# What was one mistake that you won't do again?



## M.D. Vaden (Oct 18, 2006)

I'll list more, but one mistake I won't make again, is to go out for an estimate with an address, but no phone number.

My wife took a call when I was out, not long ago, and someone asked for an estimate. They left the address, but no phone number.

I went to the property - a bit obscure - near the river by Portland and Lake Oswego, Oregon.

What happened, was that a landscaper or somebody, picked up one of my ads that had just been distributed, and set me up on a wild goose chase.

Now, I will not go and do an estimate unless I know the person, or have a number to call back and verify.


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## Sprig (Oct 18, 2006)

Get married.


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## l2edneck (Oct 18, 2006)

Try to flip a hangar off the primary(hot stick or not)....Lesson learned

-Nick


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## SteveBullman (Oct 19, 2006)

Sprig said:


> Get married.



i'll 2nd, 3rd, and 4th that one


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## PUclimber (Oct 19, 2006)

Work for a boss who doesn't follow ansi standards when it comes to safety. Always look into new things before i try them instead of just looking at new ideas and thinking oh that looks easy even though it's not the proper way or safe.


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## Doctor Dave (Oct 19, 2006)

PUclimber said:



> Work for a boss who doesn't follow ansi standards when it comes to safety. Always look into new things before i try them instead of just looking at new ideas and thinking oh that looks easy even though it's not the proper way or safe.



Took down a fir in pieces with only one wedge in my pocket. I needed the wedge for a 20 ft. middle section that swept in the wrong direction (the top 50 ft. didn't need one). I buried the wedge (later found out I had also angled my back cut just a little below the face) below a big chunk, and I had to climb down (sweating bullets) and felled the last 40 ft. from the base, narrowly missing a garage. Next time I'll bring more wedges (or trust that I'm good enough to miss something by 3 or 4 ft?).


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## OTG BOSTON (Oct 19, 2006)

*one mistake I won't make again*

Believe the homeowner when they say: "I THINK the septic tank is over here ?"


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## John464 (Oct 19, 2006)

cut my leg open and trimmed the meat on a finger. one handing is dangerous and I try my best not to do it anymore. the next time I may not be that lucky


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## l2edneck (Oct 19, 2006)

OTG BOSTON said:


> Believe the homeowner when they say: "I THINK the septic tank is over here ?"




now that is funny:hmm3grin2orange:


no worries,i watched my guy drive truck&chipper rite in one for the same reason.


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## ozy365 (Oct 19, 2006)

A week ago I leaned over the bucket to tie some rigging. Long day...too tired. Couldn't reach the controls so I pulled on the rope to move bucket closer. I got a lot closer after my ribs seperated...no fracture, but still sore.


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## inztrees (Oct 19, 2006)

*.*

work for asplundh where i still work


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## emr (Oct 19, 2006)

go to school for arborculture
then work in arborculture


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## jbw (Oct 19, 2006)

never work for a family owned business, of which, you are not a member.


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## younggun (Oct 19, 2006)

work for a guy who thinks your suposed to aim your face nocth the direction you DON'T want the tree to go!

Edit: forgot to add the list of destruction for the grand totle of fore houres i worked for him:1 truck cab, 1 fence, and 2 telephone lines.


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## Adkpk (Oct 19, 2006)

I don't know, I'm just drawing blanks. But I did like that idea about sending landscapers who put fliers on my jobs on a wild goose chase. Thanks Vaden.


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## M.D. Vaden (Oct 19, 2006)

One time-eating mistake I don't do anymore, that I kicked myself for repeating a few times, was not making sure that all the tools are back. When I'm done, I typically do a count...

2 handsaws
2 chainsaws
2 hand pruners
2 rakes
Etc...

It's always a drag to make that trip back to get a tool. As a small outfit, even the small tools are important expenses.

And I will go back to avoid the second mistake, violating my policy of carrying two of everything.

That includes a spare spring for my Felco handpruners.


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## Manco (Oct 19, 2006)

younggun said:


> work for a guy who thinks your suposed to aim your face nocth the direction you DON'T want the tree to go!


