Maasdam Rope Puller ??.....

[Crow Horse]

I've searched till my eyes were bleeding. I have a long haul rope puller and wanted to know if I could use a 1/2" 3 strand nylon rope with it effectively and safely. Any thoughts? Thanks....

 

[AT sawyer]

1/2" three-strand is the standard rope for a Maasdam puller. Nylon is a bit stretchy though. I've heard that the Maasdams will take other braid configurations but I haven't used them. It WILL slip with 5/16".

 

[Crow Horse]

From what I've read, the rope puller works best with a "hard lay", 3 strand although some say a 12 strand will work. I was hoping that the nylon would work for light duty applications despite the strech factor.........

 

[AT sawyer]

It probably would work ok in a light duty situation, but some day you'll want to tension it up on something bigger and wish you had the poly-dacron rope. put that on your to get list.

 

[Fireaxman]

I'm not sure some elasticity in a bull rope is all bad. It allows you to "Store" some energy so that you don't lose all tension suddenly. For instance, if you are working alone on a take down, no one to take up slack as you make the back cut, if you dont have some elasticity in the pulling system you lose all tension as soon as the tie in point moves away from the back cut. Tree could then fall to the side if you miscalculated your cut according to center of gravity. Some elasticity could also be an advantage in mitigating dynamic energy or "Shock Loading". Am I wrong?

 

[pdqdl]

...

Am I wrong?

Nope! Not at all.

Sometimes it may even be wiser to attach lower on the tree and use more tension to pull it over. This will maximize the stretch and minimize the travel of the tree until it goes over center.

Using this technique, you might consider using a pulley with doubled rope and even greater tension and even lower attachment point.

If you are using this technique there is a very important consideration! You MUST make your cuts so that the trunk does not jump off the stump before the tree goes over-center or causes a barber chair situation. This is a rather advanced technique, and should not be attempted by a novice tree worker.

 

[Crow Horse]

Great info fellas! Thanks!

I'm a novice in this realm and KNOW it, so I proceed cautiously. If a situation appears to be beyond my skills, I pass it up. There's no point in being overly ambitious , under skilled and dead........

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I'm not a tree pro, but I have wondered about that, especially when trying to drop a tree that has broken and fallen over, but is still connected to the stump. (I have my eye on a nice hickory in that condition.) You don't want it rolling back on you, but you can't always be sure which way the forces are going to roll it once the holding wood is cut.

I was thinking one of those snatch-type towing straps could be used to provide tension to pull it in the direction you want, QUICKLY. Use a bull rope to make sure it can't go the wrong way, and use the strap on the end of a rope with the Maasdam providing the pull to tension the strap.

Crazy? Or just normal tree work dangerous?

 

[pdqdl]

A typical tow strap is rated at 15-20,000 lbs, so it's load rating exceeds that of your average bull rope. But how much stretch is there in a 20' tow strap at 2,000 lbs pull? One, maybe 1.5 feet?

I'll bet I can get more stretch distance out of a 150' arborists rope.

 

[treemandan]

I am still laughing about the time I saw these ****s stick the 16 strand in that thing. Oh, it will work... up to a point. What happens after that point is to be treasured.
Then they turn around and try to do it again the next week!

 

[woodchux]

Speaking of stretchy rope.. has anyone ever used a bungee rope as a pull line? Like when you would want to jump a tree top over a fence or obstacle...