# So ya want to criticize videos eh? Come get some here then!



## Ekka

Seems to be the genre'. Put a video up and get hammered.

I see they're still having a go at 1CallLandscapes video from August 2006. Ya notch is this that and the other bla bla bla. :sword: 

But thing is you dont see to many working day videos from other people but plenty of lip service.






Toward the end have a look at the amount of crap on the neighbours roof. That over here constitutes a private nuisance and is reasonable ground for pruning or removal.

It's a big one at 56mb and 11mins

www.palmtreeservices.com.au/video/pine.wmv

It is a knotless take down of a pine in a tight location, no buckets, no cranes, no BS.


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## 04ultra

Great Video Ekka....



.


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## kkottemann

Ekka,
what kind of sling were you using there? Exactly how was your rigging carabiner attached to the lowering line. I want to adopt that method. I have never seen it before and 90% of the work I do is pine trees. looks like it mover pretty fast.


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## Ekka

Sure mate.

First off the biner is an Omega 72KN

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?...omega+72kn+carabiner&svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&sa=N

Gate opens at an angle so the gate doesn't hit the spine of the biner giving a large opening.

The lowering rope has a spliced eye with protective webbing to stop rubbing. I use 9/16 double braid rated at 6000kg but 5/8 would be fine too and match the biner well.

The loops I prefer and use are 9/16 double braid, get an endless loop spliced and best length is around 1200mm (that's 1200mm long) but I have a large range going right up to 5m.

The sling that held the block to the tree is also a 9/16 double braid loop perhaps 2m long.

The block is rated at 2000kg SWL.

The slings can be prussicked on for smooth timber as well.

Very fast system, fast for the ground guys and you can have multiple slings on you to get cracking instead of waiting. The slings have some weight to them unlike tape and you get handy at flicking them through crotches etc.

Give it a go, you just need to get some-one to splice double braid.

How strong is the sling?

6000kg x 2 = 12000kg minus 10% for splice = 10800kg

In application you take off another 20% for a girth hitch so ...

10800 minus 20% = 8640kg, well above lowering rope and requirements.

You wont go back to knots I assure you.


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## clearance

Pretty cool Ekka, couple of points. 1) how come you rope down almost every branch? You could have cut and held (oh, one handing, I forgot) on to many and thrown them down 2) You went to all that trouble to lower, and then you just sent blocks tumbling down instead of holding them and dropping them flat so they stay when they hit. Pretty well all I climb now is pine, I rig very little, I just let 'er rip, I damage lawns, like I care.


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## Ekka

Is that the best ya gots eh? 

Send in Clarence.


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## JohnH

Great video Ekka !!!!


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## JimL

just curious why you limb walk like you do? 
On the flat limbs i find it alot easier to just hop ontop of them and walk out them. 

only thing I got. 

big rope for those little pieces, i use 1/2" for most everything.


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## Ekka

JimL said:


> just curious why you limb walk like you do?
> On the flat limbs i find it alot easier to just hop ontop of them and walk out them.
> 
> only thing I got.



Yes, I was working the tree from the bottom up, I get to that position first and figure I might as well just pop out there and whack in a sling.

The second one was going up at a 45 degree angle, not a good one to walk up and the spikes help stop you from swinging into the trunk.



JimL said:


> big rope for those little pieces, i use 1/2" for most everything.



Rope was 9/16, didn't know 1.5mm was such a big deal.

NEXT


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## Ed*L

Great video, Ekka!!!!!

That helmet cam rocks!! It makes a really great instructional tool. I'll never need all of the knowledge gained by watching your videos......but I just can't stop... 

Ed


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## JimL

Not a big deal with the 1/2" ropes. You can do alot with 1/2" ropes. I would just soon use 1/2" cause it weighs less but your running yours thru a block so its not near as hard to yard rope around in a tree. Its also cheaper..

I would have walked out the 45 degree lead just as you did, I might not have stopped to cut those dead stubs off though  

Nice video, I need a helmet cam. 

Oh you can have all the pines you want, I hate the filthy stick things.


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## Ekka

Thanks

There's some nice guys too eh.  

I got some great videos off that camera, sure works well and the ground guys can see what we're getting up to.

