jomoco

The most unusual thing I've rescued from a tree, other than another climber? A huge Pelican tangled up in fishing line, in the upper lateral of a large Torrey pine at Sea World San Diego. Told them I'd lower the whole branch with bird attached, or forget it. I knew that bird had fight left in him, as it bloodied two of the biologists tasked with cutting him free of the mess n stuffin him into a cage. Way too big a bird to wrestle with on rope! Any of you remember (Wild Kingdom)Marlin Perkins' assistant snatching that Condor out of a cliff nest on rope? Good thing he had a helmet on! Jomoco

When your tool truck's fully stocked n ready to rock at a moment's notice? 500 bucks a day is cheap! I loved the independent subcontracting life, and still do though semiretired. Business has a way of finding you, when you can do! Do you miss the eucs Reg? Citriadora's thrive in San Diego! Jomoco

I've got two 365 Special's that run n cut great. They love high octane racing fuel n silver bottled Stihl mix. True work horses! Both run 20 inch bars with ease! One of the best light medium worksaws ever IMO. Jomoco

Loved the last shot Ben. Impressive combination of work and art mate! Jomoco

Mighty nice zippin Jake! Brush and wood! Jomoco

My resolution's to stand up n get some work done in my saddle! Enjoy unimpeded blood flow to my legs while aloft. On your feet soldier! Jomoco

Thanks guys! I am very pleased with how well they work on really hard dead wood removals. But keeping them well greased, like any metal on metal dynamic friction point, is key to them retracting smoothly and quickly. Next version'll need grease zerts n channels milled into the stationary needle housing cone. Kinduva real cat's meow? Jomoco

Thanks Silky. Tri-edged gaffs had the habit of cutting and running at acute angles, particularly out on laterals, it's my belief it's caused by one of the three edges initiating a tear that follows the wood grain, at that particular angle. These round gaffs pierce n set better in the wood regardless of angle, and with far less stepping force, particularly in dead wood, IME. Munchkins like me only need a 3/8ths inner needle to set n hold well. But bigger blokes over the 200 lb weight n up? May need a 7/16's inner needle to support their weight without breaking, Jomoco

In dead hard wood? I prefer to tippy toe about the tree, rather than stompin about like Godzilla. Jomoco

So the ability to extend n retract your claws is over rated in an arboreal setting eh? Jomoco

Which climb trees better lads? Dogs, or cats?

Great stuff StihlMadd! Eucs are my favorite removals, and best friends! You sure walk the walk! But I'd love just one vid of you pruning a euc to class one standards with a handsaw! Way more physically demanding than removals IMO. Gotta work those terminal tips too bro! Jomo

I'm in the thick of SoCal, and can purchase a High octane racing fuel with zero ethanol in it for less than ten bucks a gallon, mix it with Stihl's Ultra Synthetic Oil in the silver bottle, and presto, premium chainsaw mix with a shelf life of two years stored in a sealed metal container! Airports n marinas are your best options for purchasing chainsaw friendly fuels that are conducive to stayin on the pipe n revin right, IME. Jomoco

The most reputable firms in the San Diego area I've subbed for? Western Tree Service, Alden or Rikki. Atlas Tree Servive, Jeff or Brian Pacific Tree Service, Michael One Tripp Tree Service, Steve All fine upstanding professional companies worth contacting for potential employment. Best of luck jumping the pond mate! Jomoco

Can your climbers climb solo on your crews legally mate? Jomoco

So the fact that I've witnessed that very thing, a second man saving the life of an incapacitated operator, on my crew, four times, in the real world of WTC operations, hardly seems pointless. More of an indication that OSHA's right, and you along with Gerstenberger, are dead wrong. All it takes is one unscrupulous tree service owner, that both you and Peter are protecting by making it legal to send out a solo operated WTC, and the body count just keeps goin up. Your position's unconscionable IMO. Jomoco

Just dumb yanks, canucks and aussies, right? Must be nice to be so mistake proof yu can't see below yu! Jomoco:001_smile:

