[Coach1310]

Okay.... let's get this thread back into NORMAL PEOPLE language.... find a big piece of wood, drill a hole and see if it fits.... winch away and away you go!!

[KG243]

I don't know if I would wan't to be putting eye bolts in the timber, what I am trying to say is if you drill your hole at an angle away from the vehicle and put the timber in there and wrap your chain around it so not all of the tension is on the eye bolt. I have a buddy that does this with his wheeler and the winch, works wonders.

[JeffB]

I don't know if I would wan't to be putting eye bolts in the timber, what I am trying to say is if you drill your hole at an angle away from the vehicle and put the timber in there and wrap your chain around it so not all of the tension is on the eye bolt. I have a buddy that does this with his wheeler and the winch, works wonders.

Way to go Kevin youv'e killed this post. You've stated the correct way to use a 6x6 so simply even the brightest mathmaticians can't come up with a formula to explain it any better.

[osok]

A few years ago when we had a strong warm wind a buddy's house fell in.

We drilled an 8" hole and took a 4' long 4"x4" and hooked a chain around the center of it. We pushed the entire 4x4 down the hole and turned it on its side so it was under the ice across the hole. We then hooked a winch onto our chain. Worked great for winching the house out.

+1 agree with this, and all you have to do to remove it is push one end sideways.

Wait-a-sec.....is this really just about a square peg in a round hole?......Man I failed that miserably in kindergarten

[bikeoutback]

Thanks guys, I found out about this method on these forums last year but never pursued it much except I did pick up a come along for getting stuck in other places. I'll grab a 6x6 and cut it to 5'8" which easily fits in the bed of the truck and at minmum be all set.

I could cut down an 8" tree but the 6x6 sounds easier to haul around. I have the trees and probably have enough blown down to find a recent 8" on my land but again square piece of lumber easier to work around in the truck I think.

Thanks again and here's to hoping I have it but never have to use it.

[Surface Tension]

I can tell just by looking at it that a 6x6 will fit into an 8" hole.

Thats how I roll.

[LightningBG]

Thanks guys, I found out about this method on these forums last year but never pursued it much except I did pick up a come along for getting stuck in other places. I'll grab a 6x6 and cut it to 5'8" which easily fits in the bed of the truck and at minmum be all set.

You're not really going to carry around a 5'8" timber are you?

[Powerstroke]

If you're driving on the ice having one or two long pieces of lumber in your truck is nothing compared to the collection of ice fishing gear you'll probably bring. Seems like cheap insurance. Also those same pieces of lumber would easily sit on the floor of your fishhouse if you're pulling out a wheelhouse on the ice.

[Gordie]

You can acheive the same results using a waterspike anchor and drilling two holes next to each other or a piece of chain with a piece of pipe theatherd to it so when you drop the pipe down the hole it turns sideways and you then pull yourself out then when you let up on the chain the pipe is pulled back thru the hole.

Takes up less room and is easier to stow that a 5'8" timber. it all fits in a 5 gallon bucket

[McGurk]

You can acheive the same results using a waterspike anchor and drilling two holes next to each other or a piece of chain with a piece of pipe theatherd to it so when you drop the pipe down the hole it turns sideways and you then pull yourself out then when you let up on the chain the pipe is pulled back thru the hole.

I don't like it 'cause there's no math involved.