A little help/encouragement

[timtim-fry]

So I've been working in the tree care industry for nearly two years now, mainly on right of ways. I've climbed a few times but never actually learned anything except for the knots. However it has been my dream to be a professional. Now I'm with the big orange and there's not a climbing position open on this particular region. So I did what any person would have done, I saved up money and bought the gear. (Spurs & rope combo kit from wesspur.com, great kit!)

I've been practicing, only about 4 days a week cause of custody and have young ones with no babysitter. Besides that I feel that when I do climb that I'm at a lost. Don't have the upper body strength yet, can't limb walk, and stuck wondering wth is the way to prune the top where it looks like there is no tie in point.

Now I know a lot of ppl will say to get trained by a current outfit that does climb and that's the tricky spot. When I feel as if I'm capable I'm going to go out on my own. I wanted nothing more than to be self employed but only in this industry. I absolutely love the work as crazy as that sounds. I don't want to gain knowledge from somebody and then turn around and use it against them (competition). I find that truly disrespectful. My dad had a big construction outfit and had a lot of former employees do that.

In your opinion what would you do? I'm going to give myself until next march with the current climbing rate and go from there. The last thing I want is to be considered a hack.

What to do?

 

[kyle goddard]

Are you climbing trees that your not removing with spikes.?. What methhod do you use to climb, blakes hitch, eye to eye prusik w/ hitch climber pulley, ect.... Also you mentioned pruning the top out were you dont think you can tie in. Im not sure if you mean structurally sound or to high to climb. For that you need a throw ball and line. .i set my my climbi.g line that way 95% of the time

 

[timtim-fry]

No spikes. Been around long enough to know better thankfully. Yeah I'm using drt with a blakes hitch. Will be teaching myself the prusik and footlock when I get a 3/8 rope ordered. And the thing with the top is I've never seen it done without spikes so ill learn as I go.

I realized that I need to quit being a terd about it, low & slow with lots of trial and error.

 

[joezilla11]

Try to leave the error part out of it! Just keep climbing and don't get discouraged there's alot to learn and alot that comes with time experience. Try climbing on some different trees vs your usual to build up some confidence. Just work according to your abilities and when you reach a wall do some research and ask alot of questions. And to answer one of your questions about pruning where you can't reach or get to, pole saws come in handy and have their place, as do bucket trucks and more experienced climbers! Try posting on here and see if anyone wants to meet up and climb for a day, if I was close by I would.

 

[B Harrison]

I wouldn't worry much about learning in one place and then going out on your own. Take it from a business owner, we make our money of the efficiency of our help. If you get really god, and fast, an safe, then your making plenty of money for your employers. They will have little invested in you since your working as your trained, and they aren't sending you to school or anything.

Do yourself a favor and get trained. Any way possible.

 

[timtim-fry]

Thanks for all the feedback. I know the pole saw comes in handy from being in the bucket for nearly a year. I figure if I have to, throw a donkey #### over the branch and rig it thataway. Speed and efficiency will come to me, like all of us speed comes with experience.

I'm going to call an outfit and see if I can come along with them a day out of the week. Maybe drag brush in return for a little training. This is a brotherhood and I know if I come at them right they'll do what they can for me. We all appreciate someone wanting to learn the right way because it only helps us in the long run with all those fly by guys.

 

[jefflovstrom]

So I've been working in the tree care industry for nearly two years now, mainly on right of ways. I've climbed a few times but never actually learned anything except for the knots. However it has been my dream to be a professional.
In your opinion what would you do? I'm going to give myself until next march with the current climbing rate and go from there. The last thing I want is to be considered a hack.

What to do?

Really? So, in 8 months from now you expect to be as good as a pro?
Good luck,,without a really good pro at your side?
Jeff :msp_rolleyes:

 

[joezilla11]

I always made it a point to make friends and contacts whenever I can and it always helps and pays off. And I'm not sure what a donkey **** is but if your talking about a throwing knot with the tail of your line I'd be careful with that too about getting it stuck especially if its your climb line.

 

[timtim-fry]

No I don't expect to be a pro but i will never get anywhere if I don't try. I know my limitations, I don't plan on doing a massive oak removal that's over hanging a million dollar mansion right now. Like construction I don't think they all started out building skyscrapers.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Like construction I don't think they all started out building skyscrapers.

No they did not,, do you think they did in 8 months?
Jeff :msp_wink:

 

[timtim-fry]

No sir I don't think they did. I think they started with what they knew and grew in knowledge as their company did. That's my plan. I once had a boss of mine that use to be a head guy at arboro in Missouri that told me "even if you only make $20,000 a year it's worth every dollar to do what you love". I'm going to live that philosophy or go broke trying lol

 

[jefflovstrom]

No sir I don't think they did. I think they started with what they knew and grew in knowledge as their company did. That's my plan. I once had a boss of mine that use to be a head guy at arboro in Missouri that told me "even if you only make $20,000 a year it's worth every dollar to do what you love". I'm going to live that philosophy or go broke trying lol

Seems you are serious,,
I hope you keep us updated.
Jeff

 

[joezilla11]

Haha! See how easy that was your making friends already!

