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[Groundman One]

im not the one tagged, but ill say what I use lol
running bow, daisy chain, half hitch, scaffold knot, bowline with yosemite, anchor hitch
there is probably 50 or 60 I use in a week, depends on what im doing, but this is what I use most

You use 50 to 60 different knots in a week?

That's an awful lot of knots.

 

[pdqdl]

, nobody using a clove hitch with a half hitch safety,
Jeff

The only time I use a clove hitch is to send stuff up a rope to the climber. I don't have a horse on the job, so tying it to the hitching post isn't a consideration.

Does anyone remember the guy that said he worked off a cliff face with only a clove hitch on the tow-ball of his truck?

I'll concede that they hold well when they are only pulled in one direction. No good for a falling log. That's what timber hitches are for.

 

[lone wolf]

Pay them more, treat them better, get them to invest in gear and stick around and be a part of the team.

Only if they are worth more ,some just aint. If a groundman gets you done faster and keeps up a good pace mostly non stop he is well woth more money.

 

[mikewhite85]

model 15b bucyrus erie

I'm impressed you know that. 1930s maybe?

I don't think I use more than 10 knots in a month. I'd have to think and count but I probably do not know for than 15 total.

Running bowline seems to be quite the ubiquitous rigging knot. I often use a timber for slings. But I do spoil my crew with omni blocks and infinity slings. And several of us climb with zig zags and then our climbing Iines have eye splices. All that to say, sometimes you do not need to use a lot of knots.

I know a local climber who broke both of his legs on a 30ft fall a couple weeks ago. His anchor knot, which I assume was a termination knot on his biner failed. Not sure if it was not tied correctly or if it had been on there for long enough that it frayed out - or some other reason. Felt weird to ask.

I don't think he'd mind me posting this pic. Great climber with a lot of experience. Long road ahead

 

[pdqdl]

im not the one tagged, but ill say what I use lol
running bow, daisy chain, half hitch, scaffold knot, bowline with yosemite, anchor hitch
there is probably 50 or 60 I use in a week, depends on what im doing, but this is what I use most

I think that your tendency to exaggerate has gotten the best of you.
If you use 50-60 knots in a week and are not using the timber hitch (without 7 wraps, too), then you are just telling tall tales.

I'll bet that you cannot publish here 50 different situations that would call for 50 different knots. Please! Put up a list of situations that calls for 50 different knots. Hell, I'll let you out of the challenge if you can come up with 30.

 

[pdqdl]

Pay them more, treat them better, get them to invest in gear and stick around and be a part of the team.

I cannot get anyone to even walk in the door to apply for work. I run ads, and don't even get a call. I tried LinkedIn once, and I got quite a few contacts from India and Pakistan. Not one local call, though.

 

[mikewhite85]

I cannot get anyone to even walk in the door to apply for work. I run ads, and don't even get a call. I tried LinkedIn once, and I got quite a few contacts from India and Pakistan. Not one local call, though.

Tough finding good people these days. The good ones are taken. The available ones are often available for a reason.

I have 6 employees. 2 I know through church. 3 though friends. 1 I already knew and when he was ready to get out of another industry I made him an offer he couldn't refuse! They are all great employees, each with their own strengths and weaknesses and everyone seems to balance one another out well for the most part.

All but 1 had little experience in arboriculture and I have trained or am training them.

I haven't had much luck listing wanted adds on Facebook or Craigslist. Lots of riff raff unfortunately, which you seem to have experienced.

I don't think I can count have many former asplund foremen have applied that did not turn out.

Who do you ready know who would be a reliable worker? Is there anyone you could make a better offer to whose working in another industry? Is there someone in your circle of friends and acquaintances who might be a good fit?

Do you offer medical benefits and 401k? Makes great incentive to attract and keep workers.

Here's another idea I haven't tried yet. There are a lot of people recently out if jail who have a difficult time finding a job. Many are riff raff but some are starting to make better choices and have potential to make great employees. A way to filter them out is ask a local parole officer if there is anyone who might be a good fit. I'm thinking of trying this out in the spring. I'll let you know how the experiment goes!

I hope you're able to find some good, reliable help

 

[Groundman One]

I cannot get anyone to even walk in the door to apply for work. I run ads, and don't even get a call. I tried LinkedIn once, and I got quite a few contacts from India and Pakistan. Not one local call, though.

That's tough. And if the guy is driving in from India every day you just know he's going to be late.

 

[Groundman One]

Only if they are worth more ,some just aint. If a groundman gets you done faster and keeps up a good pace mostly non stop he is well woth more money.

I hear ya, but making them feel like part of the team at the start is important. 'Cause it's kind of a crappy job at the start when you don't know anything and you're just doing bozo work, but after a while it kicks it and gets better, you make more money, you feel invested, and then you end up with a solid crew.

My old boss only half had his logistics in order, but he was great at making people feel good about the job. He would go out of his way for you, and you would do the same for him. Makes for a good team that can last for years.

 

[ZinTrees]

You use 50 to 60 different knots in a week?

That's an awful lot of knots.

I got more than I can name, half of them I came up with on the spot, turns out they already existed
from climbing, to tying a portawrap onto a tree, to rigging, to getting trucks out of mud, hitch cord knots, making slings, there is just a ton and they add up quick
pay attention to how often you use a different knot, you may be surprised

 

[ZinTrees]

, nobody using a clove hitch with a half hitch safety,
Jeff

no

 

[Zale]

Nothing wrong with a clove hitch and a half hitch on top.

