Adam Bourne

Awful................

where in the east midlands are you Dom? welcome to the forum.......

Quality first post.............:lol:

I'll be buying the New t540 with out a doubt, the 201 IMO are crap, i know Husky have put this saw off from being released and they have done it for a reason. i've seen one in the flesh and even handled it against the 201 and the 540 feels great......husky have gone through all the minor and major problems they had when they where first going to release it and my guess would be they have dissected the 201 down to every nut and pulley cord to make sure they get it right this time. They need this saw to work they know another climbing saw flop from them will not go down well and cant keep loosing money on this side of the industry.

its a good job your here Rupe, it completely skipped my mind......

Yes sorry Rupe well pointed out...... will get a picture up illustrating what you have just said.....my bad..

Balancing..... One of the most advanced ways to remove a branch or piece of timber and can be as simple as using just the rope which takes a considerable amount of experience to judge where the balancing point will be in each branch, or more gear and easier to to create a balancing point. reasons behind this technique would be to ensure that the butt or tips don't go down first for an example there might not enough room from branch to ground or an object or building to butt tie, once the branch has been cut and is floating on the anchor point then a pre installed tag line can manoeuvre the limb away from an obstacle. here are a few photos showing balanced limbs with the use of just a rope, 2 slings and both 2 slings and a Yale spiderleg balancer.... I've used 2 slings in one photo this stops the branch twisting/turning round when there is a fork in the balance point. Picture 4 the Yale spider leg Balancer. Picture 5 the Spiderleg in action......you can use several of these at a time ensuring no role on the limb being removed, although they take a bit extra time to sort out getting the balancing point is relatively easy with these as it does not matter if the tip ties are slightly out note how much further away the slings are on this photo to the original sling balance photo. being that far from the Balance point would make it butt heavy, the spider leg taking the wait means you will almost certainly hit the balance point every time.

Tip Tieing......... There are a few reasons why this technique would be used, the most obvious would be for making the sure the butt end goes towards the ground first, this way being easier to control and placed on the floor. some trees have vertical stem growth and tip tieing from a rigging point above is more efficient and safer this way taking out shock loads on the system. if you have a lateral limb that is weighted towards the tips, then tip tieing will then allow your ground worker to pull down on the rigging line tieing it of on the lowering device effectively tensioning and taking out the weight of the tips making it easier to place with your cuts with out it breaking of to soon or getting the saw trapped.also this allows you to swing the branch from an object or building. this technique is hard to describe pictorially so will demonstrate in a video. This way i can show the cuts and the reaction of the timber of branch. again making sure that the climber is in a position to avoid being hit by the swinging branch. picture of a tip tie being lowered using only the rope and 2 slings.

Butt tieing, Tip Tieing, and Balancing......... In the next few posts i'll go through tieing of the branch or wood being lowered by using the above i will also give a few reasons why each one would be used in a given situation. first of some of these techniques being shown will require certain Cuts of the timber to make them work right and get the timber to do what you want it to do. once i've explained in simple terms i'm hopping to put a video together of a take down using some of the techniques shown through out the thread and hopefully explain a little more on different Cuts and where to use them. but this may take a while as the video is still incomplete. Butt Tieing......... The most common of all lowering is to just simply tie the rope to the butt end of the branch you are cutting, allowing the branch to fall brash/tip end first. making sure that the climber is positioned so that he/she does not come in contact with the rigging line or is a place to be hit buy the butt end. getting into cuts a little later but most cuts involve either a step cut, or a felling cut facing downward again different tree species and different weighted timber will react in different ways. In Picture 1 there is a simple butt tie with the use of a hitch Picture 2 and 3 is a butt tie using a sling, i find this way quicker as if you have several slings you can tie a few limbs whilst waiting to get the rope back from the ground. so when you receive the rope back, simply attach another sling and cut....

Awesome use of faces andy.....

