... The problem I am having is every one keep giving me different advice on how to cut the piece that the crane is lifting. I don't like any thing I've tried yet. We have a 40ft knuckle boom crane where I'm working now. This can be fitted with a 20ft extension.
He has me cut an angle down one side half way through. Then I come from the back side at an angle and try to hit the other cut. (it never work like he says)He says this is because the V holds the piece in place and then the crane can pick it up. This hasn't work out to good for me. So how do you guys do it? Theres got to be a better method.
#1. You should be in charge of how the cut is done. Your life is on the line. Some employers think it is their job to tell a climber how to make cuts. I tell every climber that I hire that I won't tell them how to make a cut, nor where to cut, that I will only give advice and strong suggestions.
I reserve the right to tell them to get out of the tree.
You should work out a similar arrangement with your employer, since the climber is the only person with the right perspective.
#2. Use this thread and some of Reg's videos to convince your employer to let you do the cuts differently. Notice how nice his pic's come off the stump? That is mostly due to the excellent job he does balancing the sling & crane hook placement, not how the cut is made.
#3. A snap cut (off-set horizontal cuts) allows the climber to view the dynamic loading of the limb against the slings as it is being made. This allows the climber to advise the crane operator how to position the crane and position the load and subsequently lift the branch off the stem...before he finishes the cut.
Your v-notch is less easy to visualize as the cut proceeds, and it seems to be your employers opinion that the branch needs to be stabilized until the crane gets control. This is a flawed procedure: get control of the branch before it separates from the stem. There is less chance of wildly swinging branches, and there is also less risk of dynamically overloading the crane. There are not many things worse than a branch that swings down and wide, overloading the crane, with a subsequent crash!
Find out if it is loaded properly BEFORE you turn the branch loose, not afterwards!
