RC0

I like it....not that I'm really into climbing or anything. I was surprised that it was relatively easy to grip even though its so skinny. Very good for throwing and lghter for dragging round the tree, perfect with the VT. The right colour for treework also.

Thanks everyone Same company and either one of 3 operators. The crane the vid was 50t

Thanks all:thumbup1: I think eventually that house is going to be knocked down Mark. Developers are cagey though, you never get the full story!

Crane work up close ….is what Sean was after. He’s a young climber with lots of promise by all accounts….I’ve never actually seen or worked with him. I’ve known his Dad for years though who was and still is top notch in his own style of treework. He asked if Sean could come along and watch for the day….people have asked me this before and I always forget, but on this occasion bumped into Mark (the dad) a couple of days before. I tried to explain to Sean what we were doing as we went along. The crane was reaching quite a way, evident by some of the deflection, and obviously the operator and I couldn’t see one another. Part 1 [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0Op6eZkSM]YouTube - Tree/Crane work behind building part 1[/ame] Part 2 [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HmLLfdFdTs]YouTube - Tree/Crane work behind building part 2[/ame]

Thats right, although Ive already dented the front bumper:thumbdown: at a roudabout. The Dakota had 2 seats in the front and supposedly 3 in the back, but the back ones were like tiny, like child size. Ria (my daughter) used to hate it in there, so much so that long journeys were a nightmare once she started playing up. The Ram is a 3 seater bench though, so she sits right in the middle between me and the wife....she's much happier there.

Thanks, there was quite some work in that tree….obviously I had to leave out lots to keep the video short. Tim it was too risky to have both lines above the block at the end because of the lean. Peter you make a valid point, but we all juggle safety-margin v ergonomics/efficiency on a daily basis in this job whether simple free-falling or rigging….a person can only rely on his own experience and intuition in deciding where to draw the line. I was happy with the set-up for that particular tree and relatively light loads involved….and am also a great believer in putting as much line in a system as possible, for dampening purposes obviously. Now both lines obviously needed to be tensioned and released at various times; Not only when they were being initially loaded and then untied thereafter, but consider also when I had to drag the sling’s to different parts of the tree. Much easier to liaise with the guy on the LD that have to shout and signal at the blokes down by the chipper also. The 338 is alright, I mean, I thought it’d have a little more guts but it doesn’t. No other problems though. Mozza the Dakotas gone dude!

This was Fridays job. Traversing/speedline (for those who’ve never done it) is the same to conventional tree rigging in that you have to be well organised and systematic in order for the technique to be worthwhile. A little patience is generally needed to start with but as the tree begins to open up it can be relatively easy and predictable work. Knowing when and when not to, to start with takes experience though….and when attempted by an inexperienced crew can look a total shambles. Tall tree’s obviously give you a good advantage….and while not a tall one by any means, this beech was in an elevated position relative to the landing. Thanks Part 1 [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh1CT7m2sbg]YouTube - Beech tree removal - traverse[/ame] Part 2 [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7a7OlfzORE]YouTube - Beech tree removal - Traverse. Part 2[/ame]

Josh, sorry, you’d have to draw what you mean so I can get a clearer picture. But if you have already seen it in your imagination then the answer is probably yes. I’m also a little reluctant to give a definite yes or no in any case as all trees and circumstances are different, but I can tell you what worked for me on a specific occasion. e.g. The beech video shows several examples of double rigging semi-horizontals; The primary rigging line (brush) is under more tension when at a wider angle, hence there is a more sudden and faster movement when the limb comes off the stump; For this reason I reduced all the distances on the secondary line (butt) to a minimum i.e. Block-to–tie off, with only a little room to fit the cut in between; The block had to be outside of where I was positioned and pre-tensioned with the 5:1 option to further reduce the movement; With everything else in place I used out-board step cuts to create an extra barrier between myself and the limbs, as a couple would’ve broke me in half had I been in the wrong position. Using 2 lines is nothing new really though, its just that having a fixed LD with two identical bollards give consistency for better control all round…..same as double rigging the big blocks: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/rigging-roping/16223-blocking.html you couldn’t expect that to work out with two different LDs. TC, using the lever is really a two person deal now….or at least it’s much, much easier that way. In some of the earlier designs it wasn’t, but I had to change it just before the product came to market. Appologies again for butting in, this is about your cedar afterall:thumbup1:

Thats cool Josh, I only interrupted to highlight the type of thing I had in mind when designing it. TC, persevere with the lever, watch the demo vid again perhaps. You do have to think some, but it'll come good I promise.

I'll answer that in TCs absence. On this particular job Josh we were able to put crane-size sections on the ground with relative ease http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/video-forum/8947-beech-rigging-video.html ; In fact we do it often but rarely bother to get it on film. Yes there were other options on that particular occassion, same with TC's cedar. But was it the quickest way to deal with our beech, by a mile. TC is just getting to grips with his new device and what with his helmet cam, lets just see what happens before saying he shoulda done this and that. TC, 1 or 2 wraps mate outa do, 3 is BIG, 4 for that entire tree. Tell you groudsman to relax. If you're double roping a limb you have to know 100% what that butt is going to do when it comes off the stump. Be careful. Nice vid, you loaded it on the web in avi? the file must have been huge.

