Friction devices aloft

[kennertree]

Treemachine, how much did that log arch cost? That seems like a handy little rig.

 

[Tree Machine]

$2,500. The handy little rig has revolutionized the way I do things and has me buried in high-quality lumber. I like milling and have gotten carried away over the last couple years. Just becausae you CAN move a log doesn't necessarily mean you should.

I've reclaimed a lot of logs and feel good about it.

I'll give you a few drooly arch pictures, but we need to stay on topic. The first one goes back to how I told you I designed the tree truck system to accomodate the tires being onboard. I chose the distance from the flatbed to the chip bed the same as the width of the tires. Now that I have the Wango Tango tire it's too thick to fit under there.

 

[xtremetrees]

I reember that one .. moveing heavy wood effectiently.

Great pics bro, Im still waiting on google to approve my videos

Spydey said, "i call it a mechanical fuse; cuz it blows out at the overloading of so much force.

Really interesting.

 

[xtremetrees]

In my first video I cut three 20 foot pine stubbs at once why flying in with a 440

How to avoid the DOT TM? In mapquest I always take the quieter route.

Dude your derailing my thread, fix your picture.

 

[Tree Machine]

It's not truly a derail. It's a longabout way of showing one man's way of not having to rig big wood. If you're not rigging big wood, then you're only rigging small wood. If you're only rigging small wood (as is my modus operundi) then I can suggest, from direct experience, that a friction device is not needed aloft, or to be more specific, the friction device that will work exceedingly well for rigging small wood while aloft is a device called a caribiner.

I've gotten a few PMs's, guys asking to show them in private how to lower limbs out of the tree. It 's not really 'a way'. Its a number of different techniques, a few different ways to do the same thing, which is to get the limb on the ground.

I may try shooting this on video tomorrow. Another one of the cool things is the belaying can be, and often is done using only one hand.

Just as important as belaying a limb down and retrieving your rope is belaying the limb down for the ground guy to unhook. I think you should consider the solo aerial lowering & retrieving of your rope as secondary to solo aerial lowering and having the ground guy unclip. Ground guy unclipping is by far the fastest if your ground guy is paying attention. Part of the reason why is that you are able to rig with both ends of the rope, and don't have to hoist the entire length of rope back up as when you work with only one end of the rope, or when you do a 2:1 solo lowering /retrieval of the rope. It's important to know this last one, but it's not blistering fast like working the both ends and keeping the ground guy unclipping and stacking brush.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

I reember that one .. moveing heavy wood effectiently.

Great pics bro, Im still waiting on google to approve my videos

Spydey said, "i call it a mechanical fuse; cuz it blows out at the overloading of so much force.

Really interesting.

"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" -Sir Francis Bacon​

Picture this as same action as tires/ brush etc. absorbing shock by being 'violated'; only the elastic devices have chance of recovery. If it takes 1000# to crush tire, that is 1000# removed/ canceled out in matching. Only the log is like a 'fuse' is just blown/ not reusable; not a resettable circuit breaker like a tire!

My analogies to electric and mechanical force imagery as very similar in how they conduct similarly through devices goes mucho farther than that! i think sometimes finding such similarities, especially in more familiar imagery can lend more insights, and help try-angulate on the real operating princi-pals!

Orrrrrrr sumetin'like dat!
Guess i knead :help: !

 

[xtremetrees]

I disagree strongly with using a pully (false crotch) as a tie in point to a dead decurrent shaped tree. THe movement from the no friction on the pully causes more weight distrbution (sway, movement into dead stem) verses a natural crotch it in as movement.
I was taught early on to tie into a pully you can really smoke trees while flying thru the air but let a natural crotch be your tie in on dead and reduce the 2-1 force youd be putting on your tie in point witha pully.I must stay slow when tieiing into dead. I always score mark the tree to see just ohow dead it is before I spike up.I like to cut my first few small limbs and see how they hold just a back cut and see how the tree reacts. If I can shake the tree alot no matter how big it is its pretty dead.

I guess a pully is a anti-friction device, causing weight-mass-force to be distrubuted more evenly thru the system.

 

[Tree Machine]

True, true. Today I was in a massive oak and the order of the day was getting the overextended limbs either removed, or pruned back. We were over top of a slate roof and copper gutters. It was an absolute no-mistake day. I brought the video camera and had Nick shoot a few clips. This was a classic for this thread as I was doing solo aerial lowering directly over the roof.

I was controlling the rope, which allowed Nick to use the hook on the pole saw to hook the limb and pull it away from the slates, and I'd continue lowering til we touched down. Now, if he were controlling the rope from the ground, there would have been little chance he could have also been controlling the two sticks and a saw head, all at the same time while I waited and watched. As it was, both the husband and wife were home watching this technical area, making sure I didn't drop a twig on their slates (they had been very clear with me of their concern regarding this).

The solo aerial lowering was just the ticket. I would voice how I had rigged, where the friction points were, and what I expected to happen. Then the cut. Then a slow, deliberate lowering (slow for the sake of the clients watching).