That happens quite often with general public or homeowners. They stand at a safe distance to watch you fell a tree and start heading for cover when you make the first cut of the notch. Had a guy yesterday do the looking up walking backwards thing to get out of the way of my notch:hmm3grin2orange: After they realize its just a notch cut they casually move back to their original position like nothing happened.


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## treeman82 (Oct 19, 2006)

Work for Albanians.


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## treeseer (Oct 19, 2006)

1. Having wine with lunch. That one cost me 7 months of rehab.

2. Faiing to use lanyard while limbwalking = 2 dislocated shouders (didn't learn first time) :monkey:

3. Grabbing dead limb when freeclimbing. Hit ground 1' away from an iron pipe.

I could go on, but


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## smokechase II (Oct 19, 2006)

*Yesterday*

Cutting down a few dead Lodgepole near a historic cabin that has been recently superbly restored.

One was leaning toward the cabin and had three limbs hooking a neighboring live lodgepole.

Thought I could talk it over with a few well place wedges.

Everything came out OK. But I'll never cut a tree like that again without a rope in place. I beat a few wedges to the point where they straightened the tree well but the limbs wouldn't let go.

Hate to have to say this, but you arborist guys are right. Part of the time.


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## treeman82 (Oct 19, 2006)

I just squashed my problem. I kept getting referrals through this one group of Albanian immigrants. Some of them have lots of $$$, but they are all insultingly cheap. So tonight I called up the main guy I get referrals from and told him that "I appreciate the kind gestures, but please don't refer me to anymore of your friends, family, or whomever, because it just never works out."


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## Sprig (Oct 19, 2006)

Smokechase, GAH. That, and maybe go up the tree next to it and cut the hung-up branches off before getting to the job? Absolutely no offense man, that had ta suck and I feel for ya and am glad everything worked out ok, hmmmm, could you post a pic or two of the restored cabin please?


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## smokechase II (Oct 19, 2006)

*cabin photo*

Most of the restoration was 2-5 years ago.

A whole bunch of people were involved.
Volunteers, FS folks replaced the bottom logs, new roof, inmates did the rock work for the chimney. I don't know but would guess that its construction was pre 1930.
Has a very neat one large piece of wood around the sink. Someone did a nice job back in the day by chiseling then sanding a beveled very gentle drain into the sink from the dish drying area.

This photo was taken about the middle of July this year.

The trees in question are not in the photo, but the porch was what I could have hit.

So much for my resolution not to hi jack a thread,
Maybe we need to start a photos of neat cabins thread.


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## Sprig (Oct 19, 2006)

That's a beautiful little cabin, thankyou, a lot of skill and love went into that and it shows well.   

Thanks again!


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## Sunrise Guy (Oct 20, 2006)

I will never go to a job site to start work I've bid on only to find things have changed there since the bid, and then still do the gig for the same dough I bid it at. To explain: I bid a three take-down gig, medium hackberries, at $650. When I got to the site, the homeowner had tilled the yard the trees were in, put in friggin' new grass seed and erected a fairly large storage shed under one of the drop zones! This was maddening. Why the heck couldn't she wait a few days to do this stuff? I bid her a week before I started the job and she rushed out in the interim to do the grass and shed. Make sense to anyone? The job was a muddy, sink-into-the-dirt and get it on my equipment mess, and the shed got in the way of dropping and hauling. What a darn hassle! I should have told her, "Hey, things have changed here. This is not the same site I bid on, therefore I need to change my bid by adding in costs that will reflect the changes." Oh, and did I mention that the "Take down hackberry by the fence," was actually, "Take down hackberry by the other fence that is three times the size of the one by the fence I thought we were talking about," change? Man. I guess I was just not wanting to lose the job so I just decided to grin and bear it. Today I go back to load the brush and wood. I must say that the client was OK. She did give me a pass on part of the bid that included taking down a large limb overhanging a neighbor's yard to partially compensate me for the hassle. If this ever happens again though I'll add on another $200 or so. I am going to put a clause in my bid sheets that address this situation. I suppose some of you already have that.


