How'd it go today?

[Treeaddict]

Cleaned up a partially downed (cracked off 10’ up and hanging on) dead ash. 24” DBH.
Got another downed one on the books tomorrow along with 2 climbing jobs with rigging. Trying to secure the largest tree I would have done to date. Got a couple downed big boys to clean up later next week. If I can get this damaged big one, John is gonna hafta help!

Edit: still no power. 😩

 

[cory]

Alot of people do it. If you have to cut dirty wood, start the cut at a clean spot (or relatively cleanest spot) and cut so that the first thing the teeth hit is clean wood and the last thing they hit, at the other end of the kerf, is dirty wood. Thus the dirty wood is flung off into space with the saw chips rather than dragged thru the kerf and then flung off into space. Works of course with both pulling and pushing chains.

You can cut alot of dirty wood and stay pretty sharp this way.

 

[lxskllr]

Sorry to hear about the power Mike. If you need a hand with anything, give me a yell.

 

[flushcut]

We did a tall skinny oak removal and 11 spruce deadwood prune and two small/tiny spruce removals. Easy day!

 

[Mellow]

This is how it's going today. Driver said it was making a weird noise and smoking from the front of the engine when he pulled into the shop yesterday. I went to check it out and it wouldn't start, so it's off to the dealership. Hoping it's nothing too serious. Only 32,000 miles on it.

 

[BeerGeek]

Crappy day yesterday. Was heading to the condo complex my brother has sent me to many times before to finish up a multi-day job, and 500 ft. from the entrance, municipal crew was doing work on a sewer which we had to stop for. All 3 trucks, me up front in the chip truck, part-timer in the Ford withe the dump trailer/Dingo and my son trailing in my RAM. Well, junior has a bad habit of not slowing down soon enough when seeing traffic/traffic light/problems ahead, and has been a bit heavy on the brakes. I've warned him about this when driving with him, telling him he needs to let gravity/physics/brakes help slow things down sooner, or he'll end up in an accident. Well, yesterday was that day. He rammed the back of my dump trailer, screwing the bumper & fascia on the RAM, pushed the doors in on the dump trailer, breaking the catch rod and bending in the catch rails for the ramps, and pushed in the trailer hitch plate on the Ford. We got off the road quick, as everything was still drivable, and I wanted nothing to do with a police report or insurance (as my summer help's little jack knife last year dinged me hard on this year's premiums; seems the state went to them for the guard rail he dinged; adjuster told me they billed $4000 for the 8 ft. they replaced).

We finished up the work, and then went to my mechanic to see what could be done. He'll be able to fix the trailer on Monday, but will need a day and a half to get it all functional again. The Dingo, attachments and wood are still trapped in the trailer, so will be having fun w/the sledge hammer to release doors and pry bars to get ramps stable to get Dingo/attachments out, then dump wood and cut up so I can take it to dump. RAM parts will take longer to source, and I may be screwed having to go through dealer (too damn new and supply chain). The trailer hitch plate is going to require some creative thinking/iron, as it's 3/4 inch steel, and the angle is off now, meaning the pintle connection is not as smooth as it should be. Just as I was looking forward to a month where I could actually pay myself, it's all going back into repairs. Yayyyyy!!!!!............

 

[Burnham]

Bummer.

 

[Dave Shepard]

That sucks, but good you didn't have to have a police report. A contractor here had a rollover on a private subdivision road and he got ticketed for non functioning drivers door, missing drivers side mirror, leaking rear axle, and a few other stupid things that were the result of the rollover. Driver didn't set trailer brakes when unloading an excavator and got pinned under the drivers door trying to save it. He lived, somehow.

 

[lxskllr]

That really sucks Brian. It's cause it's summer you know. Nothing good comes in with the hot air. Tough it out for two more months, and everything will go great.

 

[SeanKroll]

How does one set trailer brakes?

Wedge the truck brake pedal down?

 

[SeanKroll]

@BeerGeek
Is your son ready for all of this?

 

[BeerGeek]

How does one set trailer brakes?

Wedge the truck brake pedal down?

