Craning trees

[treevet]

I d like to hear anything anyone has to say (in brief paragraphs as my attention span isn t that long) about yanking trees w truck booms and cranes.

If I am taking a big upright lead, 24" dia x 40 ft. w say a 30 to 40 tonner, I am going up on the hook, set choker, come down on the short climbing line w knot in the end (short line so he can move me around the tree w out rope snagging). Buck into stem and backcut half way in and perfectly go into the bkcut w my cut into the direction the crane is pulling the piece into itself.

I got a 14 ton 67 ft plus 23 footer. I am shopping for 22 ton and say 90 ft main plus jib w a rear mount for my next unit right now. It will be my 4th crane. My crane sub guys got one plus a 50 tonner we use a lot. I know I will miss my current one bcs of the way it fits (incl riggers) in the same spot my picker fits and this one prob won t. It is (current) lighter too, and doesn t rut lawns.

It would be great to have huge crane, 50 tonner or so, like some guys have but crushing driveways would make it hard to get paid.

I d like to hear any opinions on crane choice, pictures, usage, techniques and I ve been doing them for over 35 years. You can always learn something.

 

[treevet]

My gm had been operating a crane on the river and another in a junkyard for 10 years before I hired him. Sure he was familiar w it but he banged and clanged it around and one day he slammed the headache ball into my Teco bucket. We had a long heart to heart and he has improved tremendously.

On the other vein, couple of months ago one of my subs, during an ice storm, boomed me sideways 140 feet on the very end of the boom over a yard, over a roof and injected me into a crotch in an ice covered tree w a limb broken off and through the roof leaking so there was no waiting til the ice melted.

I had never seen this technique before. Normally I would be dropped anywhere if the canopy was thick and it wasn t a tkdown and I d get to crotch I needed. I never dropped more than a yard below the sheave the whole trip to the crotch and he placed me just as softly as could be on the crotch while I tied in and got spikes stuck through the ice. Magician at the controls.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

I d like to hear anything anyone has to say (in brief paragraphs as my attention span isn t that long) about yanking trees w truck booms and cranes.

If I am taking a big upright lead, 24" dia x 40 ft. w say a 30 to 40 tonner, I am going up on the hook, set choker, come down on the short climbing line w knot in the end (short line so he can move me around the tree w out rope snagging). Buck into stem and backcut half way in and perfectly go into the bkcut w my cut into the direction the crane is pulling the piece into itself.

Do you use 2 chokers so that the log lifts straight up and off of the pole? I always found that using 1 choker and a straight cut (as opposed to a face cut) caused the log to tilt upwards and swing off of the pole instead of lifting off without any lateral movement.

When picking straight logs with one choker I have much better luck setting the choker so that the bridge/“pass through knot” is on the opposite side from the crane. Then cutting a deep face aimed at the crane. There is much less tilt before the log leaves the pole and subsequently less swing.

I got a 14 ton 67 ft plus 23 footer. I am shopping for 22 ton and say 90 ft main plus jib w a rear mount for my next unit right now. It will be my 4th crane. My crane sub guys got one plus a 50 tonner we use a lot. I know I will miss my current one bcs of the way it fits (incl riggers) in the same spot my picker fits and this one prob won t. It is (current) lighter too, and doesn t rut lawns.

It would be great to have huge crane, 50 tonner or so, like some guys have but crushing driveways would make it hard to get paid.

I’ve seen a lot more damage from a 22 ton truck mounted crane then from a 50 ton all terrain unit. Those big flotation tires are pretty good. And with the bigger stick you don’t need to get as close anyway.

On the other vein, couple of months ago one of my subs, during an ice storm, boomed me sideways 140 feet on the very end of the boom over a yard, over a roof and injected me into a crotch in an ice covered tree w a limb broken off and through the roof leaking so there was no waiting til the ice melted.

I had never seen this technique before. Normally I would be dropped anywhere if the canopy was thick and it wasn t a tkdown and I d get to crotch I needed. I never dropped more than a yard below the sheave the whole trip to the crotch and he placed me just as softly as could be on the crotch while I tied in and got spikes stuck through the ice. Magician at the controls.

Yeah coming in from the side was a revelation. Getting lifted or lowered through a bunch of branches is too much work and dangerous.

Where do you tie in? The best thing I started to do is hanging a sling so that it hangs down over the ball, connected on top of the ball with a big shackle, and , terminating at hook level in a big steel double locking biner. I use the biner to tie in, this puts you a little to one side of the hook, making it easier to place the chokers and getting your life support away from the working hook.

Its taboo to attach anything to the main line, but the shackle really only interfaces with the Crosby and the ball.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I like the clevis on the ball too. I will use a friction saver on the clevis for my TIP.

One of the trade mags had a nice article on this a month or so ago. Todd Cramer (sometime memeber) has a good pic in there on using a carabiner on the F/S so you do not pull it off the clevis.

The deep knotch is good, because it puts the hinge more in line with the pick. A snap cut, or mismatch curf is very good here too. Have the C/O snug up the load to hold it then when you get your cuts lined up have him boom over to seperate the wood. It should be lined up for a clean break, you never want to have the crane tear off the piece.

"why do I need to pay for a stump grind? just have the crane yank it out!" how many time have you heard that!

about yanking trees w truck booms and cranes.

