How'd it go today?
- Thread starter MasterBlaster
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rumination
Migratory Hippie Arbolist
I've got 150' of 3-strand in my Maasdam and I have to admit it is a serious pain to deal with. I need to get another shorter rope because I can't bring myself to cut this perfectly good one into smaller pieces. It certainly is a great tool, though.
flushcut
TreeHouser
You'll just have to buy another rope.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #35,004
Three strand is cheap!
Arborkeith
TreeHouser
I have a masdam, in the shed. I don't think that I've ever used it. Good to know they are useful though. I had a HO similar to that last week. He wanted to take the day of when we did the job. And he is an engineer, so no way was I letting him get in the way while we were picking pieces over powerlines, so we just did it, he called later bitching that I didn't one call the stump before grinding (it was in the middle of the yard and we one call on property edge stuff) and he was bitching that he didn't get to "check up on us" . And then he decided to talk about how good of a job we did, and he was happy in the long run. Engineers make my skin crawl.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
He had tickets to a fight and control issues. First thing he asked was how long we had been there. No worries... I have plenty of work and just move the next one up. So I'll give him his call two days before we show in a couple weeks. Kill the tree, take his money anyway and go home. If he decides different. .I'll just go take someone else's money 
rskybiz
TreeHouser
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Good attitude, Stephen. Let them rile themselves up if they enjoy it. I doubt that fellow is the type that can admit to himself that he was wrong to get on your case, and you were doing him a professional favor as promised.
I have a Maasdam and the two ton cable puller that Bailey's sells. They both do the job, but the Maasdam is quicker and less trouble free not dealing with cable backlash or other little inconveniences. No comparison with the weight either. Still, the steel cable puller has some sentimentality after learning how to pull trees with it.
I have a Maasdam and the two ton cable puller that Bailey's sells. They both do the job, but the Maasdam is quicker and less trouble free not dealing with cable backlash or other little inconveniences. No comparison with the weight either. Still, the steel cable puller has some sentimentality after learning how to pull trees with it.
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Maasdams are great. They don't rut lawns. You can carry them into a forest. You don't need a trailer for them, or a license to operate. They have a reasonably known load limit and don't shockload the system. They are not a replacement for other machines, but for a simple combo of two simple machines (wheel and axle, and the lever), they do a lot, cheaply.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #35,010
Nearly 40 years and I've never used one. But hey, if you think you need it - cool.
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
They have their place. Double the power of a 4:1 MA system, roughly, with progress capture without sitback, or re-setting.
rangerdanger
TreeHouser
We have one that we use when cabling trees. We'll use it too pull leads together while we cable them. Haven't used one to pull a tree over yet. Before the Gehl we'd either hook the 3500 to it or set up a 5:1 system we have. But since I have the Gehl now it's just so quick to pop the rope on the grapple bollard and pull away.
Marc-Antoine
TreeHouser
I use my Maasdam rope puller enough often, 66 feet rope with it.
More user friendly than the continuous wire rope puller, though it has half the strength. Only around 800 lbs (beyond that, the rope has a hard time on the notched spool) but it can do a lot with enough leverage.
My main use is for tree work, either on ground level or in a tree. Often, it's a back leaning tree or a top heavy.
I like the wedges to fell a tree, but when some limbs are tangled or in the way, the rope puller is awesome.
I used it too to pull my small chipper over a bank or to lift it one stage up to go in a "hight" garden, same for the stump grinder (Vermeer sc130). I even loaded a grand piano in a truck.
I love this tool.
More user friendly than the continuous wire rope puller, though it has half the strength. Only around 800 lbs (beyond that, the rope has a hard time on the notched spool) but it can do a lot with enough leverage.
My main use is for tree work, either on ground level or in a tree. Often, it's a back leaning tree or a top heavy.
I like the wedges to fell a tree, but when some limbs are tangled or in the way, the rope puller is awesome.
I used it too to pull my small chipper over a bank or to lift it one stage up to go in a "hight" garden, same for the stump grinder (Vermeer sc130). I even loaded a grand piano in a truck.
I love this tool.
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
F'ing gov't employees!
Steve Mack
Life Member.
Same goes for Vermeer employees.
Chipper bearings came on time after 10 days, wrong ones. Another 10 days and the right ones came, got a call this morning and when they went to put them in find it needs a new shaft.
It's only been sitting there for two weeks.
Now I have to pay $200 extra to get it here next week or it wouldn't get here till after Easter sometime.Of course there's nothing second hand for sale anywhere at the moment, this time last year there were chippers for sale everywhere.
Arborkeith
TreeHouser
I haven't heard a good story with the name "Vermeer" in it in years...
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Had a tense one today. Had a tall thin fir, probably 24" x 130', already backleaning a bit sit back when the wedges slipped back before we could get any extras in. Bored some spots in the closed kerf for two more wedges. We weren't getting much if any movement. At stake was a CCC bathroom and a large electrical panel. Wind started picking up as we found ourselves not able to wedge it back over. Ended up pushing a rope up with 3 connected poles, and using the 12K winch pulling at around 28 feet to pull it over. Fell and hung up, pushing a somewhat larger, rotten hemlock backward around 15-20 feet at the top, fir barely on the stump. After getting pinched trying to face the hemlock (already slated for removal) Duane walked the fir down for about 30 some feet before it would fall out of the hemlock. Then we dropped the hemlock onto the stump of the fir, from 70'. All's well that fells well. I was ready for an adult beverage after work, but the house is dry tonight. Oh well.
