My first crane removal

[Juicemang]

Well today was the day. I slept until about 430 this morning, then tossed and turned until 6 when my alarm went off. Nerves of anticipation of the work ahead. I had to force breakfast down, I just wanted to get going. I got to the job site by 8. The homeowner wanted the crane truck to pull a broken down dozer out of his back yard blaaahhh. Took about an hour... It just made me cold and more anxious from waiting around. Finally got started somewhere around 9. The Job was 1 red oak with mega lean over a pole-barn/garage and 2 spars I left about 50' tall. I brushed them out last week before I decided on a crane for the last tree. Once we got started I was in the zone. Everything was pretty straight forward. An hour and a half later I was all done for the day!! Man did the crane make my job easy. 6 picks on the first tree and 4 more for the other 2 spars I had already brushed out. I tied into the hook for my ride up and for setting the chokers on couple picks. I had seen the setup with the shackle and friction saver above the ball but since it was my first crane job I listened to the crane opp and tied into the hook. After the job was done I explained to him even if it seems unlikely for my TIP to wiggle off the hook, I would still feel more comfortable having my TIP set above the ball. He agreed and said to bring my setup next time. My brother was on the ground and took a few pictures, but after the first pick he had his hands full. Cranes rock!! Can't wait for more!
The victim

The crane

Taking a ride

Getting ready to cut

Tops away!!!

 

[Blakesmaster]

Hell yeah, mang! Cool pics. Makes me want to get out and sell some more crane gigs.

 

[rob b]

Nice pics keep it up. Be safe. Make the green.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Very nice.

 

[Ellistrees]

Nice pictures though seems crane is little overkill

Though If I had a crane, I think it might use it on most jobs.
Those pictures make it look like it could've been done without the crane with a good lowering device. But if the crane isn't costing you, then great save alot of time.
Isn't Cranes great, if not just to ride up and down on.opcorn:

 

[highpointtree]

congrat's, I started climbing off an old ARLOW sign crane. round tubes and manual outriggers.put the boom on one side, set the outriggers on the other side, repeat for other side. nowadays I operate a manitex. 22101s,, its the only way to fly.

 

[Juicemang]

Yes the tree would have been possible without a crane. I would have used a speed line for the brush. The wood would have been extremely time consuming without a crane or a bucket. The tree was about 2 feet from the garage at the base. At about 12 feet up the tree was practically touching the roof and it continued out over the roof from there. Had a lowering line been set in the top with a tag line it would have been hard and a waste of time to try and pull the load away from the roof. In this situation I figured the crane to be a worthwhile expense. Here is a pic that shows a little bit more of the lean. My brother didn't get one directly from the side...

 

[outofmytree]

Always tough to diagnose from photo's brother. Congrats on what is the first of many crane jobs (I hope!).

 

[tree md]

Absolutely right, The crane does make more sense than humping the wood out. Congrats and here's to many more!

 

[slice'N'dice'M]

good start..

work smarter, not harder no doubt ......

SUPER CRANE will take care of business...

as long as you have a decent chipper and some competent ground men, a crane can quicken the job 10 fold.

Line up the big'N nasties .. rent a crane .. come in and smash E'm...

 

[prentice110]

Who cares about where the tree grows or what the crane costs. If you can get a crane to it , your gonna be done a whole lot faster or make a heck of a lot more $$$ Nice job on the tree. By the way , did your grapes turn into raisins when the top came of after you cut it?

 

[custom8726]

congrat's, I started climbing off an old ARLOW sign crane. round tubes and manual outriggers.put the boom on one side, set the outriggers on the other side, repeat for other side. nowadays I operate a manitex. 22101s,, its the only way to fly.

Me too Its interesting watching a 100' of stick bend like a fishing rod while making a pick over your head On the other hand I believe a lower capacity crane (^^) will make you a better climber, due to the precarious positions you end up making your cut's.

To the O.P. congrats on getting your first crane job finished succesfully, only problem is, you will want to use a crane all the time now

 

[randyg]

Well today was the day. I slept until about 430 this morning, then tossed and turned until 6 when my alarm went off. Nerves of anticipation of the work ahead.

I tied into the hook ...