 

[tree MDS]

Found your "little" Giant model. The A300 is a whole lot more machine than the 2500 series Giant. It has a little more height to pin, but it weighs about 2 tons more. It has about 4 times as much horsepower and twice the hydraulic capacity. The Bobcat is a full 6' wide, but has a similar turning radius. Being a whole lot heavier machine, it can pick up logs close to 50% larger.

Just imagine having twice the speed and power in the same length package, and that will be a decent comparison to the Giant. On the other hand, that Bobcat probably comes with a much higher price tag.

I’m confused, how did we get talking about a “2500 series Giant”? You mean 254hd? That machine is now a G-1200 (like my small machine). Pa Giant is a V-6004T tele.

 

[Helmstein]

Yes. I've not run the Giant loaders, and I couldn't tell what model that was, so as to compare the exact specs. I have the Bobcat A300 and it is truly awesome for tree work.
I would guess that within the same weight class, the Giant has a greater loading capacity and has considerably more reach. The A300 will get into smaller spaces and will run circles around an articulating machine. Both will be fairly easy on turf and pavement, but the A300 can be equipped with floatation tires for almost no tracks on firm ground. That being said, when an almost 10k machine carries a 3k log out of the back yard, it's going to put depressions in loamy soil, whether or not it tears up the turf.

The A300 will be considerably more versatile, as it can switch to skid-steer mode, and work very tight quarters with any skid steer attachment. The operator's 360° visibility will be much better on the Giant, but the A300 will outperform the articulating loader on steep slopes, as it has a lower center of gravity (providing you don't try raising that loader too much!). Should you goof up and roll them both down a hill, the Bobcat will incur less damage, but it will have a greater tendency to keep rolling once it is started. The Giant will have vastly greater stability against rolling over backwards (a real weakness of all skid steers), so it should outperform the A300 driving empty up a hill to recover a load.

If I were to dial in my ideal equipment for loaders, I'd want the articulated loader for it's greater capacity, and I would dream of having a smaller machine than the A300 that still had the switchable-wheel steering in a lighter package. I think all the tiny skid steer machines like the Dingo are not so good an investment, once you learn how much traction is thrown away skid-steering around on every job. Too bad nobody makes a smaller version of the A300.

Until you try the A300, you just cannot appreciate how much traction is just thrown away on skid steering. I've been hopelessly stuck countless times while in skid steer mode, but I just flip the switch and go to 4-wheel steering and usually drive right out. There is a lot to be said for having 4 wheels all pulling in the direction you want to go, but that is a trait shared with all the articulating loaders, too. Digging power while grading or loading materials is similarly improved.

Thank you for such an in depth review of the A-300. It seems like a really great machine for tree work. I potentially have the opportunity to buy one this fall or early spring. It's all set up for tree work seeing as the current owner was a tree guy and is fully retiring at the end of the year.

How do you have yours set up? Do you have a rotating grapple or root grapple of sorts? Any advice on the A-300 would be greatly appreciated.

I think I would set mine up with a rotating grapple seeing as I would be machine feeding a bandit 19xpc with it.

Many thanks,

-Will

 

[jefflovstrom]

It's a beautiful day!
Jeff

 

[pdqdl]

I have a rock rake/grapple to which we added a 12k hydraulic winch. I can reach over a 6' tall fence and reel in a 2k log from 75' away. I put the winch on it to recover tree parts from a river bottom that was inaccessible to the machine. It's the best add-on for any machine I've come across. I've even picked up 5' diameter rounds that were too big for my 4' capacity grapple to pick up. Then lower it gently into the truck, too.

The A300 is just about the most awsome snow removal machine I've come across, too. We studded a set of tires for it, and the 4-wheel steer gives it way more control in the snow than skid steer.

Of course, it can do all the usual stuff that any large skid steer can do, providing you have the right attachments. It is functionally identical to a 300S when it is switched to "skid steer".

I have never run a rotating grapple, so I'm just guessing here, but these are my thoughts: The rotating grapple is far less capable of grabbing large loads of material, and it reduces the load capacity by gripping stuff far out in front of the machine. On the other hand, it would facilitate carrying some longer branches by rotating to a manageable angle. Myself, I'd rather have that large machine able to grab a bigger pile of brush or logs. If it comes to that, I can work with a groundie, he can loop the amsteel rope around a huge pile of branches, and the winch will then stuff it all together in a giant load of sticks for setting into a truck. I'd rather have the much greater capacity than the somewhat increased reach of the rotating grapples. If I really want to carry a branch lengthwise like the rotating grapple, it can be done awkwardly using the winch to a branch out on the long branch.

I have used the winch to pull some crazy leaning dead trees over, too. I can set two bull ropes in the tree, rigged so that (hopefully) a broken branch or rope won't lead to a failure. Then tie one off to the loader, and tie the other off to the winch line. By that method, I can balance the pull on each line until I feel comfortable pulling the tree over. 10,000 lbs of traction attached 40' up a tree with two different lines provides a lot of inducement to go the direction I want it to go.

 

[tree MDS]

Here’s the one pic I got from last week. 120’ (or so)?Ash tree. The bigger, live one was still booming, but infested hard (big lower branches dead, etc.). Fun job, they shut the little beach down for us.

These are the kind of trees I wouldn’t wanna attempt with the 75’ bucket.

 

[tree MDS]

Here’s a couple of pics from when we finished setting up the big grapple on my machine. The reach really is something else! Lol.

 

[Haplo]

I have a rock rake/grapple to which we added a 12k hydraulic winch

Can we see a picture of that?

 

[pdqdl]

I'll see what I can do. Not today, however.