The Aerial Friction Brake is here!

bonner1040

Nick from Ohio
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
5,853
Location
Indianapolis / Cleveland
The Aerial Friction Brake TS-1 is finally hitting the market, and we're really excited about it. The design is based off Carroll C. Bassett's BMS Belay Spool, and we made some changes to make it even better for arborists.

Check it out, watch the video, let me know what you think.

https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=15634

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pk4Cp2IJKL8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Very nice, Nick! Excellent presentation. A lot of benefits in a tool like that. I will be getting one of these as, like you said, should be good for small 2 man (or person) crews.
 
This is a very efficient tool.

My concern while using the BMS Belay Spool for several years has been the rope bend radius. It seems to bend sharply at the corners. The corner radius seems like 1/2" or maybe 3/4". Can you weigh in on that? I would be interested to know if the rope bend is signicantly cutting the working capacity.

The wider cheek plates are great. Should prevent the binding on a vertical stem...the largest drawback that I found with the BS.

I wonder if the rope can jump over the roll pins that divide the rope turns during negative blocking. I thought that the pins were relatively longer on the BS, possibly too long to prevent the rope from hopping slots. Looks like they should/ could be longer to prevent this. If a negative blocked piece locks up due to the rope wrapping over itself, it will only have a very short section of rope (and sling and the tree) to absorb energy, possibly hitting the climber with the piece being caught. Maybe this is not an issue.
 
Pruning and spar work have no stubs.

Predictable friction, a la a portawrap/ LD over trunk wraps.

You can lower off of a keeper tree.

Double-braid ropes don't like Natural Crotch rigging.
 
1. They can if you cut them in preparation.
2. If it holds it it holds it, not everything has to run.(not talking about trunk wraps just holding it on stubs up the tree)
3. .?
4. As long as you're not running it, it'll last a long time, and if it needs replacing every few years so what?
It's clever and everything, but it's just another thing to take up a tree that (under normal day to day circumstances) you can easily get around.
 
Nick, it says 9/16" rope capacity. I know my BMS will barely handle 1/2" rope once it's "fuzzed" up a little. Is the 9/16" only when the rope is new, or is that allowing for some swell?
 
1. They can if you cut them in preparation.
2. If it holds it it holds it, not everything has to run.(not talking about trunk wraps just holding it on stubs up the tree)
3. .?
4. As long as you're not running it, it'll last a long time, and if it needs replacing every few years so what?
It's clever and everything, but it's just another thing to take up a tree that (under normal day to day circumstances) you can easily get around.

1. Sometimes you can.

2. When you need it to run, you need it to run. When you don't, you don't.

3. You can lower sections of one tree off of another tree without damage. Also, you can set this remotely from the ground.

One job comes to mind where I set a floating anchor point for the BS by shooting a line over a big, high limb on a huge Doug-fir that was over a stone dead madrone. I could top rig the whole tree with adjustable friction, without ever climbing the fir, and with no damage to the fir from a natural crotch rope.


You can get away without a porta-wrap, line launcher, foot ascender, SRT devices, but they make the job easier and safe in many situations.

I've been an advocate of the BS for years. I natural crotch stuff a lot. Sometimes, its important to have the right tool for the job. Sometimes its just a rope, sometimes you want a lowering device.


This seems like a good device for dynasorb, true blue, three strand stretchy ropes, if you're going to negative block things without much rope in the system, since there is a lot less rope in the system than when using a block and base-mounted lowering device.
 
Pretty mucho echo everything Sean has said!
Nice improvements. I have the original for few yrs and
Use it most every removal. Have some vid of it in use on youtube somewhere.
 
I think this is an awesome new rigging tool for arboriculture. Would like to see some work, production videos, before getting one, but it most definitely has me interested.

Thanks Nick, Luke and everyone over at Treestuff.com for making such wonderful tools and gear for us!
 
I used my belay spool yesterday to be able to lower long pieces with the BMS BS up in the tree. I could have set it as a floating anchor style, for easier retrieval, but I didn't, just climbed back up as with a block. I cut, my groundie caught and held them. I took the rope, he landed them next to the ShelterLogic portable garage.

A lowering device at the base of the tree would have required an extra groundie, and I would have watched them, doing mostly nothing while waiting. as the next rigs were right next to me.

No NC damage to the thin maple bark.
 
I've watched several videos of the Ox Block in operation by utility line crews. I like the concept of the Ox Block, but it lacks several key features needed by arborists.

1. The bend radius on the Ox Block is way too small for rigging ropes.

2. There are no side plates to prevent interference with the tree.

3. Buckingham's Ox Block is expensive as all get out.

The only real advantage I see in the Ox Block is when it's being employed as a climber rescue device. It would shine in that capacity.

This new aerial friction brake (AFB) seems much more practical for tree work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSA9FBigHa0

Joel
 
Just thought about another perk of top-side friction, for some circumstances.

You can more easily re-direct vector forces down the stem, reducing lateral loading of stems, by the angle of the rope/ location of the rope holder (climber, bucket op, ground worker). The rigging line angle is not limited to the available ground anchors for a lowering device. This can lead to more need for redirects, such as the "fishing pole" technique.
 
I've watched several videos of the Ox Block in operation by utility line crews. I like the concept of the Ox Block, but it lacks several key features needed by arborists.

1. The bend radius on the Ox Block is way too small for rigging ropes.

2. There are no side plates to prevent interference with the tree.

3. Buckingham's Ox Block is expensive as all get out.

The only real advantage I see in the Ox Block is when it's being employed as a climber rescue device. It would shine in that capacity.

This new aerial friction brake (AFB) seems much more practical for tree work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSA9FBigHa0

Joel
Duke had just started buying the Ox Blocks before I retired last year. The guys on the crew love them. I'm not sure the bend radius of the block is any smaller than rigging rings, I can see some uses for it in tree work but it is a mite pricey. Being able to take a couple of turns around the snap/biner for friction and then bring it back up friction free would be nice.
 
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