scotspine1

Maybe you could use the time to try and improve the take up of the ISA Certified Arborist scheme in the UK, it could be your personal crusade, then after your time as President we could all sit back and reflect on how successful your tenure was.

Steve and Reg - looked like an excellent trip, what were the ArborMaster's demo-ing? and did you get to catch any of Stephen Zimmerman's AKA 'Easyphloem' Climbing techniques presentation? do any heckling?

Bashlin alloys with soft velcro wraps. There's something very wrong about those Bashlin alloys, they're badly designed, uncomfortable and the velcro wraps only make them worse. I cant use geckos as the base is too narrow for my feet, was considering buying Buck titaniums and getting the add-on steel plates if I cant find boots that give good support to my arches.

What are they like when wearing spikes? good support for the arches?

Whatever gives the most support to your arches when wearing spikes. Last three pairs of boots I've had have been Haix, found they give minimal support when wearing spikes. Any other ideas? cheers

Can anyone tell me what makes of chainsaw boot have a steel shank in the sole?

3 minute video of a Sequoia being brought down next to a house in Italy. Video starts slow (mostly pics), but hold out for the second half which shows most of the video footage. These guys do a great job, with some interesting ideas of getting the timber to the ground in what looks like a very confined area. Watch out for the big piece being lowered at 1.13

Blakes, it feels solid and reliable and moves easy on the rope. Like the fact that its tied with 13mm rope (easy to grip). The weather up here is pretty wet most of the time and the blakes works as well in the wet as it does in the dry. It can also be easily adjusted lengthwise when in the tree. Bad points, sometimes difficult to advance with a micropulley due to the compact wraps unlike the VT etc. Like most other hitches its bad when covered in sap from spruce, pine and firs. Use a 5 wrap (pic shows 4) Swabish hitch for flipline as it can be made a lot shorter than a Blakes, find this helps when working on poles. Hope this helps, good luck.

Yes, and the BBC, New Labour and the London based press/journalists are the worst offenders, its them who try to control nearly all of what we read, view and listen to....trying change the way we think. .

Watching that Question Time exposed the BBC and the left wing London based establishment for what they really are, they're the fascists that want to control every aspect of our lives and decide what we, the public should do and think. Nick Griffin was set-up, the program did not follow the normal debate on a wide variety of topics as Question Time does every week. Why ask a person who is accountable to over 900,000 voters onto a political debating show then spend the entire program attempting to discredit him and his party. The British public are not as stupid as the left wing liberal elites think they are, any idiot could see what was happening. Griffin was simply not allowed to speak. Let him speak and the people will decide, not Jack Straw, Chris Hune or that arrogant sh*t Dimbleby. The whole thing was sham. The audience was made up of left wing activists, they did not represent the British public in any way. What are the BBC and the other left-wing parties (including all the newspapers and other media outlets) so scared of, they assume we're all gonna go out and vote BNP if we listen to Nick Griffin give his opinions on the postal strike. They assume we're stupid. This country is going to the dogs, buts it not because of small minded racists its all down to an elite left wing establishment who think they know whats best for the British public. .

SAC Lanark, Matt Cooper is the guy to speak to.

Anyone know why the AA or ISA werent involved with the program? another high profile opportunity missed, wonder why the hell we join these associations. At last years APF I asked the guys at the AA stand what they could do for me if I paid my hard-earned money and joined, their reply was, "Its not what we can do for you, its what you can do for us"

Interesting job Reg, thanks for posting the vid. Just a few questions/observations...and seriously, dont bother answering if they seem pointless. 1. On the first cut, why do you make the back-cut left handed with the pull-chain? why not make the back-cut right-handed with the pushing chain? 2. Throughout the dismantle (seen at 2.24 and 6.04) you have both your lifeline and flipine totally above the block sling, why is that? 3. At 2.50 about 6/7 feet below your feet are those guide pulleys necessary? 4. When you start your climb back up the stem at 3.20 why not have one of the groundies pull the slack out of the system as you ascend? 5. See 3.48, when climbing, I've never placed a false crotch or anchor point above a notch on a single stem even on very wide diameters, and even if it meant i'd have a better work position for making the notch I still wont do it, are you 100% happy with the technique, if so why? 6. At the end of the vid it would've been interesting to see where the stem finished up, did it jump forward onto the pile of wood? cheers .

chill out mr sensitive, its a free market

nice mwp.

Just want to say thanks for the replies so far (5 in total) albeit via the pm system. Of the 3 videos....all were excellent, and the pics show there are some real quality instructors out there who use their skills to great effect (the crown reduction shots were particularly good). Would have no problem using any of these companies from what I've seen. Will be in touch soon. Thanks again TC

Thats a great pic, and a nice pick too with the crane. Excellent work, although you do realise that using a crane is cheating right? If there's any more pics of the job please post them, always like to see interesting removals. cheers TC

Cheers for the demo Reg, very simple to follow. Both the LD and rope pulley look excellent. Nice to see the lowering device is bigger than current ones on the market, should be smoother when running wider diam bull ropes.

Without seeing what size it is...its almost an exact copy of the original Buckingham 'Port A Wrap' which was excellent for rigging and is about twice the size of the small ISC copy - No, you just start with one half wrap on the short side and continue the wraps on the longer barrel....same as the small ISC lowering device. .

To all arb instructors (UK based) I've got a trainee who needs to obtain some formal climbing training/assessments (NPTC units). I'm trying to find an excellent instructor or company who can provide this training. I'd be satisfied to pay good money for this service but I need to know how good the instructor is. If companies or individuals can provide me with recent photos and/or videos of themselves carrying out large treework operations (rigging, felling and pruning), this will help me assess your current skill level before I decide on who to use. Please post any videos or pics in this thread. Thanks Tim Craig .

We've used these Genie Boom type lifts for tree removal with great results, so was a little concerned to read this story. Photos below text A man died yesterday after the boom lift he was working in toppled over after a wheel broke through a manhole cover, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The lift was being used by a man to inspect the steeple of the First Presbyterian Church at 21st and Walnut Streets. The operator was steering the machine, which was telescoped to its full 120ft (37 metres) height, when one of the wheels went over an electrical cable manhole cover which gave way. The boom lifts wheel broke through a manhole cover Witnesses say that the lift, a recent model JLG 1200SJP owned by Interstate Aerials, tilted over, recovered sending the boom the other way it tilted again and the second time went over, with the boom striking a building opposite before landing on a parked utility truck. The operator was wearing a harness and was left suspended from his lanyard. He was rushed to hospital where he later died from his injuries, a woman passer by was also injured. The falling lift also caused considerable damage to street lights and signs Editors Comment This is a very rare type of accident, a boom such as this will sometime recover from such an incident and as long as the operator has a harness on he stands a good change of surviving. Sadly he clearly had not seen the manhole cover on the ground before going up, or from the platform as he manoeuvred. Checking the ground conditions before driving such a machine from such a height is essential, and will normally prevent such an accident occurring.

Pics?

ha ha, at 0.55 he nearly falls asleep.

What they gonna do with 30 tons?

Doubt it Highland, they got history.