dadio

YES do give it a try and report back.. This is fast safe and effective, preventing any chance of bar pinch, which can happen a lot of different ways on a leaning tree.. This is particlarly effective on BIG trees, where other methods become very tedious and time consuming. One technicality... the term barber chair does not apply to any split trunk.. it specifically refers to the movement of the trunk , up and back, when a trunk splits and moves like a barber chair. So intentionally leaving a strap of holding wood up top to peel off the trunk is not a barber chair. DId you see the insert of the large ash tree that split up the trunk well after the cutter had walked away. It doesn;t get any safer than that. A little tricky to adjust the amoutn of wood to leave up top though.. You can leave a bit more after the tree is off the stump, as both sides of the cut can fold.. Had some difficulty visualizing the method you described. Would like to see it.. Thanks.

Steve, Yes you can make this cut lower if you feel more comfortable that way. The higher the cut, the more drop you get, which can be important, especially on big trees, that need a lot of drop before the top dislodges. I start with the body of the saw at or below shoulder level (though the bar may be above that). Once the saw has started well into the plunge, I don't mind raising the body a bit higher to set the top holding wood. A bit awkward, and maybe violating the rules in the UK, but certainly not unsafe for an experienced operator. I removed the top, by setting a climbing line in an adjacent tree with the big shot, then spiked up the leaning trunk and carefully cut the top and lower limbs back to just a couple feet of contact with the hickory that it was laying up into. I did use a second tie in point in the hickory, when the initial TIP was getting too low relative to my position.

The way trees hang up in storms is a lot different than when a faller misses the lay. This is a sound and safe method, hope it helps. Used in many storm and hurricanes. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUQ1p2QPdxU]YouTube - widowmaker trip.mov[/ame]

Here'e the latest. 10 Minutes of action.. Hope you all enjoy it! [ame] [/ame]

becasue the bucket was 35' short of the tips, and I didn't want to lower into the beds, especially on that backleaner.. 35' of top slamming down into that maple and pine below it would have been ugly.. Of course I would have notched and dropped it if possible.. no way with the street wires there..

How 'bout that.. 170+ views and not one response.. Dadi has the whole island speechless! C'mon fellas... its only tree work.. You want to see something that should make you speechless, come see the Grand Canyon.. Seriously.. check it out.. it will drop your jaw..

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWlPac0btqA]YouTube - dry oak removal.mov[/ame] This was a much simpler job than the back leaner locust that everyone freaked out about.. One fairly technical cut and a nice drop of the spar... This was actually back to back jobs with that locust. This one just took a bit more editing... More vids coming soon

sure enough it was clapton.. both songs are from the film "the last waltz".. GREAT MUSIC.. Clapton and Van Morrison (two of my heros) were by far the best performners to join the band that night.. Dylan, Neil Young and the rest of the Americans didn't even come close... Morrison took eveyone to the zone.. he's more high priest than musician... I've watched his performance 30 times..

OK, To all the good tree men and women on your side of the pond.. In case you were wondering if I was for real or not.. (There is a lot of speculation that I just keep getting lucky).. Here's a video from June of some serious tree climbing.. no roping. It was 102º F (not sure what that is ºC, but plenty hot) and humid the day I cut the second tree. NOt bad for an old man huh? Watch it full screen if you can and turn it UP! [ame] [/ame]

Thank you Mark.. and Monkey D...

[ame] [/ame] here's an example of a training video..

I won't aswer these questions because they are based on false perceptions.. Who says these are "fetched and risky methods" and that there are " more controlled and safer manner" ways to accomplish the tasks.. We've heard form many here that have said the job was not as difficult as it looked. Maybe they know something you don't.. I don't know you're level of ecperience, but I think its safer to drop trees from the ground, often standing outside the drop zone, than climbing and rigging. On many, if not all of your vids there seems to be a much safer way of getting the tree down REALLY? have you sen the videos? there are presently 26 of them... how many of them have you seen? Here's a link to my channel.. YouTube - murphy4trees's Channel this is the broadest collection of arborist videos on youtube now, showing a wide variety of climbing, rigging and felling techniques, grundwork, etc.. often in great detail, as well as a couple of training videos.. ( subscriptions requested and appreciated).. There is tremendous attention to safety shown, if you know what you are looking at, and can pick up the finer points of the work.. PLEASE use full screen!! Watch them all and see if you still think I dismiss safety etc... Let me know..

I went to a yoga conference recently where a yogi was commenting on the prayer "lead us from unreality to reality".. that is the essence of yoga.. the human condition has been plagued by the stories we make up about who we are and what our relationship to the world is. These stories, which we tell ourselves and which many are so attached to, are completely false, as they result from the limitations of our perceptions (5 senses) and the minute level of our experiences. Our attachment to these faslehoods is the source of all suffering, as the truth of our being is so grand .. So the story that Fiddler tells is based upon limitations of perception, in that he only saw a video, which is very limited in its scope, and in his experience.. What he thinks is foolish and dangerous, may be simple day to day operations for others, as many have mentioned here. Many people on line talk crap.. I don't. Speaking the truth is a code I live by.. Everything in the fiddler's above story is false, every insuation and statement of fact.. (with the possible exception of running through the lay, which I did at a time when the tree had a 60º backlean) I have used up all my patience on the american forums endlessly trying to reasonably explain and educate them... so forgive me if I seem to lack the desire to engage the many questions that many of you are asking..

This video has been greatly misunderstood, and often demonized.. In part due to the mistaken chronology in the editing, which shows the notch being cut after the line is pulled.. The notch is visible in both sequences showing that it and the backcut were made before the tension was put on like that.. The other part of the misunderstanding is that people make up stories based on limited information.. they see some little part of a job in a video and don't think that there might have been a lot more going on than was shown.. and for some reason, many seem to think its the producers obligation to demonstrate the techniques and calculations used to ensure the safety of an operration.. If you look closely there were four line legs coming off the top of the tree.. , one retainer line and two pull lines... one pull line was doubled.. test pulls were made before cutting the notch, two lower limbs had been cut back to prevent limb lock, again they are visible as the tree stands up.. Load limits were kept to 50-60% tensile.. and mcuh more.. you may think it looks like a "hope and a prayer cut", but it was 100% in my mind.. the only variable was the need to make the final cut. Once the piece stood up, I tried to break the hinge with the retainer (right angle) line. When that failed, I stepped in and cut the holding wood to trip the tree into the field, as I didn't want to lay it up into the trees that were being used as ground anchors.. By the time the tree started to stand up there was less force needed to do the pulling, thus ensuring the ropes would not fail, as they had held at much higher applied force. Here's another example of similar wok: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_z9Lkw8sbI]YouTube - backleaners[/ame] In case you all haven't seen this one: another couple back leaners.. the firs twas pulled against the lean to free it of the tree it was tangled up in, with intention that the hinge would fail and the tree to drop harmlessly into the yard, as I didn't want it laying up in the anchor trees, or getting the fence.. the second came up and over the creek, before the hinge failed, at which time it fell maybe 15-20º from the intended lay. This was no problem as it did no damage whatever to the tree it laid up in. I had cleared that contingency with my customer, prior to pricing the work. Might have got that one to the lay, had more care been taken with the direction of pull...