Throw line

[Tree Machine]

Hi Guys and gals.

Tree md, you flatter me. EdenT, thank you for the plug.

I just stumbled onto this thread and was quite surprised to see the shotline winder pictured. It has only been available a couple weeks as of this writing. If I may, please let me share.

If you do a search here or any of the other 4 arborist forums, type in 'winder' or 'reel'. Yes, a number of times in years past I have shown how you can make one of these and encouraged the readership to do so because the reel works so very well in saving time and hassle, I just wanted to share the knowledge. In the last few months, though, the community pressure to produce one for sale has been,... lets say I finally gave into peer pressure.

Throwline management has been an ongoing issue since the invention of the shotbag and is central to anyone who sets ropes, whether by hand-throwing the shotbag or by using the bigshot. The key to success in using any throwline is not getting it tangled. Second in importance is how fast you can employ the line and how fast it can be put away.

It's hard to become good with the throwline if its a PITA to deal with the line, whether before or after the rope set. Thats what the goal was with this reel; ease of line management, making the act of setting a rope swift and hassle-free. I have spent dozens of hours sharing with the Arb community so they can eliminate the headaches of dealing with throwline but information only goes so far without an actual product to back it up.

 

[Tree Machine]

SO, a commercial shotline management tool specifically for arborists is now available.

The shotline winder is intended to save you time, make the general use of throwline easier and streamline the rope setting process, beginning-to-end.
The reel is made for professionals who do this day in and day out and whose time is best spent climbing an caring for trees.

To some of you, this may sound like shameless self-promotion, but let me be crystal clear. I will make $1 per reel royalty. I make money every day in using it in doing tree care. I'm an Arborist. I am not a manufacturer, and don't want to be, though each and every reel will pass through my hands before it goes out to you. I committed to being the quality control guy. I also built the jigs and established the process so that each reel is consistent and 100% ready to go to work for you.

There's a couple unemployed people who now have jobs because of this, so I feel really good about that.

 

[Tree Machine]

You do not need to unwind the line to do a throw or to do a bigshot.
The reel is set on the ground in front of you and you just throw. The line spools off the reel with ease, no tangles.

The Bigshot is the same. Set the reel down in front of you and fire. A 70-foot shot is reasonable to expect. 85 feet is my best to date. You can probably go higher. I get kinda freaky-scared stretching the bigshot back really far.

 

[RacerX]

You do not need to unwind the line to do a throw or to do a bigshot.
The reel is set on the ground in front of you and you just throw. The line spools off the reel with ease, no tangles.

The Bigshot is the same. Set the reel down in front of you and fire. A 70-foot shot is reasonable to expect. 85 feet is my best to date. You can probably go higher. I get kinda freaky-scared stretching the bigshot back really far.

How do you wind the line back up? It seems that if you don't unwind it to use the big shot then coming off of the end of that reel would put twists in the line.

 

[Tree Machine]

How do you wind the line back up?

There is both a fixed handle, and a swivel, a big, saltwater, stainless steel one. Take the handle, or the swivel, whichever you like better. One hand winds, the other holds the center pivot handle and you wind like a mo-fo. You pinch the line between your legs to create an ideal tension on the line and you keep your eye on the reel as you're winding and make a nice, even, shallow conical buildup of line and you're done.

It seems that if you don't unwind it to use the big shot then coming off of the end of that reel would put twists in the line.

It does. The entire line is a twist, and the bag generally untwists the line on the way down. That's a very important point.

The smaller the drum, the more the twist you will get. The drum here is pretty big, much larger compared to even a big saltwater spin-casting reel, which is the same exact principle as we are employing here. If you take a kid fishing, will his fishing line spin if he is using a spin-casting reel? Yes. But it doesn't twist as to affect performance, and you go on fishing all day. Same thing here. A twist is given to the shotline on every shot, but it just doesn't seem to matter much in the sense of performance.

It does not impart even an annoying spin, or twist. I like to see it as a helix that undoes itself on the way back down. You can let the bag hang until it's it's all spun-out if you wanted to, but
I don't. You just don't want it to ever get spun into a kink, and that's rather unusual though it can happen. With the occasional kink, you'll always catch it because the kink would have to go through your pinched thighs (your line tensioners, and you would feel it. Give a kink a little untwist and keep on reeling.


Those are good questions. In fact, they are about the best questions that could be asked.

Anybody can ask me anything.

 

[Tree Machine]

I have a question

What up, dawg?

You should post a video

That's a good suggestion, Tree Machine. You should make one.

Don't you have one from a few years ago, a former model?

