kram

Not quite, I have been shown and supervised this level of rigging by several expereinced arbs. A leafy bendy top of 50kg rather than a solid log, swinging into tension rather than a straight drop negative, a max of 3kn is my estimate. Every peice in the system is rated over 20kn with some redundancy, I had no concern on the gear. It is bigger stuff, that I would be unsure of and wont be attempting anything bigger without doing the course and gaining experience, with better gear. Hence the reason I posted this thread. Theres been plenty of good information by the other posters in this thread, plenty for me to read through. Thanks.

I discarded the snapped cord so cant measure it, anyone know what size I need? I am guessing it is 4.5mm or 5mm. Normal shops only list the part number but I'll be buying a roll of it.

I will admit its more that I do not want to employ anyone, I dont have the experience to become an arb business yet. I will do small jobs that are mostly within my abilities, mostly hedge trimming and small tree pruning. If it turns out to be beyond my ability I will get an experienced arb friend down, which as it turns out, I am doing today. Its about 60" where I wanted to do the felling cut of the pole and having a 28" bar, thought I'd trim the side a little as theres bad access that side, garage and rubbish. Found it to be hollow where I wanted my hinge to be. New plan is to chog it down from rope/ladder/spikes.

Why do you say that? I am listening. I've asked a local arb about mentoring when they get something suitable. I'm looking at ropes and will get one. Thank you for the books I shall have a look. They were previously recommended to me. However at no time of the day did either phone get answered and email got no reply, when I tried before. I assumed they were away, closed down or so busy that they didn't want any more. I shall try again, thanks.

Thanks, I did get it wrong as the attachment end of rope fell the wrong side of the stub but it was away from other gear, no damage but I'd planned it to swing to the left and let it run away from the garage. The extra friction of it being the wrong side, stopped it running. I am somewhat unsure how much weight you can drop on a normal rope or gear before it needs to be better gear. I was estimating that top in the video to be around 30-40kg. Tried to lift it today, and its atleast double. I should probably have lowered it in two peices or climbed higher to cut and chuck. Very true, but it was a customer video and I was working alone. I would have liked help with this job but she was not going to pay the extra and I wanted to do it anyway. Ofcourse that requires extra care, takes longer and ideally more experience. OTOH I have all the time with no one waiting for me. I cant disagree with that however the local Kingswood and Plumpton do not appear to want my money unless I find the three other students for the course and wait a year for an instructor to become available. If its box ticking only, I shall attempt to find somone experienced to mentor me, which I prefer anyway. "Those that can, do. Those that cant, teach" as the saying goes... I do wonder if the arb collages are just like barber shop money laundering fronts... Anyway for cs31 and 38/39 I was already climbing and there was not much learned from the course. I agree and plan to get a proper rigging rope before I do any more. The rope I used was not a retired one, good condition but it was slightly older, 10mm rock climbing rope. I'd still happily jump off some rock attached to it. Thanks

A nice bag of ArbSurplus rope ends, most appear to be around 5m. Pair of saw lanyards, decent quality, made in UK.

Currently I'm only lowering smaller peices, I'd estimate upto 40kg. Todays example using a couple wraps to lower it from in the tree. Two wraps was too much, I was hoping it would run smoother. Ofcourse with a groundie you wouldnt wrap for this size, I should also get proper rigging gear rather than old climbing rope. I do have a steel carabiners though. VID-20251001-WA0019.mp4

I have done a small amount while working with experienced arbs and would like to learn it properly, so will look at getting a cs41 course booked. I'd like to have a good knowledge and some practise before doing the course, and its not likely to be soon. How good is the course, does it cover just the absoute basics, box ticking for employers? Any good online resources or videos?

A French delicacy next to snails, slugs, frogs and the Andouillette..

All this talk of bumper crops, well my cherry was shite this year. I think it had 5 or so small ones. Loads of acorns everywhere, but hardly seen any squirrels. Has the heat killed them off?

Added the pdf below but the basic specs are here I dont like removing lanyards from my climbing saws as I have them girth hitched. While I could use a ground saw, I dont generally bring them just for light snedding. I bought a pair of these, appear to be made in UK and look good. 2 x Chain Saw Bungee Strops Loop Ends And Ring - Label with SWL and ID number | eBay UK WWW.EBAY.CO.UK The webbing is rated at 500kgs and is box stitched unlike many cheaper versions which are "Z" stitched. The small loop is app 2" and the larger loop is... UC030G-PS.pdf

Nope it runs well enough on the 2.5Ah tho I've not taken the 2.5 up a tree or flattened it on the saw, it performs near enough the same with either. My 002 was giving some problems today, repeatedly stalling out on a 10" stem of lime, chain might meed a sharpen or, thinking about it, bits of tool lanyard wrapped around the sprocket 🫣 Usually I clip and tie the lanyard for snedding on the ground, but I didnt tie it the day before, quite irritated about that.

