Tree Job From Hell

Not sure if this has been posted here yet. Some interesting rigging.

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Sure there's a lot of PPE missing, but I was trying to focus on the work that was involved in getting this tree down safely.

I would never normally watch a vid that long but I was hooked.
Very good, real peril with that one. Pat on the back for him and his crew.

Interesting vid and all's well that ends well. If there was an ideal approach and the budget, two cranes seems like it would have made for less drama and a relatively quick solution to the problem. Can't fault their work ethic.

I wonder why the crane couldn't float them out, one lead at a time?

Was there no other crane company you could have called? I'd have been pissed!

I think that they were afraid of creating an imbalance and the tree was going to possibly roll. Yeah, I felt the same, a crane company bailing on them like that, pretty hard to imagine an outfit doing that. Wonder if the operator felt insecure about the job?

Probably got a big money emergency job elsewhere.

I've never worked from a bucket, but on a few shots the rigging lines seem to have the bucket "trapped" during a few cuts. Other than that, looked interesting, need to watch it again in peace.

chris_girard said:

Not sure if this has been posted here yet. Some interesting rigging.

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Thanks for posting this, Chris. Just like Mick, it had my attention throughout. Is this a video you found posted elsewhere, or is this video of your crew. Sorry is this seems like a dumb question, I just don't know too much about you.

Also, I'm wondering what all of the veteran timber fallers thought about the way that last big cut was performed. After all of the care that was demonstrated prior to this, by taking small pieces in a really patient, deliberate manner, I was surprised to see them trying to cut such a huge piece all at once. I guess I feared that the big piece might take a slight roll as it was coming off. It seemed like the guy making the final cut was in harm's way if something went amiss.

That's just my lack of education in this area talking.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Tim

Quite a challenge for sure...thanks for posting that video...good stuff.

Real world situation for sure. One note I'll take from it will be to shore up th chimney prior to. Might have went as far as building L's for the corners to tie it all in. Bucket position on a few yea I wondered once well maybe twice.

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Good point on the chimney...probably should have reinforced it sooner. L's is a good idea, too...you're just full of it...er...them.

I've hinged logs down like that, no biggie. I'd want to put stuff in the LZ to make slicing and dicing the log easier, though,

This was a video that I found online. Not my crew, but I have spoken with the owner Blair (not Don Blair) on a few occasions. Seems like a super nice guy to work for.

I stumbled upon this video recently myself. I did not watch it all, skipped through here and there. As said before all's well that ends well! Not sure about rigging off of bucket... I heard him explaining "the right way to do it" at one point. To me it's the same as using your climbing line to rig wood onto because you forgot your rigging rope, no good. But hey, they got it down, great job, big challenge. I agree that 2 cranes would be great for that job. Also agree that I would be mighty upset if the 1 crane walked.

Agreed.

Good job, they got er done....

I guess it takes a certain mind set to be an employee. Blair is probably a nice guy as mentioned, but always shouting out instructions from the director's chair, like to turn off a saw when still making a cut, i couldn't hack it. I guess self employment can make one picky. Probably a weakness.

They were redundant with procedure and safety. I'll say that. All's well that ends well. Though the time they had with the crane, I feel, could have been better spent by taking larger picks. It would have made the rest of the job go by much faster. Still they did good.

Oh, they could sharpen their saws better, too. Hearing a dull saw work just irks me to no end.

Ha yeh Ger I was thinking that too!

gf beranek said:

Oh, they could sharpen their saws better, too. Hearing a dull saw work just irks me to no end.

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.... YEP !!!!! I say , Stop and file mebbee your saw will last longer

I thought I was the only who thought that, lulz!

Cool thread.

I liked the owner's calm disposition throughout the job, particularly given that the crane left them high and dry, pathetic move by the crane company. I suppose that didn't raise too much havoc with the pricing though, the job would take much longer but a lower hourly cost so arguably same net overall cost?

Wasn't really impressed overall with the technical skill of the tree company though their overall good attitude was excellent. Not trying to throw internet stones here, just commenting on what was shown.Using the bucket as a crane is a huge no-no, not sure why the copy said " a bucket is not a crane" as they proceeded to use it as a crane. Lotsa people use their buckets as a crane, it's just dumb imho. Bolting the saw scabbard to the outside of the bucket is an interesting idea though no doubt that is a dielectric no-no. I don't believe there was ridiculous wieght on the chimney cuz it would have crumbled if there was, particularly given that some side load was involved. The owner seemed a bit surprised as the tree lifted slightly due to weight removed and dismissed the possibility of the tree straightening up as more weight was taken off, though that is a real possibility and I'm sure most of us have seen it happen before. That could seriously endanger the bucket and op. Dull saws. No fall protection on the roof.

More power to them for getting the job done. Making a "foundation" for the A-frame was interesting, never seen that done.

Edit: Btw, seems insane to have a huge crane there to "stabilize" the tree and then take it apart pc by pc with the bucket instead of using the crane to make beefy safe picks. That was a large crane, maybe 70t, unless they were crazy far away, shoulda made picks imo.

Ditto...