Tree felling vids

That's the most intesne slip of tree work I have ever seen... more intense than the french groundie getting sucked up int the tree...

I see a lot of people that are very good climbers tip tie large limbs for no good reason.... The only time that ever makes sense is when you need the clearance...

DOWN AND AWAY!!!! is my preference... WTF!!!

6" more play in that rope and he would have been dead! Hard hats could never protect from that kind of force......

And then he almost got nailed by the first rebound and dd get hit on the second rebound..

Might be a good time to reflect on your career choice
 
That's the most intesne slip of tree work I have ever seen... more intense than the french groundie getting sucked up int the tree...

I see a lot of people that are very good climbers tip tie large limbs for no good reason.... The only time that ever makes sense is when you need the clearance...

DOWN AND AWAY!!!! is my preference... WTF!!!

6" more play in that rope and he would have been dead! Hard hats could never protect from that kind of force......

And then he almost got nailed by the first rebound and dd get hit on the second rebound..

Might be a good time to reflect on your career choice
What I don't understand is why he was so hell bent on taking such a big piece anyway. For all the time it took to rig that mess, he could have false crotched it off itself in 2-3 cuts with a lot less drama.
 
What I don't understand is why he was so hell bent on taking such a big piece anyway. For all the time it took to rig that mess, he could have false crotched it off itself in 2-3 cuts with a lot less drama.

I thought the same thing, especially since he was out there already making a bunch of cuts, which makes you think he was going big for the camera.....

I was wondering if the piece needed to clear the playhouse/swingset, or if that was just an optical illusion on the foreground, no where near the tree.. pretty sure it was out of the way, so looks like there was no real reason to tip tie it.... (other than God needed a good example to show the world of why you never tip tie big horizontals)

I'd like to hear Reg's take on it.....

I've seen him make some similar looking cuts... HOWEVER... He said he was never in danger and its pretty clear he was expecting the pieces to helicopter and prepared for it by moving out of the way... The difference between when a highly experienced pro doing something that looks dangerous but he's actually got it handled quite safely and a rookie getting lucky is often hard to tell just by seeing the video
 
I went back and tooka nother look at the beginning of the video where he shows the set up and he did have to clear the playground... it was right under the tree

here's the comment I left:

That's the most intense treework video clip I have seen yet... Thanks for sharing it!

Hey Bro...
I honestly think you should rethink your career choice... You're making way to many mistakes and taking a far too relaxed attitude about them when you do... You only get so many of those small mishaps and near misses/close calls until some really bad shit happens.
Not trying to bust on you bro, REALLY trying to save your life...

You've got a great personality for video... shop yourself around to host a reality TV show... SERIOUSLY!..... now that you're out of action for a while take the time to look for a new direction
 
This is life and death... did you see the video????.... I don;t giggle when I see one of my tree cutting brothers come so close to ending his young life .....
This guy is sloppy ... very sloppy!!!, inexperienced and has a cavalier attitude about safety.... Not everyone is cut out for this business.....
 
inexperienced and has a cavalier attitude about safety.
Yes for the first but not so much for the second in my opinion. The main problem is that he wants to go too quick in his learning and handles some jobs too hard/difficult for his knowledge. That's the very dangerous point.
 
Are you confusing Dan from Missouri with the guy that broke his pelvis?

No... the guy (Human) that broke his pelvis...
Here's the video:

Check out it at 11:00
the still of this vid shows the size of the piece that nearly clobbered him

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BfgTdoyB738" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
What I don't understand is why he was so hell bent on taking such a big piece anyway. For all the time it took to rig that mess, he could have false crotched it off itself in 2-3 cuts with a lot less drama.

And what was up with the but tie... never used it... I was thinking he could have taken the piece about 6'-8' out from the trunk and he'd have been fine...

Also a good example of when using a Humboldt is somewhat dysfunctional... for those that just cut a humboldt on every notch... no need and a waste of time when you have to go and fix it.. they're hard enough to cut on the ground (for and east-coaster)..... Why do it in the air when its harder to match the cuts and see what's going on on the corner
 
Sometimes its easier to hold the saw in position for humbolt style face while in the tree,fatigue,position,angles.

I'm not trying to say the instance on the video @ 11:00,but just sayin....ime
 
Alright I'm gonna have to play devil's advocate here, poor guy already has a broken hip and had the balls to film that shit and put it up for everyone to understand his mistakes, no need to literally kick him when he's down. There are a lot more people like him (most of us when we started), he got a job at a tree service and they put him in the air before he knew everything that he should have. This forum is blessed with the very people that actually develop, test, and advance gear and cutting edge techniques, but most people who cut trees are trying to feed a family and haven't attained that level of mastery yet (me). If you watch his earlier videos, you can actually see the first tree that he ever climbed, and he did so at work with a chainsaw. That was roughly a year ago, and while his climbing skills have gotten much better, I bet he still hasn't been trained in rigging or anything else. He is self taught mainly (I'm basing that on the fact that about halfway through his videos he suddenly adopts advanced gear and stuff), as am I and probably more people here than would like to admit. I don't think he has a cavalier attitude towards safety, he has made mistakes and didn't know the risks. He was trying his best to do his job, but his employers didn't train him enough for him to do that safely. In my opinion and experience most people get hurt because they haven't learned the job fully. I personally have been very lucky, and I think most of us could look back and say the same thing.

