getting started in (light) rigging

Jeff,

When working alone, it's very difficult to beat the Rig and Ring sold by TreeStuff. You can set this into a tree from the ground. The large Rig and Ring has a huge safe working load limit. It will likely be the only top rigging setup you'll ever use for light rigging.

The large Rig and Ring doesn't have any pulleys or sheaves. The rope passes through two aluminum rings. It's fantastic for lowering, as the rings provide some friction, making it easy to handle heavy loads with a minimum number of wraps on the lowering portawrap.

The large rig and ring can also be used for lifting, but the added friction (due to the rings) requires a lot more physical work from you.

Just starting out in rigging, I would suggest..........

A Pinto Rig Loopie
The CMI 3/4" rigging block
The Rig and Ring
Medium size portawrap
2 or 3 CMI heavy duty loop runners.....something like 7 bucks each.
And a few Big Dan carabiners. Don't even waste your time with any of the other rigging biners.

And I came back later to add this....a few Tenex rigging prusiks with spliced eyes. You'll use these constantly with your maasdam puller and the portawrap.

Hope this helps.

Joel
 
I have never used my 3/4" blocks to weight capacity or size capacity. A half inch capacity block will suffice. Light NCR can easily be done off of the limb being pruned, so any possible damage will be limited to the piece you're removing anyway.

In 8 years, I've gotten by, in my market, with 9/16" double braid ( and a crane).
 
Sean,

I only added the 3/4" CMI pulley because it's cheap....very strong.....and very useful for ground based redirects.

My favorite rigging rope is the Sterling Atlas in 9/16". I use it for almost everything related to rigging. Just love that rigging rope.

Joel
 
pulley, not block?

A Pinto Rig Loopie
The CMI 3/4" rigging block
The Rig and Ring
Medium size portawrap
2 or 3 CMI heavy duty loop runners.....something like 7 bucks each.
And a few Big Dan carabiners.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #30
Great list, Joel. On the Pinto, I read the following in the reviews:

"A better choice...would be to purchase this loopie with the Rock Exotica block which has a swivel side plate for quick and easy rope management." (i.e, the RE block is mid-line attachable)

"...this tool should not be used for top-removal due to the lack of rope protection provided by the side plates of the pulley. In larger abrorist blocks the side plates extend out past the sheave to protect the rope from getting pinched and damaged when loaded, the Pinto Rig side plates do not offer the same rope protection."

Do you concur with any of this??
 
You don't want to pinch the rope between the block/ pulley and the trunk?


What are you trying to rig? People used to do a whole trees with one rope. Obviously, things have progressed. If you're rigging 100 pound limbs, you don't need a lot. A redirect pulley is a good idea. A biner works, too, as a redirect.

When you have a landing zone that can take a bit of a beating, speed lines are cheap, easy, and simple.

.02
 
 
Jeff,

Yes. I agree that the Pinto Rig pulley does not offer the same rope protection as a true arborist block. However, the Pinto Rig Loopie is so handy when doing redirects or when working alone doing dead limbing. The Pinto Rig is not mid-line attachable, but I rarely find this to be necessary.

Even a mid-line attachable block has to be attached to the tree manually.....meaning that the climber must make the trip to the attachment point. No big deal installing the rigging rope through the Pinto if you're already there to place the block anyway.

Run your rigging rope through the Pinto and then back down the tree to attach it to the limb to be removed. Easy to carry with you aloft. Fits nicely in your ditty bag. Super handy tool. You'll find yourself using the Pinto rig with your Maasdam, when doing redirects around obstacles. I would not suggest using the Pinto Rig Loopie as your primary top rigging block when doing removals. It's not designed to be used in that way. It's great for doing trimming and dead branch removals, however.

You'll want the large Rig and Ring for your primary top rigging point....or the larger CMI block.

Joel
 
Jeff,

Sean made a good point. The CMI block...at 100 bucks....isn't really all that cheap. However, I view purchases of this sort in a different way.

Something cheap......just to get you by for a while......may not be a good investment if it ends up under a pile of other things that you outgrow over time. You'll never outgrow the CMI block. No matter how much you eventually spend on rigging gear, that block will always be of use to you.

