Bolting a Tree

Old Monkey

Old Monkey

Treehouser
Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Messages
8,764
I cabled a tree last week and now that my long drill bits have arrived I need to go back and bolt it. What I wonder is about the ends of the bolts and how far to let them protrude. I asked Willie and he said that not only does he cut them short but he scribes around the washer and then uses a chisel to scrape the bark away so the washer is already somewhat recessed when he is done. He feels that will speed the trees callousing around the bolts. My own personal idea, based on no science is to leave the bolts longer and to back them off every year or two to make sure they don't get included in the tree, where, I don't think they do as much good. Am I nuts? Should I cut them short and let the tree callous over them?
 
Cut them short and let the tree callous over the washer and nut. After cutting the rod you have a couple options, but I like to use lock tite and a ball pean hammer to make sure that nut never advances off the rod.

On thick bark trees you want to countersink the washer and nut.
 
I met a friend of my brother's this past summer & passed a cabling job on to him. We met up at my customer's for introductions, etc. & Wes (Tregilgas Tree Care) explained that he uses specialty hardware that has ends that are similar to drywall anchors ? I can't remember what co. he purchases through, but it's gotta be in the arborist supply catalogs ?
 
Get $10 out of your pocket and buy the BMP's! :roll:

Countersink into bark not wood, cut em close and peen.

Drywall anchors?? :?
 
At Davey we did a lot of cabling and bracing. I was trained to scribe around the washers and remove the bark so that the washers were flush against the solid wood. And either cut the rod off flush so it callouses over or else leave it a little long so that it will be visible when the tree gets cut down in a few years.

Once it's set, you don't ever want to go back and loosen it up. The tree will never 'heal', it will always and forever rely on that brace once it's set.
 
The BMP book on cabling and bracing that ISA sells says you are supposed to countersink the washer up against the cambium tissue. Then you have to either peen the threads to keep the nut from backing off or else use two nuts. Then you have to turn clockwise 3 times while holding your left leg in the air. Really.
 
I say cut the bolts as short as you can and then you can have a little chuckle to yourself thinking about the poor schmuck who has to cut the tree down in 20 years, assuming we're still using chainsaws by then.
 
Using the BMP's will also give you some measure of protection from future liability IF the tree fails. 8)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16
Perhaps I didn't go at this thread the right way. When I have taken out trees with included bolts, the area around the bolts has been rotten and the bolt was no longer functioning. My thought it that if you keep backing it off every year or two, it would give greater support by holding onto more good wood. The tree I am bolting can't be pulled together will a come along as the split is hold and the new growth would keep the two sides from being able to meet. I have already subordinated one side of the tree and put a cobra cable 2/3 of the way up from the defect. The tree is close to my house and easy to monitor. I may ignore BMP because at this point I do not see that it is the best way. As for buying the guide, I intend to but the company I did my last order with didn't carry it and the company that did didn't carry some tools that I needed. I will get with a future purchase. I did buy the fricken Z and put in my truck. I'll read it when my work slows down.
 
I do not understand how you think that loosening the nuts will make the rod hold better? It doesn't work like that. And you shave the bark out from under the washers because otherwise the squished bark decays and ends up leaving the nuts loose (which is bad).
 
backing them off a little won't work very well...I used to build ropes courses and we used to TRY and do that. Most times they got welded somehow, corrosion or tree growth. But I guess if you were diligent about doing it every year or less, it might work...
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #19
I do it with my daughter's swing in our tree and it works. I may still be full of it but I think I may need to test it out myself to make certain I am indeed full of it.
 
man you have chosen the hardest possible road.

your kids' swing is not a braced tree.

;)

$10.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #23
So every tree practice we do now is 100% correct and in ten years we won't be telling anyone that we used to believe X but now we believe Y? If no tries anything different how do we learn?
 
Yeah, man.
And whoever said that "anchors" similar to drywall thingy-m-bobs are so friggin' far out ???!!!??? Goll darn it, they're sold by some arbor hardware folks already ?
 
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