The pine sap sucks though.


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## sawsong

Ekka said:


> Thanks
> 
> There's some nice guys too eh.
> 
> I got some great videos off that camera, sure works well and the ground guys can see what we're getting up to.
> 
> The pine sap sucks though.



eric dude, too right. videos like these have given me so much insight into why i want to get off the ground and certified as soon as possible. I just downloaded your DRT video as well. I found it tonnes better than any book seeing the techniques in action. unfortunately our climber at work has no time to teach me these things so i have to learn everything by trial and error low and slow.

thanks a million for posting bro. my hard drive is filling up but keep the vids coming :hmm3grin2orange: 

Jim


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## Ekka

Hey Jim

Did you like the way (even when I queued it) the ground guy didn't let that limb down and I stuck my hand out to stop getting clobbered?

I like showing them those bits to.  

That's where good ground guys make a climbers life or break it. Good communication and dialogue, some support like "yep, no worries, it'll be fine, just cut it, I'll swing it in here" etc help immensely. This one here was quite the opposite ... climber feeding it all back to the ground. 

A good ground guy will near steer the climber ... "hey, whack the sling in there and we'll turn her around here" etc, they know the clearances as it wasn't the first piece you cut.

Keep ya ropes untwisted, judge the wraps without being told, when ya blocking the stem making sure your not cutting where a branch was coz you can see the back of the stump etc etc.


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## JimL

yah I saw that coming as soon as it didn't drop. Nice job. 

Couldn't shut the saw off, put it away, yell at the groundy and put your hands up fast enough.


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## clearance

Ekka said:


> Is that the best ya gots eh?
> 
> Send in Clarence.



Yeah, thats about it, like I said pretty cool. You wanted it. I climb a lot of dead pine, my style is a little different, also good groundsman are extemely rare around here.


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## Ekka

Why so many dead pine? Fires?? Beatles??

We only get the odd dead one, usually lightening strike. They lose they're integrity quickly though.


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## Streyken

Good work. Love the helmet cam and your directorial head head movement and editing, so we all get a close look, good job!


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## BC_Logger

clearance said:


> Yeah, thats about it, like I said pretty cool. You wanted it. I climb a lot of dead pine, my style is a little different, also good groundsman are extemely rare around here.





Ekka said:


> Why so many dead pine? Fires?? Beatles??
> 
> We only get the odd dead one, usually lightening strike. They lose they're integrity quickly though.



pine Beatles is right, its an epidemic here in BC


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## BlueRidgeMark

Ekka said:


> Sure mate.
> 
> First off the biner is an Omega 72KN
> 
> ....
> 
> 
> 10800 minus 20% = 8640kg, well above lowering rope and requirements.
> 
> You wont go back to knots I assure you.





So why don't more people use the sling method? Sure looks a lot easier than tying knots...

Just new technique that hasn't gotten out there yet?


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## Ekka

I dunno, ask Thall :hmm3grin2orange:


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## woodfarmer

the only complaint is the music is so loud i couldn't hear your instructions to the groundy, or was that intentional, anyway jimmy barnes/inxs is one awesome song, thats a whole different view from up there


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## BlueRidgeMark

woodfarmer said:


> the only complaint is the music is so loud i couldn't hear your instructions to the groundy,




Yeah, Eric loves his music!


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## Ekka

woodfarmer said:


> the only complaint is the music is so loud i couldn't hear your instructions to the groundy,



Yeah, the groundy cant hear it either I'm sure. :hmm3grin2orange: 

Here's a tip though. A secret for this video

The mic on my helmet is mono and in this video only fed into one speaker. The music is stereo and fed into both. You can alter the balance and bias the LH speaker or RH speaker etc and either have more commentary or more music ... try it. You will have chainsaw and commentary in one speaker and not the other.

However, I sometimes change this though, just depends how I do the sound, sometimes I duplicate the sound track of the recording and drop it in both tracks etc or feed the mic into both LH or RH ... just depends on how patient I am and how eager I am to get the vid out.

But mainly I am slack coz I figure they're only used over the internet, so on helcam videos, try changing your balance to see a difference. :biggrinbounce2: 

But yes, I do like cranked music.