Put in a couple bids for residential work. One for a wing bark elm removal. A lot of people around here can't climb spreading trees well, more up and down conifers. He was getting 4 bids. Hope to get it. I'll have the elm milled if I get the job. Also, he has some "old growth" hazelnut over a service drop to go away. Things are like 5-6" in diameter and 30-35' long, and about 50 stems. Crazy for a hazelnut/ filbert. Usually they are big at 2.5".
Put in a couple bids for residential work. One for a wing bark elm removal. A lot of people around here can't climb spreading trees well, more up and down conifers. He was getting 4 bids. Hope to get it. I'll have the elm milled if I get the job. Also, he has some "old growth" hazelnut over a service drop to go away. Things are like 5-6" in diameter and 30-35' long, and about 50 stems. Crazy for a hazelnut/ filbert. Usually they are big at 2.5".
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Just some days eh?
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Glad no damage, Sean. Boring into a closed kerf seems to be trying to defy nature.
Jack
Treehouser
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- Sep 23, 2010
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Tucker943
Bamboo Plantation Owner
It works Jay. To an extent. The kerf is closed, so the saw is technically making a new kerf, that cant close, though it does a little bit.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
I believe you, just haven't had too much luck with set back trees myself, other than getting a rope into them. My pounder is a pretty small one, a large English bench framing hammer or mini sledge that I keep losing and finding.
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Its as Chris explains.
We were using an Arbormaster technique where you plunge through the face cut, out the back of the tree, even with your face's horizontal, than plunge in again, parellel and below the first plunge cut about 1/2". You can do it a third time, too. You stack wedges with the wood between them, keeping them from slipping.
I'd just done it on a smaller tree, plunging in both times from the face cut. Duane did it, but on this bigger tree, he should have done the second plunge cut from the rear, ensuring that he'd be more level where the wedging was going on, but instead he was 1/2"+ on the face side and slightly sloped, not dead horizontal, coming out with 1/4" of wood on the back side between plunge cuts. That was the problem. The sawyer then cuts the wood on both sided of the wedge, and commences pounding the wedges. Seemed like it was going to go okay, until the wedge backed out, and the tree set back.
I should have set two more wedges immediately, on the sides of the stacked wedges, but didn't, as normally you don't have to. Its a good technique to do so, just like backing up a hydraulic jack. Lesson learned.
I was going to suggest that he go from the back for his second cut, but since we don't have helmet communication to simply discuss stuff without yelling, waving arms, and blowing concentration, I didn't. I'll have yet another example for the big boss as to why we should have the radios.
We've pounded over some hard back leaners with three wedges stacked in three bore cuts before without any problem, just a lot of pounding.
Duane said things happening like that every once in a great while keep us from getting overly confident. True story, that.
We were using an Arbormaster technique where you plunge through the face cut, out the back of the tree, even with your face's horizontal, than plunge in again, parellel and below the first plunge cut about 1/2". You can do it a third time, too. You stack wedges with the wood between them, keeping them from slipping.
I'd just done it on a smaller tree, plunging in both times from the face cut. Duane did it, but on this bigger tree, he should have done the second plunge cut from the rear, ensuring that he'd be more level where the wedging was going on, but instead he was 1/2"+ on the face side and slightly sloped, not dead horizontal, coming out with 1/4" of wood on the back side between plunge cuts. That was the problem. The sawyer then cuts the wood on both sided of the wedge, and commences pounding the wedges. Seemed like it was going to go okay, until the wedge backed out, and the tree set back.
I should have set two more wedges immediately, on the sides of the stacked wedges, but didn't, as normally you don't have to. Its a good technique to do so, just like backing up a hydraulic jack. Lesson learned.
I was going to suggest that he go from the back for his second cut, but since we don't have helmet communication to simply discuss stuff without yelling, waving arms, and blowing concentration, I didn't. I'll have yet another example for the big boss as to why we should have the radios.
We've pounded over some hard back leaners with three wedges stacked in three bore cuts before without any problem, just a lot of pounding.
Duane said things happening like that every once in a great while keep us from getting overly confident. True story, that.
rangerdanger
TreeHouser
Good day yesterday, moving a bunch of a big wood and a root plate for a friend. Finally making some side money with my Gehl! He called this morning too asking I could haul another off today, so feeling pretty good.
On a bad but possibly good note, the only dump in town just closed down this past weekend. No place in town to dump wood or brush now. So now our search for some land just got way more serious, we've had a few ppl call and ask if we had any place to dump yet. They've all said they'd pay dump fees once we got a place up and going, so I think it's time we jumped on this. Now just have to find the land to do it with.
On a bad but possibly good note, the only dump in town just closed down this past weekend. No place in town to dump wood or brush now. So now our search for some land just got way more serious, we've had a few ppl call and ask if we had any place to dump yet. They've all said they'd pay dump fees once we got a place up and going, so I think it's time we jumped on this. Now just have to find the land to do it with.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Sean, guess you know about how much you can take out of a tree's middle before it might set back hard. I might be skeered if there was a danger to something.
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