My first big job

[tree MDS]

the new guy has more gree rep than u treet. whatch who you bash, one day this dude just my bail u out of another tree you cant handle

Very nice indeed. lol

 

[DeWALT378G]

I want to get in on this bashing as well.

First of all, I take it as an insult that you come on here and want advice from professionals while undermining the whole industry. Ok, you did it for a buddy and he did not pay you for it....keep your mouth shut and walk on down the road. If you are serious about getting into the business then let's talk. By doing it for nothing you let your buddy know it is ok to pay nothing for a very good skill and one in which if performed incorrectly can be deadly.

Let me ask you this, would you remodel his house for lunch and a beer? Would you like us to do it and then ask you for advice on how to put up a stud wall?

The fact that you have no ppe on is insulting as well.

Your stump, despite what you think is typical of an amatuer. Your notch is about 2/3 instead of 1/3.

I'm sorry to insult you. I don't know how I'm undermining the whole industry. Please explain that to me as I do not understand. If it's because it wasn't a paying job, then I understand. However if I said I did get paid then you would have accused me of cheating the industry like someone else did earlier. Looks like this is a no win for me. As for the part about asking advice from pros, well please explain the Homeowner Helper Forum where people have asked about to bring down some trees themselves. They actually got some help there and were received very nicely. Ironically by some of the same people who bashed me here. No hard feelings. I knew I was taking a chance being a newb. Maybe I should have posted my pics there.

No, I wouldn't remodel his house for nothing. That I have done for him and do get paid for, but taking trees down is something I feel my skill level is not worth paying for. I'm sure you would agree.
I could care less if you remodeled a house then asked me how to do it. If you need help, then you need help and I would be more than happy to help you do a better job. If you're upset because you feel like I'm taking work away from you, then I'm sorry and just one more reason that I shouldn't get paid for it. But guess what, the same thing happens to me too on a daily basis year after year and those guys do get paid for doing horrible work. At least I'm acknowledging that my tree work is not up to par. Which brings me to the stump. Notch was on the right. Yeah, a little over a third, but not 2/3 and nowhere did I post/suggest that my stump was the best stump ever. I just said it was pretty good. I did all four trees like that and pretty much put them where I wanted them.
As for the no ppe being insulting I think I will agree with you there. My apologies. I will try to edit my posts so as not to cause any further problems on Arborsite.

update; ok so i went back to edit my earlier posts and the edit button is not there anymore. i was going to remove all the pics where it was obvious that my ppe is missing (which is most). if anybody knows how to do this please let me know or maybe the moderators can do it. i don't want to give outsiders the wrong impression of arborsite any further. thanks.

 

[DeWALT378G]

Teamtree, I think you are being too hard on the dude. He said he just did it for the thrill and because he wanted to learn. Better him practicing on a buddys trees for beer than an actual customer's trees and advertizing and all that. Besides he looked pretty good for a beginer if you really think about it.

thanks MDS and WLL! but to be fair he's got me on the ppe.

Thanks again to all who were kind enough to help.

 

[clearance]

Ok Here's my quick list:

1. No helmet
2. Two points of tie in when running the saw!
3. TWO HANDS ON SAW!
4. Snap cut for blocking down small to medium sized wood (Notch and pull line or notch and block with bull line for larger)
5. Keep yourself in the cut zone, meaning use the saw from your shoulders to waist if possible. It keeps your face out of the kickback zone.
6. Your notch is terrible. Please practice BEFORE you're up in the tree. 45 degree top cut and flat bottom cut. Make the bottom first, set your depth by the 1/3 rule or one of the other many commonly followed notch depth rules. Meet with the 45 on top and you'll be fine as long as you make that back cut a little above the bottom cut.
7. DONT LEAVE STUBS. They are BOUND to screw you up. You have spikes, a lanyard, and a climbing line. You CAN get down.
.....did I miss anything?


Mike Platt

1. Of course.
2. If you are using a steel core lanyard/flipline then you are fine with just that. That is the rule here.
3. Gonna leave that alone.
4. Snap cuts are fine, I guess, I hardly ever use them though. You only need a pull line sometimes, not often. "Notch and block"-I sure hope you are not advocating hanging big chunks from the same tree you are in.
5. Yep.
6. 45 degree-that depends on what you are doing.
7. Yep.

Dewalt, good for you, stay here and keep looking and learning. Lots of good advice here, only a few things are cast in stone, like ppe, many other things are not. Although some think they are.

 

[JeffL]

#4, whats the matter with rigging big stuff off what you're tied into?

 

[(WLL)]

#4, whats the matter with rigging big stuff off what you're tied into?

nothing!!!

 

[clearance]

#4, whats the matter with rigging big stuff off what you're tied into?

I take it you are joking, if not, please say so and I will explain why lowering big wood from the same tree you are in has many dangers.

 

[limbwalker54]

I agree with WLL, clearance. There is nothing wrong with properly lowering wood off of the same stem you are tied into. Most of the time this is in a situation where there is no other option. I would love to have something nearby to swing wood off of with every job I do, but it never works out that way. Inevitably in the same breath there is a house nearby or a deck or that Japanese garden below where NOTHING can get crushed. So what do you do when you don't have a tree nearby to swing wood with?

Using a block on a timberhitch has its dangers, but if executed with proper judgment and you look out for #1 (yourself) while doing it, there is no problem. Just watch out for that shimmy shake when it smashes into the tree before lowering it!

 

[JeffL]

I agree with WLL, clearance. There is nothing wrong with properly lowering wood off of the same stem you are tied into. Most of the time this is in a situation where there is no other option. I would love to have something nearby to swing wood off of with every job I do, but it never works out that way. Inevitably in the same breath there is a house nearby or a deck or that Japanese garden below where NOTHING can get crushed. So what do you do when you don't have a tree nearby to swing wood with?