All the best on the family issue mate.... What are you instructing at the moment? will you be doing the same back in the uk?. I think rigging has its place but if i went months on end without doing any it wouldn't bother me, but does not mean i wouldn't stay in tuned with whats new, being enthusiastic about it (i like to call it my hobbie:sneaky2:) helps me take my XP to another level this way i can share with others even if some of it is dribble... i've taught a few climbers in the past but never concentrated on rigging just mainly climbing. getting to be a rigging and climber instructor i'm told is hard but i think it would be worth it...and its something i've always wanted to do....

No i'm not an instructor mate but was kinda hoping to go down that road soon. its always hard making a post pictorially and trying to make it easy to understand, so everytime i always look just to make sure if i was learning would i understand it??. it's so much easier being shown practically as you may well know. giving an insight in to rigging this way allows me and others to show how simple rigging techniques can be used, being a guide also allows us to adapt and show advanced techniques and/or share views and experiences and how to cope with certain scenarios, i love rigging and learning new things about the subject is never ending, and the thing i love most about it is, it can be as simple as you want it to be or as advanced and gear intensive as it should be....

I just realised i missed something out on my last post on multiple pulleys and load sharing, here is rupe's thread on the whole beech tree takedown from the video demo of setting out the pulleys, it explains a lot more about whats going on.......sorry rupe..... http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/rigging-roping/13170-beech-take-down-2010-a.html

Its not that we don't want to talk about it mate, its just one of those subjects that crop up all the time, there are loads of threads on what harness and pretty much all them will say try on before you buy, i have a skylotec and for lower back support i think its great, loads of freedom also, but as slack has said already it maybe the case of what is comfy to me may not be for you. what arb shops are close to you, i would really recommend you try some out first mate......

Thanks Kingofthering glad i'm helping out. i'm going to do some more today and will cover, butt tieing, tip tieing, balancing and the introduction of the slings, Karabinas and a spidersling balancer. Gibbon is getting some photos of tip tie lifting for me so we can show the real benifits of a pulley and tip ties together....... until then hope you enjoy the rest.

stunning photos rob.... looked like a fun job alex nice one:thumbup1:

here you go mate... 1. Determination of the bracing requirements in case of concretely visible danger. 2. Avoid overdimensioning which would cause increased stress due to a system that is too rigid. 3. Install dynamic breaking-bracing at at least 2/3 of the stem height and as horizontally as possible. 4. In case of long bracing distances of 8 m or more, don't install a shock absorber. 5. Install dynamic crown bracing systems without tension and slack during the summer. In the winter, the connection shall slightly slack so as to avoid permanent load in the summer. 6. Install static breaking-bracing at at least 2/3 of the stem height and as horizontally as possible. Decide in every individual case whether the bracing shall be combined with a dynamic system and/or installed at 2 levels. In such case, the lower level is installed at 1/3 of the stem height. 7. Install static load/support-bracing as vertically as possible and without shock absorber. 8. Never connect stems facing in the same direction with one another. 9. Only one load direction per slinging-around. 10. Any abrasion, cutting-in and slipping must be permanently avoided.

Using hardware is always going to make it hard keeping the rope as the weakest link. instead of using binas just use knots or hitches work better, there are lowering devices out there that will take a lot more than standard capstans or porta wraps but keeping 16mm double estalon the weakest link is always going to be a task, what size deadeye have you got? sorry my bad you don't have one but bob has answered that anyway,

Good post Rupe.... Haha, I'm going to do a bit of cheating here as Rupe has given one of his videos to use demonstrating how load sharing pulleys are set out, There are several reason's for doing this, couple of the main reasons are adding more rope to any system helps function to reduce shock loads and dynamic forces, spreading anchors around the tree this way helps spread the loads taken by the main anchor and share it around the tree reducing the load from one spot. also as already stated the final anchor in the system can be placed away from the main stem creating a better landing zone for the piece being rigged down. open crown trees with multiple stems rely on this more than a single stemmed tree but still can be achieved in both, its just set out different on single stemmed trees but not necessarily need ..... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oevR56p_t5w&feature=plcp]Beech Rigging set up..wmv - YouTube[/ame]

Awesome...... thanks mate...

