Using personal climbing gear and saws for company work

[SemperFiSawguy]

I read the thread. Thats my worst nightmare, i told the bossman, its his company, his name on the trucks, but when im in the tree or in the bucket i run the show. For the safety of myself, the groundies and any targets around my landing area. I know enough to understand whats safe within the lifting radius of most cranes via log green weight charts and balance points. Im gonna do it safely enough so i can go home to my family or i wont do it at all. That thread is tragic i cant imagine someone giving my wife that phone call.

 

[SemperFiSawguy]

Update everyone!! I quit yesterday, after about two months of an unsafe working environment and making him all the money while i made peanuts i got out of the bucket truck and quit yesterday! Hes to cheap to buy com gear and i was about 45 feet up running the bucket and blocking down a large hackberry tree and he shut the truck off to "get my attention" while i was in the boom actively making a cut that required me to reposition the boom while the section hinged away from me and went taught in the rigging and since he shut the truck off i had a dead stick and it hit the boom and i bounced around like someone flicked a door stopper. I got down and instead of folding him in half like a shop towel collected my gear and left. I can say with absolute confidence that i should have left in my first week but i have to give people the benefit of the doubt. He considers himself a 50 year old know it all jackass that consistently cuts dutchmens into his face cuts and leaves them and makes far to narrow of a face cut so his holding wood breaks off prematurely every single time. That and i can say ive seen him wear PPE 1 time. Thats it. Good riddence.

 

[Woodanhor]

Update everyone!! I quit yesterday, after about two months of an unsafe working environment and making him all the money while i made peanuts i got out of the bucket truck and quit yesterday! Hes to cheap to buy com gear and i was about 45 feet up running the bucket and blocking down a large hackberry tree and he shut the truck off to "get my attention" while i was in the boom actively making a cut that required me to reposition the boom while the section hinged away from me and went taught in the rigging and since he shut the truck off i had a dead stick and it hit the boom and i bounced around like someone flicked a door stopper. I got down and instead of folding him in half like a shop towel collected my gear and left. I can say with absolute confidence that i should have left in my first week but i have to give people the benefit of the doubt. He considers himself a 50 year old know it all jackass that consistently cuts dutchmens into his face cuts and leaves them and makes far to narrow of a face cut so his holding wood breaks off prematurely every single time. That and i can say ive seen him wear PPE 1 time. Thats it. Good riddence.

Good luck
Either find a reputable and safe company or start out small and do your own thing the right safe way and let the hacks keep on hacking on they will probably never be anything better then a hack

 

[SemperFiSawguy]

One of my bigger jobs i did on my own, three huge maples.

 

[Foregly]

So im a "new" climber, have only been climbing for about a year, i did alot of rope work in the marine corps so ive had a headstart in that way. I have been doing landscaping and tree work on my own for about 7 months and i still do on weekends but i recently took a job as a full time climber for $20 an hour with a local company. His saws are all husqy homeowner saws and two MS193Ts that are also junk that are beat to hell, never start and half of them dont oil. So typically i bring my own saws and fuel/oil strictly for my own convienence. My question is whats a fair price for me using my own saws and climbing and rigging gear? His "climbing gear" is all crappy leather stuff that looks like it remembers the great deppression and is more lineman gear then suitable arborist gear. I refuse to use it as it isnt safe in my opinion and half his ropes are cut or chaffed. I use all nice new sampson ropes so for me its easier and safer to just use my gear, i just dont let any of the groundies touch my stuff. Im located in SE MN as well so we dont demand the big money for tree removal like the city boys do out here its really small town feel and alot of people just dont have the money city people do.

It is art of climbing on tree and you have to take care of proper arrangement like equipment and rope with confidence.

 

[ATH]

Congrats on making the tough decision...but it sounds like the right one!

Stick around. Ask questions. Share what you are leaning. I think we all want to see the "good guys" thrive and want to learn how each other does it.

Keep learning. Do what you know well. Take on tasks that force you to learn more. Stay safe. Treat people with honesty and respect. Work hard. You'll do great!