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## TreemanFJR (Oct 20, 2006)

Sunrise Guy said:


> I will never go to a job site to start work I've bid on only to find things have changed there since the bid, and then still do the gig for the same dough I bid it at. To explain: I bid a three take-down gig, medium hackberries, at $650. When I got to the site, the homeowner had tilled the yard the trees were in, put in friggin' new grass seed and erected a fairly large storage shed under one of the drop zones! This was maddening. Why the heck couldn't she wait a few days to do this stuff? I bid her a week before I started the job and she rushed out in the interim to do the grass and shed. Make sense to anyone? The job was a muddy, sink-into-the-dirt and get it on my equipment mess, and the shed got in the way of dropping and hauling. What a darn hassle! I should have told her, "Hey, things have changed here. This is not the same site I bid on, therefore I need to change my bid by adding in costs that will reflect the changes." Oh, and did I mention that the "Take down hackberry by the fence," was actually, "Take down hackberry by the other fence that is three times the size of the one by the fence I thought we were talking about," change? Man. I guess I was just not wanting to lose the job so I just decided to grin and bear it. Today I go back to load the brush and wood. I must say that the client was OK. She did give me a pass on part of the bid that included taking down a large limb overhanging a neighbor's yard to partially compensate me for the hassle. If this ever happens again though I'll add on another $200 or so. I am going to put a clause in my bid sheets that address this situation. I suppose some of you already have that.




I know the feeling well! We had some trees that had to come down in a backyard and dragged through the fence. Well when we came to do the job there was a new pool right square in the middle of everything!  
We scheduled them for two weeks after the bid and that's what we got! We didn't end up increasing the price, but next time may be a different story.:fart:


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## beowulf343 (Oct 20, 2006)

Never let another climber borrow your saw. I've lost four saws over the years from other guys dropping them. (Sure, I've dropped my fair share, but when I'm using someone else's saw, I try to be extremely careful.)


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## inztrees (Oct 20, 2006)

jbw said:


> never work for a family owned business, of which, you are not a member.


 I hear that!
:angry2:


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## M.D. Vaden (Oct 20, 2006)

Sunrise Guy said:


> I will never go to a job site to start work I've bid on only to find things have changed there since the bid, and then still do the gig for the same dough I bid it at.....



Agreed.

It's happened to me a couple of times, and better than 50% of the time, things get complicated if everything in writing is not set in order first, before starting.

In most cases, when things are squared away, everything works out. Sometimes it's people's good intentions and someone meddles, thinking they are helping out.


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## teamtree (Oct 20, 2006)

*have enough rope in the system when pulling a tree*

tip of the tree landing 10' from the pulling tractor

the tree knocked out a limb in another tree

did not come close to hitting employee

but it opened my eyes to the mistake i made

i was too lazy to add a rope or get a longer one


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## rebelman (Oct 21, 2006)

I'm with 12edneck, stay off the juice. I was bitten once about ten years ago, before that just a couple nibbles. Reached up to grab a super long sucker I had trimmed to jet it down. I was toast if I hadn't vibrated off a stub and broke contact. Never again I hope.


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## smokechase II (Oct 21, 2006)

*oh boy*

You guys are going to love this one.

Concerning having enough rope.

In La Grande Oregon at the smokejumper base there about 1975. We had taken down the old Flat Lake lookout nearby and were re-erecting a 45 foot section to serve as a jumper exit training shock tower etc.

We had put together two opposite sides on the ground.

Using a Bell 212 rappeller helicopter we lifted one side that had a rope tied to the top that went to a FS 6-pak PU. For some reason none of us had ever learned that the hypotenuse side of a right angle triangle is longer than the base leg.

The truck ended up right at a fence and we got away with it without having to set that side of the tower back down and start again. Mark C and I then placed the cross beams, (nuts finger tight to start with), between the two sides as the helicopter held up the second side.
We were very safe in what surely was an OSHA approved operation because we were wearing goggles and hard hats with chin straps.

