SkwerI
Treehouser
GoJo brand hand cleaner has always been my preferred sap eliminator. The plain cream style, not the citrus with pumice style. I keep a small can of it on the work truck all the time.
Cone picking pics for Bounce
- Thread starter Burnham
- Start date
- Replies 119
- Views 19K
M
Monkeypuzzle
Guest
I do a small amount of cone picking here in Montana for the Forest Service.
FS requires another climber on the ground while one is aloft.....Can't find any quality climbers around these part to help so I bid high as hell just to bid.
They made me feel like a migrant monkey.
FS requires another climber on the ground while one is aloft.....Can't find any quality climbers around these part to help so I bid high as hell just to bid.
They made me feel like a migrant monkey.
M
Monkeypuzzle
Guest
Migrant worker.........picking things.....sweaty....sap everywhere....can you climb one more?
Thats all I meant.
thanks
Thats all I meant.
thanks
Burnham
Woods walker
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #31
Ah, good.
Sometimes contract climbers come in with shoddy gear and non-existent safety attitudes, and a FS employee whose job it is to administer a cone collection contract might perhaps be forgiven for getting something of an attitude themselves if past experiences have been unfavorable. It's not right, but maybe understandable.
Glad that wasn't the case for you. I'm sure, if they had half a brain and any experience, they were suitably impressed with your gear and skills.
Sometimes contract climbers come in with shoddy gear and non-existent safety attitudes, and a FS employee whose job it is to administer a cone collection contract might perhaps be forgiven for getting something of an attitude themselves if past experiences have been unfavorable. It's not right, but maybe understandable.
Glad that wasn't the case for you. I'm sure, if they had half a brain and any experience, they were suitably impressed with your gear and skills.
Here is how we do it in my neck of the woods.
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<embed src='http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf' bgcolor='#FFFFFF' flashVars='initVideoId=900704575&servicesURL=http://www.brightcove.tv&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://www.brightcove.tv&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&autoStart=false' base='http://admin.brightcove.com' name='bcPlayer' width='486' height='412' allowFullScreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' seamlesstabbing='false' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' swLiveConnect='true' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash'></embed>
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
That's cool.
M
Monkeypuzzle
Guest
The south had a killer pecan crop this year. Loaded.
squisher
THE CALM ONE!!!!
That's wild Steve, I've never seen one of those before.
J
Jamin Mayer
Guest
That's a great video Steve. I have a 12-15 year old Black Walnut tree next to my house. When it is time to harvest the nuts, I climb about 2/3's up and lanyard in. I then shake the crap out of the tree. Walnuts go fly'n! 
My boys love to get "bonked in the head" and try to catch them. (Pleas don't call social services)
After that, we get out a hammer, sit on the sidewalk and eat some. One year we gathered 20 gallons of walnuts!
My boys love to get "bonked in the head" and try to catch them. (Pleas don't call social services)
After that, we get out a hammer, sit on the sidewalk and eat some. One year we gathered 20 gallons of walnuts!
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
sotc
Dormant hero!!
an ex girlfriends family used rubber mallets on their almond trees, a wee bit slower!
T
The Branch Doctor
Guest
Hey Jamin, that sounds like good ol fashion family time to me.... and fun for all.
That's what they used here until the 60's when they invented these machines. I had a job driving one at night while going to Junior College. Takes care of any deadwood also.
squisher
THE CALM ONE!!!!
Do many trees get damaged using that machine or is it pretty foolproof?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
squisher
THE CALM ONE!!!!
Ha and I'm sure I could damage a few trees with one too, if I set my mind to it.
Paul B
I dig hammocks.
then we would have to call you shaker instead of squisher.
If you square up the shaking head with the trunk of the tree then it won't damage very many. There are almost 100,000 acres of almonds and close to 30,000 acres of walnuts in this county alone all of which are shook with a machine like the one in the video. No more difficult than snow plowing Squisher. Maybe one operator in ten would be english speaking.
squisher
THE CALM ONE!!!!
Trust me man, as I'm sure there is to that, there's a science to plowing efficiently and well without wrecking stuff. Hopefully I learn it before I bust up my truck and new plow.
There is more to every job than what it appears Squish. What I'm saying is if you can run a snow plow then you probably have more than enough mechanbical aptitude to do this job. I think they both involve similar duties, driving the machine in just the right place while operating the controls for the plow/shaker head.
The "pillows" that cushion the grip on the tree have evolved over the years. The machine that I drove in 1972 had a airbag filled with ground up walnut shells and inflated to 40 psi with compressed air. I had to stop every half hour and slather grease between the pillows and the rubber flaps that went between them and the tree. Also sometimes they would get hot and any moisture in the walnut shells would turn to steam in there and the thing would blow up. The shaking was provided by a hydraulic motor which belt drove two eccentrics each with a different sized pulley so that it would provide a variable shaking pattern. Now they have two eccentrics each with their own hydraulic motor and the shaking pattern and speed is computer controlled. The pillows are now made with a U shaped piece of heavy rubber that requires no maintenance. They also now have a custom built tubular frame with a nice cab and AC/heat and a vibration dampening system and a tier 3 John Deere diesel. The one I drove was built on a GMC 1-ton chassis with the operator controls turned around to face the back and the boom was mounted over the rear end. It had the standard gasoline straight 6 motor with an automatic transmission. After about 5 years it would start cracking the frame. Needless to say no AC or heat, or even a top as it had been removed. My shift began at 6:00 PM and ended at midnight. I was always falling asleep in class.
The "pillows" that cushion the grip on the tree have evolved over the years. The machine that I drove in 1972 had a airbag filled with ground up walnut shells and inflated to 40 psi with compressed air. I had to stop every half hour and slather grease between the pillows and the rubber flaps that went between them and the tree. Also sometimes they would get hot and any moisture in the walnut shells would turn to steam in there and the thing would blow up. The shaking was provided by a hydraulic motor which belt drove two eccentrics each with a different sized pulley so that it would provide a variable shaking pattern. Now they have two eccentrics each with their own hydraulic motor and the shaking pattern and speed is computer controlled. The pillows are now made with a U shaped piece of heavy rubber that requires no maintenance. They also now have a custom built tubular frame with a nice cab and AC/heat and a vibration dampening system and a tier 3 John Deere diesel. The one I drove was built on a GMC 1-ton chassis with the operator controls turned around to face the back and the boom was mounted over the rear end. It had the standard gasoline straight 6 motor with an automatic transmission. After about 5 years it would start cracking the frame. Needless to say no AC or heat, or even a top as it had been removed. My shift began at 6:00 PM and ended at midnight. I was always falling asleep in class.
sotc
Dormant hero!!
makes em easier to pick
