Big Trees need big tools....

[Little Monkey]

I see what you are saying LM. Your reaction time could be quicker to pop behind the trunk but the rate at which the job progresses would be slower. Most Crane picks are tip and mid lead tied. A lot easier to go up and back down with a bucket truck than climbing. With the size picks we take that could mean a difference of climbing 20-50ft up and back down for each pick. Big difference in terms of production. I'm big on getting things done safe also, but if you don't have confidence that the pick is going float up and away from you don't make that cut!

i can definitely see how the picker would be easier then climbing , as for speed i think that depends on the climber, as for big picks everyone does them if they have the landing room on the deck it would be silly not too , i have lifted in excess of 10 ton many times when the site allows, and just because you have confidence in your lift it doesnt mean nothing could go wrong , " expect the unexpected and all that ..", i would be lying if i said i never miss judged something on a crane job, especially when i was starting out, but to be fair i have never used a picker for crane work so it is only my opinion that i would rather be in the tree.

 

[Little Monkey]

I see what you are saying LM. Your reaction time could be quicker to pop behind the trunk but the rate at which the job progresses would be slower. Most crance picks are tip and mid lead tied. A lot easier to go up and back down with a bucket truck than climbing. With the size picks we take that could mean a difference of climbing 20-50ft up and back down for each pick. Big difference in terms of production. I'm big on getting things done safe also, but if you don't have confidence that the pick is going float up and away from you don't make that cut!

sorry just noticed you said climb 20-50 ft up and back down, why climb up ?
you should already be up ?, hook on the chains and drop down to make your cut . i ask out of interest as you may have a different technique and i am always keen to learn.

 

[Little Monkey]

Thanks for the feedback folks.

LM the tree was too unstable to climb hence the bucket. In Australia you must have a riggers ticket to set chains when climbing and that's still on my things-to-do list. Had the tree been stable/safe enough to climb I would have taken a week off, got my riggers ticket and climbed to set chains as the bucket cost 3k. Instead it was all factored in to the quote.

I was on the ground for the entire job, the bucket operator was the saw hand for all aerial cuts.

Interesting thoughts on chains. It depends on the rigger it seems. This time around all lifts were done on slings with a couple of funky pieces having a third chain wrapped on. The hooks on the chain ends are a 2 way gate and whereas it is possible to unlock any locking hook with the right combination of forces these guys worked as a good team. Each piece was cut into the chains so carefully I often had to guess exactly when the piece broke off. Like I said before, on this sort of job it's the combined skills of all the team that count and these guys did an outstanding job. I made a point of calling the owners of the hire companies to praise their employees. Doesn't seem to change the price but it does get me a happy crew.

The truck is a Hino Dutro 8500 2006 model. The body is custom made with double size tool box and lift off roof. Holds 19 cubic metres of mulch or legally 4.2 tonnes. I have "occasionally" had a little more weight in there....

3K ....3K...!!!! HOLY CRAPOLY,, have i read you wrong ?? is that for a day !!
over here a 25 mtr self drive is about 400 a day or 700 for a week and a
90 ft bucket truck with operator is about 500-700 depending on travel time.
did you mean for the crane aswell ?? if so i understand,
as for the riggers ticket thats a bummer, only thing like that i ever came accross was in new zealand where we had to become qualified dog men to direct the cranes from the ground ,,all for insurance,, i think it started when some dude overloaded a crane on a bank and fliped it onto a house,
but never anything for climbers, ,,
by the way nice chipper, a friend of mine has the same model in red, i love the crazy names bandit put on some models

 

[John464]

sorry just noticed you said climb 20-50 ft up and back down, why climb up ?
you should already be up ?, hook on the chains and drop down to make your cut . i ask out of interest as you may have a different technique and i am always keen to learn.

huh? after you make one pick of a lead. how do you set your next choker?. The choker gets tied normally on the top of the lead. the cut is 20-50 ft below that. Same thing for the next one.You gotta climb back up again. then down the make your cut. The point I was trying make is with crane picks there is a up and down distance that slows things down if you don't use a bucket. You can travel that distance in seconds with a bucket truck.

 

[outofmytree]

3K ....3K...!!!! HOLY CRAPOLY,, have i read you wrong ?? is that for a day !!
over here a 25 mtr self drive is about 400 a day or 700 for a week and a
90 ft bucket truck with operator is about 500-700 depending on travel time.
did you mean for the crane aswell ?? if so i understand,
as for the riggers ticket thats a bummer, only thing like that i ever came accross was in new zealand where we had to become qualified dog men to direct the cranes from the ground ,,all for insurance,, i think it started when some dude overloaded a crane on a bank and fliped it onto a house,
but never anything for climbers, ,,
by the way nice chipper, a friend of mine has the same model in red, i love the crazy names bandit put on some models

80 tonne crane 365 ph plus 10% GST
Rigger $75ph plus 10%GST
60m ewp 427 ph plus 10%GST

Total hire costs for the day $5500.

Sounds expensive but so is everything else here. If you read up the price for an MS200t is $1500..... I would consider importing a saw but larger plant is a little scarier to buy sight unseen.