Pete Bannister

Uska, an 'Anchor Knot' will increase the rope surface area passing through the eye of the snap hook. A ' Barrel Knot' like a Fisherman's loop is a safe self-tightening knot to use on a mallion or thimble of the correct size. If in doubt, use a Figure of Eight knot!

Doesnt really matter if we like looking at naked women or not...Thats not the point. Its everyday sexism...clearly! Good point, well made by the OP Thanks:thumbup1:

Fascinating thread and some really good posts. On the matter of the safety factors Paul M has quoted: ‘Due to the level of uncertainty involved in any numeric approach, a factor of safety of 1.5 is required in the static load test’ A 1.5 factor in structural engineering is tiny given the probable accuracy of data on the material properties. 1.5 is approaching aviation engineering standards where material properties are pretty rigorously measured. FOS of 4-5 would be typical of those used in static structures (e.g. buildings). It does depend on how you arrive at your FOS and there are alternative methods but Id like to know exactly how the 1.5 FOS is arrived at Paul M’s recommendation for static load testing is very sensible and surely this was a case where empirical evidence should have been applied. But hindsight is a wonderful thing That said, 'load testing' had just been undertaken by the recent storm. Maybe this had revealed evidence of progressive failure? I don’t know.

Doh! thanks Jules;Id not seen that..I wondered why it hadnt been raised already.

Importing steel concrete or treated timber may be an option but I like your idea of building it with what’s on site If the Alder on site is big enough, I'd consider that for piles. It tends to rot off at ground level but is renowned for it natural durability in anaerobic conditions i.e. below water and in waterlogged soils With the species available I think Id be looking at using oak (heartwood only) for the spans and alder for the stuff in the ground and using short spans with many piles/posts. I’d thinks about a design that can easily be refurbished as elements rot out, e.g. lashed connections. If you can build in plenty of ‘redundancy’ by using many smaller members and short spans rather than large spans and tall collumns, there's not so much invested in the thing when it needs repair. Sounds really interesting. Good luck

I agree with all Agg221 says above. All such borate preservatives remain water-soluble in use; so they'll leach out if the wood gets wet/damp in the future. That means you'd need to dry it and use it in dry conditions (indoor or undercover). That being the case, you dont need a pesticide to arrest the decay fungi...desication will do that job. Once the timber is below about 30% moisture content structural degrade from the decay fungus will cease.

Ben : 'i use a figure of 8 for rock climbing because everyone else is more comfortable with it..' Ha ha! yes I know what you mean.... Jules: I think I know that as 'a re-woven figure of eight' Agreed, its done to death!

Nice Video David. Thanks Demonstrates the validity or percussion ausculation or 'ittin it w' t'hammer lad'

When being taught to rock climb as a teenager in the early 70s we were taught the bowline backed up with a couple of overhands rather than the Yosemite. Figure of eight was taught as preferable because as correctly stated above its harder to 'get it wrong'. Because every now and again recreational climbers fall off the rope, there remains to this day a (tedious) debate in the rock climbing community as to which is better. However, BenR and Jules have just summarised pretty much all the worthwhile arguments Its true...whatever the knot , if you tie it right it will be right. Figure of eight is the knot I taught my kids to use when climbing. Oddly though I hardly ever use it a work. When I do use it myself its in the mountains (which is not very often these days!). Habit I guess plus the point Jules made about tying it in extremis thanks for the comments Pete

Very nice photos. thanks Tony

Give Ray Mears and Prof. Gordon Hillman a bell. He'll eat 'em

C. puteana and the very similar C.marmarata are major 'brown rotters' in converted timber ( often in converted conifer as well as broadleaf timber) and are not, to my knowledge, recorded as having any white rot or soft rot modes in converted (dead) wood. All workers Im aware of report C. puteana as requiring timber moisture contents well above fibre saturation point (>30% w/w) and most state nearer twice this value for digestion of wood that accords which is also my own observation in the field; for what its worth! Nice photo of fb Tony. Is that on Oak?

I noticed this problem a few times when I tried locking a bowline with a 'Yosemite tie off' in the dim and distant past. I put it down to operator error and reverted to a different tie off method. Recently saw this movie...so maybe it wasnt just me!

Good thread. thanks for posting it. Difflock has made a really important observation. I like Dean's pragmatic 'bounce test' approach. Sounds like a good idea to me. Anyone else do that? There are situations where a 'test' such at that cant be done; e.g. where you're using a boom to gain access over lower obstacles etc. Earlier this year I was using a piece of kit like the one in Dean’s photo. We needed it moved onto an area with a void/basement beneath. Being aware of the very high pressures one foot can generate, I asked the question ‘what ‘s the maximum operational pressure one support can generate when the boom is at full extension’. The operator consulted the plaque on the machine. The info was there in daPa ( deca pascal): which was really helpful …Not! I had to sit down, find the calculator on my mobile phone, play around with 0’s a few times to make sure Id not made the oh- so -easy mistake of putting the decimal point in the wrong place. Anyway the outcome was OK a few factors and on the plus side, it sure made the plant operator think. Next time he was on site with us he’d built some nice beefy timber spreader plates about 1.5 long, designed to not deform under the max pressure from one leg. Down side was each plate weighed about 75kg…

Nice photo of yer girlfriend there Lewia

Andy, you were sweating cus of the 'blanket policy' no doubt.

This simple chart might be useful, Sorry but I cant remember where its from. It gives green 'oak' a s.g. of 1 and you can see it allows for heavier timber. Keeping things like this simple is valuable and what this chart shows nicely is the effect of diameter on volume/mass. ie if d1 = 10 then d2 = 40 (and not 20 which is a mistake Ive seen happen) Log mass charts.pdf

simple and backed-up is my preference.. but what about dem olden days

I dont know anything more about it ...It is associated with beech but I'd thought that it parasitizes fungi rather than the tree roots. It isnt found where the tree is not fungally infected as I understand it (but that's apocrypha)

Yes; I was lucky indeed.

Some fascinating posts on this thread. Thanks Took these shots of Birds Nest Orchids with Beech and Ganoderma in Surrey on Sunday. No chlorophyll; no photosynthesis, hence the colouring of the orchid, which is said to be parasitic. The Beech has had Ganoderma (?) infection for at least a decade as far as I’m aware

Thats OK Nipski but some folk will take a fence at that

just what I thought at that point. I guess that's why it’s 'dangerous'! Lol Nicely shot, self- aggrandizing cheese

Looks sort of OK to me. Could the eye on your climbing line be fouling the hitch when loaded? To test that possibility, try separating the legs of the climbing line for the purposes of experiment at ground-level. Maybe try clipping the return leg to the upper eye on the pulley If that doesn’t make the difference, try a different hitch knot. However, what you have there should be working for you. How much is it slipping? think Jules has probabbly put his finger on it though.