Marc

Pictures, get some!! Without seei'ng the tree its impossible to tell, I did a Horse Chesnut last year that had one of it main limbs removed due to well something apparently, left the tree unbalanced and remaining limbs more open to wind forces they hadn't adapted to. And the large pruning wound that was left is just and entry point for other pathogeons and decay which will weaken the other remaining limbs. From your descriptions it sounds like a fell on safety grounds, no point wasting money on futile efforts to make the tree safe, if the bark is already spliting open this will be an entry point for others pathogeons and Horse Chesnut is not the greatest at compartmentalising and is quick to decay.

Nice pics John, got to love them crane jobs, is that a big fat grin on your face in pic 5?

If he was a thorough examiner he should of untied your knots, i also don't like to tape my tails like you have as i like to see my tails, especially with Ocean as you can't melt the outer to the inner, and if your like me and by several meters at a time as you cut it the outer can slip over the core and lead you to believe the tail is longer than it is! I hated Ocean when i first tried it now though i'm a convert, especially with the 10mm great stuff very hard wearing and doesn't burn my fingers, i can get 2-3 weeks out of a cord rather than the 1 with Boa. You can get virtually any cord to work well with a VT it just needs fine tuning.

There is a word for this feeling,,,,, survival instinct

Your right mate thats why i said not enough, although less is more! the reactive growth is a lot faster if you prune them heavily and harder to deal with on re visits. Basically if you carefully trim off 3-4 years growth it should take 3-4 years to grow back, spank off 8 or more years growth and it will be back in 3-4years only twice as dense. The reason for the prune was to contain it, a retaintion prune or something like that:confused1: pointless i know but it pays the bills and the client is happy It truly is a license to print money though pruning Euc's!! My opinion is leave them till it gets to big then fell it!!! Still i do enjoy pruning them talk about bendy! you really got to keep your weight on that climbing system.

I can't be bothered to go find the guidelines, but i take your word for it, it is possible to wear out a harness like Treemotion through some serious heavy duty use, or with the inclusion of other hardwear on the bridge, exposure to certain chemicals, weather conditions blah blah Its the same with rope you could trash one in months if you always natural crotched climbed from the bottom rope over rope, left the excess on the dirt, weather etc etc. Extreme circumstances! if a loler inspector fails it purely because it over 3 months old regardless of condition should have his inspector license or whatever it is they have taken from them. Like i've said my treemotion is over a year old and i need a new bridge thats all, in another year more parts may need replacing, this is easy to do now as replacement parts are now availible. To be honest its lasting better than i thought it would so i'm very happy, i didn't buy the harness for durability!

Where is this advice about a Treemotion only being good for 3 months hard use coming from? It can be confusing and misleading, i can only assume you mean the bridge, which is fair enough as its only a piece of rope nad easily and cheaply replacable. I've had my TM over a year and only now am i thinking of replacing the bridge, I thought the stopper knots were rated to 12kn that equals 24kn and more than strong enough.

I don't know not enough probably, the spec said 15% on a Euc to me that means just get out as far as i can. Luckily I am close to the 11 stone optimum.

It was a chicken coup Dean.

More random pics, a fantastic Cork Oak Quercus suber??? and a light euc reduction

I was thinking the same thing with my set-up and wandering it what scenario it might be usefull, if the anchor was really that weak then doubling its load is something you want to avoid, i do think there is some use for the technique though. I'm also trying to get my head round angles as that may reduce loading? Only when your under it does it apply double the force at this point your pushing down on the stem which should be its strongest. you've also got the back up if your high point fails your supported by a much stronger lower point, but then you have to factor in how much damage you'll get in the fall and the possibilty of your anchor then zip lining into you:ohmy:

Totally unecesary just mucking about with some ideas. I usually just climb like most normal people, but all these ideas and little tricks are good to know and store in the old mental toolbox as occasionally maybe once a year it'll help do a job thaty little bit easier and safer.

Nope dry as a bone even nearly a week later as the buds are about to burst, the tree lacks the pressure to supply the top effectivly hence the reduction/retrenchment, in a few years time at a more appropiate time in the season i will do more work to the sides, this time i only targeted certain over extended heavy laterals by the time the pressure builds i'm sure the xylem rays or whatever will have closed. Its still a learning experience for me though.

A quick pic of the die back in the upper crown, i gues the tree lacks the hydraulic pressure to sustain the upper crown, in the summer it was very sparse with small leaves and would always turn brown and lose it leaves before the lower crown. This tree was touching 100ft pretty big for an Acer

Yep its part of my progressive approach to aboriculture see i like to leave leaders to continue the growth. Actually my battery died pic 2 and some of the others were just before i finished off the tree. Pic 2 just gives you a good idea of the shape i was working to. Also it was pretty windy and hairy up there once finished i headed to the onsite club for a stiff drink. If i have time i'll post more pics of the finished job

Off topic, here is my take on Deans set-up (albiet without the lame lockjack:001_tongue:)

Some pics of me and a large Acer psuedoplatnus reduction i have done, this was a bit experimental for me, its going to be part of a long term pruning plan for this veteran tree. The first stage was to get some height and weight out of the suffering top, there by reducing the sail area adn chance of serious structual failure. I'm not 100% pleased with the outcome i keep telling myself with Acer and such a reduction a perfect shape leaving good winter structure will always be hard, i'm sure come summer though this tree will look great. I also left high top'd stems rather than making big drop crotches to at least leave a chance of retaining a good high anchor point for future work.

That is an option, but i think it says a lot about oogzy that he has come on here for advice, otherwise i would of thought he'd go for that option.

John your reply sounds grim yet true, at least oogzy has taken the time to join this forum to seek some professional advice, i don't think any malicous intent was there. To us as tree workers we see a tree being damaged, to someone with no knowledge of tree mechanics or biology is unaware of there actions. Personally oogzy i think you have a few options, either speak to the local tree officer explain the situation and that you meant no harm to the tree and see what he says. Or remove the invasive screw and try a non invasive way of securing the post to the tree maybe someone here could advise, then say nothing and hope the tree officer overlooks it or takes no action.

I use Zing it, i sometimes affectionatly call it knot it accompanied by fits of rage. The knotting/tangle problem is 90% my fault for not patiently flaking it back in a cube, storing or treating it right. I've tried both the dyna glide and dyneema stuff, but for height and accuracy for me it has to be zing it. I use an 8oz bag for best results in height and accuracy easily able to set a line at over 70ft by throwing if a good target is there 80-90ft possible but harder.

Even better:001_cool:

The wind is not a big problem, if it hasn't vlown down already then its still safe as, just makes things a little tricky if thats the case then rig it.

Nice little vid, got to love those nice dismantles, left a bit of a rats nest for the groundcrew though

Good points Andy your feet are your foundation!, also agree with Jason. For me I like a well formed footbed with good arch support a firm'ish low profile sole unit with good flex at the front and heel shock absorbtion. A high qaulity leather upper made from good qaulity! durable! leather not to thick though, the upper ideally should be made from one piece with minimal stitching, lace up to as near the toes as possible to give a nice tight fit, plus a rubber rand,. The boots should be firm and supportive yet with a little suppleness so they last yet comfortable.

Rock climbing rope is far to stretchy its for absorbing shock not carrying loads like a climbers weight, static line as used in caving and industrial rope acces is suitable for tree work as an srt line just not suitable for a climbing system and is part of modern arb work.