Brake systems for Sled

[Andy Carson]

I have had lots of trouble with my sled running away downhill (especially when the ground is frozen and the load is heavy) and have come up with various braking systems with varying success. I thought I would see what other use so I can try out other (probably better) solutions. Here’s what I have used for far:

Shafts attached to front of sled: Good for braking on mild slopes with medium loads, crappy on anything steep or if load is heavy. Reduces turning radius alot (to the point that they are not very useful in the woods).

Chains run underneath sled runners: Great braking, but so strong that I can’t pull uphill on even very mild slopes. This means I have constantly get on and off alot to take chains on and off. Sometimes I guess wrong and find out I ought to have put the chains on when I am on something that looked flat to me. Leads to trouble.

Harrow drug behind sled: Braking is good enough that I can go down all but the steepest slopes with the heaviest loads. Not too much braking for going uphill, but I do notice the extra effort and have to take a little lighter loads (as there is no way to “turn the harrow off”). Also, the harrow makes the whole “train” longer and reduces my manuverability a little (not as bad as shafts though).

Found branchs/logs stuck in front of sled (such that they dig into the ground): Much milder braking than chains (about the same as the harrow), so I can leave the wood there until I have to go up a steeper incline. Also, I can just throw the deadfall back into the woods when I am done with it and don’t have to haul it around. The downside is that I sometimes can’t find a nice size piece when I need it. Also, occasionaly the piece of wood breaks or shifts and I have to reposition it.

I would appreciate any ideas, I have included a picture of what my sled looks like so you all can get a better idea of what I’m talking about. We don’t usually haul as much weight as is shown in the picture, and yes, those are headlights… I use this sled alot (we wore through two sets of 1/4 inch x 3 inch x 6 foot steel runners last year) and have been sad that I have had to cut back so much in the winter because of the slickness of the snow and ice. I am looking forward to spring!

[Donn Hewes]

You will want a tongue or shafts, just to keep equipment that slides off your animals heels. As for actual braking you need Carl Russel’s chain set up which is easily deployed under the runner when needed and released when it flattens out. Search back in some old threads to find a description and photos or just ask Carl direct. Now that I look at the picture, you don’t need shafts for that boat as long as you are on dry ground, just when it has that tendancy to slide. Removeable shafts perhaps

[Andy Carson]

Thanks Donn, I haved tried putting shafts fixed in place on the front of the sled, but it made the it very hard to turn. I use the sled alot in the woods and need to be able to turn tight… After that, I added a pivot point so that the shafts could turn with the horse instead of being stuck pointed forward. That made turning easy enough (not as good as without the shafts) but on downhills the sled had a tendancy to want to slide “around the horse” (downhill to the left or right) and was hard to keep straight. Maybe some system that has removable pin in it to allow for pivoting when I need manuverability and rigidity when I am going downhill would be best. Chains under the runners do work great, they just require alot of “fussing” if you don’t have shafts holding you back on even mild downhills. I bet if I get a shaft set-up that allows for the amount of manuverability I like, though, I won’t have to “fuss” with the brakes so much. Maybe that is where I ought to be spending my designing efforts.

[Carl Russell]

First of all the shafts should be able to pivot, especially with the long runners of this sled. The solution is to have adjustable chains that limit the angle that they can pivot. This is a pic of the front of my scoot. This is for a pole, but you can cut off the pole and bolt on shafts. There is a spread chain attached below the front bunk so that the draft is actually directed to the runner on the outside of the turn. It is the large chains under the evener that have a large ring that the pole runs through that prevent the sled from passing the horses.

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Next, if you actually find Bridle Chains, they are made so that it is very easy to engage and disengage them. They are made to either attach to the roll as in this pic, or sometimes they are on a staple that rests on top of the runner. There is a ring on the long end, and a finger and ring (similar to tire chain clasp) on the staple end. Lay the chain in front of the runner and attach to the ring by folding the finger back and sliding the little ring over the finger. Move the sled forward, and it goes up onto the chain, which acts as a brake. When not needed, slide the little ring off the finger and move the sled ahead. The chain will slide out from under the runner and will drag free beside the runner. It helps to stop where it is still easy to start the sled, as the chain will still act as a brake until it has been dragged free. This pic shows the unused chain dragging beside the other runner.
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Hope that helps. If you click a second time on the thumb nail you should get a zoom view to give a little better perspective.

Carl

[Andy Carson]

Wonderful!!! I thought there must be better solutions out there than what I was trying

[Carl Russell]

Here are some close-ups of a couple of bridle chains.

