Toughest trees to climb

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Doesn't sound like a Tree City USA to me.

it is, in the sense that they make you replace the trees you remove, if you get a permit, but noone here does unless its in a place where you're likely to be seen by the 'tree police'. there's not enough tree police here to even begin to monitor all the work that happens. alachua county is severly overgrown, wherever there's no house or cleared lot, there's forrest.

go gators

I'm down the hwy about 170 mi in Bradenton.

go longhorns, lol. i'm pissed at alachua county atm.
 
we spike everything here, takedown or not. i havent seen a climber yet who climbs a rope in this city

Same thing here. The main reason I do spikeless prunes is to try and carve a little niche out with the uber-green crowd. Most have responded quite well to it but there are just as many who say, "You can use the hooks if ya want, I don't care." There's only a handful of companies that even wear hardhats here as well. Lotsa rednecks w/ chainsaws in this town. Since I cannot yet afford to roll up with a half mil in equipment and look big time I do what I can to set myself apart, no spikes on prunes and hardhats on all the time. People respond to it.
 
Same thing here. The main reason I do spikeless prunes is to try and carve a little niche out with the uber-green crowd. Most have responded quite well to it but there are just as many who say, "You can use the hooks if ya want, I don't care." There's only a handful of companies that even wear hardhats here as well. Lotsa rednecks w/ chainsaws in this town. Since I cannot yet afford to roll up with a half mil in equipment and look big time I do what I can to set myself apart, no spikes on prunes and hardhats on all the time. People respond to it.

yeah, no hardhats either. i'm not afraid to use one or tell my guys to use one if the situation calls for it, like roping out a dead tree where the limbs splatter when the hit anything, or throwing trees in the woods, or lots of hangers in a tree.

my opinion on the spikes is that you're going up there to cut the tree, one cut is worth at least 1 spike mark. larger cuts might be equal to thousands of spikes. sometimes on prettier trees i'll put a ladder up so there's no marks on the first 20ft, which is where bugs prefer to enter.
 
"Standard year round wear over here Dave. Us tough Aussies aren't afraid to sweat a little....

And Aussie girls make us shower before contact!

Climbing in chaps is just not fun......"



BUT GIRLS IN CHAPS ARE
 
I hear ya' Stihl Rockin' on those cottonwoods. Here in New England, Black Locusts have a similar deep bark, and thorns to boot. Using a flip line to inch your way up is almost impossible as you'll usually snag something on the back side of the trunk. Better to get a throwing ball up into a U-shape crotch and body thrust up.

An additonal note on blue gums (eucalyptus) is the spiral grain and thick, heavy gum. No matter how you make your cuts, the branches always seem to rotate off rather then break clean, making for some interesting scenarios when working over roofs and wires.
Found this out the hard way today...
 
Fine pruning a large pin oak (without stripping it out). I think if you can survive that you might have a chance at surviving self employment in the tree business long term.
 
Interesting, though somewhat boring thread. Back when I owned a tree business in Northern Ohio, though I had climbing ropes, body harness and spikes, I very seldom if ever used them. We did everything with a High Ranger and even used the bucket hydraulics to run the saw Up here in SE Michigan (at least with the outfits I sharpen chipper knives for), no one climbs, they all use bucket trucks My harness and spikes are hanging in the garage and have been for years.
 
I'll climb black locust all day. Good solid wood with good bark for spiking. Natural honey locust, the kind with the 3" thorns, no thanks. I trimmed on once and never again. Honey locusts from nurseries that have been genetically modified to disallow the thorns are goo climbers though.
 
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