Tree guys, Arborists and Riggers… I have questions …

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I would look for the lightest saw of either kind. Dont forget tethers. A short bar, maybe 10 or 12 inches. Youre not falling the tree....

Yeah. I’ve looked at a few pre-made saw tethers and I’ve thought of just making a rope one to save a little money. Not sure which way to go with it, a retractable would probably be pretty slick, but I’m more weekend warrior with this than professional. I want good gear and to be safe, but a simple rope tether that might cost me $5 to make would work adequately. I am leaning towards a steel core flipline though. Not planning to use spikes, but a flipline could help anchor for cutting or for extra safety when changing ropes or something is my thought.

 

[rumblecloud]

As far as I know, 'Lectric saws are not nearly as fast as 2-cycle -- I have two. But as alwaysFlOoReD has said, you're not felling a tree. You're basically trimming - that's what I use my battery operated saws for. I would say toys, but they can be just a dangerous as the others if your not careful.....

Add up the costs and compare the risks. Then make your decision.

 

[Roert42]

Another option. Start the saw on the ground, set the brake, climb, pull the saw up behind you with a rope.
That way you don’t have to bother starting the saw while you are 40’ in the air.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Electric cordless chainsaws have come a long way, no idling between cuts, or having to pull start dangling from a tree. Any decent one will mow through an 8" limb no problem

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So the stuff that I ordered back in November that has been on back order is finally going to ship…

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

30” Prussic 10mm armor if I remember right. And my Rock Exotica Akimbo. Still waiting on the 28” Prussic. The Akimbo actually specifies specific ropes that it’s certified with. So at this point I need a harness, lanyard/flip line, throw weight, and some rope specifically for climbing. The three strand I got will be for the puller. The only way I could really use three strand for climbing is with a Prussic, none of the other gear is really rated for it, but that’s fine.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Got the 28” Prussic awhile back finally. The one arborist store I bought a couple things through is running a sale on Petzl stuff so I just bit the bullet and ordered. Got a Sequoia SRT saddle, the chest harness for it that converts it to a fall arrest harness, couple throw weights and line, an O carabiner, and an extra rope bridge. All told I ended up spending a little over $100 more than I would have for just the harness and an extra rope bridge so I’m cool with that.

Last two things on the list is some dedicated climbing rope and a flip line.

 

[4x4prepper]

> I’ve looked at a few pre-made saw tethers and I’ve thought of just making a rope one to save a little money.

If you like having a saw stuck in a cut or that snags pulling you out of the tree with the falling trunk or limb, then make your own. Otherwise buy a real chainsaw lanyard that will break with 25# of force. I sold most of my tree climbing stuff, the Petzl Stop and chainsaw lanyard I kept.

As to the original post, rope pullers require special rope that can easily be grabbed by the puller, that does not squish flat that holds it shape, and low elongation (aka static), just the opposite of climbing line.

https://www.baileysonline.com/maasdam-pow-r-pull-ratchet-rope-puller-3-4-ton-a-0.html

"We recommend using Safety Blue 3-strand rope (average breaking strength 6,500 lbs.)."

Teufelberger 1/2

Teufelberger Safety Blue is a premium 3-strand rope, often coveted by arborist who like the feel and working characteristics of a traditional line. Each strand of Safety Blue is made using high tenacity polyester yarns wrapped around a blue nylon core. Safety Blue resists back-turning and has a...

www.baileysonline.com

FWIW: I had a tree climber that worked for me, "borrow" my equipment without asking for a weekend side job. He basically ignored safety things I insisted on, and by wrongly using my techniques, he and his pals ended up almost cutting his arm off when the trunk came back, sat on the saw, which made it kick back, and almost cut his arm off at the elbow. He was unconscious in the tree when the fire department came, their ladder could not reach him he was so high up, they had to wait for him to come to and wake up, so, he could let himself down one armed, he is just fortunate he did not die. His arm is now permanently stuck in a 90 degree angle because that is how the doctors sewed and pinned it back together. Taxpayers paid for that $100,000+ adventure because Robert did not have insurance.

It is very easy to hurt or kill yourself in a tree, do not go cheap.

 

[4x4prepper]

> highly rated whole harnesses in off-brands on Amazon for under $100.

Just as with a steel core lanyard for a flip line, many climbing harnesses have a steel core mesh between two leather halves so you can't accidentally cut your belt off and drop yourself out of a tree.

BTW: You need two lanyards, one steel core for cutting, and one rope lanyard for positioning around knots and such for when you need to remove the steel core to flip around a crotch.

