How to attach rope on tall straight trees

[Jasperfield]

Without climbing, how do you attach a rope, high enough onto tall, straight trees (like 18" Poplars & Cherries), in order to pull them for directional felling?

The lowest limbs/forks are very high. The land slopes 20% to 60%.

 

[Tree Pig]

throwline and bag attached just toss it up over a limb around 2/3rd of the way up the tree and tie a running bowline. Tighten up and your good to go.
You can pick one up pretty cheap and even by hand you can toss one pretty much as high as you will need to.

 

[Fireaxman]

If the first limb is too high to reach with a throwline, a good slingshot, Bow and Fishing Arrow, or (Best) "Big Shot" (available from Sherrill) will reach it. I have also used a 32 foot ladder or I have used a reach pole such as a prunning pole in conjunction with shorter ladders or my Kubota 3130 Front End Loader. A bowline tide as a choker or a clove hitch makes a good, secure tie in that will not slip back down the tree.

You may not have to tie in as high as you think. Have you got to overcome a strong lean? What are you pulling with? A TIP of just 20 or 30 feet provides a lot of leverage.

 

[Job Corps Tree]

I use the 1200LB skyline 2.2.Mil, Most times you don't have to pull in a rope. Good long line you can throw it up into the tree down the backside , wrap around the tree just above the knoch and pull,if I need I will wrap it on a stick ( 2inch stub 2 feet long) so the line don't cut into my hands. 1200 LB line I have even ran it through pulleys for a 4 to 1 pulling advantage

 

[Jasperfield]

I'll be pulling with a Port-A-Winch. If necessary I can use an 8,000 lb. winch.

Fireaxeman: You mentioned "TIP" in your post; Does that mean "tie-in-point"?

Also you said that I might not have to tie in quite so high in order to get the tree to come over. Discuss this a little further, please.

Most of the trees lean...a little to a moderate amount. I want to direct their fall to avoid damaging the other trees.

On most trees, there are no limbs for 50'-60'.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[gwiley]

A throw line can get you pretty high by hand - you can get a line and weight combo at Bailey's for something like $12-15 I think. The trick is to throw it by leaving about 2' dangling out of hand and then sling it underhanded - the baseball throw won't get you nearly as much height.

I carry 2 throw lines because 1 often gets stuck in a crotch - a decent throw weight bag will deform enough to let you tug it out of a bind, but it is easier to keep a spare line often.

Bear in mind that all you need is a puny little twig of a limb, just enough to get the throwline to hang up on so that you can pull the bull line up with a bowline in it. If you use a direct tie off to the base then you need a more substantial limb, but for pulling at a distance the rope will stay put once you snug the bowline up.

A ladder that gets you 20' up will make a huge difference if there really aren't any limbs within reach.

One other thing - make sure your throw weight is tied on solid - it is really embarassing to heave it up and watch the silly thing go sailing off into the woods with the HO watching

 

[Tree Pig]

I'll be pulling with a Port-A-Winch. If necessary I can use an 8,000 lb. winch.

Fireaxeman: You mentioned "TIP" in your post; Does that mean "tie-in-point"?

Also you said that I might not have to tie in quite so high in order to get the tree to come over. Discuss this a little further, please.

Most of the trees lean...a little to a moderate amount. I want to direct their fall to avoid damaging the other trees.

On most trees, there are no limbs for 50'-60'.

Thanks for your replies!

50-60 by hand is no big deal, here is a video that will give you a better idea what I am talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwHwb0xcPWY

 

[Saw Dust Smoken]

set rope

Cluttered work site dont work well for throw line or big shot. Getting line tangled up is a pain in the behind.
Hook pole can set rope from ground on small to medium trees. For larger trees a ladder and hook pole is very time efficient.
In wide open spaces the big shot or throw line by hand is great.

 

[2FatGuys]

Jasperfield...

Where are you in "Western NC"?

 

[Fireaxman]

I'll be pulling with a Port-A-Winch. If necessary I can use an 8,000 lb. winch.

Fireaxeman: You mentioned "TIP" in your post; Does that mean "tie-in-point"?

Also you said that I might not have to tie in quite so high in order to get the tree to come over. Discuss this a little further, please.

Most of the trees lean...a little to a moderate amount. I want to direct their fall to avoid damaging the other trees.

On most trees, there are no limbs for 50'-60'.

Thanks for your replies!

Yessir. "TIP" is "Tie In Point". "... might not have to tie in quite so high" just depends on your pulling equipment power and speed relative to the size and center of gravity of the tree.

For instance, I often use a Griphoist. It pulls a ton and a half on a single part line, but it is very slow. Because of the angles, if I tie it in very high I cant work the Griphoist fast enough to keep up with the top of the tree as the Faller brings it over. The lower I tie it in, the more easily I can keep up with the Faller (the better I can keep the slack out).

But, higher is more leverage and therfor more power. So, it is a compromise of speed for power. The faster and more powerful your winch is the less critical the height of your tie in point.

Like gwiley said, many times 20 feet is high enough, if you are not trying to overcome a lot of lean (adverse "COG", Center of Gravity) on a big tree, and the lower the TIP the faster the speed, for keeping the slack out as the tree falls.

One caution on all this. If you are pulling directly against a bad leaner, at some point you have to worry about tieing in so low that you pull the leaner off the stump before the top commits to the direction you want it to go. If I am pulling directly adverse to a heavy leaner I rarely tie in below 2/3 the height of the tree. Then, I just cut slowly, cut a little pull a little, so I dont get ahead of my Griphoist operator.

 

[Jasperfield]

Jasperfield...

Where are you in "Western NC"?

SW Madison county.

 

[Rftreeman]

I use my "big shot" to get them up high...

 

[2FatGuys]

I'm also a big fan of my BigShot.

Madison County is too far for me to drive over and show you how to use the BigShot....