Marc

Hate Bee-line, and be wary it does not melt it goes brittle, but doubt you'd ever come to a free fall. What you describe above is insane:lol: why not have one person set the chains and do the cutting? Or do you guys never climb out on limbs?

This was my first full solo crane job, before this i've maybe done a handfull of picks. although i've done a few stem dismantles using a HIAB Mog. Most of what I do is observational stuff that i've picked up. Its not a vertical step-cut I cut about 2/3rd's or more through horizontally, then come down at angle through to my bottom cut this way if the saws gets trapped the crane driver can gently release the pressure and it should sit on the bottom cut releasing my saw in the upper cut, thats the theory anyway as I understand it. I keep step cuts to a minium as I do not like holding wood in crane work, if I do a step its usually very thin, holding wood puts things underpressure, I like the crane to lift easy with no sudden release of pressure, everything should release smooth and undercontrol, i've seen climbers make huge step cuts then move away and let the crane driver break it off with much bouncing and shock loading to the crane seems a bad idea to me. Did my video make using the chains look hard? With the HIAB I use slings and can honestly say chains are so simple and fast especially on balancing. Not sure if you spotted the 3 way balance by using a sling to clip into the chains to prevent the piece from rolling a neat little trick I copied of someone. Marcus the second climber did the last big picks but my battery died so no vid of him.

I'm always curious about this do Pub owners think that maybe the tree is reducing the customers they get in? Do they think Tonking a tree will then lead to increased beer consumption, I suppose a shady client is less likely to get dehydrated. Maybe heat lamps and more salty peanuts is the answer. Honestly though is this a knee jerk reaction by Pub landlords, are thier clients really telling them that they would drink and appreciate the garden more if that tree was halved? Because honestly turning it into an eyesore by pollarding it is not going to make a realistic sqaut bit of difference, it just be an eyesore. As for if its a pollard well maybe i've not got Hama's eye it looks like a normal Ash to me and without closer inspection i'd always push for a more sympathetic approach and one that would probably still achieve the goals of more light yet leave and attractive asset.

RJ and Sons Crane Hire - crane hire maidenhead, crane hire berkshire, crane hire reading, boat lifting berkshire One of the best crane drivers for treework, we've used many of the bigger companies but its always a lottery with the driver you get. The music is from Vices i've been using their older material. They have a new album out soon Vices Official | 'HOTEL MONSOON' OUT MARCH 3RD

Yes it was, I snapped the hacksaw blade, and the bolt cutters we had were useless so I decided to slice that section out even though it was still included in the next stem, as the wire went tight it was ripped out and swung in an arc:blushing: The close shave in the middle was not that close, my position was sound, just my chaining was not, and I knew it to, I felt that there was a chance it would flip so I did a gob type cut and was going to get the driver to lower it slightly into the cradle but my gob step cut released faster than I anticipated.

As title says, this tree had an included wire brace wrapped around the sub-stems making things awkard, it was one of those jobs where methodical lifts where the order of the day and not balls out big bits. My battery died so did not get any video of Marcus finishing off the last big timber maybe that or maybe I just did not want to get his Spiderjackery on video. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ildj18fjm2M]Heritage Horse Chesnut Crane job - YouTube[/ame]

Sounds epic, maybe the picture file sizes are to big? If you want you could email them to someone here and we will put them up for you, i'm really curious now. I've climbed a few big for U.K standards Acer's or Platanus to you but nothing like that.

V rig/M rig whatever you want to call it, I only used it once to give me 2 anchors. You can leave it on during a climb, but i needed to take it off to change my anchor point as my retrieval ball would not fit.

Thanks for all the positive comments.

Your a .... The wide angle lens helped a bit, but like I said in my previous post it was a very drawn leggy tree.

Thanks, it is 45m 12mm yale xtc pro i think, practically all my reduction are silky only. And yes i'm screwed without my sawpod, all that muscle memory an all. I'm guessing that tree was close to 30m it was hard to gauge with the woodland behind, all I know is being a woodland tree it was very drawn with many ascending branches competing for the light with little lower canopy, making it an intresting climb.

