Pulley sheeve size

The tree itself is your weakest link. Rarely the rigging. You can over rig a tree. There is a balance between the two. Look at what the tree and thebimbs support and work with it in what you cut, how much, and what rigging to use for the plan.
 
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  • #78
Yes well said jonny, i was planning on getting some 3/4 tenex or maybe try that Trex for the slings for the 3/4 and 5/8 pulley and bollard. I am also on the side of caution and will probably never get close to the 10to1 safety buffer. And then i will be using the 5/8ths you sent me for the 1/2 inch pulleys i got.

the next big questions for yous is what is the major difference between a bollard and a portawrap? Is it that the main line needs to make a bight and put it threw the arch and around the cylinder for the portarap? And the bollards dont have that issue you just start rapping?
 
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That is a notable difference between the two for sure, but the bigger difference is a bollard is strapped to the trunk with a big ratchet strap and mostly stays put, while the portawrap has a rope sling below it and kinda flaccidly lays there unless it’s loaded. Once loaded, the porty is sturdy enough, and some folks put a small sling or small ratchet strap above the porty to help keep it in place. The small sling or strap doesn’t really see any load besides the weight of the porty itself.
 
That floppy feature is a little spooky when negative rigging and there’s a second or two before the piece is caught, where the porty drops a little before being yanked back up.
A porty is usually less expensive, and it is easier for a single person to install, and they’re very strong. I hope I don’t sound like I’m bashing Portawraps, they’re ingenious and can take massive dynamic loads.
A single person can install a bollard device, but it’s much easier and faster with two people. That usually means I have to help my groundie install it, then try not to spike the strap when I start climbing.
 
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  • #81
That is why I have been eyeing the stien rc 2000 has a wll just north of 4000 lbs. So I think it will be matched up with the pulleys I just got. the floppyNess is all figured out. the way you load it up seems easier to get it correctly .

Check her out
 
One advantage of the porty is the possibility to be loaded from every directions as is (without the top sling of the Stein's), it self adjusts accordingly, while the strapped bollard is limited to the top (a pulley can be added above but complicates the setup).
A good use of the porty is as a pulling anchor from a stump : low angle pull and no room to tie a bollard.

I prefer the bollard for the common rigging tough, easier to use.
 
The biggest advantage with a strapped bollard (IMHO) vs a Porty type bollard is the larger range of adjustable friction. What trumps that is the advantage of pretension like a KK, HOBBS, Stein or GRCS provides.
Sometimes that little slack you get with the porty will save you from getting smacked and broken by a piece of wood that gets below you due to that slack.
Each tool has it's place. If you start rigging with multiple lines to vector or float pieces of trees, best know their function. Most guys can't spring for three bollard devices.
 
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  • #85
I have also seen on some youtube videos of climber in trees with a porty helping the ground crew with lowering. Example the used a tip tie and a butt tie with the porty and after the initial freeing of limb the climber unlocked off the butt tie and help lower the limb as the ground crew lowered the tip.

Is it harder to use the bollard in the canopy?

For you guys who have used some mechanical advantage from the porty to take the slack out of the line, on smaller pieces I'm sure you could raise branches like the hobBS or grcs, ect. I know it won't be as fast to set it up to lift every time i need a lift, but will it work the same? What are your experiences like?

@Tree09 you mentioned you made a homemade grcs, is there a thread of what and how you did it?
 
Port in the tree , you want the small one imo ... one time I have set (anchored to the port o) basically a fiddle block setup with (can't remember if it was the Massdam or come along with an ascender , either way) to hoist and pow to capture the advance , lock off , rinse , repeat ... seemed rope and set up intensive plus slower than mollasseses
 
What was his name that carried a Hobbs in to the tree..?

Rockin Monsters or something?…. He was pretty rough…. Darin tried to bring him in closer to the fire.
 