I'd love to take each arborist who's against establishing a WTC two man minimum in this industry, set them down in a bright lit room, and show them a slideshow of the victims remains following these grisly events, just like I have. OSHA's got quite a portfolio of them now. This situation will only get worse until this industry makes it illegal to operate a WTC solo, regardless of how well the reverse bar functions, because an incapacitated operator can't activate it. Jomoco

The problem in America is the maniac in charge of safety and govt relations at TCIA, IMO. Just for you Peter. [ame] [/ame] Jomoco

Nope, sorry, was way back in 07, after the fires. A week in Arrowhead, home on the weekends. As far as I know that tank landing craft's still on Lake Arrowhead somewhere. Probably now owned by the HOA of the lake itself? Twin Allison Diesels powering it. Very cool method of dealin with shoreline removals. Everything ended up at a staging area abutting the east end of the lake. Brush into a huge tub grinder on site. All the logs milled on that site as well with a huge portable mill, owned and operated most the time by the logger I was subbin for. I know loggers make a heckuva lot more money than the average tree service owner does per day. But there again, they work from pretty much dawn to dusk, and are about as mechanized as you can get. Fortunately for me, at that time in that area of SoCal, few if any of those loggin outfits had any climbers worth much, allowing me to get a pretty good run of about 8 months in climbin for a variety of outfits from up north. Even did a dozen big dead cedars at Santa's Village at the Rim of the World. Catchin fat cedar logs with a Hobbs over high value stuff is worth 5 bills a day everyday, and then some! Jomoco

One of the most eye openin experiences I've had on the job? One Marlboro puffin groundie operatin a big tracked bobcat with grabber bucket stuffin big dead cedars into a WW2 tank landing craft on the beach, as fast as I could drop and buck them! On Lake Arrowhead, doing the HOA removal contract. Subbin to a 3rd generation loggin outfit. Brush in the bottom, 33 foot logs across the gunwales! That bobcat operator also skippered the TLC expertly as well. Loggin's an entirely different world from urban arboriculture IMO. Jomoco

Only in thorny trees, locust, corals, monkey puzzles, date palms, fans, reclinatas, etc. I prefer no gloves when possible. Pine sap n such clean up no problem with a bit of GoJo mechanics hand cleaner. Works good in the laundry too as a sap remover. Jomoco

All it takes is a bent dogleg branch orienting itself on the feed table upon contact with the mandrel blades Steve. The feedwheel's hold on the branch is passive enough to allow the entire branch to spin 180 degrees, flip the whole branch over, on top of you if you ain't on your toes. The motive force is the spinning mandrel powering the flip, not the feed wheels, or their rate of feed. I watched this very thing knock a 250 lb dude off his feet, hook him from behind the knee somehow, slowly drag him up onto the feed table in time with the auto feed rate, and just as the feedwheels got his knee, the second groundie hit the reverse bar. All he needed was a few stitches. This with an 1800 Vermeer. Jomoco

These accidents keep happenin because it is still legal for a tree service owner to let one man operate WTC's on their job sites, on both sides of the pond. You'll never quite get how these accidents happen till you've actually fed an 1800 or 2400 woodchipper yourselves guys. I mean you have to really pay attention and keep movin away from the crush zone. But from a practical point of view, one man feedin a big branch must first get the butt on the feed table, then move back into that very crush zone to get the branch into the feedwheels. The close calls I've witnessed firsthand on the 1800's happen in that very scenario, but the actual contact the butt makes with the cutters on the spinning mandrel reorients the entire branch causing it whip violently about on the feed table along its entire length whether 15 feet long or 30 feet long, like Godzilla's tail tryin to knock you off your feet as you try and escape it's reach. It's nothing at all like feedin a small chipper. More like feedin a very hungry man eating tiger with a very long destructive tail. Makes no sense to work that big a capacity chipper solo in the first place. BC1000 10 inch units are far safer for a solo operator feedin properly cut up brush on the job. I know the first 1800 I fed scared me to the point I established my own two man minimum on my crew right then and there, no arm twisting needed! Jomoco

In case yu think it ain't so? United States Patent: 5667152 Jomoco