rumination
Migratory Hippie Arbolist
I use a cow when the sling is long enough, timber otherwise. I have been told that it is unwise to load a timber hitch in a direction perpendicular to the stem, but I don't know if this is necessarily true.
vl2007
Treehouser
The few times i used a timber, it slipped. I'm a cow user.
B
Blinky
Guest
Do you mean the rope came unwound or the whole deal slipped on the trunk?
M
Mr. Sir
Guest
You have to tuck it the right way. I used a timber hitch and porty on a big live oak with only one wrap to hold it. We were short on gear and I only had a 10' tenex to go around a 3' trunk. The roughness of the bark and the fuzziness of the well-used tenex were more than enough to keep everything in place.
Bodean
Cali dreamer
A cow is hitched from both directions for stability with side angle pulls or whatever.
A timber bites in one direction.
On a timber when false crotching or negative blocking it's important to wind the tuck
so that the downward forces only tightens the wrap as opposed to rolling it closer to unraveling.
Make sense I hope?
Couple of pictures of Cow Hitches.
A timber bites in one direction.
On a timber when false crotching or negative blocking it's important to wind the tuck
so that the downward forces only tightens the wrap as opposed to rolling it closer to unraveling.
Make sense I hope?
Couple of pictures of Cow Hitches.
Attachments
SkwerI
Treehouser
The tucks need to go under the standing part and come out over the top.
B
Blinky
Guest
That's not the way I tie a cow hitch. Maybe I'm doing a different knot. Mine ends up looking like a girth hitch with a half hitch woven in. Instead of that turn that goes under the first bight in your top picture, I feed the rope back through the bight and then put on 'the better half'.
I've tied your way too, neither way slips once you cinch it down.
I've tied your way too, neither way slips once you cinch it down.
T
TheTreeSpyder
Guest
A Girth Hitch is just a Choker giving 2 legs of support. A Cow is same with only 1 leg giving support; tho other is free, and should be locked off somehow.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
That would stand to reason if loading perpendicular was reducing friction. A timber hitch is unwise for attaching to limbs being lowered, with the tendency to "roll out"...guess everybody knows that.
M
Mr. Sir
Guest
I use it pretty much exclusively to attach a porty, block, or pulley; either at the ground where I can keep an eye on it, or on a spar when I'll be moving it down after each cut.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
The timber hitch is usually how I attach a pull rope to a tree.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Really? I'll use a running bowline.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Probably most folks use your method. Speaking of bowlines, I was just reading today, that doubling the line to make two loops before passing the free end through, gives you seventy-some percent knot strength. I thought that was neat to know.
I use a clove hitch but instead of the half hitches back to the standing part of the line, I use a bowline.
B
Blinky
Guest
For pulls I always use a running Bowline. I didn't realize a double bowline was THAT much stronger, cool!
N
NeTree
Guest
Yep.
B
Bounce
Guest
Timber hitch here, but always with at LEAST 7 tucks. I had one come undone once with only 6 tucks. That was a crappy day.
SkwerI
Treehouser
Which direction do you tuck, Sean?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
My thought, too.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
With the timber hitch, I get the impression that having the whole thing tight to begin with, gives you that much more friction to keep from coming unwrapped. The only inconvenience is pushing your tucks through on a tight rope.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Yes, it HAS to be tight, as tight as you can work with it.
I can't imagine one coming undone.
I can't imagine one coming undone.
Bodean
Cali dreamer
I've seen poorly dressed timber hitches slide through and slip under tension.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
I use timber hitch the most here unless I use a sling. No less than 5 turns. And always dress ANY knot... I bet a lot of knots that ever failed were due to lack of proper dressing. Never had a TH fail yet. I also use the bowline for pulling as well as the TH depending on the spar size and angle of pull. Steeper angle.. Bowline.
In one of Reg's videos, he attaches the lowering line to the target limb with a timber hitch backed up by a half hitch. But I noticed he had a knot (looked like a figure eight?) in the end of the rope. So it only took a couple of tucks to secure it. There was no way the stopper knot was going to come out. I assume he just left the stopper knot that prevents the rope from running out of the block when the groundies pull it back up. I have yet to use the timber on lowering limbs, but with the knot it looks secure. I always use a running bowline, backed up with half-hitch if load is really heavy.
