O.C.G.D. Thread, part two

Man John , I know that that tether (frayed out all ta heck from the ends of the splice) looks super sketchy at best, but I'm here ta tell ya right now that John Carpentino out of Nazereth, PA spliced that bad boy, and the dude means business. It's my belief that a small chip truck couldn't bust that thing, but... maybe the test isn't worth it; not to mention that (but I'm sure you already know this) it's really a moot point since the life support is really all about the prussic cord, and so... just a word, or seven hundred about that...

I (who weigh a buck fifty dripping wet) always had the best luck with the black Beeline, which, if you can believe this, holds about eight grand. I would just wrap it four times in a counter-clockwise direction around the climbing line, and then attach the loose end back to the carabiner rather than trying to run a proper VT. Let me back up... What you have there is (to the best of my knowledge, is: (1. A black beeline good for eight grand or thereabouts. 2. A tanish-colored beeline good for, I wanna say 6.5 grand or somewhere therein. 3) A longer and suppler RIT cord, which a guy wants to say is good for dang close to seven grand or at least in the ballpark. 4) The pulley. 5) The biner.

So what ya do (but perhaps you know all this stuff, and I am redundantly boring you) is: 1) Clip the biner to the proper attachment point on yer saddle. 2) slip one end of the black Beeline onto the biner. 3) Put (only one end!) of the zk1 tether onto the biner, and attach the head of the wrench (by way of removing the slick-pin) to the suspended climb line). Physicall (with your left thumb) "bend" the attacked wrench down (toward the earth) so that you will have enough room for step number six, but first comes step four. 4) Open up the pulley, place it on the suspended rope in mid air and then place both "wings" (for I have no better word) of the pulley onto the biner. 5) Place the other end of John Carpentino's tether on the biner. (In this way both "wings" of the pulley should be snugly sandwiched between either end of the prussic chord once step six has been completed which is this: 6) Wrap the remaining loose end of the black beeline in an upward direction four times in a counter-clockwise direction, and then attach it to the biner. 7) Let's call it "Lucky Seven": make sure that the clocking gate of the biner is properly locked, and yer ready to rock. 8) Sit yerself firmly down into yer saddle and see if the whole (One is doing all of this on flat ground, I hope!) contraption will firmly take your weight without slipping on the single line. If she slips, then yer gonna need more wraps and a different prussic cord since the black beeline is gonna be too short to afford any more; but, I gotta feelin she wont slip, so do this: stand yerself up on the ground again with your leg muscles thus producing slack in the system, and try taking up the slack via grasping the wrope with your right hand upside down on the climb line below the pulley and pulling up. Clear as mud?? If the whole contraption slips up easily, then you know you're golden. She's gonna work a charm. If she slips when ya sit down on er, yer gonna need the longer bee line (tan colored), or, failing that, even the RIT cord, and a guy can fiddle around with a proper Valdotain Tress if he wants, but I just recommend straight up counter clockwise turns up the rope since, when weighted, it darn near forms a VT of it's own accord (let the reader understand) anyways.

Failing all of this, just go ahead and order Kevin's Rope Runner Pro... pretty sweet little piece of riggin. But I got a soft place in my heart for the ZK1... dang fun to climb on imho.

Man!!!..... So sorry If I gave you a huge headache with all of this ramble, Ixkllr.
 
Very useful Jed, particularly the hitch instructions. I've been looking on the web at different pictures of setups, and seeing what people are using as hitches. I've tied a bunch of different hitches, but the only one I've used is the classic prusik wrap, which isn't particularly good for this application; or maybe it is? Not as a loop, but it might work with the eyes. Dunno... I'm gonna try your suggestion though. Sounds pretty straightforward and neat. I'll report back how it all goes once I get it setup with gear. Looking forward to it. Thanks again!
 
Jed. Noted for, among other things, the best avatar in the bidness :drink: ;)
 
I’m tight-fisted, but I’d be wary of used climbing gear.
I’m told you have deep pockets ... but short arms :D I don’t climb as a profession but were I to venture off terra-firma into the trees I’d demand only the finest gear I could afford ... Never flinched at spending 1000+ for a pro chainsaw that will pay for itself rather quickly ... :D
 
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The August snow storm bought me a couple of treats.
I got an Evo battery polesaw, have been wanting a shortish fixed length one for using out of the cherry picker for ages, my petrol stihl polesaw is too long, too heavy and too awkward. Big job on Monday it paid for itself..used it exactly how I'd wanted, just that extra 2m reach to cut something without having to totally reposition, or to back away and get some distance between me in the basket and the lump of wood I'm cutting. It held up well, I'm happy.
The price for everything, battery, charger, power unit, polesaw section and extension was as much as JUST a skin for stihl or husky.

