Large betula pendula

[AHPP]

1 hour ago, organic guy said:

Where you hedgelaying?

Observed at Knitsley today. Cutting at Thropton tomorrow. Undecided on style. I think it’s sort of a leg two of today, mostly same people etc. Seemed to be either South of England, Midland or Lancs/Westmorland today. 

[AHPP]

1 hour ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Heres one, heavily reduced (not by me) more than 10 years ago.

Client wanted it re-done, regrowrth was 15/20 foot, some rot in previous cuts but by reducing the load and going back to live gives it another décade minimum (this is an after pic btw)

 

I’ve had a beer and am now too full of love (and hedgelaying enthusiasm) to argue. Namaste, brother Mick. 

[AHPP]

14 hours ago, kram said:

 

On 09/10/2025 at 17:38, AHPP said:

A small piece butt tied and caught negatively might be jerkier than a large one tip/belly tied with butt weight keeping the butt down. 

Interesting stuff, cant quite visulise it but I like having the tops swinging into tension rather than dropping straight down.

 

It's the peak force thing someone (probably Joe) was talking about a few pages ago. Simplified, you get the weight of the piece and multiply it by 1 for a perfectly static crane pick and 11 for a worst case scenario, dead stop negative rig with a drop. So a 50kg piece plucked beatifully from a high point (50x1=50) might be a lower peak force than a 10kg piece that drops and jolts (10x8=80). 

 

Quiet, peaceful, gentle rigging good. Droppy, smashy rigging bad.

Edited 5 hours ago by AHPP

[tree-fancier123]

5 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Heres one, heavily reduced (not by me) more than 10 years ago.

Client wanted it re-done, regrowrth was 15/20 foot, some rot in previous cuts but by reducing the load and going back to live gives it another décade minimum (this is an after pic btw)

still an attractive tree - and it's not as if you can get the nice thick silver birch trunks like that by replanting any time soon

 

re the decay in pruning wounds - half way down France it's warmer, maybe they fare better than in UK

[AHPP]

13 hours ago, kram said:

I like having the tops swinging into tension

 

That's a good goal but there's a mistake you can make, trying to be too clever. I made it, trying to be too clever.

 

 

Mistake is this: You tension the rigging rope and hold it fairly firmly, thinking you're preventing the spike of the intial loading by pulling it on yourself. If the hinge holds, you've made a massive lever that will put a massive load on the rope. And the shorter the rope (like if you're crotch rigging) the less rope there is to absorb that lever power in rope stretch. You can create monstrous forces in that little triangle. 

If the hinge breaks, the butt will try to hit you.

 

So sometimes it's better to let it move and catch it later.

 

And a related, general point since it's in the picture. Decisions to butt, belly, tip or inbetween tie should be made very consciously.

Edited 5 hours ago by AHPP