[mitchmaine]

hey countrymouse, carls bridal chain is the ultimate sled brake short of snubbing a load down a hill. and donns point about shafts or pole is important. thats how the horse(es) hold and control their load to stop or back. this might seem redundant, but i think its important if you stop or back alot to pay as much attention to your britchin as you would your collar. same job, just in reverse. to high and your up under their tail, too low and you’ll take their legs out from under them. hope i’m not stating the obvious?

[simon lenihan]

The system used in scandinavia is for the runners to push the shaft ends into the ground going down steep slopes, the same system can be used with a pole, with this system you can safely take huge loads down steep gradients.
simon lenihan

[Ed Thayer]

if you can’t find a bridle chain allready made you could use the truck chain clasp idea and build your own.

I do not have chains set up on my sled yet. After the rain the a couple of weeks ago, I put the sled away and went back to the forecart.

I hope to get chains made very soon as Carl described.

Good luck,

Ed

[Andy Carson]

Thanks alot everyone, and especially for the photos of the bridle chains. They look pretty simple to make and I am kicking myself for not thinking of that already… Mitch, the two systems (shafts and chains) don’t seem redundant now that I am reading and thinking about this. When I only had chains (I had a much less eficient way of attaching the chains) I had to fuss with them all the time, engaging them on slight downhills (and sometime wishing I had them on to stop on the flat). When I tried shafts alone, I was disappointed that they didn’t have enough braking power for steeper downhills or heavy loads. I think I didn’t have much success because I was trying these things in isolation and not as part of a unified system. I suspect I will have to futz around with the shafts a little to adjust them to have just the right amount of pivot, but that might be a fun winter project. The chains look like there wouldn’t need much in the way of fine tuning.

[Carl Russell]

Countymouse;15343 wrote:

Thanks alot everyone, and especially for the photos of the bridle chains. They look pretty simple to make and I am kicking myself for not thinking of that already…

Because these weren’t devised in isolation. There were many many men working hard for years and trading ideas back and forth before this design was perfected. And I mean perfected.

I understand the point Simon was making about the breaking pole. I also have an old Travois sled with dog on a cam that is attached to the pole. The pole slides in a pocket, so when they are pulling the load the dogs are up, but when the sled runs up, the pole slides back into the pocket and the cam forces the dogs into the snow.

These systems also work, but they do have limitations because the dogs only grab an inch of snow or ice. The Bridle chains provide profound drag, and they can be employed on one or both runners, so that turns can be facilitated as well. They may be a little too much work for just putzing around with light working loads, but if the sled will be loaded heavily they are a must in my mind.

When you guys are making up your own pay attention to the size of these links. They are 3/4-1″ chain. Quite large. This is important. While lighter chain will create drag, it can also get clogged easily with snow and basically become useless. It may be amazing, but dragging on ice and snow, and the occasional frozen dirt patch will create a lot of wear, so the large hardened links are also valuable for that. I have seen chains made of 3/8″ loops with 10 or so large links spliced in just under the runners.

Also make sure that they are long enough to reach back to just in front of the weight balance of the load. If they are too far back then the runner will bare weight in front to them, or if they are too short there will be more weight on the runner behind them, and in both cases they will not be that effective. Look back at that pic with the log on the bobsled and you can see that the chain is just in front of the bunk.

You will also want to make sure that the latch you use can in fact be undone easily…. just in case. Position it so that you can reach it easily. The ring and finger is very effective because the ring can be tapped off quickly with an axe or peavey.

I have found many of these at auctions, and in old barns all over New England. I would be more inclined to find an old set than to try to make one…. but that’s probably because I have found so many of them. If you want to discuss this more so that you don’t have to buy more than you need I can try to get measurements etc.

Carl

[Tim Harrigan]

Carl, thanks for posting this and the pics. I really enjoy these practical inventions that arise from necessity. The chains you have are a little heavy for the work I do, not a lot of hills around here and I rarely skid out logs like that but the concept can be adapted to many uses with attention to the principles of load balance and drag that you mentioned. I use a couple of 5/16 chains on the bottom of my stoneboat (flat bottom, full contact) running from the hitch hole at the front running to the back and angled out to the end of the boat. When it is icy it keeps the boat from running up on the heals of the team down slope and also from side shifting downslope when traveling across a slope. Good alternative use for choker chains, scours them nice and clean too. Heavier chain is better in deeper snow. I would be interested in pics showing dimensions, looks like a good blacksmithing project.

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