James have you got a link to the thread as if my memory serves me correct it has a diagram on it which would be usefull to show a highline configuration ....

Thanks rob, if your this way some time i'll take you for a tour of the whole estate there are some wonderful tree's. the Cedar in the photo's is a baby compared to another in the park. what you speak of is a highline anchor where you have a static line level from one tree to another then the pulley and rigging line is able to float between the 2 trees, i think James hoddy did a post on this a while back but i think he used it to anchor him self rather than the rigging system. let me see if i can't go find a link for you..... Glad you like the thread though mate....

Now where Adding hardware the tree is your Oyster....... Redirects using pulleys allows you to spread loads and reduce forces on the main anchor point. one of the main uses for a redirect anchor is to control where the branch being removed is going to land or to guide away from an object, other forces using redirect should be considered but keeping wood small will help reduce these risk's. There are many ways to attach a redirect into the tree, one of the proffered methods myself is to use a small adjustable whoopie sling with a DMM pinto spliced directly to it, minimizing hardware. here i am showing just how versatile redirects are a simple but very affective piece of hardware, i've used a sling and oval bina to attach the pulley but using aluminium binas is not really recommended for rigging applications.

Adding pulleys...... Well we've all seen a few post's on damaging the tree by natural crotch, and how much friction it add's to the system, so now we've added a lowering device we need to eliminate the friction and help stop damage by adding a Pulley block, other factors such as reducing wear on the rope and reducing dynamic loading are also other benefits of pulleys. The ISC and the DMM blocks are designed specifically for arborists, but the pulley block itself stems back to industrial work as does most rigging applications in tree work. Attaching the block manually requires a deadeye sling connected to the pulley block, allowing it to be tied anywhere in the tree using hitches such as a timber hitch or cows hitch. (see photo 1 i tied in using a cow hitch then wrapped the loose of the deadeye around the branch to ensure it would not interfere with the rigging system) making sure that the rope is kept clear of any branches ensures a friction free and snag free lowering platform. (see photo 2) Another way of adding a pulley into the tree is buy something called a floating anchor where another rope is use to hold the pulley and rigging line, the rope anchor is then attached to the base of the same tree or one close by. by installing with a throw line This system saves climbing when its not always necessary to climb to the top of the tree or the rigging anchor is in another tree. (see photos 3,

The use of lowering devices and adding Pulleys...... we have already seen a few photos of the adjustable whoopie sling and capstan so will be brief on this one regarding the technical side of things. Working on the basic's a lowering device is just an added piece of hardware that does the same as the wraps around the tree, but taking wraps around the tree has its downfalls, scaring of the tree can be caused if the tree is being retained, no tree is ever the same and getting it right every time would take a lot of practice, time is also a downfall as carrying the rope round the truck every time to lower a branch then returning the rope back again to send it back up to the climber is tedious and time consuming. adding a friction device makes things more productive by taking wraps around the capstan or a bollard creating more control and less wear on your ropes also saving time. A lowering bollard is basically a metal drum on a metal plate fixed to the tree via a ratchet strap, being fixed to the tree this way ensures there is no play/movement on the device, the larger diameter drums give a better bend ratio in the rope, which will minimise strength lost in the rigging line. some bollards are have a much higher SWL to the capstan and portawraps, allowing for heavier loads. Here i have pictures of a loaded capstan and a loaded bollard, the bigger the piece being removed the more wraps are added to the drums on the LD's for added friction, Getting it right takes practice but once you know how many wraps are needed then everything will run smoothly...... Here are a few videos on how to install a similar device as the capstan called a portawrap, also installation guides for the rc3002 bollard by Reg Coates, although the video is aimed at the rc3002 itself, the installing guide should apply to any bollard mounted with a ratchet strap fixing. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFMYllG6BHg]Proper Use of Whoopie Sling with A Portawrap - YouTube[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPdjoPhJbCw&feature=related]Stein RC 3002 Tree Lowering Device - Mounting - YouTube[/ame] Ps I borrowed the capstan pic from gustards web site as i forgot mine when i took the photos.....