that's different...

[rumination]

Brian, your setup rocks.

 

[Stumper]

Butch, I think Tom coined that "bouquet cut" term in reference to slinging several small limbs to one another for lowering or speed lining in one swell foop.(A handy technique-particularly on conifers). As for tying stuff off on itself and then piecing it out. I find that useful both in thebucket or in the tree. In the tree the climbers positioning is important for the initial cut to avoid getting slammed and then dropping down to dice it up and reascending is more work but it still allows handling limbs that couldn't be bombed whole without utilizing a ground man for roping them.

 

[SkwerI]

treevet, it's an oak. We call them laurel oaks here.

Also, make note in the first picture how the carabiners are positioned. They are laying flat on the log and the orientation is such that the load will be on the spine of the carabiner, not on the gate side. In the second picture you can see that the load is squarely on the long axis of the carabiner.

And Justin is correct. I've started using a similar method when I have to rig stuff when climbing. If it's just one or two limbs I can rig them off themselves with loop runners then piece them out and throw them down faster than taking all the time necessary to get a lowering line sent up and then taking up the groundman's time to rope the limbs out.

 

[Burnham]

treevet, it's an oak. We call them laurel oaks here.

Also, make note in the first picture how the carabiners are positioned. They are laying flat on the log and the orientation is such that the load will be on the spine of the carabiner, not on the gate side. In the second picture you can see that the load is squarely on the long axis of the carabiner.

And Justin is correct. I've started using a similar method when I have to rig stuff when climbing. If it's just one or two limbs I can rig them off themselves with loop runners then piece them out and throw them down faster than taking all the time necessary to get a lowering line sent up and then taking up the groundman's time to rope the limbs out.

I got one of the teams at the USFS rigging workshop last week to do this with a big limb in an Oregon ash, after speedlining several others...it went really well, quick and easy, especially for the ground guys. Faster than rigging for the speedline, and pieced out in the tree just about as fast as piecing it on the ground.

Does call for onehanding .

 

[SkwerI]

I've never one handed a saw in my life, Burnham. At least not that I'll admit.

 

[Burnham]

Oops, my bad...clearly a methodological deficiency on my part.

 

[Bounce]

I was surprised to learn that my method of carrying a climbing line in a rope bag dangling from my saddle on a saw lanyard is unusual. I do this a lot because I often work by myself and don't have anybody on the ground to pull branches off my line. It's more weight to carry, but I use a piece of Velocity when I do this to keep the weight down. It's also cool to be able to take a different route through the branches on my out than I took on the way in without having to spend 5 minutes pulling all my rope through. It means I can trim one side of a tree on the way up and the other side on the way down.

 

[NeTree]

Seems to be getting more popular, Sean. I don't advocate working alone, though.

 

[gf beranek]

Working alone? Oh yeah. Though not approved by a wide margin I'd bet half the independents out there do it.

And most of the time when an independent works with a groundie and property owner present neither one are qualified for aerial rescue. Even if the equipment was on the ground to do it.

And this is only one reason why an independent has to be more careful than a wage earner on a crew.

"The only sure thing I can say about working alone is, if something goes wrong there's no one to blame but yourself."

 

[jomoco]

I've never one handed a saw in my life, Burnham. At least not that I'll admit.

I like the goal of your technique, but not the mechanics of how you accomplish it Skwerl.

Seems to me that at the zero gravity point your binered rope connections could loosen enough to cause problems eventually, particularly with short logs.

Take a half hitch first and you'll be better off in my opinion Skwerl.

I use two nylon strap loops and biners to accomplish the same thing, but I cinch with pure strap on the load and anchor points and connecting them together with the biners in a double failsafe configuration of biner to strap twice.

Much better gripping and holding configuration that should work well from a bucket.

The biners are heavier than the rope is in close to zero gravity for just long enough to loosen up in your configuration to worry me a little Skwerl.

Please don't take offense if I'm wrong good buddy, it happens to me daily.

jomoco

 

[Treevet]

Most "independents" as you call them, when young, understand that concept and are willing to take that risk, occasionally, to gain the reward when bills need to be paid.

Some, on the other hand, see themselves for life, as wage earners and want to keep risk at a minimum. Different strokes...

(reply to Jerry's post as I think another post was just made)

 

[Treevet]

I know it is easier to have the knotless or hitchless rigging on the lanyard and I did it for a long time with a spliced climbing snap. When I threw that out and started hitching on the piece and girth hitching on the tree, I liked the ability to adjust the length afforded by the hitch or knot with or without marls. Also I feel the hitch/knot and marl absorbs some of the shock.

 

[SkwerI]

I have different length slings so I can usually grab one that's the right length. I can also connect two together and/or take two wraps on the limb. When there's no fork or nub big enough to prevent slipping, I'll usually wrap the rope twice. On that particular cut there's a nub that you can see plus there was another larger nub on the back side. I'm quite anal about making sure the rigging won't slip. That double braid polyester rope also tends to grab the bark a little, sort of like velcro but not that much.

I appreciate your concern though, and those are good observations to mention for someone who might want to imitate this type of rigging. It's very easy to do it wrong and have it fail if you're not thinking through every link in the chain.

 

[jomoco]

I have different length slings so I can usually grab one that's the right length. I can also connect two together and/or take two wraps on the limb. When there's no fork or nub big enough to prevent slipping, I'll usually wrap the rope twice. On that particular cut there's a nub that you can see plus there was another larger nub on the back side. I'm quite anal about making sure the rigging won't slip. That double braid polyester rope also tends to grab the bark a little, sort of like velcro but not that much.

I appreciate your concern though, and those are good observations to mention for someone who might want to imitate this type of rigging. It's very easy to do it wrong and have it fail if you're not thinking through every link in the chain.

Far out Skwerl I agree, and am kinda anal about the subject myself!

Or hadn't you noticed?

Thanks for not taking offense mate.

jomoco