tockmal

Thanks for the info guys. Does anyone here work round overhead streetlighting cables during the day without getting them isolated?

For those of you who don't know the Treespyder, let me translate what his post is all about. 'You either have a natural empathy for treework or you don't' Thats it.

Ta Steve, Only dev is like being stuck in a whiteout!! Got anything less glaring?

Looks pretty good Tony, but wont the sliding plate get caught at the heat shrunk rubber parts of the bridge? I'd also like to see how thAT BRIDGE HOLDS UP AFTER A FEW MONTHS OF CLIMBING. sORRY i keep accidently hitting caps lock

I just assumed you were talkng about the TreeMotion, cause a lot of talk about it has been about the ergo factor, what with the low back support etc.

Yeah Nod...I agree.....that Treemotion harness is all hype. I have a friend who uses a Sierra Moreno leg loop harness and climbs in the most fluent and ergonomically aware fashion I have ever seen, now that harness is American old school, whereas the Treemotion is too cool for school! I'm glad I've someone on the same wavelength.

Does anyone know where I can get any info on working near streetlight electric cables? I always get them shutdown before I work near them, but I need some written legislative info for a risk assessment. Thanks

Got any pics? I am genuinly interested in how you use the old dog.

Thanks, and yes as usual the garden is always cleaner than when you started. I take great pride in my clean-up.

bob, I seem to remember seeing someone over at Treebuzz starting a thread about using the Shunt....mind you that was in about 1948.

Crown Reduced, well not exactly......drop crotched about 15 ft out the top of this little Sycamore today. Overall effect was pretty good IMHO. Weird thing about the tree was it had the flattest top ever before I started. Ended up making it look more natural. It had never been touched before today. Mmmm... top does look a little thin now though.

Bullman smokes!! Surely not?

Do groundies who have never climbed understand what it like to be lowering tops out of trees like this? I had two climbers on the ground the day I took this tree down, they ran the lowering gear smoothly, knew want I needed before I asked, made sure my ropes were always clear without needing told, acted like a second pair of eyes on everything that was going on in the tree, looking for possible weaknesses in the tree or checking the angles and weights of the rigging. Give me a good climber on the ground any day. If groundies are sick of dragging and chipping then can learn to climb or accept their lot.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough. Sorry. From my experience of 10 years working as climber and groundsman for many different companies and in different countries I believe in most arb work situations these two roles should be interconnected, but all too often they are not. I have found that in most cases groundies who have never climbed simply do not understand what the climber is going through, which is why the best groundies are always climbers. Most good climbers are more intelligent than the average groundie anyway. There is the odd exception to this rule, but overall the climber has by far the hardest job, feeding a chipper and dragging brash is mundane yes, but it is nowhere near as dangerous as rigging out sections from 80ft plus and using chainsaws around a rope and harness daily. Unless you guys are talking about 40 ft leyland cypresses, with the climber bombing everything creating an idiot pile? then yeah, the climber does have the easiest job. From my experience, a good climber makes an excellent groundsman, which is why I now, after 10 years work almost exclusively with other self employed climbers, basically like a co-op of skilled treeworkers. Thats what happens if you suffer at the hands of too many apathetic groundsmen who are indifferent to the things you require when your in the tree, even after telling them a 1000 times! An excellent ground only groundsman is indeed a rare thing. I've met about 2.

I disagree TimR, we're at the sharp end, the groundies are on terra firma.

For me the best climbers are the people who find the best work position to carry out their work. The rope and harness are just a means to get us into that optimum work position where we are making the correct cut, tieing a sling on, pulling up a piece of equipment etc without putting ourselves under unnecessary stress or strain. Finding the optimum work position is what a good climber does best. Bad climbers fail to find good work positions, they fail to carry out their work properly and they fail to work in an efficient manner with optimum control A good climber never rushes about the tree like a headless chicken, if climbers do this, then it is either a sure sign that they are uncomfortable with treeclimbing and want to get out of the tree ASAP or their employer has seriously underbid the job, or their employer is just plain greedy. I have a lot more thoughts on this but I'll leave it at that for now.

nice work Steve 'rocketman' Bullman

Arborist News by the ISA or The Arboricultural Association's Newsletter. Colin, is the ISA active in Scotland?

bob, could you translate this into english please?

Not dropped, thats not my saw just an illustration, thats an American Stihl 066. Deflect the heat away....might work. Not sure though.

Nice job! very dignified looking helmet tree. Did you guys do any work on the sequoia in the background?

After my MS660 has been running for a few minutes the brake is very difficult to snap on(push forward) it seems the plastic in the brake from becomes soft and malleable rendering it bloody useless. It gets so bad that sometimes I even end up pushing the brake over the exhaust. If you look at the outlet for the exhaust you can see it is positioned near the brake. I was thinking of getting a welder or small engine repair man to make a new muffler which has the outlet at the front further away from the brake. I occasionally have to use this saw up a tree, and not having a brake that works is not wise. Anyone else have this problem any ideas to fix it? new brake maybe?

Not so sure about that Steve, cv's can be full of other relevant information about yourself, something might catch the prospective employers eye which could put you ahead of the competion. Also they contain basic stuff like what you have been doing workwise etc. If your not great on the phone a cv can be a good start you need to convince the employer your the person they need. However, you should always follow up a sent cv with a phonecall, you might get some information which could be crucial to finding a job somewhere else or with someone else.

Ben, Thanks for posting the videos. Just a few thoughts I had when viewing....... Video 1. - Why not make a step cut with two hands on the saw, then break the fibres, this allows for more control of where the section is going. Alternatively, why not carry a small wedge for jamming into the saw kerf? instead of using your left hand to push the log. Video 2 - Are you using a block/pulley (topping strop)? I couldn't really tell, was the rope just through the opposite stem in a crotch? What was being used to control the descent of the top? Why did the top travel so far before it came to that sudden halt? There is no reason why you should have to be subjected to unnecessary dynamic shock loading like in this video. The groundie should be perfectly capable of letting the top run in order to absorb and dampen the load on the tree. Many climbers have been killed in exactly the same situation you are in on the video, the stem snapping underneath them. Take care

The only way the industry can improve as a whole is if good people are paid decent wages, you don't reward excellent staff with mediocre wages. You give them an insentive to stay and work for you. I agree there is a limit to how much you can pay, but surely there is scope for bonuses for oustanding work. I've been that exploited climber and it almost broke my will, I nearly jacked in treework for a better payed job. Self employed is the only realistic way of making decent money in the UK. Only in America do climbers get payed excellent wages. Its the market here and stingy employers that force the wages down.