Im a Topper!

[Mark Bolam]

Its already had a muffler mod and a re-tune Pete, so much better than it was but still pretty gutless with a 16in bar. If you back off a little and then engage on high revs its does ok but really lacks the torque anywhere below that. As you know cutting against gravity you wan that instant hit, especially since conifer limbs are so heavy with all the end weight. Hoping that changing the ignition timing is going to make the difference now.

 

Will you hive the new Husky topper a bash when it eventually comes out Reg?

[RC0]

Will you hive the new Husky topper a bash when it eventually comes out Reg?

 

I'd go back to a 338 even!

[MattyF]

Reg you should have a husky sponsorship any way mate, your quality vids and there views ... You should of definitely got one of those new toppers to trial any way ! Suppose it's there loss!

[Pete Mctree]

You considered buying a Wraptor ascender, for saving your body Reg? They make it effortless (& fun)

[RC0]

You considered buying a Wraptor ascender, for saving your body Reg? They make it effortless (& fun)

 

I agree Pete, they look great. I know you tried one out previously, and that Roger has one himself also.

 

If I'm still at it mid 50s, maybe as a treat. But right now I wouldn't want to start relying on something like that and let my conditioning slip. Afterall, when you're doing something everyday whether be spurring or SRT access then its not that hard at all....especially since we're mostly working on second growth out here so for the best part less than 4ft dbh. So on a removal you'd have probably spurred half way up while a wraptor user might be still trying to set his lines.

 

Good conditioning and repetition is obviously what makes a big part of a climbers confidence and decisiveness. For that reason I feel like owning a wraptor might just take the edge off me, or something. Thanks again

[dadio]

"That's always a relief"... LOL.. for sure.. that tree looked like it had been dead a good while! Nice cuts and rigging.. You've been keeping busy..

 

You blew off this advice last time I gave it, but here goes again.. When blocking down tops I like to keep the block as high as possible next to the cut. I set the block, then make the notch down very close to the sling... leaving my lanyard and climbing line/fs under the block.. Whatever distance there is between the block and the cut will create 2x that much distance in fall.. When working with big pieces, that can make a huge difference in overall force, especially if everything else is not perfect for reducing shock loads..

 

You obviously know all this, and have a nice system and ground men that can be trusted (for at least 7/10), and are taking very reasonable sized pieces, so it is being said primarily for others to learn from.. In extreme cases where there is a compromised structure below you etc.. you need to throw everything possible to your advantage, becasue your life is on the line. The bigger the top, the more important it is..

 

I think I AM going to get some 9/16" Polydyne for just such occasions.. Checking out the stretch characteristics of that vs 1/2" true blue yesterday.. There's a big difference as you get into 20-40% tensile

[dadio]

Polydyne / High Strength Double Braided Rope | Yale Cordage

 

Here's the chart for polydyne.. the 9/16" weighs less than 1 lb. more per 100' than the 1/2" true blue..

 

Here's the true blue stats:

Samson-The Strongest Name in Rope, TRUE-BLUE

 

true blue stretches 2.6% at 10% tensile (which would be 730 lbs) tensile is 15,000 on the 9/16" polydyne, so it has about twice the tensile as the 1/2" true blue..

 

when you get into 1500 lbs, that's 20% for 1/2 true blue and 10% for 9/16 polydyne, which would be 3% stretch for both.. get above that and the stretch for true blue is MUCH less than polydyne.... true blue chart doesn't go above 30% tensile =4% stretch, while the polydyne stretches over 7% at 30% tensile and 9% at 40% tensile..

 

I can imagine a scenario where the bucket is maxed out and I'd rather take a big top from the safety of the bucket than climb out and rig off an unstable tree.. Setting a block as high as possible and using a redirect to keep as much of the 200' of polydyne in the system as possible.. That's gonna be fun!

Edited June 12, 2012 by dadio

[dadio]

actually in re-thinking that and running the numbers.. it may be that they both stretch the same for any given weight, just that the extra strength of the polydyne makes it 1/2 the % of tensile of true blue..

[RC0]

"That's always a relief"... LOL.. for sure.. that tree looked like it had been dead a good while! Nice cuts and rigging.. You've been keeping busy..

 

You blew off this advice last time I gave it, but here goes again.. When blocking down tops I like to keep the block as high as possible next to the cut. I set the block, then make the notch down very close to the sling... leaving my lanyard and climbing line/fs under the block.. Whatever distance there is between the block and the cut will create 2x that much distance in fall.. When working with big pieces, that can make a huge difference in overall force, especially if everything else is not perfect for reducing shock loads..

 

You obviously know all this, and have a nice system and ground men that can be trusted (for at least 7/10), and are taking very reasonable sized pieces, so it is being said primarily for others to learn from.. In extreme cases where there is a compromised structure below you etc.. you need to throw everything possible to your advantage, becasue your life is on the line. The bigger the top, the more important it is..

 

I think I AM going to get some 9/16" Polydyne for just such occasions.. Checking out the stretch characteristics of that vs 1/2" true blue yesterday.. There's a big difference as you get into 20-40% tensile

 

Hey Dan. Yeah the top of the dead zipline fir was always going to be the potential deal-breaker. Didn’t have the slightest concern about the lower limbs on the way up but I knew that higher up it was all a lot more fragile. Thankfully I have the gift of blankness for such moments.

 

I used to favour setting the block as high as possible also for the reasons you mentioned....but as you know other considerations often come into play. More often than not nowdays I’ll favour setting my lanyard and climb-line above the block, and to do so I like to maintain a good safety margin (at least 12 in) between the block and the cut.

 

I know what you’re saying about the fall factor but consider also the parachute effect of falling a top i.e. is not really the equal in acceleration of a falling log, so that extra foot you mentioned probably doesn’t figure too much....especially on a top in full leaf or the conifers in the video.

 

If you remember the conifer right at the end, and I think another bigger one there abouts in the middle of the video, we had on both instances over 100ft below us to slow the tops down. Notice also the retention of limbs on the backside to act as a ballast, and I think even considering how much more springy conifers are the hardwoods then they didn’t turn out half bad.

 

Furthermore, I’ve worked on lots of dead and compromised hardwoods in the past, and especially on leaners I’ve set the block as much as 15 ft below the cut on occasion. The reason obviously being that the higher the block the greater the leverage on the tree....and in the case where the tree itself is the weakest link (and not the rigging), I’ve made that call and was satisfied thereafter it was the right one.

 

Remember though, this is not advice to anyone....I’m merely pointing out that the rule-book doesn’t cover all situations or in fact the overall best means for risk management. That ever popular publication ‘the art and science of practical rigging’ was part written by a guy who was killed either during or shortly after( I cant remember which)....rigging a tree. Who woulda figured that, not him obviously, poor guy, RIP. But it just goes to show. A healthy knowledge in physics is one thing, but you can’t beat experience, the right experience. If I get taken one day it won’t be through ignorance though.

 

I have the 5/8 polydyne, but it only comes out for best. Definitely notice the difference in the shock reduction on a spar etc. I would recommend it to anyone for that kind of work. Thanks again.

[High Scale]

Setting the block 15ft below, what tree was that on Reg?

 

Polydyne rope on that job?