Using a block on a timberhitch has its dangers, but if executed with proper judgment and you look out for #1 (yourself) while doing it, there is no problem. Just watch out for that shimmy shake when it smashes into the tree before lowering it!

Exactly, thats the situation we run into a lot. Tree next to a house, over a garden, over the driveway, etc. When brushing out the tips and using a small diameter upper limb as a rigging point, sure, you try to keep your TIP in another lead, or in a position as to not put yourself at risk should the unspeakable happen. Once its down to just chunking out wood though, especially on a live hardwood, theres usually no problem in lowering off the same stem. We just timber hitch with a big block and butt-hitch piece after piece on the way down the trunk. No problem.

:greenchainsaw:

(And if the tree is questionable.........well, sucks for your lawn, cause it isnt worth the cost of a life.)

 

[clearance]

I said big wood, not small pieces, I mean big, like short logs.

 

[JeffL]

I said big wood, not small pieces, I mean big, like short logs.

Would you consider an 8'-10' piece of pine maybe 24-30" in diameter big?

 

[(WLL)]

Would you consider an 8'-10' piece of pine maybe 24-30" in diameter big?

its not small and its only pine. if im not smokin em down id want the bull rope fer added security. shock-load is more of a worry than size. roping down chunks is my last option. i feel much better smashing logs standing on a soft pine spar than any hard wood. its a good way ta damage joints and irritate arthritis.

 

[Huskyman4k]

Ok Here's my quick list:

1. No helmet
2. Two points of tie in when running the saw!
3. TWO HANDS ON SAW!
4. Snap cut for blocking down small to medium sized wood (Notch and pull line or notch and block with bull line for larger)
5. Keep yourself in the cut zone, meaning use the saw from your shoulders to waist if possible. It keeps your face out of the kickback zone.
6. Your notch is terrible. Please practice BEFORE you're up in the tree. 45 degree top cut and flat bottom cut. Make the bottom first, set your depth by the 1/3 rule or one of the other many commonly followed notch depth rules. Meet with the 45 on top and you'll be fine as long as you make that back cut a little above the bottom cut.
7. DONT LEAVE STUBS. They are BOUND to screw you up. You have spikes, a lanyard, and a climbing line. You CAN get down.
.....did I miss anything?


Mike Platt

This is only my second or third post and I aggree with you Mike, I picked up on all the safety or lack of it. Here in the Uk you cant work without it now with H&S way over the top most of the time but they are really savegarding workers which is what it is all about in the end, everyone wants to get back home in one peice dont they.

I noticed on the program "Axemen" the lack of safety equipment is that the normal over in Oregen

intrested to know more on that.

 

[(WLL)]

This is only my second or third post and I aggree with you Mike, I picked up on all the safety or lack of it. Here in the Uk you cant work without it now with H&S way over the top most of the time but they are really savegarding workers which is what it is all about in the end, everyone wants to get back home in one peice dont they.

I noticed on the program "Axemen" the lack of safety equipment is that the normal over in Oregen

intrested to know more on that.

welcome to A/S brother, its good to be safe

 

[TreeTopKid]

more chunking and a stump

now if somebody were to call me a faller it would most likely be for falling out of trees, but i think that's a pretty good stump there.

I would have made sure I had a second strop under that branch stub on Image 1920 JPG. It takes only a couple of seconds, and that's only a second more than it will take to hit the ground if you cut through your lanyard. (Just advice )

 

[(WLL)]

I would have made sure I had a second strop under that branch stub on Image 1920 JPG. It takes only a couple of seconds, and that's only a second more than it will take to hit the ground if you cut through your lanyard. (Just advice )

good advise mo on the the never ending list of safety. the above post is high on my list.

 

[TreeTopKid]

good advise mo on the the never ending list of safety. the above post is high on my list.

High on mine too. If not on a line I always take at least three when spiking, a purpose built flip line, a goofy home made adjustable that I have been making out of my retired climbing ropes for years, and a steel flip line that usually hangs a little loose as last ditch back up. (safe as houses! )

 

[MCW]

I say good on you mate. I've seen the prices a local professional company charges for knocking down simple trees with no aerial work. People near s**t their pants.
Kudos to the guys that do get up in the trees hanging by their nuts. Unfortunately some professional guys have an ego that you couldn't jump over.
The constructive criticism should be applauded but all the guys giving you a hard time are just worried you might be cutting their lunch.
I've cut down trees in people's yards that the local "professional" mob wanted to charge $1000+ for. They've told the people that ït will be "very tricky" blah blah. I dropped one 60' Silky Oak in 5 minutes (easily) and within 3 hours it was cleaned up completely (with some help).
Some of these guys really do have tickets on themselves. They'd be having a crack at you for cutting down a 10 foot sapling in someone's paddock if they got a sniff you were impacting on their bottom line. Who cares if your wedge cut is 2° out anyway!

And even if you do kill yourself you can die walking the dog

 

[Rickytree]

Hey Dewalt378G You might want to change the bar on the climbing saw. I got a 16" on mine and does just fine. That's a 200T right? Is that your saw in the back of the truck? Another thing to keep in mind is that every tree and every type of tree will be different. Watch out for bark tears and barber chairs! When it comes to working as a hack or cheating by not having insurance and not paying for advertising, Ya it sucks paying for that and you don't but you probably don't get the amount of work I get.(I hope) Everyone got to start somewhere and with the economy the way it is I don't blame you. But hay if you a millionaire and are doing this for the rush and the thrill of it, well F@#K OFF leave the work to us poor folk!

 

[Raymond]

I found an upside down notch or two 45 degrees on the notch works better sometimes.