Sean, most recent trailers/towable devices have the e-brake option via Zip-Fast breakaway cables. You can quite easily pull the pin to set the e-brake, then reinsert once done and ready to travel. I have them on all mine, and know my brother's towables (about 25 of them) all have them as well, albeit, some are older technology.

 

[BeerGeek]

@BeerGeek
Is your son ready for all of this?

He's been doing tree work with me on and off for the last 5 years once I started to get back into it. I trust him more than most employees I've had (and not just because he's my son). Being an 18 year old with a sense of superiority, he still needs to learn some things the hard way. Unfortunately for me, this was one of them. Part of my responsibility as the boss/Dad is to make sure he not only learns from it, but applies the knowledge to future scenarios. That has been stressed, and I can see things improving as he grows and more jobs pass, both from my "words of wisdom" and how he handles himself on job sites. I've only got him for another month before he's off to college, so we'll make it work.

 

[SeanKroll]

I know about the breakaway.

I have used a log, for lack of a pedal depressor tool to use 4 truck brakes, not just 2 parking brakes when guying an uprooting tree in the wind to the hitch.


'Better than others' and 'ready are two different things.

 

[Dave Shepard]

This was a tri-axle with a 20 or 25 ton air brake trailer. The trailer will have at least one axle with maxi cans.

 

[Treeaddict]

I’m sorry to hear about your accident Brian. 😔

 

[Fiddler]

I use the hell out of my 1/4” hex M12 impact driver, and picked up the 1/4” square drive M12. Love them!!

So far I am super Not impressed...both brand new batteries signal they are no good when put on the charger.

Guess I'll have to track down another like unit and find out if it's the batteries or the charger...

 

[Patrick A]

Cherry stump removal was quick. Oak one not so much. Almost 5ft deep all around and it still won't move. Did someone say taproot?

 

[Treeaddict]

Finished the large dead downed ash. Moved 3 houses down to cut up the downed sassafras-18” dia. Climbed the recently dead sassafras and took out the scariest, most difficult part. The rest will be rigged down as custy didn’t want any divits. Pulled the top out with a rope so it didn’t fall back onto the shed. We managed to land it right between the fence and hedges. This will be my second time rigging with the portawrap and good practice for my groundie friend and I to work as a team.

Is it weird that I was so excited to get out of work (fairly easy residential service plumbing) so I could do tree work (brutally difficult) ?! I need to see a doctor.

Edit: first time climbing a spiral trunk. Descent was a bear

 

[SeanKroll]

For people who don't want divots, tell them divots save (arbitrairily) $500, and for them to get a bag of soil and seed is about $50. Their choice.

You will find people will like divots.

$0.02

 

[Treeaddict]

I get your math Sean. This will be good practice for us though. There are structures to watch out for as well. But it’s more for the challenge and skill development

 

[SeanKroll]

I know.

People are often wanting to hem and haw about, "Can you 'save' that bush?".
When I say, "Absolutely, we can do anything you want. It will cost you $300 extra for us to work around that bush right in the drop-zone", they suddenly like it less, or they don't. Usually, they like it a lot less.
Some pain in the neck customer that I fired, kept after me to "try" to save a bush. I told her (like Yoda says, but not in the Yoda voice) that it's do or do not, there is not try. If I have to consider the bush with every cut, I will have to charge for it, and it will stay intact by my efforts.

 

[flushcut]

I have dug up small shrubs and flowers and replanted them after removals. Always with the stipulation that they may or may not live after doing so, but most home owners appreciate the effort in trying to save them.

 

[SeanKroll]

That's a good way to go on both parts, the dig/ replace, and stipulating that they may not survive.

I'm talking about the 6' tall bush with roots entwined with the tree roots.


For some, I've considered screwing some sloping 2x4s to the base of the tree, and putting a sheet of plywood over the bush, making a shield, so to speak.


Speedlining helps a lot to avoid the need.

 

[flushcut]

We’ve built bunkers like that as well, but I think it’s more of a pain in the ass than it’s worth. But then again if they are paying I’ll tarp the whole damn property.