That had me worried at first, but I'm ok now

 

[treevet]

Yeah, Corey, I almost always use 1 choke on upright stuff on the backside. I rarely take a notch unless it s got backlean away from the pick. It doesn t usually swing or tilt too much as the piece is just going w the movement of the boom and I am happy to see it get out from over my body. One day my sub picked a big lightning struck piece I gave him (log shattered) w his 50 and boomed it straight over my head. It was like pulling a tooth as the rest of the tree was fine as the strike jumped into the the adjacent building and wrecked havoc. I was scared sh tless a piece was going to fall out of the bundle.

I ve just got into using a face cut on the crane side half way through and a matching (perfect match) backcut for all upright stuff. Got it from my sub who is the top dog in Cinci and everyone w him is doing it I think.

Btw if tying into the hook is taboo, I guess I have to say I m not doing it.

JP, guess you thought I was "yanking trees w cranes", and not doing any cutting? Might save some gas!

PS. I think cribbing or stacking rigging boards is an art form. Seen my guy w crane bumper 5 or 6 feet over my head. I dropped a big sideways lead into a butt hitched choke I thought he gave a nod to. He later said he saw his life pass before his eyes. We got a good laugh out of it though.

 

[rbtree]

Here's what I do, 90 % of the time. One, I almost never use just one choker anymore. Always two, but choked near each other, and reversed. Rarely use fabric slings, usually logging chokers, quick and easy to set. They bite in better as well.

Start backcut directly below where the slings are choked, and the kerf will automatically open up. One cut, straight through, almost always....no muss, no fuss.

Now, if the boom is way out, its prolly best if the operator sucks the load in quickly. Then, I'll make a kerf cut below the choked side, (which will be toward the boom) then come in from the back. But often, I'll make the cuts on the same plane, and cut all the wood out but the center, less likely to get pinched that way.

It is much easier for the log to be set down when it's choked on one side rather than opposed.

 

[CoreyTMorine]

Hello Treevet, it sounds like your crane operator is very comfortable with “dynamic” movement. I’ve worked with guys who don’t mind the swing, and have little difficulty countering it with the crane. On the other hand there are operators who like their picks to be very still, with any potential swing or shock load taken by the hinge wood. The later technique has the advantage keeping the crane load at a fixed weight, which is huge if you are working way out. While swinging the work off and out running its movement with the stick is definitely faster, you also tend to catch the sensor line more often.

As for being under a big nasty pick, I hate it! Gawd damn, it feels like I’m going to be bug paste any time. I must look like a downy woodpecker dancing around up there, trying to get in the safest position, Yuck.

And don’t take my word for something being taboo, don’t take anyone’s word. People post all kind of conjecture, hearsay and rumor, regardless if they have any validity or not. Its not a bad thing, that’s just how the brain works. The best way to get to the truth is with argument and discussion. Regarding tying in to the hook; I never liked it, hooks are for rigging, there is already plenty of stuff going on there so I started tying in on top of the ball. Later I heard this story about a climber being lowered down through a thick canopy, his rope snagged on a small fork which was able to hold the climbing line until the hook was lowered down and off of the rope. Whereupon the limb broke, sending the climber falling out of the tree. I’ve never been able to verify this story, but it seems like a likely enough scenario.

I didn’t mean that tying on to the hook was taboo (although it is) I was talking about something else. Attaching anything to the main line coming from the crane to the ball is taboo. For instance it may seem like a good idea to hang your life support from an ascender attached to the main line above the ball, however this could potentially weaken the main line, and so is a nono. When fixing any rigging above the ball this should be kept in mind and so your rigging should be set in such a way that it does not touch the main line. Kapeesh?

PS. I think cribbing or stacking rigging boards is an art form. Seen my guy w crane bumper 5 or 6 feet over my head. I dropped a big sideways lead into a butt hitched choke I thought he gave a nod to. He later said he saw his life pass before his eyes. We got a good laugh out of it though.

That’s scary; I’ll bet his life flashed before him. I carry an emergency change of pants for that kind of thing. Sounds like you needed a longer stick.



JPS, the friction saver with a carabineer to make a close loop is a good idea. I was originally using a sling, hand spliced out of ½” 3 strand, with big steel locking biners. Then one day, my buddy Bill had to go up to St. Pierre’s, the crane rigging store here-abouts, well when the riggers there saw my wimpy little synthetic “dog leash” they were appalled. So without further ado, they spun me up a real nice steel sling. I love it, if anyone from St. Pierre is out there, thanks.

By the way, how is married life? I got hitched about 9 months ago, its nice.

Here's what I do, 90 % of the time. One, I almost never use just one choker anymore. Always two, but choked near each other, and reversed. Rarely use fabric slings, usually logging chokers, quick and easy to set. They bite in better as well.

Start backcut directly below where the slings are choked, and the kerf will automatically open up. One cut, straight through, almost always....no muss, no fuss.
Now, if the boom is way out, its prolly best if the operator sucks the load in quickly. Then, I'll make a kerf cut below the choked side, (which will be toward the boom) then come in from the back. But often, I'll make the cuts on the same plane, and cut all the wood out but the center, less likely to get pinched that way.

I don’t follow you RB, if you use 2 chokers set opposite where do you start your cut? I definitely second the steel chokes, they just seem so much more positive, although they are more difficult to work with. I sometimes have trouble getting the eye to go over the hook, especially a Crosby hook, the damn letters are so big that they catch the cable. Note: Crosby hooks have the name Crosby molded onto the side of the hook. That irritates me to no end, they could have found a way to ID their workmanship that doesn’t interfere with my workmanship.