tree-fancier123

the knots you can learn with a bit of rope and the knot guide from the menu on arbtalk, bowline, blakes hitch, anchor hitch, prussik, to get started

Ground Anchor,Tirfor/Winch Anchor, Ex Army Unused | eBay I copied this design, went to steel fabricators got 4 foot length 3" by 1/4" angle bar and asked them to burn a 25mm ish hole about 2 inches in the centre from one end for steel carabiner, shackle etc. Was about £15 for angle bar and got 10 road pins, drilled 13mm holes for road pins

If you've left Facebook, and feel a void I recommend DIYnot.com forums. Drilled through the electrics putting shelves up - helpful people there soon had me delving into the consumer unit, self amalgamating tape, the works. Or go retro and get a CB radio

other end of the climbing rope AND the lanyard, I will practice like that when I see a sizeable branch walk with no high anchor, sounds like spaghetti but ok for a paranoid novice like me. Some of the tips people get out on, don't know how they've got the bottle.

If it is £1k plus, would be interesting to see what an engineering firm would charge to make one, if they could do it.

sure - I was just thinking what it would be like if he went to re - position the lanyard and slipped with only the climbing line holding, not saying he wasn't working safe, just sometimes when the climbers are a long way out and the anchor is more horizontal than vertical it looks a bit hairy

looks like he'd have taken quite a swing if it went wrong

obviously it blunts the chains, but what methods did you use to cut the beech trunk once you discovered the metal? I mean does it involve making a gob cut and getting an angle grinder in there, or what? I can imagine,not just barbed wire fencing, but even old larger diameter railings and all sorts from a hundred or more years ago, completely enveloped A quote should be firm I believe - an estimate ok room for maneuver - if you work out the frequency of these events and have developed a grasp of which trees could be dodgy maybe add a clause just on some quotes, otherwise customers may feel they're leaving themselves wide open metal detector?

The Vondelpark looks a nice space for the city dwellers to get away from the concrete jungle. This book came out before your reference, saw it a while back and thought they could do with this stuff around all the city street trees, quite expensive research needed still, as you've alluded to, but the cost of sorting out dead and dying trees is also a burden on the taxpayer. [ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pavements-Integrative-Studies-Management-Development/dp/0849326702/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451757261&sr=8-2&keywords=porous+pavements]Porous Pavements (Integrative Studies in Water Management and Land Development): Amazon.co.uk: Bruce K. Ferguson: 9780849326707: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VtKL1dufL.@@AMEPARAM@@51VtKL1dufL[/ame]

Maybe an extra carabiner - one for prussik to lanyard, one end of lanyard, one spliced eye and one prussik to main line Your course is quite soon - get the tree climbers companion book, a helmet and some waterproofs and give it a blast low and slow, plenty of people pass those courses without ever going up a rope before, but it would still help If you've got any junk to sell for cash, buy a CT foot ascender too.

heavy timber there - l bet those ally pintos did take a hammering, maybe there is something in steel big tree, looked scary, good song

Agree - important to know how to tie the traditional 3 knot with Blake's for the climbing test, but prussik loop and 2 carabiners is much better than having to untie when advancing the anchor point.

If it's only a foot every year on something that size I would have been tempted to wipe a (sharp) long reach hedgecutter over it. I've seen a serviceberry tree about the same size managed like that, looks ok.

not being rude, but if you think you'd be doing something so much more appropriate could you at least provide some description and instructions. Maybe even re upload the photo with your suggested pruning. All you've really said is 'my work is much better than yours, but I'm not going into details'

here's one for 500, even if it needs a few repairs down the line, I expect it's good for at least 5 more years Honda HRH 536 Lawnmower | eBay

The Honda HRH 536 hydrostatic four wheel mowers have become my main mowers, I've got a 7 series Viking, but not the newer hydrostatic one it's better at collection on a dewy morning, but the Hondas I use most of the time, because they do the job without needing repairs. Anything hydrostatic is good I reckon, the HRH536 aren't cheap at £1400, but £600 would buy a secondhand one

cool, thanks for the input guys, like the idea of the rigging hub, or even a large ring, handy if you haven't got 100m rope

nice diagram - I guess half a ton pulling sideways at the top of a tree is a fair amount of leverage at the rootplate, but obviously not too much or no one would use highlines. I can see now that pulling the two trees together with the tirfor on the highline may be a bit much, unless each tree was guyed at 180 to the highline, by which time it would be getting dark

thanks, pity about the overloading thing, was thinking about situations where there are neighbouring trees, but not much higher than the intended work position

I haven't yet set one up, but was wondering could it be tensioned with a smaller tirfor style winch using a bowline on a bight, or similar. I can of course go into the woods on a rec climb and just experiment, but am first asking for ideas about 1.sensible minimum thickness of stem at the fork, probably species dependent 2 how much sag there is, I know there are variables, say if the line was at 60' and trees 100' apart - climber in centre nearly on ground due to sag or suspended at 50'? 3 Using a small tirfor in the way described I was asking because obviously the line wants to be tight, but could tensioning it snap rope, tree top, or even start to lift the root plates. I guess the root plates and tree tops are more a consideration than the rope, if money were no object (apart from 80k for a tracked mewp) the rope could be tensioned using one of those load cell gadgets to keep tension way under the ropes SWL The people who have posted high line stuff don't seem to have any dramas, but just thought the tirfor idea may allow a bit extra tension. If I do have a go at setting one up 14mm sirius bull rope and a hitchclimber is all I have currently. I guess the 14mm rope can be pulled pretty tight if the trees can take it?

those pollards in Mick's original picture do have a charm about them, the knuckles are pleasing to look at.