I use my CMI block at the base of the tree when using my tractor as the pulling and lifting force when doing large removals. My ISC block is placed high in the tree as my primary rigging block. Placing that large CMI block at the base of the tree...at the same height or lower than my tractor's drawbar......allows me to lift nearly a ton. That hundred bucks I spent years ago is still worth its weight in gold, even after purchasing a whole lot of other gear since.

You'll never outgrow this block. In other words, it will be useful to you for as long as it remains serviceable. That's a good investment.

Joel
 
Spellfeller said:
Stephen, I watched this, fascinated, in the Felling forum before you reposted it here. So cool.

Obviously, I've read about NCR, and watched a few vids ONE EXAMPLE, but yours is so helpful in that it shows the technique's repeated use in an application far closer to what I'm likely to tackle.

Am I right that all you're using here is a steel biner and the bull rope? Limbs this size are being controlled only by the friction of the rope through the crotch and your hand, right?
Click to expand...

Right on both accounts. Keep the weights small at first as well. When your weieghts go up, it will require using marls with the biner or knot. This is just fast for removals. Like Sean pointed out, if you NCR a prune, use a limb you'll be removing. Clipping into a loop runner girth hitched around the limb is quick as well for larger weights. Eliminates the sideload on the crab

As far as the pinto rig issue, with the spacer, I don't see a pinching issue.
Common sense plays into a large part of our job. Start small and work up. If the job looks too big, maybe something else should come into play, or possibly refer it out. I gave a lot of work away as my kit and knowledge grew. A man has to know his limitatíon ;).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #37
CurSedVoyce said:
When your weieghts go up, it will require using marls with the biner or knot. This is just fast for removals.
Click to expand...

"Marls"? Sorry...:?

CurSedVoyce said:
Clipping into a loop runner girth hitched around the limb is quick as well for larger weights. Eliminates the sideload on the crab
Click to expand...

When (at what weight) do you think you should go to the loop runner, Stephen? You were taking some big hunks down without it...
(This is a pretty silly question to ask, as my "limb weight estimation" skills are no doubt crap!)

CurSedVoyce said:
Start small and work up. If the job looks too big, maybe something else should come into play, or possibly refer it out. I gave a lot of work away as my kit and knowledge grew. A man has to know his limitatíon ;).
Click to expand...

AMEN! :thumbup:
 
Aren't a marl and half hitch the same thing just reversed in the lay so to speak? I always forget which way is which.
 
A half hitch is what you tie on a rope and a marl goes around the limb or log to my knowledge. I called them half hitches until I started lurking around here.
You will possibly never wear out or over use that cmi block. $100 for something that'll last a lifetime is a cheap investment. It's a great starter for a rigging collection. Then you'll get an ISC aluminum block and then a few more. It's a sickness. I plan on adding two of the 1/2" ISC blocks to my small collection.
When using a loop runner I usually put two carabiners on it for rigging. I just don't like the sharp bend radius of one. Personal choice that's all.
 
Pretty much, there are at least 2 threads in here about it. Did we ever come to a conclusion?? :lol:
Sort of like an oil thread, it just keeps running.
Basically a marl is like a 1/2 hitch that goes between the tail of the rope and the termination end, both on the piece to be rigged. It is like having a back up knot on the piece and also absorbs some of the shock of the weight on the rope as I understand it. You are spreading force in a way.
Of course this noodle would be much too light for needing this type of rigging and I would probably just cut and pitch it....
tmp_21424-IMG_20150905_114536239-1250851892.jpg
Now on weight.. Since it takes a time with learning the weight of each species by experience or charts....
If I have a piece I can easily carry (if I were on the ground) or drag to the chipper, I will just run the biner around it.
If it would take two people or I have more than one piece I want to lower at once, I will use loop runners more often than a clove hitch on the other pieces prior to a termination on the first piece cut.
If Two people can not move the piece, branch or wood by hand, I will incorporate the marl before the termination.
Above all, I try and cut for my crew and equipment. Going big is awesome if you can move the material afterward.
Waiting for a crew to cut shit up below the tree takes time. So does rigging the next piece. Judge your time usage wisely. Sometimes it is faster to cut small. Sometimes larger. Is there something you as the climber could be doing while waiting on the rope to be freed or before the ground can be clear?
Sitting around gets nothing done unless you hydrate, eat or take some weight off the spurs.
In that video I posted, you can see two limb I did the clove hitch and girth hitch to take two. They were rather small. If you look at the chunks of wood I lowered up to the last one I threw, Katy could move each one by her self. She had to cut the one I threw in 3. Each top or limb she could easily drag down hill to the chipper (even with her back troubles) while I rigged the next piece. Wash, rinse, repeat.
 
