RC0

You're going straight from the UK in January? That'll be hot. Get acclimatized before you start work. its 20 years since I worked there. It was brutal at times but I still enjoyed it. Modern equipment and techniques has made life much easier also. With that said, nobody wore chainsaw pants back then, just shorts. Couldn't imagine wearing chainsaw pants at 40 degrees. That must be miserable:thumbdown: Good luck mate.

Im hoping to make to the APF, but its not definite. So I can buy you a brew there perhaps, or you can buy me one.

Going off the length of my climb-line a little over 90 ft. Edit: Great avatar by the way.

Good work James and Ian:thumbup1: Busy day today. Just me and Riley on this messy Grand fir, tightish spot. Riley’s only 19 but has been helping his Dad on tree jobs since he was 13....so he knows the script. We had some extra help mid afternoon with the cleanup etc I started just cut and hold as much as was safe and practical to do so. Then switched to lowering the limbs that were a little too heavy or risky to manhandle up there. I held the rigging line while riley guided then out to the chipper. Then we switched to zipline a little higher. Its was almost vertical but just enough to guide them away from the building. Then I took out the top when it was favoured to go the right way. It was a tight fit I’ll say. The rest was just blocking in double round sections until we were able to fall a 20 ft log. Thursday night I have to go grocery shopping so was rushing to get done that last hour. The client was beginning to irritate....as was the heat. Then the chain came off the 3120, which is not the quickest saw to reassemble. Then the bugger wouldn’t start. Then the starter handle ripped out from the cord. Aaaaarrrrrgggggh. Thankfully the client busied himself elsewhere at that point. We still managed to get out of there just after 5. I got the groceries ok.

Good work throughout and documentation David. Truly, a fine thread:thumbup1:

I don't think they are going to replace a block and sling any time soon....but they are a good choice of alternative. Obviously they are not gonna be as efficient for raising limbs etc, they are not mid-line attachable, and unlike a block they heat up. Apart from that they are relatively cheap, lightweight but strong as hell; totally secure as there's no gate or other means of opening, and as said earlier very low friction. They can be purchased in a range of sizes and configurations, rated and stamped. That particular configuration by ABR consists of a small and large ring, so can be installed and retrieved from the ground much like a regular climbing friction saver.

Sorry I don't follow. What are you referring to ?

Thanks. The ultra sling is quick and easy to use. It doesn't always align and hang through at the ideal length each time, as the diameter of the wood you're wrapping changes....but its never too far out. If you have lots of room to run the load it probably doesn't matter as much....but when as you get lower and have to stop the logs sooner a little more thought is needed. When I wasn't happy I just set it as a timber hitch instead. It has a lot of potential, definitely.

I actually put the vid together for treestuff.com, in highlighting some of their gear. But if you look past that theres actually some good footage. As dead trees go it wasn't a bad one. Use HD setting

Thanks. Im 41. Its about 25 years, or 25 in August I should say. Not easy to watch yourself talking....but I agreed and thats that. Nick has a list of people to get through, otherwise I woulda never agreed to it.

Thanks Joe. I generally use either the tail end of my climb line or a separate short short rope. The idea is to through the grapple over a target limb and then get it to hook on something below that. Some video here. Use HD setting otherwise its not so clear. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqsCo6nyI0&feature=share&list=UUpYc97NCVnOjJtrDQlQjtbA&index=3]Tree climbing - grappling hook HD - YouTube[/ame]

I like them a lot. They're light, compact and robust. Having that little bit of friction at the rigging point is often more of a help than hindrance also:thumbup1:

Looks like you worked to a good plan there Rich I was gonna comment about the angle of your camera but then re-read your opening post. Let you off !

You just answered your own question. Thanks for that.

Its called the katanboy, by silky yes. A folding saw, otherwise it would be too big. Its not the best for pruning cuts because the teeth are so big....but for limbing and topping etc its impressive if you can get in position to use the full length of the blade. Silent buy deadly. Sorry I missed your question first time around.

Thanks alot Ian I am really appreciating the 540 having had a 201 for the previous 2 years. The only thing is its clearly a flat-out saw. It doesn't seem to like stop/start intermittent cutting....rather it works much better running constant. Steve, I mostly use it to keep the tail end of a soft lanyard (when Im using one)....as well as a drink and food etc.

Some footage from a handful of jobs this last couple of weeks. Typical stuff for these parts. Weathers been great. Hoping for a good summer with plenty of work. Use HD setting. Thanks

I always enjoy your pics Ian. They are different

Not sure how bad or far the rot in it went David. We left it stood as a wildlife stick just before that point. The last couple of pictures are actually taken from up on the road, about 20ft above the base of the tree....so its still a fair height as it was left, but out of falling distance from anything that matters.

Yeah the tree was a mess Jon. Thankfully there was no wind while I stripped it out.

A rotten Grand fir this morning. looked like itd been topped high up some time previously.

As well as being a good climber back in the day, Nick was quite a heart throb....at least around bollington where I came a cross him. He was quite the object of many a local girls desire....and some men too, or so it seemed !

Yeah good point nod, that I failed to mention.... Keeping the limb attached while it changes direction. Like anything it takes practice and familiarity. But you're always looking for it there onwards. Even when we do conventional rigging/lowering....its easy enough to switch by locking off one end of the rigging line to the mid or base of the tree and use the other part of the line to zip stuff out if it makes sense, as the high point is already in place....and then switch back when it suits.

Thanks guys Stubby I got my 'old man' strength when I hit 40, so all is good. Hope it lasts. Ed, starting at the bottom works just fine and there's obviously going to be no hang-ups as a result....but you need to have plenty of air-space down below. If Id done that with the alder in the vid, say butt tied them, they wouldve just folded and hit the fence or roof and no further down the zipline. But to work the tree in an order where the zipline goes from a high-point unimpeded to each limb and attached at 2/3....the limbs are then supported which allows them to keep their original position but take a change in direction. Same as conventional rigging, using a high-point. The difference is with conventional rigging the limb with swing and then hang only as far out as the high-point, where's with a zipline it will continue out in the direction of the ground anchor. About things getting stuck starting at the top....its your own fault if it does so choose your order thoughtfully. Otherwise just make sure its not so heavy that you wont be able to free it up. Consider also that as you gradually work further down the tree the ground worker gains a mechanical advantage by just pulling on the line which adds to the ability to drag stuff clear from the canopy, just by pulling on the line. It quite something when you see what two guys pulling can achieve even. Hope that makes sense. Really like the SJ Rich, took me a couple weeks to get used to the cams though. Yes it is Brendon, thanks.

Watch in HD setting. The video shows a controlled zipline, with the incentive being to maneuver/swing branches out of a confined area into a more open dropzone. In order for it to work you need to adhere to several points - The first is to establish a high-rigging point and an unimpeded (or as good as) route from the zipline to each individual limb. This usually means starting/removing the limbs around the rigging point and systematically working downwards. The slings are positioned between halfway and two thirds along the length of the branched....which gives them support as they swing around before breaking free from the main stem. The ground anchor must be as far away as possible in order to guide and support the limbs as they swing around. The ability to take up slack at the ground anchor is a must....again to guide and support the limbs as they turn. The limbs on this alder were not heavy, so Bob the guy on the ground was able to muscle the line and manage ok. For bigger limbs though more help would be needed, or perhaps incorporate a 2 or 3:1 mechanical advantage to compensate for the extra weight. Big or small tree though, the principle of the technique remains the same. This was not a big tree by any means, but we made light work of it as you can see, and were easy able to turn the limbs 180 degrees at times. Footage is a little weak at first but gets better. Thanks