# rope question



## nomak (Mar 25, 2012)

Whats a good rope for tieing to a tree to pull it to one way or the other when cutting trees down. I looked at climbing ropes but those are high dollar.. just wanting something I can tie to branches or tops and make sure they go the way I want them to when I have someone down below pulling them the right direction. thanks,,


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## shooterschafer (Mar 25, 2012)

The yellow 3 strand rope from home depot works well.


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## the westspartan (Mar 25, 2012)

nomak said:


> Whats a good rope for tieing to a tree to pull it to one way or the other when cutting trees down. I looked at climbing ropes but those are high dollar.. just wanting something I can tie to branches or tops and make sure they go the way I want them to when I have someone down below pulling them the right direction. thanks,,



I was just about to ask the same question, LOL. I have never used a rope to direct a tree, but a have a couple right next to the house that I will like a little insurance with. I was looking at the bull line ropes from Baileys and figure I'll be spending around $250 on some 9/16th Yale rope. It's a lot of money, but if it's the right stuff to do the job, it's money well spent. I just need to know if it's the right stuff! I believe the working load rating was around 3,000lbs. and the break strength was something like 16,000lbs. Seems like it would do the trick but I figured I would check here first.


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## Tree Pig (Mar 25, 2012)

nomak said:


> Whats a good rope for tieing to a tree to pull it to one way or the other when cutting trees down. I looked at climbing ropes but those are high dollar.. just wanting something I can tie to branches or tops and make sure they go the way I want them to when I have someone down below pulling them the right direction. thanks,,





shooterschafer said:


> The yellow 3 strand rope from home depot works well.




Holly #### you didnt just say that did you... Nomak stay away from any of that rope. If your looking to pull anything of size and your using rope to direct the tree for safety then as a bare minimum get a decent 3 strand rigging rope. Go to wesspur and check out the clearance rope this morning they had 100' of polydine 1/2 " for like $60. Nothing like a large tree falling on your house when it sits back then falls the wrong way when your Home Depot rope snaps when you try pulling a 10,000 tree with crap rope.


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## the westspartan (Mar 25, 2012)

Stihl-O-Matic said:


> Holly #### you didnt just say that did you... Nomak stay away from any of that rope. If your looking to pull anything of size and your using rope to direct the tree for safety then as a bare minimum get a decent 3 strand rigging rope. Go to wesspur and check out the clearance rope this morning they had 100' of polydine 1/2 " for like $60. Nothing like a large tree falling on your house when it sits back then falls the wrong way when your Home Depot rope snaps when you try pulling a 10,000 tree with crap rope.



Is the bull line rope that I am talking about above sufficient? What is the difference between rigging rope and bull line? I have been reading the specs but I don't fully understand it.


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## Tree Pig (Mar 25, 2012)

the westspartan said:


> Is the bull line rope that I am talking about above sufficient? What is the difference between rigging rope and bull line? I have been reading the specs but I don't fully understand it.



Of course it depends on the size of the tree and how much of its weight your going to have to pull. In other words if its a straight tree and your just using the rope to get the tree started and make sure it does not going the wrong way thats one thing. But if you have the same tree that has a back lean and your going to be pulling the tree up straight then over thats a whole other story. But with that said a 9/16 rigging/bull line with a 16000lb breaking strength should work on a most of the average yard trees just fine.

It also has a lot to do with where you put the rope and how you pull it.


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## shooterschafer (Mar 25, 2012)

Ok I recommended a cheap rope for branches and tops , nothing of great size , if your pulling large trees over I would go with what stihlomatic recomended, or just use a winch! The yellow rope has its limitaions just keep that in mind, I have seen them snap when roping down larger pieces, for small stuff it works fine if your on a buget.


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## bayard (Mar 25, 2012)

*3/4 or 1 inch*

why fool around .a good 3 strand 3/4 or 1 inch is way safer.if you use it 10 times it paid for its self.k


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## tree md (Mar 25, 2012)

Depends on the situation. Small trees without a serious back lean I'll usually use a retired half inch climbing line. For larger trees I will go to either my 5/8 or 3/4 bull line. If I am dropping a 36" 100'+ diameter tree I am going to use the longest, heaviest line in my arsenal. I like using my 200' 5/8 bull line on trees like that... On large diameter spars I like to use my shorter 3/4" bull line. Especially if I am going to put a MA on it... You do know what a MA is right???

The heavier and longer your line is the more leverage you are going to be able to get...

If I am throwing a pulley or two into the equation to pull something heavy over with a lean I will use my 3/4" bull line. Maybe something like this:


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## VA-Sawyer (Mar 25, 2012)

Wow tree md........did you measure twice and cut once on that one? Looks like a tight fit from the photos.
Rick


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## tree md (Mar 25, 2012)

Lol, here's the stump:

















We even had some lines to make it a fun deal...


