Come-along

A come-along, also known as a power puller, is a hand-operated winch with a ratchet used to pull objects, with its drum wrapped in wire rope; a similar tool that uses a nylon strap instead is used to straighten trees gradually so the trunk does not split. Come-alongs are not rated for overhead lifting, unlike a similar-looking device called a ratchet lever hoist, which is built for that purpose. The original tool of this type was developed by Abraham Maasdam of Deep Creek, Colorado, around 1919, and later commercialized by his son, Felber Maasdam, around 1946; a similar heavy-duty unit combining chain and cable became available in 1935 for railroad use, though it never matched the success of the cable-only type. A related tool called a cable puller has no drum or ratchet and instead grips the cable directly, allowing unlimited lengths of wire rope to be used.