After the job was done I explained to him even if it seems unlikely for my TIP to wiggle off the hook, I would still feel more comfortable having my TIP set above the ball. He agreed and said to bring my setup next time. ]

The nerves will calm down over time. You will become more confidant in ability of yourself, and crane operator, and crane capabilities. What helped me the most is learning how to accurately guess the weight of each pick. If crane op tells me he can pick 10 thousand (K), I shoot for 5K. Guessing tops is a little tricky (practice is key and crane with scale is best but few have) but logs is pretty straight forward. I make a "cheat sheet" 3x5 card of 5 wieghts and kinda memorize it but take it with in pocket I can access if needed in the tree. Example: Red oak green log weight per linear foot based on average diameter in pounds is as follows/
12" - 49
18" - 111
24" - 198
30" - 309
36" - 445

I round them a little like this

12" - 50
18" - 100
24" - 200
30" - 300
36" - 450

Now see how easy that is to memorise? Estimate average diameter of 10 footer or 15 or 20 and do the math. Biggest mistake you can make with a crane I believe is to pick to big a piece. Shock loading is next biggest sin, along with side-loading but crane op will likely not allow you to side load.

Using hook for TIP? Appears crane op was able to swing you in quite easily on this job since it was already "brushed out" so aside from possible grease and sharp snaggy pokey things on hook messin with flip/climbing line, not a huge issue. However, come summer when op has to LOWER you through leafy canopy he may not be able to see what is going on but relies on "relayed signals" , like op said, "bring your setup".

Juicemang, Thank You for sharing the pics and the experience. Don't believe anything I have said here untill waiting at least 5 minutes for someone to come on and say it was all crap. You pulled it off/nobody got hurt/good job. I wish oldirty could chime in here, but some who have maybe 40 or 50 crane removals total think they know ????????? OD does 40 or 50 in a week!

Like sex, you'll always remember your first crane removal...

 

[custom8726]

The nerves will calm down over time. You will become more confidant in ability of yourself, and crane operator, and crane capabilities. What helped me the most is learning how to accurately guess the weight of each pick. If crane op tells me he can pick 10 thousand (K), I shoot for 5K. Guessing tops is a little tricky (practice is key and crane with scale is best but few have) but logs is pretty straight forward. I make a "cheat sheet" 3x5 card of 5 wieghts and kinda memorize it but take it with in pocket I can access if needed in the tree. Example: Red oak green log weight per linear foot based on average diameter in pounds is as follows/
12" - 49
18" - 111
24" - 198
30" - 309
36" - 445

I round them a little like this

12" - 50
18" - 100
24" - 200
30" - 300
36" - 450

Now see how easy that is to memorise? Estimate average diameter of 10 footer or 15 or 20 and do the math. Biggest mistake you can make with a crane I believe is to pick to big a piece. Shock loading is next biggest sin, along with side-loading but crane op will likely not allow you to side load.

Using hook for TIP? Appears crane op was able to swing you in quite easily on this job since it was already "brushed out" so aside from possible grease and sharp snaggy pokey things on hook messin with flip/climbing line, not a huge issue. However, come summer when op has to LOWER you through leafy canopy he may not be able to see what is going on but relies on "relayed signals" , like op said, "bring your setup".

Juicemang, Thank You for sharing the pics and the experience. Don't believe anything I have said here untill waiting at least 5 minutes for someone to come on and say it was all crap. You pulled it off/nobody got hurt/good job. I wish oldirty could chime in here, but some who have maybe 40 or 50 crane removals total think they know ????????? OD does 40 or 50 in a week!Like sex, you'll always remember your first crane removal...

Really?? Thats gotta be some sort of record right there:crazy1: We do a fair amount of crane removals ourselves but no where near that many. Anyone Else??

 

[treeslayer]

Really?? Thats gotta be some sort of record right there:crazy1: We do a fair amount of crane removals ourselves but no where near that many. Anyone Else??

I've done (climbed) at least 500, and run over a thousand.................
doing a couple trees an hour is a blast, but riding into the top is ALWAYS a rush, and with radios, a real treat.

And that is not that many over time..
Here's my weapon of choice in VA, little oversized, huh?

 

[Grace Tree]

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