How'd it go today?

[Al Smith]

I finally got a day off after what seems like forever of 12 hour days .Danged near spring time and I'll be darned if the wood stove isn't stll burning .I have to untarp another stack of firewood here in a short while after burning a full 5 cords so far .Rather unusual to be this cold this late in the season .I haven't seen the first male robin yet either so that says something .

 

[rskybiz]

Closed on a 600 acre farm contract of planted longleaf pine that is being hit hard by beetles after a thinning.
Right place right time story.
Did a favor for a neighbor on his aeromotor wind mill. Put up a new platform for him farmer close by had the same with issues so a look and a bolt later he has his water again. Nice to do something different fro time to time!

 

[Al Smith]

Those are few and far between in this day and age .You can still find the towers but most of the windmill gave up the ghost years ago .We had one on the farm I was born on .

Wow that was a long time ago ,like 60 some .If memory serves it had a pump jack that connected to a standard hand pump .It could be disengaged and the hand pump used if there was no wind .

 

[MasterBlaster]

90% of the time I set a pull line. If there's a back lean, that goes up to 100%.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Sean, guess you know about how much you can take out of a tree's middle before it might set back hard. I might be skeered if there was a danger to something.

Its sorta like the quarter cut (half the backcut) technique for wedging little trees. You can remove one side of the backcut without the tree setting back, set a wedge, then cut the other side, and set a wedge.

In this case it removing the middle third to half, with a good depth, hinge to back edge of tree, of wood left on each side. When executed properly, its no big deal. Again, after setting the two wedges vertically, I should have set a wedge on the one side, then the other.

We tag team most trees, which I don't really care for that much, but it is how it is. Especially with big trees, wider than the bar, as there are different ways to chase the backcut around the tree. Duane rocks the bar tip back toward the back edge of the cut more than I'd like, and ends up close to or in the wedges time to time, or I have to wait to put in a wedge longer than I would otherwise.

If its a 40" tree cut with a 36" bar, I'd rather cut the one side up to the hinge, only 7-8" deep from the side, then cut the other side from the back of the tree to the hinge, dogging in frequently with little sweeps, or not levering against the dogs much. That allows as many wedges as desired without cutting off the tips.

Alternatively, I'll cut both sides up, leaving a backstrap. Prevents premature release, keeping the hinge fully even for tight shots.

Of course, with dead and/ or rotten trees, our forte, there is always an X factor. Knowing what decay fungi is affecting the tree clues us into what Might be hidden inside.

We usually would set a pull line close to buildings with a backleaner, but for some reason, the boss wanted to only take the pick-up with a couple saws and wedges, rather that the fully loaded bucket truck...and this was a park that is across the road from our shop, so saving fuel/ mileage was a moot point, essentially. For some (bad) reason, we don't have a throwline and bigshot head that live full time in the pick-up.

 

[Bodean]

Glad you're all good, Sean.

Sweet Deal, Risky.

ISA Seminar in Santa Rosa, Structural Pruning.

1)Find your leader
2)Identify competition
3)Subordinate competition with reduction cuts.
4)Pay attention to aspect ratios and stem taper.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

It was raining this morning, but looking like it might just ease up. Pruned several peach and apricot trees and a few catalpas. Only sprinkled, so headed over for a euc clean up.... Took all the prunings and such to one of our clients that has the same gardening technique as Jamie and dropped them off.. Headed home. Just a leisurely day
Trying to make macaroni and cheese with our goat cheese tonight.. see how it goes...

 

[Arborkeith]

Butch, it feels like we have worked together

 

[MasterBlaster]

Maybe so. What is your age, brother?

It's not on your profile.

 

[Burnham]

My pig for the day... dang near 48" at the cut. 1/2 the tree we had cleaned up after the codom failed and made an opening for the leaning POS to get felled into. All went well considering the lean, slope... etc.. 4 hours.. cookie cut for burning in place. 6 tanks on the 066, two on the 044 and 2 on the Husky 460..... Yes, the hangers made me nervous....
I would have liked a weeeeeeeeee bit more wood to work with...

Nice fell Stephen, any way you want to call it. Damn nice.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Thank you my friend.. Kept thinking of you the whole time and what I have picked up from you, Gerry and some others here.

 

[Burnham]

A lotta fine skill and experience here, for us all to draw on.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Amen!

 

[canadiantreeman]

Good stories, all!

I've had a blissful last couple of weeks monkeying around on the HH, but I feel the need to really dog down and kill some trees...must be the last 2 days of walnut pruning. Those trees force a zen outta you, or you just end up feeling like the world is ending. One actually nutted me as I was climbing the central stem, small twig bent and broke and then slapped my, erm, well...hard!

Landed a crane removal gig for next Monday last week, it will be my company's maiden voyage with a 30t crane. 5 decent (60')elms all behind a motel, the eejiot doesn't want for me to do clean up though. I'll get back to ya on Monday night after we leave a shitpile of wreckage for him to sort out. I've strategically left the Tuesday open, as I assume that ve vill be bach.

 

[Jack]

Good Morning!

 

[SoonerFan]

next Monday last week,

I couldn't resist...

 

[canadiantreeman]

Bastid!

 

[Tucker943]

Locked up a few ash removals. Each one split at about 15' at the first crotches, and the split runs right to the base. See through splits. Lovely trees.....

 

[rangerdanger]

Dropped the trailer and Gehl off today to have some maintenance and minor work done. Looked at some bids with Dad also, and got everything written and submitted for them. Getting ready to head up to Pittsburgh, PA in the am tomorrow with some friends for a few days.

 

[Burnham]

Locked up a few ash removals. Each one split at about 15' at the first crotches, and the split runs right to the base. See through splits. Lovely trees.....

One word...binders .

 

[Tucker943]

Ya I might use some. Doesn't my climb line off on side and me and the lanyard on the opposite side count as support?

 

[Al Smith]

Still burning the stove ,unusual this late in the season .Hope is on the way because just today I saw the first of the male robins .When they arrive spring is usually within two weeks .They can forecast the weather better than the weather man .They never miss .

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Interesting, Al, about the robins.

Chris, how do you get all this terrible trees?

 

[Al Smith]

Robins are interesting birds .They migrate south but are the first of the migratories to arrive in spring time .The males arrive first followed by the females a week or two later .They time the hatching of the eggs to correspond to the abundance of earth worms .They can have several broods but oddly enough they build a new nest for each brood often times directly over the first nest .Usually 4 hatchlings that grow like weeds .

They're kind of dumb in some aspects because I've seen nests no more that two feet off the ground .Easy prey for a cat or raccoon .If a nestling falls out of the nest before it can fly and fend for itself the parents will attempt to still feed it .I have no idea of the success rate .

 

[Tucker943]

I get them because other guys cant get a bucket truck to them. Crane cant reach these either. Its going to be a matter of letting whatever freebies I can find fly off the tree to start reducing weight, then rigging this rest out using my head. Theres a LOT of roping in these trees. I don't trust these kind of trees, but I take my time, use my head more then my saw, get weight off quickly using snap cuts or any cut that doesn't create a pulling effect while the limbs detach. After that, I rig lightly to keep getting weight off, without provoking a failure. Once I know Ive got a few thousand pounds off the tree, I get down and nasty.

Im not saying my methods are fool proof or wont bite me in the ass. But around here, I am surrounded by bucket truck guys and not too many climbers. I make my money by grabbing my stones and doing the nasty. I wont forever, but for now, I cater to that scenario.