Thanks for your interest Frank, I glad the whole thing got your attention. If we were using steel cables then the first would obviously bare the initial the impact within a split second, that until the log tilted enough for the second to engage....but if you were still within the SWL for that single cable then you'd still be doing nothing wrong, technically. Those polydyne ropes are stretching by at least 2ft throughout the whole system, even when pre-tensioned....so a 1in tolerance within 2 or so ft is acceptable to me; If I thought otherwise then I could easily adjust the tail on one of the slings so the blocks would be aligned perfectly. Perhaps more significantly is to pre-tension both lines as evenly as possible Frank I don't tell people what to do, but I'm certainly not going to wait around for the industry to tell me what to do either. It amazes me how people and groups of people get paid to talk maths but without actually solving the problem....Blocking/negative rigging is a prime example, same ole maths, best part of 2 decades now. There are two kinds, those that do and those that talk about it....I'm going to carry on doing so long as I'm in the job. Use the techniques, don't use them, whatever seems most logical. Please don't ask me to quote maths buddy. Frank, I hope you are still kidding. If you fall on your backside while doing manual labour, get up and be more careful next time.

Frank On the the double-rigged sections they are all finished with a running bowline, for convenience of course not strength. There's usually about an inch between the 2 so yes one does slightly favor the other. But realistically by the time the log pulls out the stretch on impact they probably share at about 55/45....personally I think that's pretty good. For one thing he's not a poor lad for merely being asked to pull on a rope 10 times; Second, all he had to do was pull the logs clear of the device within a 180 degree radius which he did just fine.

Some footage from the headcam. I had better on the other (ground) camera but I think the rain must have got in it on the day because its totally dead tonight and I cant even get the tape out. Sorry about that guys, I’d hoped to do a better job but its just not worked out this time. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCavP5I_-wc]YouTube - Beech Tree - Negative Rigging[/ame]

James, that would make a lot of sense, but Ben had arranged to deliver the logs cut small, and there just wasn't lots of room to work and cut big logs on that trailer. Thanks

Thanks again for the all the kind words:thumbup1:

Sorry Doug, too much liability in regards to gear and CTF, not even if you paid me. I could easily quote other people on the matter, but I dont think thts what you're asking. Some very well written and easy to understand articles on Paolo's site: Arborist research and training: ergonomics, tree rigging, climbing equipment , and of course there's the HSE rigging research which is free to download. FYI the Lowering lines are Yale Polydyne 5/8; Yale double esterlon 3/4 slings; and the blue ISC 3/4 block. If you do a little research on the equipment, weights and fall factors you'll soon be able to make your own mind up. Sorry I cant help on line, but I'll be at the AA show if you want to ask me anything in person. Thanks again

Thanks. Dave, it was a leaner so the only option was to tip the logs towards the driveway. BD couldn't have helped really. Yes there is some video to follow, haven't looked at it yet but it'll no doubt give a truer sense of impact-loading than what the photo's do. Stevie, it all takes time, although I wasn't aware how long. Beech is unforgiving, and you cant always cut smaller because you need to be sure your lines are going to bite, snag and hold the wood when it folds. Obviously I'd much sooner stick to single-line-rigging, and can for most jobs. But Cycles-to-Failure is real, when you get into big wood there is no room for chance. Thanks again.

.....or whatever you call it. This was today’s job. Another climber had spent a couple of days removing all the branches but for some reason was no longer available thereafter to finish the remainder. I knew it would involve heavy rigging so I brought ace grounds-man Gary Vaughn to work the ropes. Obviously there was no crane access. There was lots of stubs and half finished logs sticking out all over the place that I had to first remove before I could really get into it. The owner of the company was a guy called Ben (cant remember his second name), met him for the first time today, nice young fella who is carving out a good business for himself.

Mike, they are indeed two different products, although I have also seen the LD incorrectly refered to as a block on retailers websites even though it does not incorporate a block of any kind. The Hobbs Block really set the standard when it first came out and some still swear by it as the best around today, you can still get them through Don Blair: Sierra Moreno Mercantile Company Inc. I had the H2 Lowering device for a year, sold it not long ago through Arbtalk; sorry you missed out. Great tool made by a Genuine tree man (Ken Johnson) in every sense.

It is the Block you are after, not the LD? Not sure the Block is even available in the UK anymore

Gibbon I dont think I'd have bothered getting hitching a ride up that tree as it looked like nothing of a job to climb up there; just what came to mind when I watched the vid. Apart form that, your slinging, pre-loading and cutting looked very good indeed. You have done this job before aye!

Dave I did it on the promise of more work around the golf course, that tree was regarded as somewhat of a priority upon realising the split.... but never heard from the source again thereafter. I did the job over 2 consecutive Saturday mornings, the work was easy so it wasn't a huge sacrafice....and I did gain a new rope and harness for some photos and video taken from the job.

The majority of the time I use a wire core flipline as a positioner and backup, but sometimes you get a feeling ‘ I am safer without’....like with the left handed saw use, Ive been at it long enough to know when and when not to.....same jobs year after year. I didn’t say that Re: The falling – flat or nearly, there was one tree which was dead already so no issues with root damage. That video is funny, I did that job for nothing.

Ben, good work. Glad to see you making good use of your spikes and flipline when moving up the tree. Try to remember to put you visor down when filming. Are you using Windows Movie Maker? I think you might need to save it in Higher quality 1.0 – 1.5 mbps. Look forward to seeing more, how about a bass solo for background?