Yes, as a matter of fact, Tree Machine, I do. That version of the reel worked really well.

So is the new model better?

Frickin hey it is! I'm so very pleased with the upgrade with this newest model that I could almost weep as I stand here and tell you about it.

Don't get dramatic.

Sorry.

So ..... the video I asked for?

Oh, yea, let me introduce it to the 7 or 8 guys reading this who are interested in it (you know who you are).
The video is simply a 12oz shotbag being fired about 60 feet into a tree, right off the reel, then how the line is flaked onto the ground while pulling the rope up and over, and the reeling in of the entire length (~120 feet) back onto the reel, the shotbag threaded around the drum and over the handle and that's all folks.

Any time now.....

Ok, ok, you are the most impatient person I know.

Right back at ya!

Smartazz

Takes one to know one.

All right already.

Ten years of research, development and field testing, thousands of throws and shots and literally, 40 seasons of use, and it all gets distilled down to this one minute video.

Oooohhh, suspense.

Your sarcasm is annoying me.

You gotta live with it.

Heh, heh. :sword:

So finally, here is the videohttp://treeguy.info/videos/shotline_reel.mov
It is only about a minute long. And real amateur , there are a few still-shots of earlier model reels at the end of the video.
I have it crunched down so it will stream to you faster.

 

[tree md]

What up, dawg?
That's a good suggestion, Tree Machine. You should make one.
Yes, as a matter of fact, Tree Machine, I do. That version of the reel worked really well.Frickin hey it is! I'm so very pleased with the upgrade with this newest model that I could almost weep as I stand here and tell you about it.
Sorry.
Oh, yea, let me introduce it to the 7 or 8 guys reading this who are interested in it (you know who you are).
The video is simply a 12oz shotbag being fired about 60 feet into a tree, right off the reel, then how the line is flaked onto the ground while pulling the rope up and over, and the reeling in of the entire length (~120 feet) back onto the reel, the shotbag threaded around the drum and over the handle and that's all folks.
Ok, ok, you are the most impatient person I know.SmartazzAll right already.

Ten years of research, development and field testing, thousands of throws and shots and literally, 40 seasons of use, and it all gets distilled down to this one minute video.Your sarcasm is annoying me.

Heh, heh. :sword:

So finally, here is the videohttp://treeguy.info/videos/shotline_reel.mov
It is only about a minute long. And real amateur , there are a few still-shots of earlier model reels at the end of the video.
I have it crunched down so it will stream to you faster.

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[EdenT]

Great vid - How's that whole multiple personality thing working out for you?:yourock:

 

[Tree Machine]

Great vid - How's that whole multiple personality thing working out for you?

It does the tango with my attention deficit disorder.

 

[RacerX]

It does the tango with my attention deficit disorder.

Tree Machine, what kind of throw line do you use in that video?

 

[Tree Machine]

100 feet of each

Hmmmm, likely it was 1.75 mm dyneema Zing-It by Sampson. I say 'likely' because I try out every new line that comes on the market.

At present I'm running equal lengths of Zing-It and Fling-it, chemically identical polymers, but a slightly different weave as you can see by the picture below. The orange Fling-It seems to be just a wee bit 'slicker'.
Clearly I need to learn how to splice ends together:

 

[Tree Machine]

I found another video.

Again, crude. and rustic, just winding the reel up. This reel version was minimalist, and I was into going as compact as practically possible.
A base plate was added, a shallow hole cut into it. You would use a stick as the winding handle. The thinking is, there is going to be a stick available to each and every of you out there because, well because we are treeguys and sticks is just part of what we do.

Enjoy the view of this very early trial. It worked.

get some popcorn.

 

[bruce6670]

That little device looks pretty cool.I may have to invest in one.

 

[Tree Machine]

A tool that pays for itself in time saved and hassles prevented truly IS an investment. After it covers its 69 dollars, it keeps on giving and giving. That's better than what 69 bucks could do for you in the stock market so thank you, Bruce, for pointing out that this is not simply a purchase, or an expense.
It pays to know the difference.

 

[lumberjack333]

Cube is the only way to go, and don't get the cheap one... spend the money for the big guy, its worth it!

 

[Tree Machine]

Hey, look what I found.... a three year-old slideshow. This shotline winder slideshow has never been seen outside of my house.

The slideshow is an historical running of all the different versions of the reel, different sizes, different styles, different shotline, everything except for today's current reel.

This one has music and is used with the permission of the artist, Preston Reed. The name of the song is "Accufuse".
Still pretty rough as far as video, but learning.

Shotline Winder Slideshow