Thinking about the ground crew is something I beat into my apprentices.

If you are ahead of the game as climber and can make stuff able to go directly into the chipper by adding an extra cut, do so.

Don't pile stuff up so the groundies have to pull it apart if by waiting for them to clear the hole before dropping more stuff, you can speed things up.

We often talk about "the bottle neck" on jobs. That is the point where things get slowed down.

A poor climber will bring the bottle neck into the tree, whereas one groundie too few, or a narrow gate will place it on the ground.

Avoiding the bottleneck by working together instead of against each other makes things go ever so much smoother.
 
Exactly... What Stig is saying... Identify your bottle neck and address it or completely avoid it by common sense..

Here is a better shot of a limb (hard to tell it is over 1000#) with the marl and running bowline. This limb had to be cut in 1/2 for the mini to move.
IMG_0075.jpg
It was lowered with a large porty at the base of the tree, on 9/16ths Stable Braid, through a 5/8ths CMI block tied to the tree with a 1/2" dead eye made of Tenex TEC. For reference.
IMG_0076.jpg IMG_0077.jpg
Sometimes you have to wait ;)
 
http://read.dmtmag.com/i/32089-arbor-age-may-june-2011/12

Marl and half-hitch are not the same. This article says it decrease strength compared to a Running bowline. They are good to precede choking with a biner. Marls are good to put down the length of a long dead piece that will shatter. Half-hitches will fall out, along with some of the pieces of the limb.

http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=235&item=130 3.65 pounds without a sling, which costs extra.

http://www.sherrilltree.com/RockBlock-Loopie-Combo-by-SherrillTree-#.Veu2vflViko 3.3 pounds 2000 pound working load limit. A better match to a rope with a 600 pound wll.


Your rope is meant to to be the weak link in your system. Your rigging block and sling will see double the force of the rest of the system, more or less.



Compact Steel D Double-Locking Carabiner http://wesspur.com/carabiners/auto-locking-carabiners.html $20. I use these.
 
Spellfeller,

No matter which rigging gear you decide to purchase, it's very important to follow a few safety rules. Rigging gear is never to be used as climbing gear, and visa versa. Keep your rigging and climbing gear separate.

Rigging gear can take quite a beating. You don't ever want to be climbing on a line that has been used for rigging purposes. Likewise, you never want to use your lifeline as a rigging rope.

I like to use gear that is clearly distinguishable between rigging and climbing. Such things as color of rope can make things easier for your inexperienced ground crew. The same is true with carabiners. I like to use the large steel biners for rigging. My DMM Ultra 0 biners are strictly used for climbing purposes.

If you use a friction saver.....cambium saver.....at your tie in point (TIP), make sure that these things are never used for rigging applications.

Just a safety note for your consideration.

Joel
 
Spellfeller,

I should add here that many inexperienced guys tend to make purchases that can serve multiple duties.....mostly in an effort to extend the dollar. This is OK....so long as the item being purchased does not cross over from rigging to climbing.

Just as an example.....I own a Pinto Rig pulley that I often use as my Tie-in-point for my hybrid Ddrt climbing line. This item is reserved strictly for climbing purposes. Though designed for rigging, this particular item has a place in my climbing kit.....and I keep it there.

TreeStuff now offers more colors for these items, which makes things much easier to keep track of.

And you probably already know this, but you should NEVER engrave your pulleys, carabiners, gaffs, or any other metal item. Engraving the metal will cause metal fatigue over time, which will result in equipment failure.

Hope this helps.

Joel
 
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