Top out ASAP or leave until last - mass damping, inertia etc

[Will C]

I tend to leave the top in, but like most things in this game the plan constantly changes once you in the tree.

[Ty Korrigan]

3 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Quite sure I don’t know what you mean

 

Mick looking down, dismally reflecting on a massive conifer top lying across the neigbours swimming pool, hot tub and soft top Merc...

 Stuart

[nath]

Great topic, one I have often had with colleagues!

 

I don't really follow any one method, and to be honest it largely depends on the size of my balls on the day! If i'm working on something like a leaning poplar i'm often quite keen to get the top out early on. It can be quite disconcerting having to balance on a leaning spindly top on the last stretch.

Theres often times when you won't necessarily need to go back up to the top of the tree once its been stripped, so in those cases i'll definetly remove the top at the same time as setting my anchor point.

[carlos]

top last mostly.

[Paddy1000111]

3 hours ago, nath said:

I don't really follow any one method, and to be honest it largely depends on the size of my balls on the day! If i'm working on something like a leaning poplar i'm often quite keen to get the top out early on. It can be quite disconcerting having to balance on a leaning spindly top on the last stretch.

I wonder what's worse (More likely to break) A leaning tree stripped of it's lower limbs (so no counterbalance) before you drop the top or a tree that's been stripped. My brain says that the tree that's been stripped has overall less stress so it less likely to go but then maybe the counterbalance has a good effect. 

[JaySmith]

I wonder what's worse (More likely to break) A leaning tree stripped of it's lower limbs (so no counterbalance) before you drop the top or a tree that's been stripped. My brain says that the tree that's been stripped has overall less stress so it less likely to go but then maybe the counterbalance has a good effect. 

I would have thought that the leaning tree that has been stripped would have less force placed upon it and if you like ‘safer’. Bit like if you hold a bag of sugar at arms length, you may be able to do that for 3 mins, if you did that with a 5kg dumbbell you may only be able to manage a minute for example as the force placed upon your arm is far greater. Where you have significant weight on a leaning stem stripping some weight out of it must be less likely to fail as there is less weight on the lever arm if that makes sense. I know what you mean when you say that the crown may be providing balance and dampening and also the tree would have compensated for that growth but if I’m on a real leaner or a compromised tree I always want to remove at least my weight to make things more tolerable! I probably haven’t articulated it that well but I know what I mean, I think! [emoji23]

[JaySmith]

Today is deffo a day for nipping the top out early doors!

[rapalaman]

Was due to dismantle a medium sized alder today, partly over a conservatory roof. Thought better of it and just doing some ground based work as 52mph gusts just wasn’t my idea of fun 👍

[Mark Bolam]

21 hours ago, JaySmith said:

Today is deffo a day for nipping the top out early doors!

It bloody was Jay!

 

[TIMON]

Limbs off on the way up, top out then section down.
I’m with Mark, as I hate the feeling of ‘open space syndrome’. Much prefer the comfort that having lots of branches round me brings, but I never seem to get a good rhythm going that way.
Didn’t rig this as it was dead and the wind was in the right direction for the top.
(Apologies for not shaving the stubs flush [emoji51])

It would be interesting to know the physics of whether leaving some limbs to dissipate the rocking V leaving less weight. Guess it depends a lot on species and condition of the tree.