No build thread since i made it long before i joined here, it's simply a non self tailing sailboat winch mounted on steel plate. The winch i used is about the same size as the grcs one, and i used the winch to power my chipper winch thing as well. Affordable on ebay since all anyone wants on their yacht is the self tailer versions. I'm a steamfitter by trade and am very comfortable working metal so i build lots of my own gear, it is usually very roughly built but is bomber. I want to redo the fairlead, likely with rollers, but it's been functional enough i haven't gotten around to it.

Call me wierd, but bringing a heavy friction device up the tree has very limited use imo. It's far easier in most cases to simply redirect the line to the base of the tree, which is exactly what you are doing when you use a block or ring. If i need friction in the tree I'll simply use natural crotch rigging, how it's been done for hundreds of years. A grcs or other hoisting engine is an amazing tool, but honestly you don't need one that often. It is just as viable as putting a block at the base of the tree and hooking a portawrap to your hitch on the truck, honestly the truck version has more power and speed and gets the ground guy responsible for running everything away from the load and into an air conditioned safe space designed to withstand a rollover. The point is usually you won't be lifting limbs all that often, and basic rigging skills like line sweating will serve you more than a grcs will for most stuff.

When you get into storm damage and other crap like that that's where lifting becomes really handy, but once again the lifting can come from any source. Some are nicer than others but they all work. The winch types like the grcs are very nice just because you just add the handle or drill and start cranking, here's a limb i lifted off my own roof with it, yeah i know. If you are just starting out i would suggest a portawrap, it's gonna be the most versatile for the lowest price, and get another block for the bottom of the tree. Down the road a fiddle block or come along adds hoisting away from a vehicle, and then if you need/ can afford more get the better devices when you know what would work best for you. Also learn to weld if you are gonna be a cheap ass like me :lol:

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  • #89
I dont plan on putting the porta in the tree anytime soon. I was just wondering if anyone has and if so how did it work. I believe i saw the airborne porty in at least one of lawrence schultz Mr pfanner man the one and onlys videoz
 
Yes, done it so only took two of us to vector logs and such into the zone. Medium porty on this one. Rob caught both lines and then I would take over to lower. A high block caught the piece for the most part and then both of us would vector it in. Lower the pieces away from the power line and above the drop off to the house.
Don't much care to do it often though. IMG_20120406_143019.jpg
 
I took my selfmade porty up in the tree a few times, as in special circonstances. It's like the big version, a bit heavy but very doable. It is usually when working alone, when there is a good risk to hang the limbs on the way down, like in a big crotch between two coleaders. The advantage is coming on the blocage from above, not having to climb up again and fight the mess to pass through it. When it gets stuck, I come down while holding the tension on the rigging tail, ty it somewhere in the suspended limb, cut the bit holding it all, get out in the open air along the limb and lower it while coming down myself to ease the slide along the trunk.

I've done it inverted too, with the porty tied on the limb and the working end of the line up in the tree. This way I can follow the limb, while keeping the porty at hand reach, stop it, work on the limb like passing some keeper trees, and continue the lowering.

An other fun technique is like some sort of drt in rigging. It was to lower some heavy pieces in an old pollarded tree but with just some skinny sprouts as a tying point. No way to double the load with a block on that. So, I tied the block on the limb, hung the porty upside down on the rigging rope's end with the shackle, as in absolute floating mode. The rope went up to the tiny crotch, down to the block, up again to the porty, finally tied as usual. The porty was just above me and I was able to set the friction, lock it, cut, unlock and lower the log without moving.
Nice part, I can adjust the position of the porty at whatever high I want. Free of load, the porty can be lowered or rized at will just with one hand, without having to climb up there or playing with knots. But under load, the friction of the rope in the crotch locks it in place, all the slack needed for the lowering goes by the block on the log, the porty stays where it is, in the middle of the air.
 
For the mini abs medium Porto’s what brand(s) do y’all recommend? Only ever used the large ones for on the ground. Wouldn’t want to carry them up a tree if I didn’t have to. Currently I’ve been experimenting with natural friction and I have a triple thimble aswell
 
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  • #95
If anyone is looking to buy anything 14793 is 14% off at shirrilltree untill march 31st
 
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