Bollard design

[flushcut]

I am think of making a bollard and would be open to suggestions. I am thinking of a 4"OD by 1/4" or 5/16" wall tube with a 3/8" back plate, fairlead, a nylon ratchet tie down, and a few eyes for a fiddle block.

 

[treesmith]

I have been thinking of the same thing myself, so as to have a light-weight, very portable bollard. I am thinking of using 6" channel iron for the back, with 4" pipe for the bollard, 3/4" or 1" pipe for the cleats, and a fairlead on right and left so the rope direction can be switched to eliminate rope twist. I also plan to weld a built in visor plate on the top (removal-use only), so all you have to do is cut a curf in the trunk, insert the bollard and wrap the ratchet strap around the tree. I figure it will weigh less than 30#, and will be easy-on, easy-off.

 

[Al Smith]

You wouldn't need heavy wall pipe .I imagine just standerd Schedual 40 would be plenty strong or even rigid conduit .

Using a pice of channal iron it would seem to me you could log chain it to the tree using chain binders .Then again ,I'm a rigger not a treeman .

 

[lumberjack]

I would use a 4" rachet strap like what's on the GRCS. Using the 2" style from lowes seems less than ideal.

 

[flushcut]

Yep that is the one I was planning on using.

 

[PCTREE]

Im trying to think of an easy way to be able to take up slack like on the grcs which I really like as you dont even need to take off the wraps to take up slack.

Probably just over complicating it though.

How bout just some teeth cut in the back of the pipe that will rotate one way but not the other . Id have to draw it so you would understand I guess, would nescitate finding 2 tubes with 1 ID same as other OD, follow..... bearings would make it smoother but as it would only spin without a load it could just be greased..

 

[Al Smith]

You might be able to use a spindle and brake assembly from a car but it would be a heavy rascal with all that hardware . Now you might laugh about that but we had pulling sheaves made from spindels and rims and had cable pulls exceeding 12,000 pounds on the load meter . They were heavy things though . It was rather crude though I must admit .

 

[flushcut]

I get what you are saying. I think I would need to see a Hobbs device and copy that design. For the most part I would like to KISS it and use the pulley set up that Stein sells, but who knows. I find when I start building something it morphs into something else.

 

[treesmith]

My whole point in building a bollard is to have something sturdier than a porty, as well as more rigidly attached to the tree. I have porties, all three sizes, as well as a ratcheting bollard. But the idea of a bollard that is simply stuck into a saw curf, then strapped into place appeals to me. Often once the lowering phase is over and I start chunking the big stuff, I want the device removed so the big stuff doesn't bounce into it. With a design like I have in mind, the groundie could step in and grab it even with some brush in the way. A one-handed operation if you will....

Another thought is that on large trees, (36"+ diameter), I believe what I have in mind will set up faster than a porty, as I usually use a long rope and wrap the trunk 3 or 4 times with a leg or two through the porty so it will "float" around the tree to accomodate different angles.

 

[DMc]

I am thinking of using 6" channel iron for the back, with 4" pipe for the bollard, 3/4" or 1" pipe ..... I also plan to weld a built in visor plate on the top (removal-use only), so all you have to do is cut a curf in the trunk,...

What you described is very similar to some of Ed's prototyps in the development of the Hobbs lowering device. They worked well. Be careful not to go too light weight on the bollard pipe. Thin walls get hot fast and glaze your ropes.
You guys really should take a serious look at Regies RC 2000. It bridges the gap between the Porty and strap on bollards quite well, and for a reasonable price.

Dave

 

[woodworkingboy]

I believe that this is the bollard that Dave is referring to.

Would there be any distinct advantage to going with a bigger diameter pipe, say six inches or larger? This stainless fabricating place nearby has all kinds of cut off ends of pipes and whatever that they just about give away. Interested in making one myself now, thanks to this thread. Fortunately, I have a tig welder too.

 

[sotc]

Whats wrong with a hobbs? They do little pieces And big pieces and do it much better than a porty

 

[treesmith]

Whats wrong with a hobbs? They do little pieces And big pieces and do it much better than a porty

Nuffin wrong with the Hobbs, or the GRCS for that matter. I just want a lightweight, quickly adaptable alternative.....for about $20, using scrap I already have laying around.

 

[sotc]

If I think theres going to be much rigging, we just put the GRCS on and the groundie can slip the bollard on and off as needed. But I understand building stuff cause you can, I know I have built many things I wish I had just bought. But then again, I have built many things I was glad I didn't buy

 

[flushcut]

I like Stein products but I can make the same things for a fraction of the cost and can get them magna fluxed for a case of Milwaukees Best. I would love to have a Hobbs or a GRCS but the price holds me back. Besides I like having a project to fiddle around with that is not a saw or maintaing some piece of equipment.

 

[PCTREE]

Yo Treesmith, just a thought. I hear ya on the cheap and easy but I for one have always been a tad worried about making a kerf cut to put the visor in. I for one have cut many trees down that ended up having just a tube of sound wood left about a kerf cut thick......... Think about it...

 

[lumberjack]

I too am less than thrilled by the visor. What about spikes on the back instead of rubber bumpers?

 

[treesmith]

I hear ya on the faulty tree, Paul, but when I say visor, I mean a plate of 3/8" steel, say, 4" x 6". With it welded on top of the channel iron, it will only protrude about ~2" into the tree, enough to offset any upward shift by the force of the rigging, and yet not cut deep enough into the tree to compromise it. The kerf would not be but about 6" wide and only deep enough to take the visor. I dunno, I's just thinking on it. So far the process hasn't proceeded past thought.

Carl, my thought concerning the visor versus spikes, etc, was that with one quick kerf, you could simply hang the bollard and strap it at your leisure. The few times I've used my bollard, the mounting process has been less than swift and effortless. I cut a slot for the bollard to sit in anyway....the kerf would be even less intrusive.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Wouldn't have considered that putting a slit in a tree like that which is intended to remain standing, would be a very good thing to do. Different perspectives....locations, I guess.

 

[SkwerI]

Jay, why would you use it on a trim? IMO it is not good practice to take big limbs off a tree unless you're removing it.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Oh, I stand corrected. I interpreted "not compromised" as the attachment for it on a different tree that is being removed. Thanks.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

The rubber bumpers are here to be gentle for the bark in case it's a pruning or cleaning job, but not a take down.
In the vid where the californian guys try to destroy the GRCS and the Hobbs with a very big chunk (and a Volvo), the shock load was so great that the onliest way to keep the device in place was to cut a sort of window in the trunk. Flat area to put the base plate, and a stop of sound wood on the top.
If you put a visor, I don't think it has to go deep in the wood to do his job. And a long one could fold more easily under the load. For me, the shorter, the better.
Don't count the bark, but maybe one inch straight in the wood could be enough, if the base plate is kept really tight against the trunk.

 

[PCTREE]

As stated before I am paranoid, but there aint no way Im going to cut a 1" deep cut into a tree Im about to climb. I would however drill a 3/8 hole and put in a 1/2 lag bolt, that should keep er put IMO

 

[sotc]

Mine has never slipped, we crank it down tight and try to take pieces smaller than a volvo as company policy.
As to the kerf, a simple thump or 3 on the trunk will tell you if the tree is so hollow that a small kerf will be a cause for concern

 

[MasterBlaster]

Excellent company policy!