RC0

No, you were right first time. Buy a Hobbs H2, they are awesome and its your lucky day....I have one for sale, £850 and its all yours my friend:thumbup1: whadya say?

Here’s a relatively cheap and simple means to pretension a line through a basic lowering device. A couple of pauses in the vid where I momentarily forgot where the whole thing was headed, but the video has come out quite clear so its easy enough to see what’s going on. The technique will work on any fixed Bollard but I'm not sure about the other hanging (portawrap) types [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMADD6KV0ZY]YouTube - RC31 Rope Pulley[/ame] Thanks

Hopefully it'll be 'Treegear' in Melbourne. Thanks again

The fact is it’s been a huge Team effort Joe....the most intense part of my work was in the earlier stages, becoming easier as each prototype was gradually improved. Credit must equally go to the guys at Fletcher Stewart for whole heartedly playing their part and then some. Furthermore, Paul the engineer who has so far exceeded all expectations of commitment and ingenuity that I thought were realistically achievable….at least based on past experience of operators in that particular trade.

Nick has it Steve, the Dual. The 3000 indicates WLL KG, so the 1 & 2 just distiguishes the Single and Dual 'Fixed' LDs. The Hanging Bollards are similarly named RC1000 and RC2000 to complete the range. The photos actually depict the set-up for TCIA show in the US in a couple of weeks time....and while it all looks a bit mish-mashed with all the other stuff in the background, in reality it'll be ideal for the show. Perhaps I'll see you and Justin at check-in Steve? Edit: Mesterh yes the 1 and 2000. Thanks

You mean the prussic Tim? Its tensioning on the right bollard at 5:1.And here's a couple of photo's taken earlier of the final production models. Thanks

Ash, much lighter:thumbup1:

Hi Reg, Congratulations on an amazing job - You've got some incredible videos, and this one is no exception! The quality of your rigging, and the variety of techniques you have at your disposal is mind boggling. Please keep them coming, and keep up the high standard of work you do. Thanks I have many questions! In the speedline setup, how were you retrieving the line after each piece was lowered? Angus, both the speed-line and control/retrieval lines are worked by the one guy on the LD via the twin bollards. I've got to read up on your twin-rope lowering device, but how hard is it for one person to lower both ropes at the same rate? Can wraps be safely dropped from one or both drums while loaded? Working both lines is easy enough but on the occasions where we needed it exact we have joined both the lines together via a prussic and then linked the prussic to an additional single line….so instead of having a rope in either hand, the ground-worker works both via the attached single line. See the example video attached. Notice the prussic in the right hand corner of the screen at 17 seconds. Some good examples of double rigging heavy limbs/branches can also be viewed in thread: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/video-forum/8947-beech-rigging-video.html Undoing a wrap is pretty straight forward so long as you don’t rush anything. Each bollard has 2 shafts driven straight through to keep the rope aligned, so its not a closed system. How and where are you storing the sheer volume of footage you are gathering? Your helmet cam footage must pile up by the end of the day. Who manages your cameras on the ground? Do these cameras film constantly? Are you editing the videos yourself? (Good clean edits), what are you editing the videos in? I just leave the footage on the SD cards and put them in the draw. Yes I have lots of stuff archived that might never get looked at again, I only get inspired to put something on the net now and then….much of it all looks the same you see. I edit the videos on Windows Movie Maker. I know a couple of guys who sometimes work the ground camera’s and of course they are tree workers also. Other times such as the case with this poplar-vid I’ll just ask someone to press record and leave it running for a particular shot. Thanks again [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiqK8z_4GyM]YouTube - Video for Angus[/ame]

This device looks sick! If you have a moment sometime, I loved to know more. If there is some broucher or something that answers my questions, don't hesitate in redirecting me! Could you run 19mm tri-braid on the double drum Reg? If not, what is the largest rope you've run on it? Do you find its bend radius satisfactory? Angus, the bend radius is +5 of a 19mm so it handles just fine, 2 at once if you want. When using a single the action is further improved by wrapping around both bollards, or so I’m told….less kinking in the ropes also. In a situation where a branch gets hung up on the way down, what stops a stiffer rope from rolling off the end of the drum? Is there a front catch? (I may need to clarify that more...) The last wrap is kept by the second shaft and has yet to fall off the bollard, although can be flicked off if a person chose to do so. Can the device it be side-loaded? Or does it need to be placed below the lowering point/re-direct? You couldn’t use the tension-lever if it were side loaded, so even a short a redi would be better in that respect. However, for straight-forward lowering it’d be just fine….although one would have to consider that a cut-in would become less effective as the line angle becomes tighter, hence the strap would bear most of the weight. Is the tension arm hard on ropes? Certainly nowhere near as hard as the bite from a knot holding a heavy log. FWIW, a technical guy from Yale cordage was quite satisfied with the way it grabs Is the tension mechanism similar to an ascender? No, its pretty unique How is the drum attached to the back of the device? What is this rated to? The Drums are bored right through the back of the device, so welded on the front and back. I think the WLL will be 3 tons using a cut-in. Although one would have to first consider the WLL or SWL of their lines. What length are the drums? Long enough for 4 wraps with a 20mm line. In truth I don’t have the exact measurements here as the devices in the videos and photos are just early prototypes. The final version which I only just saw myself the other week is quite a huge thing. Do the drums handle heat well, or can you place ice packs inside them? Sure you can, but the device comprises of such a huge amount of Steel that the heat dissipates quite quickly. What is the surface of the drum like? Hard Where can I find more photos? Post 79 in this thread http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/rigging-roping/5029-new-lowering-device-8.html Thanks, keep up the great work! Thankyou

Good job Tom. Not sure the 200t is fast enough for heavy horizontals though

I think definitely some of the retail sponsers on Arbtalk will be stocking the range Theocus. I only hope they are available in time for your job.