Concerning staying away from the juice. A couple years later we were on that same tower practicing let downs, (parachutists getting out of tree stuff), when a small thunder storm came over and guess what? The bolt that hit the tower was mostly dispersed into the ground by all the guy wires. Jack W got hit by some remnant of that bolt and said it was like a 110 volt. Jack was our electrical expert as he had shocked himself at home with both 110 and 220 and knew the difference.

Then a decade later a bunch of drunken hotshots got involved with a police officer who wanted them to come down off that tower and a retardant aircraft. Sad story there. A few guys got fired.

So my resolution is to not go near places that are jinxed.

Bad Juju that tower has Young Skywalker.


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## Sizzle-Chest (Oct 21, 2006)

I will try to never take a job that I can't do again. One lady wanted me to directionally fall a very tall fir right through a 4 foot gate in her fence so she wouldn't have to pay for chunking it out. I wasn't sure I could do it, but I needed the money. Well, after smashing her fence and having to buy supplies and repair the fence on my own time, I definately didn't make money on the job. Knowing your limits keeps you safe and keeps you making money.


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## stihlatit (Oct 21, 2006)

OTG BOSTON said:


> Believe the homeowner when they say: "I THINK the septic tank is over here ?"



Did you get into poop.........LOL.


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## John Ellison (Oct 21, 2006)

I had the back half of a 1300 lb. mule dissapear in a plywood covered septic tank. Homeowner didnt know where it was and I didnt have enough sense to pay attencion to the mule. He hopped right out though.
They are pretty good septic tank pointers if you know them.


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## M.D. Vaden (Oct 21, 2006)

It wasn't a mistake on my part as much as ignorance, but I got into a small to medium size white birch once, that was near power lines.

I had heard about power line danger in the past, but thought it referred to cutting or breaking the lines, since most ads on TV showed storm-broken ends popping on the ground.

So this birch was topped years back, and had grown up with multiple leaders from lower limbs. I cut one or two - about 4" in diameter at the base, and maybe 25' long.

One of them leaned onto a small upper electric line, and I didn't realize it. So as I repositioned my feet on the aluminumn orchard ladder, I placed my hand (damp leather glove) over the top of the fresh moist cut I made.

I felt a strange electrical current like putting a tongue on a 9 volt battery on a grander scale. Then I put 2 + 2 together and basically just jumped off the ladder to the ground.

Then I looked up, and the leader top was sparking and smoking against the power line, and actually "fried" and broke off about 2 minutes after the power company truck arrived.

I won't repeat that one again. Apparently, some people couldn't repeat that one if they tried.


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## ROLLACOSTA (Oct 21, 2006)

Beleive I can earn a good living out of tree work,for a start!


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## Blinky (Oct 22, 2006)

It didn't happen to me but years ago I watched a guy clearing residential distribution lines from a bucket... young guy, sort of a hot shot. Against the leadman's suggestion he tried to swing a branch and dropped it instead... a fork caught squarely on the top two lines. You shoulda heard the zapping sound from the huge blue arcs that spread across the lines each time they came close together... about four times. The arcs were spectacular but it's the sound I remember most. It was incredibly loud. 

I'm sure he soiled himself. Nobody got hurt but he was instantly back on ground crew and stayed there as long as I can remember.


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## lync (Oct 26, 2006)

I will never, not even for a second hold a climbing line with my teeth. Fumbled a pair of ascenders and a small coil of rope, the shock load broke my lower jaw and dislocated 3 lower teeth.
Stainless steel wire and soft food for two months taught me a lesson.

Corey


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## John Paul Sanborn (Oct 26, 2006)

lync said:


> I will never, not even for a second hold a climbing line with my teeth. Corey




Wow! that reminds me of the pic/vid posted a while back of the fock climber who was pulling slack and holding it in his teeth.

No safety, slipped off and ripped all the front teeth out of his mouth. 

