How'd it go today?

[CurSedVoyce]

Stephen, I know that feeling all too well.
Only way to deal with it is to congratulate yourself on a teaching job done well and hope for his succes.

Kind of what I am coming into. I figure he will be branching out soon. His only weak spot is business sense. But his wife has a good background. He is a good salesman. Likes to bid em high. He likes felling more than climbing. He will probably do well.
Today I had the trainee go gaff less up a pine to trim out some dead. Brushy little thing. Made him save as much green as possible not making the ladder up climb too easy, Let him use a hybrid devise so he could mix it up a bit. Ddrt-SRT-Ddrt.
He did good. I have had him up a couple of small removals. He is still working on his gunning. Face cuts are a tad off of line. Easily fixed with some more ground felling. I have a small job coming up that Jason (who recently joined the forum btw ) will do good for practice.
He will hopefully come over this weekend and do some climbing with me. More schooling here at home helps. He is good on rope and quick with knots. Worked oil rigs and was an underwater welder/diver on them. Good mind. Quick. He should do great.

 

[pantheraba]

That's a helluva skill set he has...sounds like a top hand...used to working where his wits help keep him alive.

 

[August Hunicke]

Cory, I just got a bit uncomfortable with being a "sheep" consumer of whatever inhumanity is involved in mass "processing" of animals. I would still raise and kill them or hunt and kill them if I had time for either but I don't want to be a McNugget drone.

 

[cory]

I am with you 100%

 

[timbertramp]

Climbed with my oldest son tonight. I was able to spike up a spar and had him climbing in a mulberry right next to me. It was kinda cool to climb side by side. Figured it was safer to be within arms reach since he was gonna have to use his lanyard and hook and unhook his climb line to get around limbs. I bet his arms are gonna feel like rubber later, double rope with a Blake's split tail.

 

[treebilly]

Awesome feeling isn't it Nic? My daughter is 6 now and she can't quite pull herself up on the hitch climber system but I sure enjoy helping her out. I get that feeling when getting a new guy climbing as well. Got a guy at work very interested in climbing now. He tried Ddrt with another crew and I let him play on my hitch hiker Monday. He's hooked now.

 

[timbertramp]

I've been toying with the idea of switching from the Blake's and trying one of the hitchhiker. But I don't know enough but them to do it yet. And I really really want to stay on double rope. The srt thing really messes with my head.

 

[Bermy]

I used to be like you!

Make your next move to a Hitch Climber system. Still double rope but oh SO much smoother.
The main difference is that with the Hitch Climber you tend to pull yourself up on the rope above the hitch then strip the slack through underneath to catch yourself. Blakes you tend to pull from below the hitch (at least I did)
The HC system uses and eye/eye friction hitch, cleaner and no dangly ends.

When you are happy with that system, then you can start looking at SRT, I found it a good transition instead of trying to go cold from Blakes to SRT.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Cory, I just got a bit uncomfortable with being a "sheep" consumer of whatever inhumanity is involved in mass "processing" of animals. I would still raise and kill them or hunt and kill them if I had time for either but I don't want to be a McNugget drone.

Dirty, dirty propaganda!

Anyway, had to take the wife to the chiropractor today. Trying a different one.

Her spine is curved to the left like a bleeding snake. Must have something to do with the last pregnancy. She is in tough shape right now. Not much I can do for her.

 

[timbertramp]

Bermy, could you possibly send me a picture of your set up sometime? I think that you are saying what im thinking of trying out. Does that set up have to be backed up for coming down?

jim, sorry to hear about your wife, mine is having a much rougher time of it this time around. Im afraid that this one might be our last. Maybe adopt if we want more.

August, I hear ya on the mass produced meat, that's probably the main reason I spend so much time hunting, and supporting the local farmer buying beef and eggs.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Her spine is curved and her SI joint is in bad shape. Started during the 6th month, been getting worse. You cant tell her anything, so she has been really stubborn getting to go to a doctor.

I brought up the adoption thing too Nic. I would not mind having another kid, 4 would be a nice round number.

I was adopted, and always wanted to give back somehow. I is a bit scarier now with all the drugs, but a little research would clear any of that stuff up.

 

[timbertramp]

We have 4 boys now and if this new one is a boy I guess I'd have had a good run. Boys are easier to raise I think.
I guess they are concerned about this pregnancy a little more, I know it's had me on the couch since January. And on egg shells every where else in the house lol

 

[Fiddler]

NIc, here are a couple basic vids on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydt-hUT6aGE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45dQWhw9Rnc

There is some great info on the system here in the house but I'll let you look that up.

 

[timbertramp]

Yea I've been studying it. Im really not thinking I wanna stray away from the Blake's hitch. As much as switching to biners would help me in some scenarios I don't know that I would use it often enough to get good and used to it

 

[Fiddler]

That's why I included the second video. compares the Blake's to the hitch-climber.

I'm the only person i know of who tried both and preferred to stick with the Blake's. Mostly because I didn't want to change up this late in my career and I disliked pulling up on the rope to tend slack...tired my arms out something fierce for some reason.

 

[timbertramp]

And im kinda at the point where im not sure if im far enough in my career to wanna change something that I might screw up and do something stupid like die from it lol. I do think the pulley under the Blake's would help me with the spikeless trimming. And then I get to keep the visual safety point of view.

 

[Fiddler]

Only way you'll find out is try it out and see how it works for you. I may have one around, or might have given it away already...I'll check around tomorrow...you can have it if it's still here.

 

[Mick!]

Keep at it Jim, chiropractice (is that a word?) is a dark art, I've been to many different ones, some of them work for me others are a waste of money/time.

Weekending on the île de re. Raining now, but looking good for later.

 

[cory]

Dirty, dirty propaganda!

Jim, whaddya mean propaganda? You don't raise your cows that way afaik, I believe AH would be proud to eat food raised on your spread. It's the mass procucers that are doing it wrong, eh?

 

[Raj]

Fit in a stump this morning, had an issue with thr pulley binding on the frame, easy fix, neighbour came over and did another easy stump. Now at ballet waiting for the little girl to have some sort of exam done.

 

[pantheraba]

Dive Team did a "Touch A Truck" day...all the county Public Service groups stage their equipment for the folks to see...fire, law, street cleaners, etc.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Thats cool Gary. Did the kids have fun?

Hauled a tractor for a friend today. Scale was closed.

He has blown up a couple of others, so he needs this one to run!

 

[treebilly]

Big machine there. What's the HP on that one? Not a lot of that size tractor in my area. I used to see the quite often pulling pans but most of the big dirt companies are running those cat lexion(?) series now

 

[FireFighterZero]

That one came from the factory in the early '80s with 300 horse power. This one has been rebuilt and turned up. The previous owner said he pulled 55 feet of tool bar, so I would guess it would be 350 or 375 now. Generally you figure 7 horsepower per shank, with a shank every foot.

If they are the big yellow tractors with rubber tracks they are Cat Challengers, or Agco Challengers. Caterpillar sold off its ag division several years ago to AGCO.

 

[treebilly]

Challenger series, that's it. I watched 8 of those things pulling pans for a few days. 12 hours a day and never stopped. Well one jumped out of line, his air conditioner broke so he was down for a few hours while it got fixed. They moved a lot of dirt that week.