Sciadopitys

I wondered what the Re-pollarding unit was all about too. When i looked at the assessment schedule i noticed it was jabbering on about aerial rescue, which totally confused the hell out of me! Has anyone out there done the Re-pollarding unit, CS46? I have never ever seen it asked for in job advertisements!

Thats more like it!

What are the best chainsaw boots for footlocking - i can footlock really well in hiking boots, the minute i put chainsaw boots on i find it much more difficult! Anyone recommend some good chainsaw footware that doesn't make footlocking seem impossible?

Holy S**t!!!! I thought it was a silky too when i saw it!

I am currently climbing with a Butterfly II harness, i really like it. But i am thinking of trying something else to see how it compares. Maybe a Petzl Sequoia or a Tree Flex. Anyone have opinions on any of the 3 mentioned(good or bad)? Are there any others out there any better? Cheers.

Any other assessors to consider that might be closer than Hampshire to Yorkshire?

So it is recommended to do the angled cut first? Thats what i do anyway, as thats what i was taught

When i fell a tree i was always taught to do the first cut at 45 degrees (half way between vertical and horizontal for an upright tree), followed by a horizontal cut to make a sink or a gob. My question is who does it in this order? Text book says do the 45 degree cut first, but i know quite a few guys who do the horizontal cut first. I don't know why, i have always done it the way the text book says, and it has always worked fine for me. Not sure why some people do it the other way. Any answers guys? Don't suppose it really matters that much if the cuts are accurate and the tree goes where it should do. Surely you would not fail an NPTC assessment for doing these cuts in the incorrect order?

I will be there on the Saturday!

Who's Bob then?

Anyone else or has Arbocop got the monopoly on CS47 assessment in the north of England?

Truly Awesome! I plan to come to New Zealand maybe towards the end of next year to work for a while and see the country. Love the entire Araucariaceae family, shame they are all in the southern hemishphere and i am a northen hemisphere species, i plan on doing something about it very soon! Would love to see the Kauri forests, would defo love to see the Wollemia in its natural habitat too - surely that cannot stay a secret forever and ever!?!? And the monkey puzzles in Chile are high on my list of trees to see. New Caledonia too, with its diverse plant life - 3 endemic conifer genera and 43 endemic conifer species and 18 of the 44 species in Araucariaceae family. This place would be my paradise if all the inhabitants didn't speak bloody French! check out his link http://www.conifers.org/topics/nctrees.htm Sorry to go off the topic of NZ mate! Just all of the family is so interesting! I can't wait to explore the southern hemisphere!

I am experienced in dismantling and rigging large trees, but i have also never done a crane job. I am very interested in learning how to use cranes to make my job as a climber much easier - getting very large trees on the deck in a much safer and more efficient manner. Every climber who is experienced with crane work started somewhere. Every one has a first job. I plan on using a crane on my next BIG tree dismantle, but i will be taking small bits to begin with until i gain experience. I am not about to start going beyond my limitations and endanger my own life and the others around me, but i do want to gain experience in this type of work, but slowly and carefully until i gain 100%confidence in this area. I would be very grateful if anyone who is doing a crane removal in the future would allow me to come and observe from a distance! Any offers please let me know! Cheers!

Next BIG tree i get to take down i am gonna consider using a crane. It makes things so quick and easy by the looks of it. I have never done one, but everyone has to start somewhere. I would be very interested in coming along and watching someone do a crane removal before attempting one myself for the first time. I have heard people say don't attempt it if your not experienced, but everyone has to have a first time!! I would like to learn how to use cranes to make my job as a climber easier and get trees on the deck in a more efficient and safer manner.

I worked at Kew for 3 years and mulched many mature trees in that period. I used a turf cutter to cut out the edge of the circle to get a really neat finish, but didn't bother with the centre of the circle, nice thick layer of mulch will kill off most of the grass, and a dose of round-up now and then soon stops it in its tracks and keeps the mulched circle looking the business!

PS: What monkeyd said about that book - the art and science of practical rigging -he's spot on! Every Arborist should own a copy!

I did mine in the New Forest at Arborventure, it wasn't as much £800 if i recall correctly! http://www.arborventure.co.uk CS41 - 16th - 22nd June, £700 inclusive of VAT and assessment. Thats on the south coast, so should be cheaper in Scotland i would imagine! If you can get the basics in your head and you are a decent climber, you won't need a full weeks training anyway - think i did 2 days training, and did the assessment on the third day!

I went to Rock City in Hull, had trouble getting in, the guy on the desk was trying to make me do a course for £60 to teach my how to tie my rope to my harness. I told him i was an Arborist and new how to tie knots, but i had never seen the belay device he showed me, so he refused me entry. I went to an internet cafe looked how it worked then went back. Took me another half hour to convince him to let me on the bloody walls! In the end he gave in and let me in! Its so bloody simple i cannot believe he wouldn't just show me how to use the belay devise! Anyway, i loved it - cannot wait to go again, and maybe one day i will have a go on real rock!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PETZL-LEFT-HAND-CLIMBING-ASCENDER-B17WLA-ROPE-CLAMP_W0QQitemZ110359496962QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Sporting_Goods_Climbing_Mountaineering?hash=item110359496962&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1688%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 I meant this one, the other pic is a double ascender like the Kong ones are they not!?! Anyway, might get em all n try em out!

I am planning on doing a CS47 assessment - any NPTC assessors want to assess me? don't need to pay for a course to teach me, i have been dismantling and pruning from a MEWP for a few years. Got my CS41 but wanna get CS47 just so i got it. What is the going rate for an NPTC assessment guys? Have not one for a year or so. MEWP and trees can be provided by me in Lincolnshire, or i can travel to anywhere in the north of England if an assessor has a MEWP available. Thank you!

I reckon in the USA the problem can't be as bad as it is here. Everybody knows the liklihood of the property owner having a big gun is about 100%. Am i right Masterblaster? Surely the fact that most Americans have a gun in the house must scare off theives!?! In our country if we catch em in our house or yard and give em a good hiding, we would be the one in the police cell. total bollocks in my opinion!!

Just noticed Petzl have introduced a new design for their ascenders for 2009. Anyone tried the new ones?

CS40 is pruning operations, CS41 is sectional felling and dismantling operations!

When i last tried SRT i was using a Petzl right hand ascender clipped to a left hand ascender, with a webbed sling connecting me to them and then either footlocking the rope or using a pantin! It worked well, and made big climbs into the canopy a doddle. My question is...... Do i still need to back the ascenders up with an eye-to-eye friction knot such as a VT? Because surely using two (one for left hand and one for right) each one backs the other one up doesn't it? I have always assumed this was the case and have never bothered with a friction knot for back-up unless only using one ascender. But then i see pictures of that guy who fell off his rope using a double ascender, scary s*%t!!! Just wondered what you guys thought! And also, i have read about setting the SRT line up so a groundman can rescue you if anything happens before you connect in with your Ddrt system. How necessary is this really? I have always just tied a running bowline (with Yosemite tie off) around the base of the tree! Good enough? or do i need to think about a different set up?