Bitten again! From my 200T

[Tree Machine]

Big compliment, coming from you, Mister. I may be an aerial technician, but my overall knowledge of arboriculture is a fraction of yours.

All the veterans would agree, it's all about having a lot of tricks in your bag.

I am severely dependent on slings and spliced eyes in my ropes and caribiners. And ugli gloves. Without these few things I wouldn't be half the climber I am.
(hint to the noobs)

I'm also a big fan of powerful, super sharp saws, but aren't we all.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

body control and reasoning

Yeah, nice work Tree! You said somewhere in your post that "it had do get done." i am familiar with that mantra. It usually is accompanied by "i guess i trust myself more to do it right than any one else."

One of my favorite movie lines is George Cloony in we three kings. They are about to go and hold up a camp full of arabs guarding some gold; one of the younger guys is scared. So cloony says to him something like "that’s the funny thing about courage, you first have to do what you are afraid of doing, then after it’s all done you find the courage to do it."

I guess dead wood is half again as strong as live wood, that’s another of my deadwood mantras.

Remember to breathe, stop frequently and go over the reasons why you are safe, breathe. Lower the heart rate, there is no need for a burst of adrenaline here, slow and steady.

Eagle1 do you get real “tuned up” while popping tops? Lots of adrenaline, sweat, not much memory of the event. We have to this point been discussing cutting technique, but body control is just as important. The distinguishing characteristic of the best climbers I have met is that they have the ability to reason while aloft. Like tree machine said about that second locust “It didn't look that bad from the ground, but it overhung everything a lot more than I'd anticipated.” Things can look very different, we often need to re-engineer as we go. If not well thought out this can lead into an “unknown”, and facing the unknown can lead to a fight or flight reaction. This is to be avoided at all cost. Again some good advice from TM “You clip the biners together and work slowly, relishing every moment of the process, thinking your way through what you're doing, what you think will happen, and what could possibly happen.” Know whets going to happen. Know what you’re going to do if something else happens. Breathe, and know why you are safe in the tree.

I actually spent a good deal of time and money with a therapist who specialized in working with police and firefighters. It was a great help in getting to the point where I can think and reason while in a stressful situation. And something I can heartedly recommend to anyone who climbs trees for a living.

P.S. Another related point, stress shortens our lifespan, so, if you want to live long time do whatever you can to mitigate stress.

 

[Tree Machine]

Wow, call Jim@turf, that deserves publishing! Spoken like a seasoned, mature, skilled climber who just plain loves it.

I encourage everybody to read Blue Spruce's post again. Really let it sink in. This is the pure essence of being a good, technician and I couldn't have said it better.

 

[NeTree]

Eagle1.... now you KNOW I'm gonna have to go down there and kick yer ass, right?

 

[Tree Machine]

Panic kills. That's a good one.

Panic clouds your calm problem-solving senses at the very least, and steals your endurance. Your focus goes to what you're feeling rather than to the issue at hand. If you're up there freakin out, it is probably best you come down.

However, keep in mind, a technical piece is just a problem to be solved, or a series of problems leading to a solution. This is the focus of what tree guys do. They first assure to the best of their ability their own safety. Then it's pruning and cutting, preventing harm or damage to anyone or anything. All actions are a series of smaller actions, and if you lose track of that, the problem can seem overwhelming. Solve the problem in your head before you start mixing in saws and hands. Go through all the individual actions and see that one has an effect on the next. Don't just 'cut and hope'. Every problem has a solution. Think it out, be with it in the moment and if you can, enjoy it. Remember, you're getting paid to do this. Feel the joy in all of it. Just eat the elephant one bite at a time.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

Another cut for safety

First off, thanks TM.
2ndly, have we gone to far beyond the scope of this thread?
finally to the point:
Another trick is the “breaking face”. This is defined by cutting the face out so that the hinge wood is perpendicular to the direction of lean. This way you can cut things up quite fine and still the top or branch will stay in place until you can get yourself situated. This works best in dead or very brittle wood, and does require some getting used to and calibration.
[Calibration: perform the cut on a non-critical branch in the tree and see how it responds.]
However when used properly you will need your handsaw much less, as generally you can reach up with both hands and push the work over and into the face.
The face cut should be much deeper and wider than traditional. Start by cutting a face about ¾ of the way through, then open it up to about 2/3 of the branches diameter. Now rev the saw up and start removing material form the back of the face, evenly along the whole opening. Slow steady strokes, back and forth or up and down depending on the work, I would guess that you remove about an 1/8 of an inch of material with each pass. Eventually the work will get “wobbly” at this time you should set the chain brake, kill the saw, and dump it. Now reach up and grasp the limb, or top, firmly with both hands and push or pull it into the face. Generally the back strap holding wood is “sticky” enough that it will mess up an immediate push and throw [a traditional face and back cut is more appropriate] so hold on to the work until it has stopped moving and completely broken off. Now you can toss it or drop it or clean your teeth with it, as you deem necessary.
Some notes off the top; I usually don’t make a back cut at all, the fibres on the outside of the branch make a stickier hinge. This face will, given enough time, fail on its own. Don’t waste any time securing your saw and getting a hold of the branch. 3 inches diameter is the biggest I use this technique with, beyond that you are better off with an offset over-under cut.
This was originally shown to me by Matt B. of Portland OR. The best removal man I have ever worked with, or heard rumors of for that matter.

 

[rbtree]

yep, bluespruce, that works well. I often do the no backcut technique when I need to swing a branch around. Rarely use it for more upright work.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

Yeah, i guess i mostly use it with horizontal wood myself. An over under snap cut is my tool of choice for popping little tops. Just figured I'd throw it out there, you never know whats going to work well for someone.

"My bag of tricks is so big, i can't carry the whole thing around at one time." Rory.

When performing that cut on green springy wood it will sometimes act like G.Baraneks "bender" where everything happens really slowly. Be carful (when using it on green wood) that the top doesnt fall away from the face. It will pull a big scaf of wood with it and suck your flipline into the tree.

 

[Gypo Logger]

I just got bit too by an 020AV. The story is here: http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=24574