Vertical speedline

pantheraba

More biners!!!
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
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I am taking down some sweetgums (Liquidambar) at my son's house...the gumballs are way out of control...gutters fill with them, they are like ball bearings to walk on, etc. The first gum at the corner of the house is about 80 feet...the upper leads and limbs would bounce in unpredictable directions if bombed out.

I had read about vertical speedlines in the past for keeping tree debris contained. I tried it a few days ago:

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I know you aren't supposed to bomb the load onto a standard zipline. It seems that would not apply to a vertical zipline...right?
 
Vertical speed lines are great in the right situation.

Good work Gary. I don't like spiking up skinny little tops either. And yes, for the most part no need to worry about overloading a vertical speed line.
 
Eeka first showed me the vertical speed line with his palms and foam.

I'm headed to bed, but Alex does have some nice digs. I didn't look to see if it was his house or his rental.
 
I have found the vertical speedline useful on slopes when you don't want chunks of wood running downhill, but don't want to go the trouble of butt hitching it down. If you're working in flat lands there's not as much use for them.
 
I use them pretty often in really tight LZs. Mostly on live oak to keep it from bouncing when bombing it. Live oak can be really springy on the brush end. It's pretty much a way to control the bomb boss. Little faster than lowering also. My most recent one was next to a pool to keep it from bouncing into the side. Keeps chunks from running into a house or down a hill also ;)
 
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do you always climb with a bar wrench in your spur pad? does it ever jab you?

Hahahaha....dang, Willie, you don't miss much, do you? Only lately (and it doesn't jab). I started carrying the scrench when the chain got all tight on me somehow recently...I haven't figured out yet what that means or how it happens but I had to loosen the chain to get it turning again...thus, the scrench upstairs with me.
 
Gary- how is the vert speedline connected? I'm assuming tied off at the base. How do you take care of it up top? Doesn't the tail keep getting longer and longer as the tree gets shorter and shorter?
 
Gary.... When your chain bound/tightened on you... 1) did you check in the rails on the bar for build up? 2) have you checked your drive sprocket lately? Just wondering...
 
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Nick...yep, the tail in the tree gets longer as you descend...lower TIP for the zip means more tail to deal with. I tie a clove with a bight and half hitch it. You gotta take care that the bight leftovers (and your lifeline) aren't in the way of the falling load.

CurSed, bar rail buildup is the only thing I found when it happened on the ground...the nose sprocket was also "tight". I cleaned out the rail buildup and fussed with the bar sprocket and it freed up fine. It has happened about 3 times lately and did not used to happen hardly ever.

The sprocket is fairly new but I'll check it, too. Will a worn sprocket make the chain get tight?

Carl, that is at Alex's house where you visited with Hayden and Alex. The tree is at the end of the drive, next to the house. He is still working on that fence and recently "captured" that area next to the left of the pool. It is shaping up pretty well. The back yard is covered with swt gum balls...we're gonna fix that.
 
Nice job.

They are handy....I used one on this Sycamore job to prevent the logs from ending up in the neighbors basement and to prevent me from having to block them down on a rope and pulley.
 

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Nice job.

They are handy....I used one on this Sycamore job to prevent the logs from ending up in the neighbors basement and to prevent me from having to block them down on a rope and pulley.

Good deal..."to prevent me from having to block them down on a rope and pulley." is a major reason I used it.
 
Hahahaha....dang, Willie, you don't miss much, do you? Only lately (and it doesn't jab). I started carrying the scrench when the chain got all tight on me somehow recently...I haven't figured out yet what that means or how it happens but I had to loosen the chain to get it turning again...thus, the scrench upstairs with me.

theres been a few times over the years i had to climb down to get one. once i didnt tighten the bar nut on my 020t and when i started and revved the saw, the nut, side cover and bar fell off:lol:
 
Good thread.

I use a portawarap at the base of the tree to adjust the vert speed line.
 
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once i didnt tighten the bar nut on my 020t and when i started and revved the saw, the nut, side cover and bar fell off:lol:

hahaha...where is THAT video??? Sounds like one of my old mentors that took a long laid aside single shot shotgun and shot at a squirrel...forestock fell off, trigger mechanism fell out, break action barrel opened up, smoke went everywhere...he didn't know which way was up. I'm sure the squirrel got a good laugh out of that one. :lol:
 
im sure the dumb look on my face was priceless just holding a saw with the chain hanging off. had to steal a nut off the 46 as that was lost in the field grass
 
Yes, Gary, if the drive sprocket is worn it can effect chain tension. The drive sprocket gets a small groove worn into it in line with the bar. If the chain moves out of the groove from say a flex on the bar from cutting, it can tighten. Since it is on the larger part of the sprocket and not in the worn groove. Might be worth checking.
 
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