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## treebogan

*Non standard boot laces*

Ekka

I'm pointing out these glaring breaches of safe work practice before Grover does.
I noticed the boot lace on your right boot was almost frayed through 1/8th of its diameter,that could result in C.B.L.F.or Catastrophic Boot Lace Failure.Although few climbers report C.B.L.F,the resulting huge increase in Saw dust entering the boot can have a knock on effect due to the increase in saw dust being deposited on floors and in washing machines around the world,incuring the displeasure on Wives,flatmatesand girlfreinds.
I urge all climbers to inspect their Bootlaces before EVERY climb,so that they too do not become another needless statistic.
Thankyou


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## Ekka

Heck yeah, will old throwline do?


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## treebogan

*boot laces*

Throw line?
I use Horse hair that I plait from the rear of my Cart,oh,I mean chip truck.


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## Ekka

well you're doin well then coz I seen some Euro's using bikes and towing a chipper! That's even worse than a friggin horse!:hmm3grin2orange:


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## martrix

love your vids! 

You are obviously very experienced. I used to climb big pine trees when I was a kid.....but not with a chainsaw.


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## Ekka

I dont mind cutting down those pine trees, pretty easy really, like a palm with branches.

Soft to cut, soft to climb, branches steer well.

Downside is the messy rake up and the sap.

I'd rather be climbing them than groundy'ing them.


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## Boa07

woodfarmer said:


> the only complaint is the music is so loud i couldn't hear your instructions to the groundy,



That can be a good thing, blocks out Ekka swearing at them when the limb hits him as they didn't let in run properly!!

As usual very instructive and entertaining vid Ekka


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## Treeman587

First: Did you use wedges as a backup on your felling cut? What if the Kanga Broke down in mid pull?

Second: Your Groundman need to be better educated, They should see what you are about to do and know what they have to do. If you are hinging a piece around from over the house, they should know to hold and let it hinge. If they dont do it right they should have to cover the damages( I could only wish)

Third: Your sling for lowering appeared to have no ANSI cert tag located on it.

Fourth: AH what the hell, Great Job, Glad to see you not puss out and get a crane or a spider lift or some crap. Pines are a good tree to climb. You might be a lil sticky at the end of the day but you can have some fun. Good Video.


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## Highclimber OR

Ekka, Nice vid and may I say "Nice Job". I do a pine or two and your method is good. Do not understand the no gloves thing as I like to keep my hands surgeonlike especially on those pines. Helmet cam is great and you got some guts to show everyone your operation, is much appreciated. Good on ya.


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## polingspig

Ekka,
I love your vids man!! Thank you.


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## Frank Boyer

*Great Videos*

Ekka
Have you thought of making these into instuctional videos for a larger audience? By adding a second camera and a lot more naration you would have some great "How To" videos for a much less skilled audience. You could do a series on dufferent subjests and really help a lot of people learn what they should be doing. Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.

GREAT WORK!


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## Canyon Angler

Cool video Ekka...you make it look easy to us non-climbers!

I bet that after you finished that job, you were...















(wait for it...)
















COVERED IN SAP! :hmm3grin2orange: :jester:


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## DonnyO

*once again!*

another great vid! You've inspired me to get a video camera. Someone HAS TO!


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## BlueRidgeMark

Canyon Angler said:


> I bet that after you finished that job, you were...
> 
> (wait for it...)
> 
> COVERED IN SAP! :hmm3grin2orange: :jester:





Not funny. Eric is a good guy.


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## Ekka

Ha ha friggin Sap was one of a kind.

I like making video's, I dont get enough trees that make good ones though. 

I'm always on the hunt for a good job to video. What happens is when you take video and pics it never does the job site justice. It's not like being there but it's as close as you'll get, the helmet cam just gets you right where it's at.

Thanks for the good words.


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## tree dude

*pines*

ekka;
beautiful take down,you'll never hear any negative criticism here!
gotta love that pine sap;huh?

tree dude


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## Canyon Angler

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Not funny. Eric is a good guy.



No offense against anybody intended. I've heard the name "Covered in Sap" mentioned a lot on the site and the pine trees made me think of that name. Sorry! I'll shut up now and line up behind Imus for my lynching. :taped:


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## BlueRidgeMark

None taken, I'm sure.

