Homeowner Tree Climbing Advice

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reachtreeservi

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One of the most common questions asked on Arborist Site goes something like this : What equipment do I need to buy and what techniques do I use to climb and cut a tree on my property ? I had a tree service come out and look at the trees but they wanted $2000.00 ( or $500.00 or any other figure you can think of ) , so I've decided to cut them myself.

There have been hundreds , if not thousands of this type of question asked on this site. Some of the home owners listen to the advice they receive, some don't.

While perusing some old posts on the site I ran across this post about Barber Chairs. Read it and pay particular attention to the desciption of what and when it goes bad while cutting in the tree.


Tree Machine is the original poster.


Quote " Imagine if this were up in the air, you're fliplined into a leaning top and you're thinking, "Ahh, no-brainer. Cut here, it falls there." But you're tied into it and as you sink your chainsaw into the back cut, you hear that rifle crack and in a fraction of a second the top barbers, catching you in the gut. It hinges up, digging in deep under your sternum, through to your spine. In the next fraction of that same second you notice that in the mayhem your chainsaw has severed your right leg, but it concerns you not because your flipline has your lower body (minus a leg) held captive, so your upper torso is ripped from your lower half and catapulted into the neighbor's pool. Amidst this (we're now into 2nd second) your intestines have unfurled and although it is entirely debatable where your intestines will snap, or whether they will at all and leave your head and torso hanging far beneath your lower torso, as stated earlier, you were flung with such force as to effect a swan dive into the crystal blue water. Let's call this a 'half swan'.

So you bloodied up the neighbor's pool. You got guts hanging down through the lower limbs of the tree, you're still (partially) aloft, your stupid azz is still fliplined in and saw still running at idle. Most definitely the worst 5 seconds of your life, but your concerns are already on to other things because YOU'RE DEAD.

If you are inwardly focussed, you new concern might be, "Wow, pearly gates. Cool! I wonder if the beer is actually better in Heaven?" If you're an outwardly focussed person, you might think, "Bummer, someone's gotta clean up that mess AND one of my buddys has gotta finish the treejob." EndQuote



Still want to save a few bucks ?
 
No one can say it like the Tree Machine can ! Yes, it's quite graphic. And possibly quite realistic.
Even for those of us that do tree work for a living, sometimes our days are filled with close calls. Probably alot more than we realize or would like to admit.

Every Tree is a potential killer. Really.
 
I was in the Sherrill store inside the Tulsa Vermeer yesterday. When I made my way over to the block and pulley section a guy who had been fondling the various saddles came over to me and asked "how do you climb trees with pulleys?". I stammered out something about lowering wood over hazards, then I see the little cartoon of the false crotch/port-a-wrap setup on the label of the block and sling combo and I point it out to him. "This shows the basic setup", I say, "but lowering wood off of a spar is incredibly dangerous and should only be attempted by an experienced arborist". He replies, while rolling his eyes "I know it is dangerous, I have climbed trees before and I have done a lot of construction. I just need to know where to tie the pulley." :eek: Then he asks "so what all do you need?".

I ended up talking the guy into getting a bid from me on the work. But I am pretty sure he just wanted to show his mother, who's homes the trees are on, the estimate in order to convince her to buy him the New Tree Guy special gear package.
 
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Short of being in Iraq right now, probably one of the most dangerous professions available to jobseekers ! Always hire a professional , it saves time, money & catastrophic injuries.
 
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