The Art and Science of Moving Brush

[a_lopa]

i use this draw string for final pick up,think youll like it Guy,

 

[MasterBlaster]

So many people underestimate the power of the rake, when applied properly.

 

[John Stewart]

Easy Butch that is a 4 lettered word, you trying to get banned!

 

[NickfromWI]

Hey Guy, I guess I didn't tell you about the book I want to write. I've spoken to sharon lily and she said she liked the idea: The Art and Science of Practical Dragging."

Basically it'd cover all the things that a new grounder would need to know.

love
nick

 

[Frans]

Dont overlook PROPER BRUSH STACKING!
Feather the brush so each pile/branch can be seperated easily for feeding into the chipper
Frans

 

[NickfromWI]

Here's a technique I developed quickly at the Care of Trees and still use today. When stacking branches, the most important one is the one on the bottom. Look for one that flairs out like a fan (or now that I am in CA, "like a palm frond"). Set that one down, then proceed to set others down on top of it. But don't just set them on top. Force then down so that the twigs get intertwined and lock together causing the pile to become one unit. Stack it to your desired size then you can often grab the butt end of the bottom fanned-out limb and just pull that, though in less perfect situations you'll need to grab more to keep things together.

I like to stack my piles to the size that I can toss the whole pile into the chipper. Bigger the chipper, the bigger the pile.

When I get to the chipper, if there is someone there already feeding it, set the stack down and go get more. When they are done, they can feed what you left. I've been on jobs and seen 4 or 5 guys all standing around the chipper while one guy struggles with a stuck piece of brush in the infeed chute. 4 guys waiting. Waste of time. I know it's best not to pick stuff up more than once, but waiting is worse.

Don't put one big pile near the chipper. Frans said to feather it out so that it can be separated. I like to just make many small piles that one person can walk to, pick up, and throw in the chipper, rather than sorting out a bigger pile and trying to grab the right amount.

That's it for now. I hated dragging brush when I started. I did all in my power to lessen its effect on me.

love
nick

 

[MasterBlaster]

I don't believe in the 'bunch of piles' method, Nick. I can 'windrow' a complete tree in one well-organized stack for the chipper to back up to. Logs/chunks on one side(or at the bottom, under the brush), and the windrowed brush on the other.

I use your method for dragging the piles up to the chipper, either by hand or a chipper-mounted winch.

The sweeter you stack it, the sweeter it chips.


And, whatcha posting bmp attachments fer?

 

[ORclimber]

I'm a bunch of armload size piles guy. Seems like the big piles get tangled and need to be untangled then fed one stick at a time.

 

[NeTree]

How about stacking from back to front instead of vice-sersa... one of my pet peeves.

Nothing sucks more than seeing a nice neat brush row... stacked wrong.

 

[Tree Machine]

Here's a versatile tool for low-impact, high-volume 'dragging' of brush. This was great in getting the brush out of a deep backyard, through a gate and to the chipper out front (Oh how we love that!)

This was the first day I had the tool on the job. I hired a Pakistani woman who just wanted to work outside for a day or two. I told her that her job would be as a new gear tester.

This 113 lb woman of academics did great in stacking and hauling out brush. Here she is hauling out a stack, alone, an amount twice that which I might drag by hand on her very first 'drag'. She said it was easy. Atta girl!

 

[Tree Machine]

David showed up later that day and really stacked it on.

 

[Tree Machine]

Side rails come off...

 

[Tree Machine]

End of the line.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Wow!

That's different!

 

[ORclimber]

Wow. That thing looks a lot bigger with a person standing next to it than it did in the mailer.

 

[MasterBlaster]

So, how do ya pack that thing around from job to job?

 

[TimberMcPherson]

I use an old elasticated towing strop with a hook on one end, you cant tie up a big bundle, sinch it and carry it with more of the load off the ground and less dragging, therefore less lost on steps and you can move faster.
Another thing I have been using lately is my beloved chainsaw winch and a hand cart (like the big one you see in the sherrill catalog carrying a big log.) kinda looks like this (the O being the wheel)
I
I
I
I
O___


If you have a long relatively straight drag on ground without steps this works a beauty. First lay the cart down (not standing up like youd usually use it) with the wheel end facing the chainsaw winch (which is anchored as close to the chipper as you can) Load it up with the stub ends against the base plate, load up alot (we were moving up to about 300lbs of macrocarpa at a time). It gets kinda mess but once youve got a 4 to 5 foot high and 3 foot wide load run strop around it, sinch it around the load and handle bar of the cart and then attact to cable of winch. One guy has to operate the winch and one has to kinda guide the cart but your moving many times in one go what you could usually carry and it saves you alot of dragging and less dragged dirt through the chipper.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

We did a medium sized Black Cherry removal a few summers ago. The people who owned the house were very anal and protective about the landscape. They hold garden parties during the summer. I found the best way to remove brush on this job was to carry the brush over my head. I know this is a difficult way of doing this but it was the only way to keep from tearing up the landscape.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I woulda passed on that job, Rich.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Over-the-head bush carrying is a key talent if you want to be invited back to formal landscape$$. I like a long sling to squeeze the piles narrow. Same burrito-shaped formation works well for feeding into a little chipper.

Senioritis, ha ha ha.

Art & Science of Practical Dragging? Could be a best-seller, but I'm not sure about that title...

NYSawBoss, take all this input to heart and mind, ok? After a few months of learning this Art and Science, you'll be a better climber. How? By handling tree parts on the ground, you are learning more about how trees are put together.

Every twig tells a story, don't it?