Dangerous Trees

the Aerialist · Dec 17, 2010

Here's mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1wfCGPNlC0

I'll admit this one scared me. If I could have gotten the crane in there I would have felt better about it. I would have been able to do it cheaper too.

TreEmergencyB · Dec 17, 2010

good job, where abouts in Pittsburgh you at? And you looking for any help over the winter?

lxt · Dec 17, 2010

Climbing that wasnt very smart! we would have had that done in under a 1/2 hour & done much safer!!

all that PPE dont mean squat when the base fails, when you see it happen a time or two you will re-consider climbing something like that!!!

LXT.....................

the Aerialist · Dec 17, 2010

lxt said:
Climbing that wasnt very smart! we would have had that done in under a 1/2 hour & done much safer!!...

Say aren't you the guy that just wrongly accused me of being a "spiker-trimmer"?

I would have loved to have just dropped that tree, and felt much safer too, but there way no way to do it without doing severe damage to the trees around it. I risked my life to avoid that, what have you done lately to save a tree?

If many more jackwagons jump out of this forum at me I'll just have to assume that you all are a tight click of @sses here and I might as well look for a tree forum without such a stockpile of dead wood.

treeman75 · Dec 17, 2010

I would have to agree that tree was not safe to climb! No tree is worth your life! Those sirens I hear in the back ground will be coming to help you if you keep climbing trees like that.

climberjones · Dec 17, 2010

creepy!

Was that a coffee bean i could not hear the audio very well I've taken down many that appeared to be perfect specimens to find they were completely hollow three ft down in the ground to six ft above with absolutely no sign of rot,be cautious of the coffees ...........GOOD LUCK

Juicemang · Dec 18, 2010

You gotta be a crack head man!!! If you don't draw a line and say I won't climb dangerous trees you end up in #### like that... You estimated that the tree could hold your weight... But when you are cutting off some of those bigger branches that puts far more stress on the tree then you climbing around in it...There are always options... bring in a bucket or tow able lift, crane, set a TIP in another tree. Could you have taken out some of the scrub brush behind it or one of the smaller trees to make a drop zone for the whole thing? Crazy man just crazy to climb that what did you make a couple hundo? Was it worth it?? You need to work on your work positioning and saw skills too.

ropensaddle · Dec 18, 2010

Well I suppose this qualified as dangerous of course my worst ones were before owning a cam and being a member here! No cranes here bro.

ropensaddle · Dec 18, 2010

nice

the Aerialist · Dec 18, 2010

Balls bigger than Brains ...

Juicemang said:
... Crazy man just crazy to climb that what did you make a couple hundo? ...

Well I believe I did say it would have been cheaper if I could have got the 30 ton crane in there. I bid that tree @ $1800 without it, I might have charged $1500 with it. I couldn't drop it over the neighbor's property line in back of it, or any other direction without collateral damage or a good chance of a hang up.

It was a danger I could see and judge, unlike some (hollow) that we can't. It was a calculated risk, one which proved doable. Although when I heard the base cracking as I dropped the top I had my doubts about my calculations.

Besides the customer was a hot chick and I was having a testosterone rush :heart:

when I bid the job for her. Here she is at the end of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa6F1q8cD0M

lxt · Dec 18, 2010

Aerial Arborist said:
Say aren't you the guy that just wrongly accused me of being a "spiker-trimmer"?, what have you done lately to save a tree

wrongly accused you? maybe/maybe not!!

is that what you did here,save a tree? LOL, maybe if you get a chance to come to Beaver County......you will get to see what my team & I do, I would think if you ask around.....you will find out who I am & what my skills are in the tree world!!!

LXT..................

lxt · Dec 18, 2010

PA`s.. Premier tree service??????? I wont say anything!! I never fail to be oustounded by this trade & those in it!!!!

LXT............

ctrees4$ · Dec 19, 2010

The scariest thing I saw on the video was your groundie rolling up the rope with his @ss hangin out of his pants! Part of being a pro is looking like one.
Tell that " gangsta " to pull up his %^#@!! PANTS !!

murphy4trees · Dec 19, 2010

That looked like a wild cherry, which can be dead and rotted for years and still remain incredibly strong. Of all the species in Pa., I'd pick wild cherry to for its strength when climbing a compromised tree like that.

Of course we'd all like to take a pass on climbing that ugly tree, but you do what you have to do.. The cracking at the base wouldn't have bothered me either, as much as motion in the tree. If you preset lines, I'd use them for a pull test..

There are cuts that will get the bits to drop without much pull or push on the trunk.. It did look like the tree swayed a bit after one cuts, but not too much... How did it feel? Probably not as bad as it looked..

