palmersfirewood said:
Ok i understand why not to use spikes on pruning but the ladder thing I'm not sure about. I have a 1 ton flatbed with 4 foot sides to use as a temporary chiptruck and can borrow a chipper anytime. Is sherrill better than wesspur, I ordered a catalog from them both but he sherrill hasn't arrived yet so I am basing my ?'s on the wesspur equipment. Few More Questions:
Are aluminum and titanium spurs worth the price difference?
How much rope (rigging and climbing) should I have?
What kind of ascenders and carabiners do I need?
Should I try to work with a partner when I start up or is it better to fly solo?
Is clearing ROW good experience for general tree work? The guy I work with now clears ROW mon-thurs and does general work fri and sat so I help him with the general work but when I am 18 he is hiring me to clear ROW, is it good experience?
THANKS
OK Ladders.... Work well if you have a groundsman who can remove them once you are in the tree you may find that one that extends to 20 ft is more appropriate but depends on how high you first limbs are in your area. Down south a 40 footer wouldn't get you there but in Iowa a 20 will do the job. They will bend if you hit them with a tree
Spikes... personally I don't think they are worth the money to go to the light weight ones but that is just my opinion
Ropes.... I would have two climb lines in a 16 or 24 strand. HyVee or Blaze I would suggest. You should have a three strand 150 ft for natural crotch lowering and Samsons Stable Braid for rigging on false crotches and I would recommend a porta wrap in large size. You can use a bigger rope with the large the medium you only can go up to a 9/16 rope.
Ascenders.... It depends on your climbing stile. I am working on footlocking and if you can get that down there is no need for one but until then I am using a left and right hand pentzl ascender and a pantin foot ascender. I use the right as my life line hooked to me and then my left I have a foot loop and also have a back up lifeline going to me off of it. You can do this with a single rope (SRT) over a limb and tied off to a tree or you can do a double rope technique (DbRT) in which you rope goes up over a limb or through a false crotch and comes back down to you one end is tied off to you and the other is the one you will be pulling on to ascend. Make sure you have someone show you this before you try either style.
Carabiners.... Ansi requires the posi lock carabiner for your life line. I like the Auto Lock Steel ones for rigging. If you are going to be hanging gear off of yourself which you will you can get the carabiners that don't lock. I like the screw locks for this because you can lock them if you want or you can leave them unlocked if you want.
Partners.... They can be good if money becomes a problem or if they fill a void for example if you are the worlds greatest tree cutter but can't talk to a customer then someone who is good with people and knowledgeable about trees but maybe doesn't like climbing around in them would be a good possibility. However a partner is like a spouse in many cases you have to ask for permission to do something like spending money or changing something.
Personally I say go solo. No one to answer to and if you can handle it on your own it is the only way to go. Then you will find a good staff that will complete you and your picture of the perfect business.
I think any experience is good experience unless the experience is bad experience. Confused yet???? If they are a reputable company with good work ethics then it will be good but if they are hacks then you don't want to learn from them. You will pick up bad habits and learn how to do things the wrong way.
Hope this novel helps.
