Meod strainer winch - rescuingthepast.co.uk

Very little is known about this winch or strainer. The makers, or at least the name cast into the mechanism is Meod. It has a patent number which places the date to 1877-1888. This simple but effective strainer, the earliest of its kind that we know of has two toothed straining bars which slides through the mechanism by the forced action of the handle. A spring loaded pawl engages a tooth each time the strain forces the bar through the mechanism one tooth at a time, so holding the strain.

A link from the winching chain (not shown) fits snugly into the recess seen on the mechanism and is held tightly all the while the chain is strained. There are two ways to anchor the strainer, placing the looped chain around a tree, stump or post or knocking the wedge into a stump or tree. This is a heavy and cumbersome strainer but it would have been useful for pulling laden carts stuck in the mud or rolling round timber onto carriages etc.