I did some 2:1 lowering, some 1:1 lowering, some with the rope chokering the limb and a few with the slings chokering the limb and the rope hooked to the sling. I think I got all of these methods on video for you to see, and I ask kindly that the moderators allow me the privledge of showing this. We took the time to set it up and shoot it, and I will be a couple hours editing, compressing and formatting the clips. After all the time and effort to bring you the techniques on video, it would be crushing for me to get bleeped. The scenes will demonstrate complete control. I even have one clip, a sizable limb (meaning it weighs more than I do) directly over the roof. I set my friction up at 4 points and was able to belay the limb down, no-handed, using a light touch with my foot as the control.

Now, yes, I was showing off for the camera and my clients where one misjudgement would have obliterated the fee I was charging for the work. In a most technical of situations I was belaying the limb down with my foot? I did this just to show it's possible, and how.

If the moderators would let me show it......

For now, here's a little time lapse of the tree on a day where we got rained out. The new footage will have to wait. We did a 12 hour day today and I'm too pooped to get into the editing, or even to see how it came out (no guarantees, folks).

Thank you for you patience. Moderators. please don't bleep me when I get this posted. It is anything but reckless and unsafe.

 

[046]

sure wish I could see that clip in real time...
Please!!!

 

[xtremetrees]

Hoooa! My take down video has been approved on google here it is bro's
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9190096815955499768

 

[046]

can't get link to work?

 

[reachtreeservi]

Where's the friction device?

Where's the friction device?
Looks like you are making good time though.

 

[trevmcrev]

xtremetrees, for 1, that clip looks sped up or youve got the fastest cutting saw ive ever seen. for 2, did you free climb up that pole and only tie in with your flipline when you got to the top? If so that is DODGY. Sorry but i dont care how fast that is, if a climber did that on my jobsite theyd be given a final warning that they be fired if caught doing that again. To the sensitve moderators that wont allow tree machine to rationally discuss his techniques but let us watch free climbing, whats up with that?
Trev

 

[xtremetrees]

Trev- I intentionally made the video with flaws to help illustrate what not to do. Here's what a friend said I did wrong.
" climbing spar without lanyard
climbing to top of spar with chainsaw on instead of hauling it up
no climbing rope to use for an emergency exit
saw was running as he climbed up the spar...but that might be from only below the camera. I don't like seeing people move with a running saw on a lanyard. All it takes is bump to knock the chain brake.
it seemed like every snap cut had a piece of barber chair bark attached. It shouldn't have done that if he did a kerf cut."
I agree with all the point made so far, even the point you make trev about the saw being a bit to overpowerful for such a small tree.

 

[1I'dJak]

hey man good vid... it takes balls to post that stuff here cuz you know everbody's gonna hack on ya! If i posted pics of me working here i'd probably be so humiliated i'd never climb again! I must say, i haven't been climbing that long and work in a situation where the boss usually takes off, so i teach myself quite a bit...this site and posts like this have proved very valuable...
word

 

[xtremetrees]

Gratefully I was originally taught to climb trees to the top then safety in. I have a fear of heights but this helped me overcome it, I rarely (no-safety) climb to the top of trees. This was a short 25 foot stubb. I should have jumped out of the tree to pratice landing on my feet. You must land on your feet if youve any chance to surive a fall.

This week my new ground man lowered me 60 feet on a munter hitch, he found it thrilling.opcorn:

Edit: Lowered on a grenade gate carabiner. I feel if I was on a ball lock biner the knot could have escaped the gate resulting in a frictionless fall

 

[xtremetrees]

yeah my life was in dudes hands.. Cant you see why?

 

[coydog]

To the sensitve moderators that wont allow tree machine to rationally discuss his techniques but let us watch free climbing, whats up with that?
Trev

I have to second that, and also pose the same question to the moderators, for more often than not this site seems to cater to1: a lot of posturing , showing off, and inflated egos, 2: a whole plethora of off topics or 3: a load full of high minded preaching to the choir. None of which really does anything to discuss anything new or innovative for the experienced arborist. When someone offers to share their tricks on-line at the very least a reason should be posted publicly to justify censoring of such posts.Any technique can be practiced unsafely, and there are certainly no shortage of questionable techniques that are freely discussed and even encouraged on this site(use of dutchman's, working alone, lowering entire trees on their hinge ,etc.) that I am finding it difficult to understand the rationale of the blanket and repeated censoring of a particular technique for lowering small pieces of wood. In the meantime this thread continues to sway back and forth from on and off topic and become continuously muddled with such nonsense as advice to always land on your feet if falling out of a tree. are we adults and professionals here ? Please justify.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Are there any other places that will allow a free and open discussion of all-things-arbocultural? Doing a little web searching might turn up one or two other places that allow video hosting and free flowing conversations.

 

[xtremetrees]

You better land on your feet coy dog if it happens. And you got about 2 seconds to figure that out.

No Tom theres not many other places I can think of 2 other beings ISA forum is down.

Edit: I continually re-evaluate myself, and regualry take inventory of my pratices aloft. I dont want to send anyone to the hospital. It's important for me to be gut wrenching honest about my techniques and pratices. I come here to learn the only way I can do that is to show you exactly, thru pics and videos, of what I'm talking about.

Lissen, we rule out 1000 things that can go wrong every single day. Of all the twigs that could go for the eye permanently blinding you, of all the chunks the groundman watches you bomb. I'm very lucky, and this forum helps me stay that way.

046 you may have to download the google video player. I had to wait 3 days for my video to be approved.