Dave I do ok, and would like to believe that there are some good opportunities to be had in the not too distant future. However, if you'd asked me when I started out 20 years ago where I'd be now, I'd have probably expected to be a little further forward. I have no regret's though, but do recognise where I should have channelled my energy a little smarter in years gone by. I do appreciate the very fine complement that John paid me, and in reply was simply offering a personal perspective on where I regard tree climbing at this stage in my life.

Lancstree, yes it was S shaped at that point but not too bad to cause me a problem. Treewarrior, it was Handforth which is a little closer to Wilmslow than Macclesfield. Mark Bolan, the Kilma-Air boots are without doubt the most comfortable spiking boots I’ve ever worn. John Hancock is that your boy in your avatar? Treework is a good job, but my daughter is a miracle mate….when I’m at work my mind is with her and the mother, when I’m at home I never think about work. If I had my time again I would get an education, work in a better paid industry and have more kids. Thanks again.

Thanks again I forgot to load it that morning Dave, so I just cut them thin and manageble. Nice avatar Carl:thumbup1:

Thanks guys, always a pleasure. You wouldn’t believe how much I had to leave out though, enough cuts to make another video at least. The Lowering devices will be available next month. The helmet camera is the pov1, great for tree-work although the colour seems to be lacking compared to a normal vid-cam. The 2:1 system is handy if you have a ground anchor, only drawback his having the drag from the extra amount of line hanging off your harness, especially if it’s a tall tree = more drag. The double rigging on the heavy blocks takes a little longer to set up but on heavy stuff is far friendlier on the ropes and gives a whole lot of confidence where you have little room to let the section run. Our LD is ideal for this as both barrels give the same performance and are part of the same unit….this was further aided by joining both legs of the lowering lines together (ground-workers end) via a prussic loop and then connecting the loop to an addition single rope. In doing so the ground worker is able to keep a consistent rate of descent on both lines by working/controlling the attached single rope.

This single tree removal extended 4 of us for 4 days….what with travel, preparation, clean-up, resulting in about 6 hours climbing per day. Thankfully a high Rigging-point enabled us to bring the majority of the tree to the favourable side of the back garden, although it was still a fair hike out to the front to the truck and chipper. We had the roofs boarded out down below and set up some planks so to wheel-barrow out the wood. The weather was ok but patience and concentration from everyone was a must for the duration. About 20 minutes to watch both. Thanks Part 1: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wb1Xbr-V-U]YouTube - Poplar Tree Rigging 1[/ame] Part 2: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaGo69VxZJg]YouTube - Poplar Tree Rigging 2 Web[/ame]

I was happy to contribute some clips for Series 2. Although in truth this probably makes up less than 1% of the footage used throughout the 6 hours. The Working Climber series adopts the same approach as Mr Beraneks Fundamentals of General Treework and High Climbers and Timber Fallers publications….thorough, conscientious presentations by a master craftsman of 40+ years in the business….it doesn’t come much better! NPTC training it is not, but the Series can potentially open ones eyes to techniques and attitude that might otherwise take years to realize, if at all. Surely a must, and available at Treeworker:thumbup1:

Just a smaller version of the hanging one

Hopefully early next month. What started as 1 turned into a range of 4, hence the delay. Thanks for the interest.

Buzz, I have nothing against bikers having a good time doing what they love.... but you see our road is a 30 zone, yet every weekend throughout the summer, gangs of them raw through here at 70+ totally not giving a f--- for anyone or thing residing in the village. This is all the more personally frustrating if we've just gotten the little one to sleep, only to hear screaming engines whizzing past every 10 minutes....after a while it really does begin to work you over. The main incentive for Betws y coed was to get some peace and quiet, so I was quite horrified to arrive in the bike-gridlocked village on Sunday.... Thankfully it was just for the day and we were able to wind down thereafter:thumbup1:

A few photo’s from this weekends trip to North Wales. The first 10 are from Bodnant Gardens: Bodnant Garden home page , a picturesque and well kept National Trust site. Of course I was mainly interested in the mature conifers, mainly Redwoods and Douglas Fir. Less than 150 years old, the tallest appear to be around 150 ft and in good health. The last 4 photo’s are at Betws y coed, not 5 minutes walk from the shops is a trail which runs through a stand of Douglas Fir….I’d say the tallest of which appear to be around 170 ft, maybe more. Being a treeworker, I couldn’t help but help but envisage how I’d go about wrecking them, shame on me….they were only passing thoughts though.

£ 550

Not until towards the end of September now, sorry if thats too late for you. If not then I'd suggest either Treeworker or FRJones nearer the time. You have to appreciate that the legal criteria for the production of a lifting/lowering device in the UK is very strict, so we just can't afford to cut any corners in that respect. Thanks for your patience. Reg.

Here's actually some more recent photos Morten, so forget about the previous images in this thread. Thanks again