Murph, I admit that you have more experience than I will ever have, and I have learned tons from you from the stick trick to the snap cut for a back cut in order to get to safety before pulling a tree in a bad spot. But even you have experimented with stuff that is outside safe practices, the intentional barber chair thing comes to mind. No one is perfect, and tree work is very dangerous compared to some other lines of work. Every time we fire up a saw, we are betting our life that we have the knowledge and skill to survive the task. Everyone who is going to attempt this needs to understand the commitment level that tree work is. Most people who end up hurt don't understand the risks involved before it's too late. Tree work is very similar to pipefitting in that regard (my day job), people often know just enough to get themselves hurt or killed.
 
That's a very well written and thoughtful post and I agree with 99%..
I like and admire the guy.. I think he's got a way better personality than me or anyone else out there for making tree videos ... He's awesome and fun to watch and part of that is watching his mistakes, and remembering back to when we all used to make those mistakes.. and for him to only be climbing for a year is very impressive at his level..
And YES, I have been extremely lucky to be alive and un-scarred, nearly killing myself a handful of times, as I was pretty much self-taught early on... But those days are over and now I trust my instincts about trees and the people that work on them...... If this accident doesn't change his attitude, he'd be better off finding another line of work..

And You beat me to it with this line "people often know just enough to get themselves hurt or killed."

Now if that is true about Human, which is a kinder attitude..... to say "heal up brother and get back up the tree" OR "time to rethink your career choice"

That's not kicking him when he's down... that's actually trying to save his life and hoping the post here will be read by someone in his position and maybe save that life too!
 
I don't think that safety consciousness is developed enough.

Doing dangerous stuff, left, right and center, and not really avoiding simple stuff, like moving the trampoline that he hit and said 'oops'. Its a trampoline. I could move it one one hand.

The butt log that stalled could have popped off to either side, crushing either thing. Rigging logs rather than take down an easy fence???

Ran his rigging line over his climbing line without knowing it. Could have burned partially through and broken when fully loaded.


Too much, Too soon.

What is with the black paint on the Stihl? Who do I know with huge amounts of experience, including lots of injuries in the past, who does that?

Risking life and limb to sell some logs on a 'side job'? Did his groundie have the skill for that job? I barely trust newbie groundies to rig anything at all. Never do I trust my life to them with a huge log waaaaay too close to the obstacles. What was supposed to happen?

Not heeding heat and dehydration, nor covering up in the hot sun...


I hope he heals up completely, and doesn't become a fatality.
Maybe I said this earlier in this thread, but I think I erased the post when writing...I tell people that full-on tree tree isn't for almost Everyone in the entire world.
 
Well said Sean, that was kinda what I was trying to say lol. He is a hired hand though, and I get a sense that he was pushed along into some of those things you mentioned. He obviously cares about tree work very much, he even takes time to make videos about it and learn from others. But I get the sense that the outfit he is working for is pushing production very hard without the personnel or equipment needed (he is using his own gear a bunch), or just has experienced guys who have gotten lax about the small details over time. If it was your business, would you let him climb or run jobs? He learned that way from someone is I guess my point. It seems like the owner is absent from the process, and has hired at a certain wage point and experience level. He was responsible for getting hurt, but his employer was just as responsible imho. There are many outfits out there operating on such luck rather than safety control.
 
And what was up with the but tie... never used it...
The butt tie would have prevented some part of the big swing and the close call, if he had it effectively tied back just under the cut. With a butt leash, the big log never could have turn around the trunk and straight to where he was standing (strong pull on the leash though).
Instead, the rope seems free running through a block and does nothing, even slowing the movement.
 
When Murph posted the butt tye video I watched it,then I went to work and at one point did a tip tye&butt tye on a4-500# eucalyptus log.
I asked my brother,who was on the ground,what he thought (if it looked ok). He said "ya if i wanna get smacked by the log."
Phff dikhead,I couldn't get the images of human out of my mind lol,I cut it anyway,it was ok ,fukn dik brothr killed my mojo for sure though. I know what I'm doing here! Uuugh
 
I have been extremely lucky to be alive and un-scarred, nearly killing myself a handful of times, as I was pretty much self-taught early on........ If this accident doesn't change his attitude, he'd be better off finding another line of work..
Just curious why you didn't find another line after nearly getting killed so many times.
 
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