Coveredinsap was a funny name, but a VERY unfunny person. Bad memories for a lotta folks. I think (I _hope_) even his fellow leftists were ashamed of him.

Just too nasty to ever be a joking matter.


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## ray benson

First Rate Video


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## IchWarriorMkII

Excellent video's... Makes me wish I could get out there and watch first hand/ participate a little bit...


I wish I had the nerve, skill, and training to climb trees... let alone do any work in them.


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## begleytree

allright ekka you asked for it ya....$%&$#$%&^%9!!!!!

your videos are too dam big to watch!! I'm on dialup, takes me 1/2 hour per meg. thats 9 hours for that 18meg video. sorry, aint gonna happen Bro!!!
and dont say get high speed. no cable or dsl here and $1K USD is not happening just for internet when I need to build a 12'X60' deck!
-Ralph


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## BlueRidgeMark

begleytree said:


> and dont say get high speed. no cable or dsl here and $1K USD is not happening just for internet when I need to build a 12'X60' deck!
> -Ralph



Wildblue might be an option. Pretty much, if you can see the sky, you can get Wildblue. Not good for gamers, or VPN use, because of the latency, but still, a far cry better than dial up. I need the VPN, so it's not a viable option for me.

Funny, I'm so far out in the boonies that my phone line isn't all that reliable, and power drops out a few times a month.

But I have rock solid 6 megabit cable!  It's had problems twice in two years!

However, since it DID have problems and I found out just how horrible Comcast support is, I've been looking into alternatives. 

Another option in some areas is a local WISP. *W*ireless *I*nternet *S*ervice *P*rovider. I found one in my area that might work, once they get their 900 MHz system installed this summer. I'm buried in trees, so their 2.5 MHz stuff won't be reliable here, but 900 should be fine. Lower frequencies penetrate foliage better. That would give me 2 megabit down, and 2 megabit up. That might be a good tradeoff for me, as I'm limited to 384k uplink now.

Ralph, if you like, PM me your zip code and I'll see if I can find a WISP in your area. I know what to look for, since it's somewhat related to my line of work.


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## begleytree

hmm, the wildblue looks interesting.

wireless? you can try. 45694. my cell phone does not work here at home although the provider says my area is covered. but what do you expect with cingular. fewest dropped calls? sure, you can't make them to begin with!
I have directv, but am not willing to pay $1K for installation for sat internet.
-Ralph


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## BlueRidgeMark

Man! I didn't realize you live so close to me! Only 6 hours away! We're practically nieghbors! 

I've spent about an hour looking for something in your area, and I've struck out. Nada. I think you live too close to Kentucy or something. 


Looks like Wildblue is your only good option.

That, or banning Eric.


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## IchWarriorMkII

2 meg with wireless?

Out of control...


I've got people on a 900mhz that can pull 1 meg pretty good, but if their rssi gets above 65dbm... it starts dropping back down.

What kind of system are they using?


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## BlueRidgeMark

Dunno. And 2 meg is the advertised rate - I'm quite familiar with the difference between that and reality. 

I've had them out to do a site survey, and told them to come see me again when they get their system operative and I'd consider it. They will have to prove it to get my business. If they can really do 2 meg down AND up, it's going to look pretty good. I have to upload big files often enough that the tradeoff from 6 meg down/ 384k up to 2 meg down & up doesn't look too bad.


65 dBm? That's one MIGHTY hot signal! Lessee, that's about 3162 watts. Even at -65 dBm, it's still pretty hot. 

If they start losing performance below -65, something is wrong! They should be rock solid.


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## Ekka

Jeez Ralph, that is time consuming, you must hate big pics too.

The Wildblue looks good. I pay around $60month for an internet connection, I only have 512/512 here an manage but thats 10x faster than 64.

Good luck, I'd be looking for something faster, must be a bugger surfing the net waiting for pages to load then just dump them coz it didn't have the info etc.


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## BlueRidgeMark

Ekka said:


> I pay around $60month for an internet connection, I only have 512/512 here an manage but thats 10x faster than 64.