not up on all that, heard about it with Aspen, will have a read

And a proposed list of street trees from Best Trees to Plant on Your Street and Sidewalk Acer campestre 'Queen Elizabeth' - Hedge Maple Hedge maple tolerates urban conditions with no serious pests or disease problems. Acer campestre also tolerates dry soil, compaction and air pollutants. The small stature and vigorous growth of hedge maple makes this an excellent street tree for residential areas, or perhaps in downtown urban sites. However, it grows a little too tall for planting beneath some power lines. It is also suitable as a patio or yard shade tree because it stays small and creates dense shade. • Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' - European Hornbeam The smooth, grey, rippling bark of Carpinus betulus shields the extremely hard, strong wood. Fastigiata European hornbeam, the most common hornbeam cultivar sold, grows 30 to 40 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. A very densely-foliated, columnar or oval-shaped tree making it ideal for use as a hedge, screen, or windbreak. The European hornbeam is usually preferred over American hornbeam as it grows faster with a uniform shape. • Ginkgo biloba 'Princeton Sentry' - Princeton Sentry Maidenhair Tree Ginkgo or maidenhair tree thrives in a wide range of soils, tolerant of urban stresses, beautiful fall color. Only fruitless males should be selected. 'Princeton Sentry' is a narrow, columnar, male form excellent for street planting. This male cultivar of Ginkgo is practically pest-free, resistant to storm damage, and casts light shade due to the narrow crown. The tree is easily transplanted and has a vivid yellow fall color which is second to none in brilliance, even in the south. • Gleditsia tricanthos var. inermis 'Shademaster' - Thornless Honeylocust Shademaster is an excellent fast growing street tree with essentially no fruit, dark green leaves. Many horticulturists consider this to be one of the best cultivars of North America's honeylocust. Since Thornless Honeylocust is also one of the last trees to leaf out in springtime and one of the first to lose its leaves in fall, it is one of the few trees well-suited for growing a lawn beneath it. The tiny leaflets turn golden yellow in fall before dropping and are so small they easily vanish into the grass below, without any raking being necessary. • Pyrus calleyana 'Aristocrat' - Aristocrat Callery Pear The Aristocrat's superior structure compared to Pyrus calleyana 'Bradford' makes it less susceptible to wind breakage, also requires less pruning. Tolerates pollution and drought, abundant white blossoms appear in early spring. In spring before the new leaves unfold, the tree puts on a brilliant display of pure white flowers which, unfortunately, do not have a pleasant fragrance. Pyrus calleyana 'Aristocrat' - Aristocrat Callery Pear has been chosen "Urban Tree of the Year" as determined by responses to an annual survey in arborist magazine City Trees. This magazine serves as the official Journal to The Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) and readers select a new tree each year. • Quercus macrocarpa - Bur Oak Bur Oak is a large, durable tree tolerant of urban stresses and also of poor soils, will adapt to acid or alkaline soil, suitable for parks, golf courses, and wherever adequate growing space is available. This beautiful but huge tree should only be planted with plenty of space. Quercus macrocarpa or Bur Oak has been chosen an "Urban Tree of the Year" as determined by responses to an annual survey in arborist magazine City Trees. This magazine serves as the official Journal to The Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) and readers select a new tree each year. • Taxodium distichum 'Shawnee Brave' - Shawnee Brave Baldcypress Although baldcypress is native to wetlands along running streams, growth is often faster on moist, welldrained soil. 'Shawnee Brave' A tall, narrow form reaching 60 feet high and only 15 to 18 feet wide. Has excellent possibilities as a street tree. Baldcypress has been chosen "Urban Tree of the Year" as determined by responses to an annual survey in arborist magazine City Trees. This magazine serves as the official Journal to The Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) and readers select a new tree each year. • Tilia Cordata - Littleleaf Linden Littleleaf linden is selected for its vigor and improved branching habit, tolerable of a wide range of soils but somewhat sensitive to drought and salt, good specimen tree and suitable for areas where adequate root space is available. Architects enjoy using the tree due to its predictably symmetrical shape. Littleleaf Linden is a prolific bloomer, the small, fragrant flowers appearing in late June and into July. Many bees are attracted to the flowers, and the dried flowers persist on the tree for some time. • Ulmus parvifolia 'Drake - 'Drake' Chinese (Lacebark) Elm Chinese Elm is an excellent tree that is surprisingly under-used and possesses many traits which make it ideal for a multitude of landscape uses. Lacebark elm makes a fast-growing and nearly evergreen tree as leaves tend to stay on. Lacebark elm extremely tolerant of urban stress and resistant to Dutch elm Disease (DED). The elm thrives under drought conditions, and will adopt to alkaline soil, relatively free of pests and diseases. • Zelkova serrata - Japanese Zelkova Zelkova is a fast growing, graceful tree suitable as a replacement for American Elms, tolerant of urban conditions, under extreme conditions splitting can occur at the crotch because of the narrow angle, resistant to DED. The cultivar 'Green Vase' is an excellent selection. Zelkova has a moderate growth rate and likes a sunny exposure. Branches are more numerous and smaller in diameter than American Elm. Leaves are 1.5 to 4 inches long, turning a brilliant yellow, orange, or burnt umber in the fall. Best suited for a place with plenty of room and space. Some of these would still obviously give cutters plenty of work

Ginko may have advantages, and some with autumn colours would be a treat for the cities, not sure how well they stand up to pollution e.g liquid ambar

I have Rope Wrench and Bulldog Bone, not a full time climber, mostly gardening, but getting into it. For a full time climber I don't see even 4 or 5k in climbing gear as a massive investment. For the sake of a few hundred quid if you can save a strain injury, or increase productivity. Since getting the bone, I haven't used the Wrench. It does work well, but the bone is more compact - only one thing to connect and no hitch to wear out.