That is interesting! The UC002 is a bit big for light pruning work and that looks more like a 2511 sized. Hopefully they kept all the power and just repackaged it.

Knut hitch is my preference, its more compact than the other common ones, great bite and release of the rope, you can add extra turns if more friction is needed. Spliced E2E is nicer than sewn too. Cant buy them, not at a sensible price. Hitch climber doesnt interest me but there are other ways to do the same thing, useful for going back up if the anchors already set. I used it today just to get photo, you can use a 2mm cord prussiked on the eye/knot side of your rope with the other end on the tails of your friction hitch. Its a bit of a pain for changeovers - I use a mini carabiner so it can be unclipped easily. I dont often use it.

Another one to consider is Camp Tree Access ST, I like it. Treeaustria Pro appears good, no knotted rope bridge, decent Cobra buckles. Single bridge, not sure if you can add a second, I like having two when I'm using multiple ropes. Only dislike is that it has Petzl Ring Open's, or similar, for the bridge attachement, I sort of distrust them.

Only the bottom should be filed, maintaining the curve, the triangular sides and spine should be left as they are. Short is not a problem you just need the correct shape. Only only the first 10mm -20mm goes into the wood., well dependjng on tree and how thick or rotten the bark is. Mine are just right I think. I saw a video some time back, the climber slipped and spiked the inside of his calf. Blunt or sharp, they will still easily go through chainsaw trousers and into a leg. Scares me that does.

I had a short play with wide webbing straps, did not like it, unsure if thin webbing would be any better. I like the idea of a mini ratchet strap, but the small ones would be too bulky. I have some ideas.. File works but unless you unmount the spike from the shank, which is in the way, its a pain. A file only cuts one way and the handle is on the side with no access. I used p240 paper on a flat bit of steel, and a pair of fine diamond files.

I didnt see this and booted it whilst trimming a leylandii hedge, also next to an oak. What was it?

How many of you get your spikes sharpened or do it yourself? From what I've seen, rarely done as the 5+ pairs I used before were all quite blunt.

They had already arrived a couple days before I started the thread. The threads purpose was more to see which fastening type people prefer as I knew I'd want to replace the lower straps. Theres nothing wrong with them once sharpened and new straps. Possibly made in same factory, Notch stuff is all made somewhere in the east.

How are carbon spikes for durability? I'll be honest that if weight was a concern I should loose 30kg first, and I'm not really noticing the added weight. I have the assumption that carbon would be brittle and easily damaged in storage etc ? Comfort around the foot would be nice. If someone made a climbing boot with a steel plate built in, that the spike and calf pad just bolt onto, on the side, without the need for a lower strap, that would pry my wallet open. I see newer models have rubber pads under spike and under boot to make it more gripy, makes sense so I might add some thin rubber to the Vevors.

Interested how it compares with motor in the head. That nob sticking out is going to catch on things, I think.

Had them both with me and remembered to do a video. I've been using both for hedging. Feels similar in capabilty. This was cutting lime. However from the video, the Makita appears twice as quick, likely due to the .325 vs 1/4" chain. Cheapy feels like it has quicker chain speed. VID-20250923-WA0002.mp4 First cuts, Makita 3 vs cheapy 6 seconds. The second Makita cut was a smaller peice than cheapy, but 8 vs 17 seconds, its a lot quicker. The Makita has needed some chain tightening (loosen, unloosen the nut) while the cheapy has needed nothing so far. I'd want to do more testing before I'd recommend either. Today didnt climb with them, just for snedding on the ground.

Only tried them for an hour or so. Now I didnt adjust the shin guard, needs to be higher I think but that didnt cause any comfort issues the pads are comfy. The spikes arrived, as expected, blunt and rounded - consider import stuff a loosely assembled box of parts. So last night I watched a quick YT or two and gave them a quick sharpen. Note that I have a lot of experience sharpening tools bht never done spikes before. Best spikes I've ever used. Being sharp makes so much difference. However I was using the original TPU straps, quickly my feet felt like the top was being squashed and I had to take off. New buckle straps will fix that Im certain.