Oh, it's worse than that, Eric. Dial up in the U.S. is limited to 53k, and you won't see that very often. One house I had was less than a half mile from the telco switching office, and I got above 50k every time. Another place the best I could do was 19.2, and most days was down in the 14s.  

Cable wasn't available, and neither was DSL. And I worked for the phone company! :bang:


I did find a wireless alternative there, and that ran in the 150k range. It seemed pretty nice after that dialup!


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## IchWarriorMkII

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Dunno. And 2 meg is the advertised rate - I'm quite familiar with the difference between that and reality.
> 
> I've had them out to do a site survey, and told them to come see me again when they get their system operative and I'd consider it. They will have to prove it to get my business. If they can really do 2 meg down AND up, it's going to look pretty good. I have to upload big files often enough that the tradeoff from 6 meg down/ 384k up to 2 meg down & up doesn't look too bad.
> 
> 
> 65 dBm? That's one MIGHTY hot signal! Lessee, that's about 3162 watts. Even at -65 dBm, it's still pretty hot.
> 
> If they start losing performance below -65, something is wrong! They should be rock solid.




Fat fingers, I meant -75. But I neglected my - before, just because Im air-headed.

The speeds tend to dwindle, steady but pull in 7-800k.


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## Semi-Hex

Ek, It took me three tries to finish the video. Great job, you seem very careful. Could you not move your head next time? I was getting carsick way too often.


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## BlueRidgeMark

IchWarriorMkII said:


> Fat fingers, I meant -75. But I neglected my - before, just because Im air-headed.



Hmm. -75 is still a good strong signal in my world, which is cellular phones. I can't see why they'd be dropping their rate at that kind of signal level.

Maybe the perils of using unlicensed bands. If they have a competing service, meaning interference, that would explain it.



IchWarriorMkII said:


> The speeds tend to dwindle, steady but pull in 7-800k.




Gah. If all they can deliver is 800k, I won't be switching.  


Well, we'll see. I'm not pulling the plug on my cable until these folks PROVE what they have.


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## cANDYman

*thanks for the videos, new to site,*

I hope to be posting some central n.c. tree removal videos soon. Ive got the software, just have to find the time. I enjoy the videos, mostly to Ekka. think thats what you go by. I have only been in the business a few years, but my friends are very good climbers. I hope to show our skills of in some good videos. We had some storm damage this week and took many trees off houses with pully and zip lines. I used to make videos of my whitewater kayaking and rock climbing adventures, but put them on vhs. Its a whole new area now. I hope to catch up THANKS, Andy, Cut-Right Tree Service


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## Haywire Haywood

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Another option in some areas is a local WISP. *W*ireless *I*nternet *S*ervice *P*rovider. I found one in my area that might work, once they get their 900 MHz system installed this summer. I'm buried in trees, so their 2.5 MHz stuff won't be reliable here, but 900 should be fine. Lower frequencies penetrate foliage better. That would give me 2 megabit down, and 2 megabit up. That might be a good tradeoff for me, as I'm limited to 384k uplink now.



I'm on a wireless connection like that and it's flakey at best. Granted, I am in a fringe area, but there's no online gaming going on here. I recently tried to play BF2 online just to see how fast the teenies can kill me but I get bumped within 30 seconds to so for no packet flow. I can go right back to surfing with no problems so I think it might have the same latency problem you're talking about. The best download speed I've seen so far is about 125Kbytes/sec but it averages about 50-75. It also tends to drop off and just quit working. Sometimes I can just go do something else for 10 minutes and it's working again when I come back, but other times I have to unplug the transmitter from the wall and the nic card, reboot the computer, and plug it all back in while it's booting to get it to come back. If I had access to DSL or Cable, this thing would be a bad memory.

Ian


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## FiftytoOne

ekka, GREAT vid. Really, you could make some good educational videos with that talent. You already know that don't you? Looking for more from ya.


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## treevet

Ekka, really enjoyed your video. Keep it up. Don t have time to read other posts so this may be redundant but I would to hear dialogue w groundy. Music was so good that if you turned it down to hear dialogue the music would suffer. Don t know the answer but can t wait to see more.


