Big 'Ammer

Just been reading Yorkshireman's post in the 'how to crash an industry' thread, and the response from NPTC is what we interpreted it as anyway; If you have a mewp qualification and Cs39 and 41 you do not need Cs47.

Like any course, if theres four of you they'll run one next week. When theres only you, they need three more to make it worthwhile. did you try Askham Bryan? Dave who works for me did his there.

What a load of crap that programme was. How those oafs didn't hurt themselves defies belief. I bet that the tv people had it set up there near an old shed in the hope that that something would land on it and get smashed. I bet the whole lots been knocked down anyway by now, and the tree, as well. The BBC would be expecting complaints that they allowed a 'nice' tree to be ruined and will have picked a site where the tree was going to be removed anyway, so they can appease the whingers. On a lighter note, the expert was clearly from a council background when he said it would take three men a day to deadwood it!

Reminds me of a job I was on years ago. We were felling big larch, d fir and spruce, all 100-125' more than half dressed out over 100' -big trees! Tallest one of the lot was a sitka at 129'. Tallest one I felled was a larch at 124', it was over a bank side and I put one side of the gob in from a harness anchored off another tree. Bored out and dog tooth, cut the back strap and run away! Snigged the poles out two at a time with a 1474 county with double drum. Then pulled the county and poles up the bank with a major and cookes winch! It was a great job to be on. On the less rose tinted side, it was two months of midge bitten, sweaty, oily, 12 hours a day hard graft, living in scabby digs, with a crap cook. I learned a lot from it which has stood me in very good stead. If I was single and 10 years younger I'd probably go and do it again!

What a nice job. Wish I'd been there.

Just ring your local tarpaulin/cover makers that do wagon sheets and curtain sides etc. Or don't bother at all. If its a tipper just tip it up and chip over the back rather than through the doors, you wont get much overspill, unless you really want to load it level to the top.

Sad news. Condolences to his family and friends.

That looks a good job.

I'd allowed for it giving up, thats why I gobbed it just left of the fir to get the tops to drop in to the right. I actually felled it at head height and bored it through under the lean to where I felt it was right, left a higher hinge on the left and then cut the holding strap (dog tooth) at the back when I was happy with everything. This was for two reasons:- The tree had a back limb which I had felled off and the bottom metre was twice the width, so i would have to do more cutting and potentially if the tree was to hold perfectly and follow the gob all the way down I would have had more hinge at the left to cut through whilst it was falling to deliberately make it 'fail' to the right and get the tops to drop through the gap. Secondly, I always prefer to use a smaller, fast cutting saw, wherever possible, and I don't like riving about with big saws on slopes if I can help it.

Dave started wearing the Aquafell Experts in mid January that I was kindly sent as a replacement pair, along with a few other guys on the forum, by Fortec footwear, back in June. He finds them comfy to climb in, but the soles are rather soft and he doesnt like them on the ground as much as the Haix protectors he was previously wearing. We will see how they last. FTR, I'm still wearing the same pair of Haix Tibets.

Ed, maybe try ringing Askham Bryan College at York? If they don't directly run them, they may put you in touch with right people.

Two more things I thought of, and both obvious really. Firstly, our top climber must be able to sharpen properly. I once worked years ago with a guy who was a real quick climber, but he had forearms like Popeye from shoving his saw into the cut all the time! I never saw him with a new chain on, he must have been lightning! Secondly, plenty of patience. If your the top rigger, biggest balled dismantler, and most artistic 5% tip reducing squirrel, then your always gonna be disappointed with every one else on the crew, cos there not up to your speed and standard!

What will that lot sell for then, Surreyarb?

Nice Job!

All thats been said already. I would also add adaptability, both in the type of work and working efficiently with the set up on the day. The best climbers can switch from high volume work, like pruning a run of street trees, to a handsaw aesthetic crown reduction the next day, to a big TD the day after. When theres only one groundy they will get out a bit further and cut off smaller bits so the groundy can just keep picking up the brash and stuffing it in the chipper and the job is never stopped. Next day when theres three on the ground and and a bit of machinery on hand, they wade in and get some big bits on the deck in short order.

Naan Bread-aderma?