Then we got a new lawnmower, Toro self propelled, mulcher, battery start...soo nice! Only downside it doesn't come with a cup holder...
 
Two days on these boots - Arbpro Andrew. They are still a bit stiff but I do like them a lot so far. I have not gone a long limb walk yet, I might change my mind if they remain too stiff.
What is equally important and useful is the Peet boot dryer. This device is fantastic.
 

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I don't know how I ever worked in the winter without one of those! Toasty dry boots in the morning makes life so much better.

How do those boots like spurs?
 
Boot dryers FTW. I'd be sunk without em, use em year round like I presume yall do
 
I either wear wet boots, or put on a different pair. I'd have to count them up, but I think I have about a dozen pair of boots, with three pair in current rotation. I select my boots based on the expected conditions of the particular day. Wet boots don't bother me. In the right weather, they're wet whether or not they started dry, so that little bit of dry time isn't worth worrying about.
 
In all honesty, it does bother me somewhat, but it falls under the category of "Life sucks, deal with it". Like I said, my feet will be wet regardless of starting condition, so that's just the way it goes. If I'm expecting a dry day after a wet one, I'll pick a different pair of boots while the others air dry.

That's why I only wear one pair of work pants per week, even in the summer. I don't like the way they feel after even one day of wearing them, but I'm sweaty and gross by 8am anyway. That couple hours of "nice time" isn't worth a shit ton of laundry at the end of the week, so I just deal with it :shrugs:
 
I don't know how I ever worked in the winter without one of those! Toasty dry boots in the morning makes life so much better.

How do those boots like spurs?
Great on spurs, being chain saw protective, I only went down one hole on the strap as opposed to 3 holes with other boots.
 
Got some biners...

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I actually didn't get them specifically for treework. I wanted to replace my harbor freight beltloop biner with something that can stand up to some force, but was still lightweight. There wasn't any discount on a 6pack, but I figured more biners is always better than less, right? Right?! You got my back on this, right Gary?? :^D

They're pretty nice. Camp Nanos. Light as a feather, but still hold some decent weight. Aside from the belt biner, I can use them to clip stuff to my saddle. Over the weekend, I also remembered where my missing Pirate was. It's on the trauma strap I made for my work harness. It's overkill for that, so I'll switch it out with one of these maybe.

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Just looked at the booklet that came with them, and it had a made in China sticker. I probably wouldn't have gotten them had I known that. The Amazon listing had someone specifically ask, and the answer was "Italy". I'm sure they're fine, especially for my anticipated use, but screw China.
 
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Got my stuff today!

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$560 all together. As a reference, all I'd have gotten(to the dollar) from my old dealer was the reel of chain.

The chain on it was thrashed. I hit it with a file, did the rakers, and it started in six pulls. Tried to cut a piece of locust, and nothing... Ok, I'll sharpen it again... Do it again, starts first pull, and... nothing. Barely cuts. Alrighty then... I was being conservative on the sharpening, and trying not to remove much tooth. That always worked on my saws, but I never thrashed every single tooth like that. I'd just do the one or two bad teeth like I do the rest, and eventually they catch up to the rest, and everything works fine. This time I took the bar off and dressed it, removing burrs and stuff, put it back together, and did a really good job of sharpening, though there's still a bunch of ugly stuff on the teeth...

Third time's a charm. Cuts well, and feels strong. I'll have to really work with it to get a good feel for the saw, but right now I'm very happy with it. This is my first "vintage" saw, and it performs like my new tech saws so far. I miss the captive nuts, and I really like the flippy caps, but I think I did pretty well for my $200. I'm sure I could have gotten something cheaper somewhere, but this purchase was as easy as walking in and buying a new saw, which I appreciate. No ebay mystery boxes, or craigslist flakes. Just walk in, and get it done.
 
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