Stupid mistakes you've made doing tree work

[Gary Prentice]

17 hours ago, Gray git said:

Complimented a female client we were working for and ended up marrying her....
 

Not a client, but the companies secretary and bosses sister. It's a funny old world.

[Gray git]

Not a client, but the companies secretary and bosses sister. It's a funny old world.

That's either clever career progression or professional suicide! 🤔

[Gary Prentice]

2 hours ago, Gray git said:

That's either clever career progression or professional suicide! 

Well it wasn't the latter!

[billpierce]

Did it again today, spiked up a tree and realised a good way up that leg straps not done up.

Very easily done on a dragon fly as had a saddle

[Gary Prentice]

3 minutes ago, billpierce said:

Did it again today, spiked up a tree and realised a good way up that leg straps not done up

Thought you meant on your spikes! Really couldn't get my head round that

Don't that too. Usually get to the top of the stem/first limb to realise my ropes still sat at the base of the tree.

[Gary Prentice]

Worst mistake: 

Picking up a spare (much, much shorter rope) cos mine was still soaked from the previous day. Climbing a 70 odd ft lombardy poplar, at an airforce base with all my team still working around the corner, to deadwood it. 

Decided not to knot the tail of the rope and then, when coming down through the canopy, running my prussic off of the end of it and falling thirty odd feet - bouncing off of most of the limbs on the way down. 

 

H & S was a lot different in the eighties... shortly afterwards we became an AAAC 

[billpierce]

Sounds a nightmare Gary.

Had a few times where a step cut has broke and your knee jerk reaction is to reach over a running saw to try and catch it...had to stop myself and makes you think what yet subconscious is up to

[billpierce]

Just remembered a gooden. Years ago was cutting a 12" beech limb back from a field boundary. Not wanting to deck the fence I went about half way out along the nearly horizontal limb. Did a little under cut then a top cut limb split into back toward the tree pulling me by my wirecore hard into the tree. Thankfully the limb dropped out of my strop and fell and didn't pin me there. Had a pretty sore back after that.

[Vespasian]

Well this has been a marvelous read, I've enjoyed getting through this thread..   didn't think I had anything to offer in regards cock ups but one of the posts prompted a recollection from some years back...

 

 

Nothin major, but its there.. 

 

Some years back a customer of mine, garden run.   asked me to chop two tree's down in her back garden..  I went up a month or two later to do the job but she wasn't in, I looked at the three tree's, tried to remember which ones she wanted cutting down..   was it that one or the other one over there?..

 

Well, she's got two of them so she must of wanted one of em gone...   took me most the day to chop em down and tidy up, I'd just about tidied up the last bit of crap and was stood admiring my days handywork, and contemplating my days wages when I turned round to find the owner and her husband standing behind me, tears streaming down her face...

 

I'd chopped her favorite tree down, the one she wanted to keep....   

 

 

[Andymacp]

While trying to make a fugly Hedge look nice with a pole saw, I was walking along the top of a customers stick shed. Took the next step onto the top of a big barrel and fell through the rotten lid. It was full diesel, will never get the smell out of them.