O.k here is my first attempt at a work vid, much frustration as the program i used kept crashing, the final edit was way to long but I could not trim it down much more as I lack the patience. Not seen many videos here of reduction so thought it may be different. I have a quick dead/dying Beech bosh and a Horse Chesnut crane dismantle coming up soon'ish. For the record there was no body thrusting during this climb! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHk3_7NzjA4]Oak Reduction Firm! - YouTube[/ame]

Its a pollard? In that case tonk away. We just all know the old more light subject by now.

A tree that size no reduction will ever give satisfactory light, only poor reductions that will multiply the cost of maintenance significantly and will probably produce dense regrowth. Maybe Hamas approach could help, good drop crotch pruning increasing the phtosyntropic? think thats right i.e shading the pruning wounds will help to reduce adventitous regrowth. Best option in my opinion is Crown lift it as hard as possible this will increase ambient light a lot more than any sensible reduction. And have a good climber maybe balance the tree with a light prune! not a total canopy prune! Reduction on such mature trees wil never give more light unless you spank it, in which case you have to consider a fell and replant as a more sensible long term approach

Its faster and more versatile giving you more options, you could be setting another strap/sling ready for the next piece while the groundie deals with the last piece, you can also rig off as many bits as practical in one go usualy no more than 3 all attached to one knot particularly usefull on pine species.

I thought a sub-contractor undertook other companies work with there own kit in the way they want to, they work under their own PLI and also have ELI for the staff they have with them. I am a self employed climber who works for many companies, I work under their pli and eli doing the work with their kit/staff (i have my own climbing kit/saw). I should also have my own pli for cases of vicarious liabilty, which basically means if someone emplys me to dismantle a tree using rigging, and I straight fell it through the house I could be held responsable for undertaking the job to a different spec than I was employed to. If I take all due precautions carrying out the work to the spec I was told to by the person that employed me, then it comes under their insurance.

I'd agree with the previous poster I reckon most of your lifts will be around 1 ton with maybe the last butt being upto 4 depending how you do it. to be honest your better off making more 1 ton lifts than over doing it anyway, 1 ton in part size from a tree is a descent sized pick, plus I bet you've not got more than a 6" chipper on the ground. There is a time and place to go big that one looks to me to be a smooth and steady tree, which you will find will be surprisingly fast once you get into the swing of it. I'd also not use the hook to work to many risks, judging by the fine tips still on the tree it doesn't look to bad, but i've not seen it in the flesh. I use the hook to set the bigger timber as it makes it easier to manipulate the chains with a high anchor, then i'd go to the stem to make the cut, although i've not done much crane work personally.

What about self-employed climbers/groundies that I am sure makes a vast majority of us here, me for one. And how can you sub-contract without kit it does not seem possible? Whats the reason for this survey? Unfortunatly there is not enough money in this sector in the UK, we as skilled individuals do not get get half what we are worth, how to change this I do not know:confused1:

Nice one, also some good lowering by the groundie letting it all run nicely was he the only one on the ground? If so props to him for keeping up.

His work has always been some of the best i've seen:blushing:

hahaha I always think the same thing, especially on roadside jobs where one passing car is always garanteed to stop under the tree to ask the groundie for a card failing to notice or comprehend the work going on, maybe a more appropiate sign would be a car split in 2 by a falling tree, and not the guy who has dropped his umbrella.

Yeah i would of thought rigging on a RW is a doddle, its fine tip reduction/work I always found hard to get my head around in SRT and this is to me what requires the greatest amount of endurance and strength to do day in day out. Oh and would you say you do not feel as tired at the end of the day on the RW?

This depends on the spec, but yeah if i'm told 30% thats about as hard as it gets removing 30% of the volume, but to be fair its no exact science. 30% in height which eqauts to about a 3rd is a proper tonking!

Your Missis to not appreciate the benefit of RopeWenching