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## Tree Pig (Mar 25, 2012)

tree md said:


> Depends on the situation. Small trees without a serious back lean I'll usually use a retired half inch climbing line. For larger trees I will go to either my 5/8 or 3/4 bull line. If I am dropping a 36" 100'+ diameter tree I am going to use the longest, heaviest line in my arsenal. I like using my 200' 5/8 bull line on trees like that... On large diameter spars I like to use my shorter 3/4" bull line. Especially if I am going to put a MA on it... You do know what a MA is right???
> 
> The heavier and longer your line is the more leverage you are going to be able to get...
> 
> If I am throwing a pulley or two into the equation to pull something heavy over with a lean I will use my 3/4" bull line. Maybe something like this:



Yeah man thats what I am talking about...












This thing was prolly 70+ foot Chestnut oak with the to top taken off. Close to 40" DBH with the lean pictured above 15-20º out in to the driveway and another 15º up hill but in the wrong direction. As you can see from the after picture there was only about 10-15' between the shed and the driveway. This was pulled over against two leans (both over targets). Two pullies and a 200' 5/8 bull line with me pulling and Bomber cutting. I am not recomending this to the average HO or DIY but with the right tools and a bit of knowledge you can do a lot.

another good one of the size


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## VA-Sawyer (Mar 26, 2012)

the westspartan said:


> Is the bull line rope that I am talking about above sufficient? What is the difference between rigging rope and bull line? I have been reading the specs but I don't fully understand it.



I would say the terms are pretty much interchangable. When I hear " bull rope ", I normally think of a 5/8" or larger rope used for pulling or lowering heavy branches from a tree. A 'rigging rope' is any rope ( including a 1/2" ) used for pulling and lowering branches, but not for Life Support. I only trust my climbing line to hang my heavy backside on.

The Wespur site has a section where they offer odd lengths of rope at pretty fair prices. It changes daily, but can be a good place to find an affordable work rope.
Rick


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## sgreanbeans (Mar 27, 2012)

VA-Sawyer said:


> I would say the terms are pretty much interchangable. When I hear " bull rope ", I normally think of a 5/8" or larger rope used for pulling or lowering heavy branches from a tree. A 'rigging rope' is any rope ( including a 1/2" ) used for pulling and lowering branches, but not for Life Support. I only trust my climbing line to hang my heavy backside on.
> 
> The Wespur site has a section where they offer odd lengths of rope at pretty fair prices. It changes daily, but can be a good place to find an affordable work rope.
> Rick



I have noticed that slang rope names differ a bit from region to region. Bull rope, rigging rope, hand line, heavy line, working line......all the same thing. Tag line, guide line, hand line, pull rope etc. Climbing line, safety line, life line, etc. I use/say bull rope for any rigging, safety and guide. Not so much for me, but for the groundies, just keeping it simple.


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## derwoodii (Mar 28, 2012)

nomak said:


> Whats a good rope for tieing to a tree to pull it to one way or the other when cutting trees down. I looked at climbing ropes but those are high dollar.. just wanting something I can tie to branches or tops and make sure they go the way I want them to when I have someone down below pulling them the right direction. thanks,,




A money saving hint if you can find a local rope mannafactor phone visit ask for the seconds pile.
I,m lucky to have one near me and can often get good 20 - 13mm bull rope or 10 mm tag line very cheap. Once they thrown out a few 100m into the waste dumper so helped my self. It may have a blemish or a NQR section but cut that out and your doing good.

Oh and no I dont used seconds for my life line nup no way 

A visit to the factory floor if you can is amazing how they make work sail or climbing ropes is a bit of engineering magic 

[video=youtube;6TCHI4OFpUY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TCHI4OFpUY[/video]


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## squad143 (Mar 28, 2012)

derwoodii said:


> A visit to the factory floor if you can is amazing how they make work sail or climbing ropes is a bit of engineering magic
> 
> [video=youtube;6TCHI4OFpUY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TCHI4OFpUY[/video]



Amazing.

I love shows like that.


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## Customcuts (Aug 3, 2012)

*5/8ths stable braid*

This leaning hackberry was over hanging a fence, greenhouse & veg. garden.. It was two co dominate leaders that had grown together so I didn't feel comfortable trying to make the felling cut where there was included bark. I made a face cut then plunged to get my hingewood perfect then went down about 6 inches to make the release cut. I had the pull line tied up as high as possible on sound wood then ran thru a pulley redirect and tied to a pickup. I had line pre-tensioned before I made cut and had the driver slowly apply more tension as I cut. Once the cuts were made I signaled for the pull and got out of way. Worked great.....:msp_thumbup: hope this helps. Best of luck and never use hardware store rope for critical situations 


Dying hackberry Fell - YouTube


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