 

[jefflovstrom]

Haha! See how easy that was your making friends already!

LOL,,who would not want to be friends with us!!!!!!
Jeff

 

[woodchuck357]

If you are serious, not just blowing smoke to get a reaction from some of the responders, find someone with a woodlot that needs some trees turned into firewood. After marking trees for removal use them to make problems like falling a leaner to the side or swing that limb from over an imaginary million dollar mansion. MY grandfather had my uncles do stuff like that on nearly every tree they dropped and they continued that with my cousins and me. The exact place the tip and butt would wind up was planed and discussed before cuts were made. A week working with Poppy would teach a boy who paid attention more than cutting for a year with most crews.

Climbing and cutting with education as the main goal for six months might accomplish you goal better than dragging brush and working ropes on a crew for much longer. If you successfully drop a thousand similar timber trees in the same way you haven't learned as much as you could have learned from a score taken down with learning as the goal.

With good video cameras getting smaller and cheaper, every cut you make should be recorded for analysis. Sometimes memory is warped and video lets you see what went right and what went wrong(sorta like Arnold Palmer with the movies of his golf swing!) Monday morning quarter backs will be able to help more if you have the instant replay.

 

[woodchuck357]

I always made it a point to make friends and contacts whenever I can and it always helps and pays off. And I'm not sure what a donkey **** is but if your talking about a throwing knot with the tail of your line I'd be careful with that too about getting it stuck especially if its your climb line.

donkey **** = monkey's fist

 

[jefflovstrom]

donkey **** = monkey's fist

Wrong,,,,a monkey fist is a taut line hitch.
Jeff

 

[woodchuck357]

Different folks, different terminology!Monkey's fist - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[sgreanbeans]

A week working with Poppy would teach a boy who paid attention more than cutting for a year with most crews.

.

Isnt that the truth! We gotta Poppy too! I used to tell the young guys to just be able to keep up with him, they would look at him, see this old dude and get a smile, by noon they were not too happy anymore. He has broken many!

To OP, sounds like you have the right intentions, look to get alot of attention on here, as we don't get to many newbs with their head on straight. Working at the Big O or Big Green can be bad, lots of horrible, to cool for school burn outs and wannabe's over there. They will teach mainly bad habits as they have different goals, tree care is not one of them, new gadgets and techniques are not high on the list either. Find the local top private guy, tell him straight up your intentions, he may not mind teaching his future competition if the guy is going to do it right. Private sector owners have a lot more at stake, so they will nit pick the chit out of you, which is what ya need. Managers at the big company's have no sense of ownership and are only worried about production. They also make company decisions based on personal needs. You need a new saw you say?, it comes out of the managers check, so forget about it! Keep using that 019 that looks like Frankenstein. Quality and safety often fall to the way side in order to keep up the TPR. So find ya a Jedi and do whatever he says. I know this is beating a dead horse, but it is da truf yo. Keep us posted, ask anything, take pics. Don't take the keyboard warriors to hard, they will smash ya when you do something stupid, but then tell yeah what ya need to do. Don't worry about a chit talking your going to get, that's our way of showing love! Its when no one answers, that you need to worry.
Oh yeah and make sure you WEAR THE PROPER PPE!

 

[RandomWoodsman]

Well this might be a Long response for this but I was in the same situation as you were a little while ago when I just entered the industry. I went to college for forestry and then out of school started working for my states Department of environmental conservation and after that started working at the old Green and Yellow, I now work for bartlett and have never looked back. when i started I wanted to climb bad and like you was not hired to climb but just to be a ground guy. so I grabbed an old harness they had at the shop and bought my own gear and learned to climb one a blakes hitch and footlock. I learned alot by asking the foreman questions, and youll have to use your head here but in my case I stress foreman because the other climbers had imperfect knowledge or wrong/ dangerous ideas. the foreman that were at my then office when I started were had been supervising foreman for going on 20+ years each and had alot of experience one had been a safty coordinator before he had transferred to that office and luckily kept up with the more modern climbing techniques. I then started climbing trees outside of work just like you are doing.

However I eventually had to find a different position with a different company to advance and actually climb full time. I am a secondary climber right now at bartlett and have gotten alot better and alot smarter about how I climb. this comes with time in the tree. everyone started out like you have just trying to get time under their belt. Always try and get up in the tree and if you can get some training from someone who has done it for a while. Learn to climb on a blakes and then move on to an eye to eye split tail that way you can do both as this can be advantagous sometimes in a tree especially when you tie in twice using the splitail side of your rope and then using the tail end of your rope in a blakes system. this can also help you in learning how to limb walk.

Dont give up it doesnt happen overnight and donot start your own business until you have worked for a couple and understand the ins and outs of the industry. you will get there but it takes more than a few years to do and remember this one saying about doing this kind of work. most accidents happen in the 1rst year 5th year and 20th year, 1rst year you are learning, 5th year you think you know everything, and 20th year you're usually beat to sh*t. So keep sharp, there is always much more to learn and learn from your present situation, when you do get to the point where you are an "good" climber share your knowledge and encourage an interested guy to learn and help him if you can.

Hope this helps,

Random