> Or do I stick with the 1/2” because I can use it for climbing too and hope it’s strong enough for pulling?

Do NOT use the same exact PIECE of rope for climbing as for the puller. If you want to use a separate shank of the same 1/2" rope then go for it,

I just want to point out that rope pullers are fine, BUT, you should not rely on them to anchor a load to pull a tree in a certain direction. You have to anchor with a rope or cable to another tree or a very heavy vehicle (think straight truck). Though you can attach a loop or attachment point mid-line and pull on that.

> At this point I’m leaning pretty strongly towards getting a Milwaukee battery powered chainsaw.

Never use a battery powered saw without a hand break. A Harbor Freight Atlas 18" saw with two batteries and fast charger will set you back about $450. I swapped out my bar and chain for a good Oregon (found on a Ryobi) bar and chain. It comes near Stihl MS-250 performance wise, until you bury it and stall it out and overheat the battery. Project Farm on YT did a battery powered saw shoot out.

Carry a good hand saw for the small branches and use the gas/electric rear handle saw for 10" stuff. 3-4 swipes with a good hand saw will cut right through most 1-4" softwood branches.

It was decades ago before they had battery powered tools, but, I was putting up a custom fence for a woman at church, and the lady next door said I looked handy and if I could cut down her peach tree because she had asked her neighborhood men and they said they would, but, none did. I only had a Craftsman sawzall with me, but, I cut down the tree with the sawzall and 12" pruning blades I was using to cut the 6x6 posts. Got her done!

I taught 4 out of 5 of my kids (and 4 of my neighbor's kids) how to cut down trees with a sawzall and ropes.

Home Depot is having a package deal for the Ryobi "18 one plus" sawzall, 1/2" drill, 1/4" impact, light, charger, and 2.0 and 4.0 AH batteries for $139. I have not used the sawzall a lot (only had less then 3 weeks?), BUT, I just cut through an axle tube with 1/4" wall on a log splitter so I could fit it on my trailer. As a truck guy, you can get double duty fromn the tools at a scrap yard and the sawzall in the tree.

I heard a tree guy (think Reggie on YT) say this and it bears repeating. Small pieces make small problems.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@4x4prepper , thanks for your input, it’s definitely appreciated.

So the harness, after a lot of consideration, I decided I wanted to be comfortable, happy and safe. I also watched a whole bunch of videos by like Treestuff.com and decided that climbing SRT (that’s Single Rope Technique to the rest of y’all) and a good harness with a rope bridge would be deluxe. Petzl Sequoia SRT tickled my fancy at that point. Actually really don’t need one nearly as deluxe, but it was kinda why not just get what I want. I like options and gadgets.

Same kinda thing happened with just about anything else.

Feel like I was always going to end up at this point and was just kinda hoping someone would be able to give me a really good reason to go cheap. None of my hobbies and interests ever end up being cheap because I know the value of quality tools and materials because it means things are done faster, more efficiently, safer, and have a better end result.

Not sure if I specified everything to do with the rope puller. So I had ended up doing a lot of research and the final answer seemed to be the manufacturer of the one I have (Maasdam) says use polyester three strand for best performance, but up to a 16 strand braided is acceptable. Everything said 1/2” for diameter, but the rope that came with the puller was 5/8” but I had bought a spool of 1/2” before I thought to measure what I had. Figured originally on cutting a pair of short and long ropes, one set for the puller and one set for climbing. But now I’m thinking of getting a spool of braided climbing rope and cut myself an assortment and make it easier NOT to get them mixed up. I’ve used the pullers before and think I have a pretty good idea of how to use them effectively. I’ve been pretty effective with it too. But if I’m not worried about influencing the direction the tree is going, I don’t worry about it.

I don’t plan on ever using tree spikes. Most of what I’ll probably end up doing is just goofing off, climb up a tree to take a picture or something. The actual real use of climbing and cutting will mostly be clearing widow makers or putting the rope for the puller in a tree or something. Lanyard/flip line will mostly just be for work positioning or changing climbing ropes if the need arises. Highest I’ll probably ever be is about 40’ or so.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Most of my lean towards Milwaukee is because that’s what my cordless tools are and I have a small pile of batteries. Most of what I’m dealing with here is hardwoods, but the use of a cordless sawzall is a good idea. I have a good cordless and some carbide pruning blades. That actually will probably do 80-90% of my tree work. I can use it in place of a hand saw to snip branches on the way up too.

I am going to build myself a lowering device for lowering cut branches. I’ll use the rigging ropes for the puller to lower branches. Looked at some of them and have some ideas on improving it for my use. I’ll post up when I get to that point. Right now I need to get the tow dolly fixed so I can get my one truck back home, then I can turn some attention to this little fabrication project.

