JBH

Mick, I think Paul Elcoat has hacked your account. No, I respect that. In the immortal words of one of the company owners I work for. “**************** with my PPE, I’ll **************** with you!”

I do this to lads on drt. Especially if I can tie it off and there is a big shot to pelt them with stuff while they’re trapped. I thought it was a perk of the job?

The healthiest trees are the ones that no one touches. You could have the crown reduced, not as harshly as the red line. Just some nice small cuts with a handsaw to pull the elongated leaders in. If you ask for a pollard you’ll get a shock. The tree looks well sheltered by more mature surrounding trees, hence why it has leaned out in search of light. They’ll provide a partial baffle in storms. If you have just moved in, I would suggest living with any trees for a year and then seeing how you feel about them in 2026. Too many people rush into tree work at a new home, lumping it like it is redecorating. Unless it is in imminent risk of collapse it deserves this time if only out of respect for the tree.

We all saw Mick post about the Holly Stump first, don’t go profiteering off of his intellectual property

God I hate arb equipment music

Anyone ever used one of these? https://youtu.be/uy2HiJqxOVA?feature=shared

Yep, and even they’ve reduced climbing stock over the years. That’s why I’d go with smaller consumables, if anything at all. Maybe there is a market for a travelling kit shop that swings into a remote locality at the weekend and lures tree workers out with beer and anodised metal

Chelford Farm Supplies has a little wall of climbing bits to mooch over while they hunt down saw parts in the back. A slightly larger version of what your man is on about. I can imagine the smaller purchases like consumables and things that get lost on site will be the safest gateway. Save the big 5-10 year purchases ( Harness, Hanks of Rope, spikes) for big retailers. I can imagine they rely heavily on local arb college students to shift those dust collectors at a descent enough turnover.

I have had cyclists attempt to walk through the canopy of felled trees before they’ve been sned and settled. We had a guy today complaining that a detour hadn’t been sign posted for him on an official closed national parks trail. People seem very distracted and/or entitled to walk directly into a work site. That or they presume that the signs have been left out by accident. I console myself with the thought that these people will be the easiest to hunt in the end days…

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away“ That being said… A fixed bollard like the RC ones or GRCS might be a good investment. Always been tempted by the safebloc If it peaks your interest then you may as well try it, if only to alleviate the monotony of making big sticks into smaller sticks

Are companies generating bot accounts to harvest obscure and nuanced industry opinions on here?

Your hands will get tougher. Gloves will help. Try extending the hitch climber away from the bridge with a sling, that might improve ergonomics for you and self tends the system. When holding tension and feeding slack through the pulley maintain a straight arm to conserve energy as you would on a hold rock climbing. Use a foot ascender or learn how to footlock. Learn to climb srt, if only for ascending. Buy a thicker rope. Most importantly, climb the tree not the rope.

Is Russ Colledge still doing bits? Might be worth giving him a call.

I had a 8-10mm 25m length of polysteel that I'd use as a climbing system retrieval line. Since it was with me in the tree I'd rig bits off themselves with it - either taking wraps or using a fig 8. It was useful to have when pruning and wanting to control things. I can see the benefit of having a smaller diameter rigging line instead of dragging a big dirty rope around a reduction in a tight space.

Petzl lid will do and you'll need the chin strap for your climbing tickets. You can get the mesh goggles if you prefer. A cheap rope with ladder and/or throwline to tie in for assisting with felling, it'll give you more confidence in a domestic setting than just wedging stuff over. Arbsurplus have some cheap lengths of shorted rigging line for this purpose. Once you've got your CS38, I would advise having a freelance climber in to help the company on jobs. It'll help you understand and experience some of the intricacies of tree work while you build your own skill. This is a truism for climbers and productivity: 1st year they cost the company money 2nd year they break even 3rd year they make money for the company By year 5 with a fulltime arb company you'll have experienced most aspects of tree work.