Sorry, internet went off! Worked spot on, thanks Tom. Gobbed the lawson just left of the fir to get the tops to drop in between it and the big welly. 1. Before felling 2 & 3. After 4. Ash, fir and wellys all intact. Tree was 22.5m / 74' measured on the floor.

Friday was a beautiful day to be out at work. Went to take down a lawson cypress that was leaning over and was spoiling the shape of a young wellingtonia, ash and oak, and was leaning over some more after some recent snow loading. Got up and the view was great, knocked a couple of the tops out no bother. Went up the next stem and it was really bendy from about 3/4 way up, even stropped in to the adjacent stem, which just got pulled over with it. (thus demonstrating JJG's theory of fat lads at the top of skinny trees!) There wasn't another tall enough tree close enough to anchor into either. So small bits was out. Didn't fancy topping a large bit out as it would smash the ash underneath and it had a big lean and I didn't fancy it splitting with me attached either. So I decided to fell it sideways to its lean through a small gap between a large wellingtonia and a fir. This would also save the ash, as the remaining crown would come right over the top and miss it. Fortunately we had license to do the job however we liked provided that none of the other trees were damaged. 1. The tree 2. View from the top 3. 1/2 dismantled 4 & 5. Gap between the fir and the big welly.

In the picture the white line with the trolley is the speedline and is tensioned at the ground. The rigging plate is fastened under the trolley. The lowering line is clipped to the back of the rigging plate and goes up to a block and down to a portawrap, it takes the majority of the weight, the speedline is there to drift stuff away from the tree and to the landing area. Heres a couple more pics where Matt has butt tied the branch and then put a sling on the lowering line with a friction knot, to make it adjustable, and tip tied the sling to make a basket rig.

You could if you could manage it, but its easier to cut the piece and have it held on the lowering line and then clip in your second pulley while the speed lines slack, then get the groundy to tighten up the line. Another useful trick is using the speedline to 'winch' reasonably upright, but back leaning stuff over on itself, like felling a back leaning tree, if you get what I mean. For example, a limb thats stuck out over an adjacent tree that your not wanting to damage, but theres not room to swing it one side or another. There must be plenty others on here that know a lot more about it than me though. As always, try anything new on small bits to start with to see how it works.

I have done a job from a crane basket. Its wierd because when your right up the wind moves you about a bit and even the torque from a 200T is enough to turn the basket against the cut! Once you get used to it its ok, but IMO a platform is preferable. The one I had's worst feature was the fact that it was chained at each corner to support it up to the hook and the chains were always in your way. The basket was large and numb to get right into the tree, even with a good operator. Plus side is that once the tops are off, you just chain the stem at the top and go and cut it off at the bottom! Very easy.

Cheers SWB, Not my idea, got it from a couple of articles that ran over two consecutive issues of Arborist News a couple of years ago. We had two big poplars to take down behind two buildings and a couple of phone lines to avoid for good measure. We actually used the job as an exercise for several reasons. Firstly, Matt Wood who used to work for me, was keen to do some advanced rigging. Secondly, Dave was still at college and needed to do an assignment about rigging and needed plenty of pictures, so we tried every technique we could think of on the job. Thirdly, being a bit of a platform junkie, I wanted to weigh up whether it was easier/cheaper/quicker/more profitable etc than hiring in a RQG18 like Dean's and cutting all the awkward stuff off in small pieces and then just sticking a climber in the top to snatch the tops out. FTR, there was very little in it profit wise either way, platform would have been quicker , but a really hard day to get the most out of a hired machine, rigging took longer but was more enjoyable.

Fastened to the shed! Thanks again Pete for the loan of you Tirfor last week, even though we didn't use it.

Habitat great. Repeat pruning job, even better! Not having to repeatedly sharpen your saw and cart away a load of shitty rotten logs...... Priceless!!!!

If space is tight over the obstacles, and you have a long branch to rig down, cut it off with a sling on it fixed to the plate on the trolley as normal and then before you tighten up the line, fix another small pulley and sling to the other end of the branch and clip into the speed line. Tension up the line and you can lower the stuff horizontally, instead of it hanging down. Buys you a few extra feet of clearance.