Good luck!

 

[jefflovstrom]

Too bad you don't work for a company like ours, #1 in safety, training, education, etc,,,we are nationwide, probably in your area also or nearby. We are also a publicly traded company, full benefits, holidays, vacation, etc,,we hire year round. I have been a manager here for almost 20 years, we supply all gear and equipment, top of the line, bottom line, we promote safety over production. No, we do not do any line clearance in case you were wondering,,lol.
Jeff
It was a beautiful day!

 

[JosephLobdell]

It's pretty common in our industry for a climber to supply some of the more personalized items for climbing, like saddle, carabiners, climbing hitch cords, etc. I believe an employer should provide that stuff, but many would disagree.

It should be universal, however, that the higher wear and tear items like chainsaws, ropes, pruners, etc. should be provided by the employer.

When it comes to your safety, don't compromise. Use your climbing stuff if you really like/need this job. You can get tax write offs for that stuff. When it comes to job performance, if he wants you to perform, he needs to provide you with strong and reliable tools.

Would you mind elaborating on the tax write offs?

 

[sean donato]

Would you mind elaborating on the tax write offs?

Same thing as a mechanic claiming his tool expenditure on taxes each year they file. It's a tool required to do your job, thus a percent of it can be used to keep from paying excess taxes. Been doing this my entire adult life, safety gear, specific work clothes, tools, you name it, as long as I can prove its required for my job, and not supplied by the company.

 

[JosephLobdell]

Same thing as a mechanic claiming his tool expenditure on taxes each year they file. It's a tool required to do your job, thus a percent of it can be used to keep from paying excess taxes. Been doing this my entire adult life, safety gear, specific work clothes, tools, you name it, as long as I can prove its required for my job, and not supplied by the company.

Thank you so much! Does this reflect upon the company that you work for?

 

[Del_]

I'm retired now but when in the biz we would always mark and assign saddles and ropes to our climbers. There was no mixed use of climbing gear. If they wanted to use their own gear it was up to them. Pay was by performance and was not connected to if they used their own gear or not.

We always supplied the chainsaws, pole saws and hand saws. Every saw we used was a Stihl pro model and though the guys were welcome to bring their own saws if they wanted, none ever did for more than a few days. Chainsaws were for general usage but if a good climber claimed one, he got his name put on it.

We put initials on work gloves and they were handed out at the office each morning at request and marked by the secretary. Gloves are not a big deal but it sure cut down on stray gloves being left all over the place.

We supplied all work boots at request.

 

[sean donato]

Thank you so much! Does this reflect upon the company that you work for?

No reflection of the company I currently work for. I'm actually a mechanic, that works at an amusement park, we do the rigging, crane operations, and the repairs at height. Other then boots and hand tools, they supply the rest of the gear. Save any specific gear you want, ie specific carabiners, tool lanyards ect.

 

[JosephLobdell]

No reflection of the company I currently work for. I'm actually a mechanic, that works at an amusement park, we do the rigging, crane operations, and the repairs at height. Other then boots and hand tools, they supply the rest of the gear. Save any specific gear you want, ie specific carabiners, tool lanyards ect.

Thank you for the information. You have broadened my understanding considerably.

 

[JosephLobdell]

I'm retired now but when in the biz we would always mark and assign saddles and ropes to our climbers. There was no mixed use of climbing gear. If they wanted to use their own gear it was up to them. Pay was by performance and was not connected to if they used their own gear or not.

We always supplied the chainsaws, pole saws and hand saws. Every saw we used was a Stihl pro model and though the guys were welcome to bring their own saws if they wanted, none ever did for more than a few days. Chainsaws were for general usage but if a good climber claimed one, he got his name put on it.

We put initials on work gloves and they were handed out at the office each morning at request and marked by the secretary. Gloves are not a big deal but it sure cut down on stray gloves being left all over the place.

We supplied all work boots at request.

Thank you very much!

 

[Treeman2021]

Removed my post and re-posted it as a new thread.