45 Trees, 3 climbers, 3 weeks of residential logging.

[CurSedVoyce]

Well.. that's that... wrappin up the power pole tree.....

 

[pantheraba]

What a slough of fine pictures....well documented. With a 50 tree prospective job this may become a niche for you...small scale residential logging.

You are certainly figuring out the processes, workflow and how to coordinate resources.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Debatable that I really want to fully pursue the jobs this size. Inevitably the logistics will catch up with you. That much weight thrown around in those little spaces will eventually bite you in the butt. I like the idea that we prove our muster by pulling it off. Don't like the idea of a short career of it. I absolutely prefer the one or two tree removal or pruning to this. Eventually there will be no place to even ship the wood. Working on another property Idea with Kat and Rob for rentals and an additional landing site.
Best to make lemonade aid from the lemon though. Maybe even some lemon bars. The event will die down in a few years and then it will go into so risky you can't climb it. New game... couple years after that... all kit paid off, carry on tree soldier with the regular work at hand
Some snippits from this segment of pictures. Mind you... The next batch of postings will be 5 days on the job. One work week. I will work on those over the next couple days.
Saturday... The iron was deployed.....
Snippits.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1KmGzmd-KRY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Jomo]

Are you an LTO Stephen?

Licensed Timber Operator.

Jomo

 

[stig]

The more picture you show, the more I wish I could have been there.
If you ever get one like that again, give me a call.
Air fare is only about a grand, for something like that it would be worth it.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Are you an LTO Stephen?

Licensed Timber Operator.

Jomo

No, not yet. I have been trying to get into the classes that are nearest me and they must be full. The campuses offering them are not even returning my calls. Seems a drive is in order. Having my LTO will aid me in the permitting process for my clients. Right now, they have to hire an LTO or Reg Forester depending on the circumstances. The permitting process is loosening up as the urgency becomes more so.
The jobs I want are ones that pay me to make the material go away. Not have me run in circles to find a buyer or a landing the wood or chips can be dropped on. I help make the wood go away by being paid to make it more manageable (milling or bucking and transport) and finding homes for it. It can not be sold by law unless permits are attached. Chips either. But my circle of gardeners use those up toot sweet and provide me with dump sites all over the county.

The more picture you show, the more I wish I could have been there.
If you ever get one like that again, give me a call.
Air fare is only about a grand, for something like that it would be worth it.

Something I will most definitely consider Stig. I am flying Dave back and forth from Tucson and it si about close to that amount round trip. If another of this calibre comes up again.. we should talk.

 

[Jomo]

The CDF test for getting the LTO's a piece of cake to pass Stephen.

It's coughin up the 15k to get bonded that choked me!

That was about 8 years ago though, probably gettin bonded's far more expensive now.

Good luck Esteban!

Jomo

 

[HolmenTree]

Man of man California really is restrictive and expensive isn't it!
Population might be the reason, there's more people in California then there is in all of Canada

 

[Bodean]

Great pics...

Dave's flipline looks like it's got a big ole rabbit burr on it, like it got nicked or something...from my armchair.

Wasn't possible to remove the line drop there off those trees?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

It was possible, just not necessary. Still not enough room to throw anything much. Lady has breathing and heart issues. Told her no worries, keep the power on
Dave retired that flip line. I bought him a brand new one for the job

 

[Bodean]

Good Bossman.

Right on. You think of all the angles. Good logistics....probably from being a Chef.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Just getting some more lowly jobs done for prep... ALAP stumps for example...

Setting up Wraptor rides for rigging duties... Sent Mike up the Beast to start placing rigging and lowering limbs near the roof.
Beast was a marm tree and kinda tight up there.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Wonder why the pictures do that sometimes

 

[Jed]

Thanks. Yes, with the crew, ther e is a lot of banter and a bit of comp between us. I'ok say some more on that later

Nice thread Stephen. I just found it.

Really cool to see Dave getting up in the trees again. I know how his knees plague him. Really, really cool guy though. I'll always remember when he told me, "I really try not to sweat people." ...... cool guy.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Thanks Jed. Yeah I really like working with Dave. He gives me a lot of insight and tools since he has been doing this longer than I. Just a great guy all around. Feels like family.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Great climbing pics, but I'd hate to have all that stuff hanging on my saddle.

For sure!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Bigger Iron for the bigger trees. Saturday of the first week and our excavator op (friend of my family and a custy ) and local crane arrive.
I had Mike do all the picks. He did fine. He had only done one crane pick thus far. The grove would good experience and would allow me to do other things. I spent most the morning just switching back and forth on the Senas. Crane and Mike. Then switch to Dave and ground support. This went on for a bit...

 

[MasterBlaster]

Gotta LOVE a crane with a JIB!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I had some felling to do while the crane was busy up the driveway. Since we now had the excavator, I put down some of the larger wood to stage for the mill when it arrived the following week.
Some of the logs were bucked to 19'6" for rafters for me made into 2X8
A lot were 16'6" as Dales trailer was 16' and our band mill only cuts to 16 feet.
The Lucas cuts to 19'6"

Mean while....

 

[No_Bivy]

How does that dude do it with no eye protection.......that would drive me nuts squinting all them time

 

[pantheraba]

Good eye, John. I didn't catch that and I am usually a safety nut. No eye protection is nuts to me...some is better than none (even if it is not ANSI Z87)

 

[No_Bivy]

Wasn't trying to be safety nazi.......most of my injuries in tree work were eye related......too many. Even with eye protection

It has saved me from losing an eye though. You only get two. As much as I like pirates.... I don't want to be one..

Maybe a Canadian pirate though...aye?

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

Squinting is the way of the logger in these parts.

Awesome pics.

Conifer spars are a good way to get comfy with the crane.

The Crane Op on a Sena is great. My crane op is 67. He's old school. He used to radio to a guy on the ground who would try to shout to me. DUM.

After our job craning out 8 good sized maples, I had to return a left-behind binder to his shop. He asked if I could order him three Sena units and handed me his credit card. I made my money back on his unit that day, easily saving the $150 in crane time, not to mention comfort. The headband unit broke twice on the band, though. weak.

 

[Jomo]

Gotta LOVE a crane with a JIB!

Jib's are dangerous big time for anything but the lightest picks, IME.

One of the best tree seminars I ever attended had the owner/manager of our biggest crane outfit as a featured speaker. And good ole Sam played us a home movie VHS tape, where a 60 ton crane with his jib fully extended, reached about 2/3rds up a 150 foot conifer, the climber butt hangs the top over onto the jib, which bends over n breaks across the swaying trunk itself, missing the climber by inches, but slapping him about brutally, just a huge tangled mess, hung up there, that'd require a 120 ton crane to sort.

Jibs are cool for climber placement and tiny under 500 lb picks, but that's about it unless it's a very big crane, IME.

Took a lotta juevos for Sam to show one of his crane ops screwin up that big on the job, and I suspect the only reason he did's because no one was killed, and no serious damage was done to anything but his crane n company pride.

Rookie crane ops n jibs are a recipe for disaster!

Jomo

 

[MasterBlaster]

Jib's are dangerous big time for anything but the lightest picks, IME.

And when the sun shines, it's daytime. This is news?