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## ckliff

Ekka said:


> Seems to be the genre'. Put a video up and get hammered.
> 
> Hey Ekka, let's be fair about this. Criticism of our videos is invaluable. Of course, I'm not thinking of the goofy ones of non-pros. But if an arbo guy shows his own work, he should look forward to comments in order to improve his own skills. (re: my own first vid which you commented on!)
> 
> Another thought, most arbos are too busy trying to make a buck to even think of making vids. Heck , in my own case it's my two oldest boys who have the interest and equipment to do video.
> 
> I enjoy your vids, you inspire at least some of us to greater accomplishments, and if anyone trolls on your postings - well, just ignore them. The rest of us know better!


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## JoeCanuck

*Haven't been on this forum in a while*

Great video, especially for us non-pros. Really shows the value of rigging skills. "Cut for show - Rig for dough"  

Helmet cam is terrific but I can't let my wife watch. She has severe motion sicknesss and there'd be puke all over my keyboard. Cheers.

Joe


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## newguy18

Ekka said:


> Seems to be the genre'. Put a video up and get hammered.
> 
> I see they're still having a go at 1CallLandscapes video from August 2006. Ya notch is this that and the other bla bla bla. :sword:
> 
> But thing is you dont see to many working day videos from other people but plenty of lip service.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Toward the end have a look at the amount of crap on the neighbours roof. That over here constitutes a private nuisance and is reasonable ground for pruning or removal.
> 
> It's a big one at 56mb and 11mins
> 
> www.palmtreeservices.com.au/video/pine.wmv
> 
> It is a knotless take down of a pine in a tight location, no buckets, no cranes, no BS.



Awesome video EKKA I thought I was the only person to use humboldts regularly when cutting tops out.Its good to see people that actually know what they are doing for a change.


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## Tekko

About 3/4 in, you almost dropped that tree limb on the groundsmen´s heads  You also almost got hit by a tree limb  scary stuff 

Btw how does it feel falling down and have you ever dropped your saw ?


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## clearance

Tekko said:


> About 3/4 in, you almost dropped that tree limb on the groundsmen´s heads  You also almost got hit by a tree limb  scary stuff



C'mon, its pretty good.


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## Ekka

There's not too many climbers around who aren't prepared for the limb etc to get them, mainly caused by groundy not lowering but can also happen when slews tear out and the butt comes spearing back.

Be prepared for it, that's all.

Make sure all people have helmets on and I like high vis so I can see them.


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## Kneejerk Bombas

Your videos are getting better in that there isn't as much useless talk. Some of your first videos were all talk, no action.

This one shows a simple, straight forward take down, and you got it done. Good job.

But since you are asking for criticism, I have a few comments.
It was interesting to see the old school hitch and no fair lead. It takes two hands to advance your rope! Is the lanyard the same way, you need to hands to slack it under pressure? Just curious why you're climbing on such an antiquated system.
I was also wondering why you attached your sling so far out the limb. It seems to be why the one limb came back at you. Had you tied it closer to you it would just drop down under you, or if you need the height and you're out there anyway tying the limb, just cut it out there.
On a note of safety, I like to have the ground crew standing out of the line of swing, so if something goes wrong, they're out of the landing zone. Remember the recent thread about the fatality caused when a roped limb hit the ground man?
It may be my perception because it's a video, but are your saws really dull?


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## treebierd

Ekka, I was wondering why you cant use webbing loop runners instead of the 1/2 inch kermantle slings to girth hitch around the branches. I would think they are strong enough to hold the weight, but is it because they arent as strong as the rope? Any other reasons for the use of rope slings?


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## Ekka

The webbing slings aren't as nice to handle, not as heavy when you flick them.

Mike, my saws are about as dull as your personality.


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## newguy18

Thanks for that video Ekka it saved me from taking a wallop a couple weeks ago.


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## Ekka

I think everyone eventually gets a good wallop, even MB! :greenchainsaw:


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## reachtreeservi

*Love it !*

What saws do you use , ekka? I love your mix of old and new school technique. And of course your choice of music.
What ever you do... Keep the vids coming, please!


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## Ekka

Here's my saw list

ms200T, 250, 440, 460 and 660

Have had experience with Echo, Husky, Shindaiwa but have been Stihl loyal now some 5 years+. Most impressive saw to use I think is the 660, that is a beautiful saw. :greenchainsaw:


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