$1800 for that tree! I'd consider that good money.. for an easy (though sketchy) job... How long have you been climbing? How long did it take you?

the Aerialist · Dec 19, 2010

we're neighbors!

lxt said:
wrongly accused you? maybe/maybe not!!

Wearing gaffs on a tree that stays is it's own topic. Maybe I'll start one.

lxt said:
... maybe if you get a chance to come to Beaver County......you will get to see what my team & I do, I would think if you ask around.....you will find out who I am & what my skills are in the tree world!!!

I'd like to do that. You live right up the road (Rt 60) from me. Maybe after the Holidays, if things slow down by then. I'm working a job in Mt. Lebanon this week. You are invited to come and meet me and see what me and my team do.

I won't insult you by offering you a job like I have one other member here, but what would you charge for a 6 hour climbing day? I sometimes contract out as a climber to other local tree services, but prefer to work my own business.

the Aerialist · Dec 19, 2010

It's ShowBiz!

lxt said:
PA`s.. Premier tree service??????? I wont say anything!! I never fail to be oustounded by this trade & those in it!!!! ...

I have a Marketing background. I'm sure many of you here could give me great climbing tips, but I know I could enlighten many of you on marketing your businesses but that's boring to me. I'd rather talk about climbing and rigging.

the Aerialist · Dec 19, 2010

That my Nephew, the @ss ...

ctrees4$ said:
The scariest thing I saw on the video was your groundie rolling up the rope with his @ss hangin out of his pants! Part of being a pro is looking like one.
Tell that " gangsta " to pull up his %^#@!! PANTS !!

At least he's out of jail now. I had to put up $700 to get him out and now he's under house arrest so I have to call his Parole Officer to get him a window to work, plus pick him up and drop him off.

He's really a sweet boy, in fact we (the Family) call him "John Boy" I'm trying to give him a trade so he can lead a straight life.

the Aerialist · Dec 19, 2010

Always looking for a few good men ...

TreEmergencyB said:
good job, where abouts in Pittsburgh you at? And you looking for any help over the winter?

I sent you a PM but only had time to send the web page. Go back there and fill out the "Contact" form we'll take this offline.

ropensaddle · Dec 19, 2010

Aerial Arborist said:
At least he's out of jail now. I had to put up $700 to get him out and now he's under house arrest so I have to call his Parole Officer to get him a window to work, plus pick him up and drop him off.

He's really a sweet boy, in fact we (the Family) call him "John Boy" I'm trying to give him a trade so he can lead a straight life.

Looking at the vid was too slow for my puter but it appeared to be a bomber as there was nothing around it. I worked as a danger tree crew for power lines 13 years and we routinely had to rope out of stuff like that. Pucker moments lost by no documentation over many years but I believe the worst I had to do was a tall dead pine surrounded by voltage 7200 one side 12500 another drops on the others. the tree had a huge wood pecker hole clean through it half way up and the top was very poor bark already slipped. I would not climb it today and it is a miracle it held, how ever I roped it in twigs no bigger than wrist size which put me at the top 40 foot above the peckerwood hole it is hard to splain how bad it was without picks.

the Aerialist · Dec 19, 2010

murphy4trees said:
That looked like a wild cherry, which can be dead and rotted for years and still remain incredibly strong. Of all the species in Pa., I'd pick wild cherry to for its strength when climbing a compromised tree like that.

Of course we'd all like to take a pass on climbing that ugly tree, but you do what you have to do.. The cracking at the base wouldn't have bothered me either, as much as motion in the tree. If you preset lines, I'd use them for a pull test..

There are cuts that will get the bits to drop without much pull or push on the trunk.. It did look like the tree swayed a bit after one cuts, but not too much... How did it feel? Probably not as bad as it looked..

$1800 for that tree! I'd consider that good money.. for an easy (though sketchy) job... How long have you been climbing? How long did it take you?

Yes it was a Cherry and seem to have full healthy foliage, and the base still had a good cambium layer (what was left of it). Still scary as heck to commit to it. (that's why I was slow going up that ladder).

As far as a pull test, I did give it a tug or two by hand, but I didn't want to stress it anymore than that for fear of starting something that finished when I was up there. It seemed solid. I did try to chop cut everything to minimize the impact, some cuts more successful than others.

I can assure you, the cracking at the base would have concerned you deeply if you were up there with me. Two things happened when I got ready to take the top out, the most dangerous cut I had to make. My saw ran out of gas and the camera ran out of battery. I had to wait for John Boy to pull up his pants and fill up my 200T (the 192 didn't have the guts for the cut I wanted to make). The sirens in the background didn't help settle my nerves much.

The customer had lower bids on the job but chose me 'cause she liked John Boy's tough city looks (and maybe his @ss).

Dangerous Trees

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