Lancstree

A danish woman my folks know. She brought them over from Australia where they were invented and made. Be handy for getting little stumps out of the ground or anything!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjIM5Kv0geY]Hitchmaster Rope Winch - YouTube[/ame]

Got given a couple of these today.

HitchMaster - dynamic rope pulley system.

They seem very versatile and handy in different situations. Something to have in your tool box anyway. Haven't tried it out yet but they seem very quick and easy to install mid-line. I have instructions and they are used for fence straining, tie-down, calf pulling...

Then he should do as he's told.

Hypothetically speaking, if someone told you to use a lockjack because they are quicker and you wanted to stick to a friction hitch, would you do it because you have to do as you're told?

Don't think any hitch will safely mimic the ability of one handed adjustment like mechanical devices. Not without constant tweaking

I think they're very handy for access and use them whenever possible. Still like to to keep my throwline skills though. We've recently got it sorted so we can carry them securely on the top of the chip box so they are out of the way but always there if you want them. One lad doesn't want to use them and his throwline skills are excellent so fair enough. He's been told by someone superior that he has to use them because they are the quickest way of getting into the tree, unless the ladders don't reach into the crown. There's an ongoing argument about it which is why I wanted to find out what other people thought. The response is pretty varied so in conclusion I would say each to their own as long as they can get the job done safely and efficiently.

Just getting a general idea on people's views on ladders for accessing the tree.

Also, is there any industry guidance on best practice when using ladders to access the tree?

It looks like there would be a bit of sit back like when using a VT or other friction knot. There is no sitback with LJ or SJ

I'm just going to make one up for now and request something else when it has been well used.

Been pushing it a bit this year requesting gear. Managed to get spiderjacks but we could really do with at least one adjustable cambium saver for the team for working on a spar and aiding aerial rescue.

What cheapish ones are out there to be recommended. I know FR jones do a kit for about 30 quid and you put it together yourself. Has anyone got one?

I've been given a mobile number but I'm not sure how to put it into my phone.

It starts +421 which is slovakia

Any idea?

Could the issue be the oval crab with its small top? Maybe an Hms or similar be better

 

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Ewan, I think you might be right about this. Looking at the illustrations in the manual, they are using a HMS and it has a warning that this type should be used to put the spiderjack on. The top carabiner in the pictures is an oval. When we bought the spiderjack we just ordered ovals thinking as we have moved on from the hitchlimber.

When the spiderjacks are sold, should the supplier be pointing out the type carabiners required to work in conjunction with it? Everyone has their preferences but looking at the manual it should be HMS on the bottom and oval on top connecting to the eye splice.

It really takes you to read every bit of the manual before putting it into service.

Thanks for sharing this I have noticed wear on my sling. And I have the rubber in the correct position!

Where exactly on the sling is the wear albere?

I don't think a HMS crab would make much difference really. I've checked the instructions and they are very clear on how to arrange the rubbers. When I first set it up we had the new spiderjack and rope in the van and hastily put it together on a rainy day to try it out. This should have been done back in the workshop following the instructions carefully. The damage seems to be down to the rubber forcing the dyneema to an angle towards the body of the spiderjack.

Before getting the spiderjack I had read the warning thread on here about making sure the little ring is connected to the carabiner. I guess this made me over cautious and thought the rubber would be better placed where it would not allow the ring to come out of the carabiner when the gate was opened. This was the error.

I'm glad that people have read this thread and taken it seriously because I don't want anyone to make the same mistake. I wonder if I should inform ART that this has happened so they can look into it?

Lancstree i use the rubber rings for the sj setup however on my way down from a 70ft beech i noticed the red joint was wobbling a bit.after a nervouse decent i found that it was barely screwed in:thumbdown:. Feel a bit guilty that i didnt report it on here now. Thought it would be a common problem. I havnt had any fraying in the dyneema tho.

 

Stay safe

 

Jake

Thanks for letting us know Jake. Which way did you arrange the rubber spacers?

skip. You would want the worst case scenario to be as you described - an inconvenience. However, as I pressed the black lever down you could clearly see contact first with the little ring then with the sling. The ring sharpened the angular edge of the spiderjack casing (due to metal on metal) and then started cutting into the sling, but very slightly. This would have eventually lead to a fall if gone unchecked.

Is not the small ring that conects the sling to the krab supposed to be on the outside of the rubber thingy not the inside ?

It seems so. And for some reason I've not done it that way which has lead to the dyneema getting worn by the edge of the spiderjack casing. An error so small could potentially lead to something catastrophic which is why I posted my concern on here.

Thanks for the pics. I'll look in the manual again tomorrow.

So far nobody has had the red ring come away from the casing, is that correct?

Looking at your pics it shows how much more in-line the sling is than mine was. I reckon this is the reason for the red ring to come loose as it's pulling to one side under load.

It may be a silly mistake of mine to put the rubber spacers the way I have and I might be the first to have done it but nevertheless people need to be warned about what it can lead to if it's not set up correctly

Silky. Have you ever had to tighten the screw for the ring that captures the dyneema? Can you show a picture of how you arrange the rubber stoppers? If it is the case that the arrangement of the stoppers was to blame then people need to know.

I would like to add that I noticed the start of the same wear on the second climbers spiderjack casing but the dyneema was fully intact. I changed the arrangement of the rubber stoppers so that one was in between the anchor ring and the main spiderjack connection. During use this was more in-line and the casing did not seem to contact the sling anywhere near as much.

The spiderjack is upside down here but we are holding it to show the ring coming into contact with the casing.

Notice the edge on the casing formed by the anchor ring coming into contact with it.

Here's another attempt to photo the wear on the sling

A bit closer you can just about make out the wear on the sling. It was enough for me to be concerned about and not climb on it. The pictures do not show it very well but there is glazing and fraying on about half the width of the sling.

Sorry about the quality of the pics.

Here you can see the arrangement of the rubber stoppers and how it is causing the sling to come slightly out of alignment. Could be a cause of the red adapter coming loose. Notice how far the adapter has come out. When the main lever is depressed during use the sling comes into contact with the edge of the spiderjack casing