Customers says it's ok if this gets damaged

[ropensaddle]

Sounds like a tough job done very well.

I use a different method for absorbing energy which works extremely well and takes up almost no room on the truck. I carry a dozen wool bags and have the groundies half fill them with chips from the truck. The only time I have ever managed to burst a bag was when we were free falling 120kg blocks from a Tuart Gum about 20 meters up. We also dropped a River Red Gum stick about 6.5 metres weighing 2300kg onto clay brick paving. We laid the bags out 2 wide and 5 long then laid 200 mm dia branches on top of the bags. Dropped the stick using a skid steer loader for rope tension and did not break a single brick. The math master of the school said the stick would have spent about 6500kg of energy on impact.

I love how inventive you can get when the drop zone is small and the blocks are monsters....

Not a bad idea gunny sacks rock

 

[John464]

TM,

The idea of sticking a smaller tire inside the larger is a good idea. Thanks for sharing. I used all relatively the same size car tires that we got the day before from a tire store. Had twenty something tires. Stacked two layers. Truck tires would have definitely been better.

Climbing Fool,

Also another great idea. Thanks!

 

[rbtree]

Great job, john! Fast, and fairly priced at $90 per manhr. Did you have 2 or 3 climbers aloft at a time? Tips, nothing wrong with accepting them! couldn't believe the fella saying he gives them back.

lotsa good ideas on this thread.

Yup, vertical speedline works for bounce control.

Yup, with a GRCS, you can pretension a line, and employ rapid slack removal as the chunk is going over, and thus work a spar lower down safely. (But I always look for an alternative to lowering big wood if possible.

Tires: different sizes, yup..... layers of tires, brush and plywood work (better if its a conifer) Also, We'll lace the tires together with a bunch of rope to keep them sort of the way we want them.

Chips for padding, great...but time consuming. We've done it a few times.

 

[John464]

Rb,
thanks. It was all me except for the bucket truck work. Didnt have the room to place two guys in the tree at the same time except first off in the morning when I was setting my lines I had 3 men rigging down everything that was beyond the fence and over top the electric lines with the bucket truck.

Question..Best method to go about anchoring a vertical speedline? I must admit Ive only learned about vertical speedlining within the past few years, but have good experience with normal horizontal speedlining.

Also every time I use a short speed line, be it horizontal or vertical, I seem to burn up my slings. This is caused by when the load hits the ground and pushes the sling up against the rope and keeps moving. Since the speed line is so short you cant get that gradual slow down before the load is haulted.

 

[woodchux]

On a horizontal speedline I use a 'z' rig on the lower end. That way a groundman can adjust the slack in the rope as the piece comes down. Also handy to loosen the line for re hooking slings.
On a vertical speedline i have used a running bowline around the bottom of the tree.

 

[squad143]

use more tires if need be

I think Baileys has a sale on them right now.

 

[(WLL)]

when i worked for a small logging/land clearing company if we had to get our excavator or any steel track machine cross the road we would make a cross section/bridge of tires. it was a great/free solution so there was no damage to the pavement

 

[treebilly]

i`ve used steel road plates on top of tires before. we tookdown an 80 foot tulip poplar with about a 72 inch base in 2 cuts. took the top out at about 40 foot, 30 inch butt hit dead nuts center. HO was replacing drive but we didn`t want to bust it up anyhow. with the plates or plywood on top the wieght is distributed better and with wood that size you usually don`t get much bounce

 

[rbtree]

Rb,
thanks. It was all me except for the bucket truck work. ...


...Question..Best method to go about anchoring a vertical speedline?QUOTE]

Impressive! That's a lot of work for one guy in the tree-or bucket

The best way to anchor a vert speedline is with a portawrap. Easy to lock off...and quick to adjust as the climber moves down the tree. Won't get hurt if the piece hits it. But I move it off to the side a bit from the LZ, so it would only be hit in the event of a bounce. Good to use a big line, as sideways bounce can apply some sizable dynamic loading. This would be a good application for a nylon rope, as most have 2-3 times the stretch of polyester.