What i will never do is a risky rig or pull without going over the game plan with all involved. Big tree on house, ~8k in damage, $500 deductible for me.


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## pmuscato (Oct 26, 2006)

Never turn my back on a customers dog after they say: No, he don't BITE.


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## jmack (Oct 27, 2006)

emr said:


> go to school for arborculture
> then work in arborculture


and still spell it wrong


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## Doctor Dave (Oct 30, 2006)

pmuscato said:


> Never turn my back on a customers dog after they say: No, he don't BITE.




After the dog bit you, you said:

"Hey! I thought you said that your dog doesn't bite!"

Customer:

"That is not my dog"

(Thank's to one of the Pink Panther movies)


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## Menchhofer (Oct 30, 2006)

One time only...did not put outriggers down on bucket truck completely on slanted driveway. Went to trim about 45 ft up , truck slid out into the street!

Very scary. The ride in the bucket over the curb was the worse but at least it did not tip over.


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## Climb020 (Oct 30, 2006)

Didn't pay attention to my rigging points as I worked my way down the tree and started rushing the job. 

Had two pulleys set up, one on the tree I was in and another set and a 5" branch on a neighboring tree. I worked the whole tree with no problems. I started chunking down the trunk and was getting a bit anxious to get finished (needed a bathroom brake), so began taking 6' log sections. I was getting farther down the trunk and forgot to move the pulley down on the neighboring tree being the weight was too much and now having two pulleys were almost useless being the angle at the top pulley was about 15 degrees. I cut the next piece and as soon as it was pushed off the spar the top of the neighboring tree broke out. I must have been one lucky SOB. My ground guy though I was a goner. The top passed by just a few feet from me. By the time I knew what was going on every thing was already on the ground. Got real lucky, no property damage either. 

Taught me a good lesson that day. Double check everything, and don't rush cause that is when mistakes happen


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## FSburt (Jan 7, 2007)

Doing a removal of a 70 ft tall Ponderosa Pine growing through 2 decks. Decided to speedline the tree down. Well all was going well until I got to the larger truck pieces. I was losing height and angle but figured i had one more piece I could slide out and down. So I cut the piece and it fell and swung to low and bounced off the lower deck railing. Luckily only busted the top 2x6 rail but scared the beep of me.:jawdrop: All while this was happening the owner was sitting on a lawnchair watching me. He was cool about the thing but It could have been much worse. So i will pay more attention to sag and wood weights when working with speedlines. Loved how it worked with limbs though. Clients grandkids wanted to ride on it when they saw the limbs fly across the yard. I'll send some pics that the client took when I get them. Also will never run directy behind the stump of a falling tree again. I was falling fire killed timber for reforestation purposes and was cutting on a 40" DBH PPine down in a drainage bottom surrounded by mud bog conditions I figured my quickest way out was behind the stump and then turn to the side with firm ground. Well as the tree starts to fall I start escaping the stump and just as I am about to make my turn to the side I look back and bam i get hit dead in the chest with a large dead limb thrown back when the tree brushed a live oak tree in front. I was pretty lucky because the limb was fairly light due to being dead for 2 years if it had been green I would have been killed outright. I just paused for moment and looked up and told the man upstairs thanks for warning about not following what I have been taught.


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## matty f (Jan 7, 2007)

let a groundy on his first day lower a large bit of beach near a 16th century listed flint wall becouse i got impatient with my regular rope guy talking to the client..it would of been ok if the groundy did not have a gay obsesion with trying to melt his gloves by letting the rope run on full swing in to the wall...


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## MarsCrash (Jan 7, 2007)

*Down goes Frazier!*

I was up about 60 feet crown-cleaning a skanky old Norway Maple, and I needed to swing over to another section. I had a 12 oz. throwbag with me to re-set my line, and it got caught in a crotch with included bark. Well, I just pulled really hard so I could re-throw it. It broke free and landed a straight right that Ali would have been proud of. I finished the climb with a broken nose and two missing teeth.

You use your helmet to protect your head, but if you don't use your head then you might as well leave the helmet on the ground.


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