trunk integrity?

[BOTS]

Ha!, pine burns fine, just more soot is all

 

[CurSedVoyce]

thats what I was thinking as well.

I had a bad looking Aleppo pine to do in a couple of weeks, was going to use tall pine to right to TIP and mabey pine to left for second TIP, well homeowner called this morning and said it was down thru neighbors yard ... roots were rotted and failed (uprooted) with little storm we had 2 days ago

Had a blue like that... showed up to do the deed ( I had several other crispys to do there as well) and the dang thing had fallen over. I was going to use a sky line for my life support and an ohhhh shat lanyard. Too late.

 

[BOTS]

Dang Stephen, ya, better they go down before I show up.

I wasnt going to use a lanyard if possible...no worries now lol

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Well a zip tie wont take much abuse at the D

 

[murphy4trees]

Well I think they are ash he's working on...

I would think twice personally, and be doing some more probing and digging before I climbed it. Even with no rigging, changing the loading on a compromised tree could (could) overcome marginal holding wood...in my mind anyway...lots of things happen in my mind that never play out in reality...

My mentor told me he was cutting a dead ash... no outer signs of decay.. he took a piece, just bombing it, no rigging and the whole tree fell right out from under him.. fortunately he was tied into another tree, and lived to tell the story..

 

[Raj]

Some companies up here have a no ash climbing policy.

 

[pantheraba]

Some companies up here have a no ash climbing policy.

Wow...that speaks volumes.

 

[squisher]

And me I just had an ass, cash, or grass climbing policy. Heh, no one climbs for free!

 

[Spellfeller]

Howdy, peeps.

Here's a (low-res) video that I hope is somewhat helpful. The exposed/bark-less wood gives a nice solid sound, but the punk stuff that breaks out looks a lot like Scott's rotted Aleppo...

(Pardon the "Froggie went a courtin'" voice; I've got a pretty good chest cold...)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xuyo_Uj1ang" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[MasterBlaster]

I might climb it but I sure wouldn't rig off it!

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Yep. Can you free drop pieces?

Drill it 4 places or more, offset from one another, not in one horizontal band.

Alternate tie-in tree?

A rental tow-behind bucket-lift is probably a cheap option, as well as having someone Put On Ground Only with a bucket-truck.

 

[pantheraba]

Climbers rely on trunk integrity to hold them up...trees rely upon root integrity to hold them up.

I doubt that the rot you see stops miraculously at ground level...significant root issues look probable to me.

A lift is a great idea...if you can TIP into another tree and not have to attach to that tree at all you might be able to get something done...maybe rig off another tree?

I have one I'll be doing soon where a 60 foot maple leaning over a house is flanked by 80-90 foot pines about 8 feet away. I will be swinging pieces off the pines from a high pine rigging point.

I don't think you need to be attached to that tree...at all.

 

[Spellfeller]

Thanks, guys. Alas, there is no tree close enough to rig off or use as a TIP.

Sean called it; we're going with something like this 50' towable job:



We have at least three trees we can get with this thing; so it should pay for itself quickly...

 

[Bermy]

Good decision!

You're lucky you can rent a 50'...over here we need a 'National High Risk Work Licence' for anything over 30'...cost me $525 and a two day course to get mine...

 

[Spellfeller]

Truth be told, Fiona, I'm not 100% that "John Q. Public"--as opposed to a business with trained workers--can just waltz in and rent from the vendors we're looking at. We'll soon find out!

If it turns out we can, I'll be darned sure to check level, wear a fall-arrest harness, helmet, etc. Thankfully all the power lines in this development are buried!

What else should I keep in mind...?

 

[sawman]

looks like the one I rent from time to time.
they got an electric one and a gas one,little slow but work well imo.
in jersey anybody with a drivers lenience and $250 to 300 can rent one.

 

[sawman]

I keep it hooked to the truck if I can just piece of mind and its ready to move if I have to.

 

[Bermy]

Service manual and logbook records! They should be with the machine for you to check before you rent.
Visual check too, oil leaks, wear points, rust, cracks, make sure by-pass lowering system is operational.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Speaking of pull... Shoot a line in and give it some smooth pulls or tugs. How does it feel? Did you see root plate move? Anything break out?
A good pull can tell you a lot before you climb right up. Put some lateral force on the tree a little at a time. See what gives. Maybe it won't give at all.

 

[Spellfeller]

A good pull can tell you a lot ...Put some lateral force on the tree a little at a time. See what gives. Maybe it won't give at all.

Stephen, are you saying that if it doesn't give at the root plate, then it's okay to climb...?

Since my neighbor is willing to cover the first $180 of the lift rental, I think I'd be a bit nutty not to go that route...not that you can put a price limit on avoiding a fall to your doom!

 

[murphy4trees]

Truth be told, Fiona, I'm not 100% that "John Q. Public"--as opposed to a business with trained workers--can just waltz in and rent from the vendors we're looking at. We'll soon find out!

If it turns out we can, I'll be darned sure to check level, wear a fall-arrest harness, helmet, etc. Thankfully all the power lines in this development are buried!

What else should I keep in mind...?

outrigger pads.. don't trust anything that looks like it might be soft ground... plywood, planks etc.. get the level right... the lift is a no-brainer on that tree... otherwise you need to calculate your risk of death vs the reward of completion. Hard to do with limited info... and especially if its being used for other trees and its cheap..

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Stephen, are you saying that if it doesn't give at the root plate, then it's okay to climb...?

Since my neighbor is willing to cover the first $180 of the lift rental, I think I'd be a bit nutty not to go that route...not that you can put a price limit on avoiding a fall to your doom!

If he'll go for the lift rental, by all means. Problem solved.

 

[Altissimus]

...and a "secret cut" , w that the job is a lock