 

[4x4prepper]

> I am going to build myself a lowering device for lowering cut branches

Hook up a zip line and use loop runners and carabiners to lower branches.

Notch Nylon Loop Runners

Browse Sherrilltree.com for the Notch Nylon Loop Runner

sherrilltree.com

I never used them because I never got high enough off the ground to need them, but, supposedly they make good improvised foot rests when you need to take a break when climbing spike less.

I have a BigShot slingshot (about 8 feet long) and found the 14 oz. weight is ideal for getting a line up in the tree, but, there is a guy on YT that uses a home made air cannon for launching his bag up into the tree. For my BigShot, I have found the round red rubber throw ball with dimples is the most accurate for getting a line up beyond 50 feet.

If working on the ground or in the tree, I have found this book valuable:

Tree Climber's Companion, 2nd Ed.

https://www.wesspur.com/books/tree-climbers-companion.html

Most Stihl dealers probably stock it. They give a very good warning about when coming out of a tree to never use the technique of a rope looped over a tree branch (major crotch between say 10" boles might be okay) and descending the free end (basically DRT). We had a local guy (Tucker, GA area) that did that on a sweetgum tree. The branch broke and the climber (boss) was found a few minutes later by the ground crew, it happened so fast, no one knew he fell. He is in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

> I am going to build myself a lowering device for lowering cut branches

Hook up a zip line and use loop runners and carabiners to lower branches.

Notch Nylon Loop Runners

Browse Sherrilltree.com for the Notch Nylon Loop Runner

sherrilltree.com

I never used them because I never got high enough off the ground to need them, but, supposedly they make good improvised foot rests when you need to take a break when climbing spike less.

In the past, the few times I’ve had to rig branches, just done basically that. But I was looking at some of the plate things that you can tie to a tree for running the line and I think I have a couple modifications that can be done to the design. I’ll post about it when I get to it.

I have a BigShot slingshot (about 8 feet long) and found the 14 oz. weight is ideal for getting a line up in the tree, but, there is a guy on YT that uses a home made air cannon for launching his bag up into the tree. For my BigShot, I have found the round red rubber throw ball with dimples is the most accurate for getting a line up beyond 50 feet.

I was wondering about that. Ended up with a 12 oz and a 16 oz Weaver bag with 100 and 200’ of slick line. Keep looking at trees and not sure my arm is impressive enough to get far enough up. Did see some arborist supply company selling an air cannon recently.

If working on the ground or in the tree, I have found this book valuable:

Tree Climber's Companion, 2nd Ed.

https://www.wesspur.com/books/tree-climbers-companion.html

Most Stihl dealers probably stock it. They give a very good warning about when coming out of a tree to never use the technique of a rope looped over a tree branch (major crotch between say 10" boles might be okay) and descending the free end (basically DRT). We had a local guy (Tucker, GA area) that did that on a sweetgum tree. The branch broke and the climber (boss) was found a few minutes later by the ground crew, it happened so fast, no one knew he fell. He is in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

I‘ll have to look into that book. Always up for learning and adding books to my collection.

I looked at climbing DRT and SRT. The family friend always climbs DRT and although I might use it at some point or other, I’d rather climb SRT.

I don’t want to mess with tree spikes because they would only really be used on trees I’m cutting down, and those unless I need to get a line in it, I’m not climbing anyway. So I got a good foot ascender and I’ve done some belaying in the past so I know it’s usually better to regulate speed so things don’t heat up or whatever. Heat and friction can be bad news. I don’t really mind heights so much as the sudden stop at the bottom, so I’ll definitely be using caution.

 

[4x4prepper]

Shoulder Shot Line Launcher

Shoulder Shot Line Launcher

The Shoulder Shot Tree Toppler is an air-powered throw line-launcher which launches a 12oz throw bag with power and precision.The launcher is intuitive to aim and use. The air container can be pressurized up to 125 PSI, and this controls the vertical distance launched. Once pressurized, the...

www.wesspur.com

Anyone that frequents this site could probably make their own for <$60 without a problem.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Shoulder Shot Line Launcher

Shoulder Shot Line Launcher

The Shoulder Shot Tree Toppler is an air-powered throw line-launcher which launches a 12oz throw bag with power and precision.The launcher is intuitive to aim and use. The air container can be pressurized up to 125 PSI, and this controls the vertical distance launched. Once pressurized, the...

www.wesspur.com

Anyone that frequents this site could probably make their own for <$60 without a problem.

Like a potatoe gun?