Big Trees need big tools....

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outofmytree

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Hi all. I have been promising to post a few pictures of the most recent crane job we did so here we go.

A couple of years back I removed two Tuarts (e.Gomphocephala), one of which was 28 metres tall from a HO's back yard. Big tree,small yard,new baby, you get the idea. Then a year later, removed five Tuarts from the next property over which had dropped a 150kg branch right through the guest bedroom. This exposed another Tuart to the prevailing wind and as this tree had already done $$$$$ damage to a neighbours house they called us in to remove it.

The trick here was the drop zone was 1.2 metres wide, the trunk was 700mm from the fence and the neighbours house, hit once already, was 1.9 metres from the trunk. Oh, and the tree had been badly pruned over a period of twenty years and was full of nasty epicormic growth. Given this situation I told the HO the only way I would remove this tree was by crane from an EWP. He agreed and so it begins....

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Its 7.15 am and we are clearing out the owners and setting up exclusion zones. We dropped letters and knocked on doors 2 weeks before so everyone knew what was going on. There are actually 5 trees in the back yard 2 Tuarts and 3 small Jarrah.

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On the left is the counter weight truck and on the right is the 90 tonne crane we used. Operating at 38 metre boom lengths you need some serious muscle and this baby has got some real lift.

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Setting up the crane. You need a lot of counter weights to get good lift at long boom lengths. Paul the rigger makes it look easy.

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Is it just me or is this photograph strangely phallic. The 60 metre cherry picker is run by Danny our favourite operator. This is the second crane job we have done with him and as well as running the bucket he makes the cuts. You need a good team to get a good result.

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How did this photo get in here???? If you squint you can see the phone number of a really good tree work company........

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This piece was longer than the truck and chipper and weighed just under 1 tonne. The great part about using all these machines is how easy it is to run a 12 metre, 1 tonne "branch" through a chipper. Winch up to the apron then pass the 440 down either side removing a few side branches for ease of passage and hit go. No issue with the saw too close to the ground, the branches drop straight down and are facing the right way to be picked up and tossed in afterwards


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We build em strong in WA!

I am the unsafe goon on the right. I agree it was an unnecessary risk to stand so close with our hands under a block this big but.... even safety nazis like me want to do the occasional stupid thing. The crane driver weighed this piece at 2.2 tonnes. Tuart is really dense timber.

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We put about 6 tonnes through the chipper as the market here is good for mulch and awful for firewood. This lot stayed until Saturday when we picked it up in the truck with my Toro skid steer and dropped half at recycling and the other half to one of my wifes crazy relatives. He is going to break this all down with a 190 and then split it by hand?! Eeek. Give me a gas fire any day....

And th th th th that's all folks.

We don't get a lot of crane jobs but when they come together it's a lot of fun.
 
I haven't had the pleasures of working with a crane.
Be Careful bro
 
You are trying to embed links in the thread. When they are not hosted elsewhere.

Add as attachments instead if you have no hosting source.

Its the button down below
labeled manage attachments
 
My work computer blocks alot of pics. Now my home computer is blocking them.
 
Lol. Wide awake now and I see exactly what I did wrong. Apparently the crane wasnt the only big tool.....

The before shot.

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The crane and weight truck setting up. We taped off the area for foot traffic and blocked both ends of the street with signs,cones and traffic managers.

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Never needed counter weights for a crane before but this was a long reach. They got out to 41 metres at one point.

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Mine is bigger than yours?!?!

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Oh look. A yellow truck! I wonder what this guy does for a living....

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This was a decent size piece. Longer than my truck and just under 1000kg and the crane put it right in front of the apron. Just winch up, trim a few side branches off then feed it staright through. Easy!

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I hope the OHS police aren't looking at this one. As silly as it was I just couldnt resist the temptation to do it just once...... The fat guy on the right is yours truly.

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And when the dust had settled this was what was left. We took just over 12 tonnes of timber out of the HO's back yard between 7.30am and 2.30pm. Gotta love mechanical advantage!

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I would love to get more jobs like this. We had one short film run so if editing works out I will Youtube that and drop a link in here.

Thanks for your time.:cheers:
 
Man you got bigger stones than me! I'd be freakin out with that much weight on one of those driveways. Nice pic's though. It's about time!! Man that's alot of equipment. Don't you find that using all that cuts the profits down? Unless your getting a couple a day. What was the Hiab truck doing there? Just curious. Just noticed, for the counter weights. How big was the crane tonne and full stick how much lift at full reach?
 
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Yeah, I hear you on the crush damage to the driveway. I spoke at length to the HO who works in forensic engineering (apparently that means when a building falls over he tells you why....) who understood the risks and had accepted the possibility of damage. To the credit of both the picker operator and the crane driver there was not one broken paver. They put em in place slow and easy, just as you would like it in your own home.
 
Man you got bigger stones than me! I'd be freakin out with that much weight on one of those driveways. Nice pic's though. It's about time!! Man that's alot of equipment. Don't you find that using all that cuts the profits down? Unless your getting a couple a day. What was the Hiab truck doing there? Just curious.

Had no choice on the gear as the drop zone was tiny and the tree was imo to risky to climb.

The hiab truck carries counterweights for the crane.

Our end was about 2 1/2.
 
nice pics,
where you working out of the cherry picker ?? if so why ? it adds alot of cost onto the job and in my opinion would be more dangerous unless the tree was too unstable to climb in the first place
 
nice pics,
where you working out of the cherry picker ?? if so why ? it adds alot of cost onto the job and in my opinion would be more dangerous unless the tree was too unstable to climb in the first place

How do you figure that? Anyways O.O.M.T., good job.
 
I have done alot of cranework and to be honest never used a cherry picker for one, my opinion would be that firstly when you are climbing inthe tree
you can set the chains better as you have full access to the branchwork,
and secondly IF anything does not go quite to plan you have the protection of the tree itself and the freedom of your ropes instead of being stuuk in the bucket of a cherry picker with nowhere to go,
p.s I have also done alot of cherry picker work.
 
I have done alot of cranework and to be honest never used a cherry picker for one, my opinion would be that firstly when you are climbing inthe tree
you can set the chains better as you have full access to the branchwork,
and secondly IF anything does not go quite to plan you have the protection of the tree itself and the freedom of your ropes instead of being stuuk in the bucket of a cherry picker with nowhere to go,
p.s I have also done alot of cherry picker work.
well with the truck you can completely remove yourself from the danger by simply pulling a lever in 5 seconds you can 20 ft. away truck are always safer no question
 
sorry i disagree, when something goes wrong you dont have 5 seconds
I have seen some close calls with cranes and it happens in an instant,
i prefare the option of popping behind the trunk, its personal choice as usual
and i choose no cherry picker.
 
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!
 
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