Watching tree work amazes me. Pretty cool how you redirect big limbs and put them where you want. Thanks for taking us along and explaining what your doing as you go.
@@therrienmichael08 Do it! I got into this trade after watching August Hunicke videos. I didn't really even know tree climbing could be a job until I saw it on here
I like to watch it to, and I’m getting better cause of all the videos available. I’m now able to anticipate and understand the decisions and moves you do for the climbing, redirects, limb walk and rigging. Thanks for the details of your comments.
Sugar maples are fine to climb when dead, even for a good while. The widow-makers are easily recognized, and tie-in points are everywhere. STILL, IT'S TREEWORK! NOTHIN'S EASY! (Except for picking up that last dustpan of sawdust at beer-thirty! Lol.) Fine work here, Sir.
I am a decent climber, can rig to an extent, still taking on smaller safer jobs as I learn first hand about positioning and angles, watching you is absolutely awesome I literally take 📝 notes. And I have learned and applied a ton of your methods, techniques and tips. Please keep it coming. Would also like to see a video of the gear you use. -Merry Christmas 🎄 to you and yours!
Thanks man, it's an honor to hear that! I'll probably do a gear tour when the work slows down here in the winter. You certainly don't need all the stuff I have collected, but many of the things just make life a little easier.
Great use of the GRCS. I added one to my kit this summer for an anticipated job, the job has yet to materialize and the GRCS still waits patiently in its shipping box. Ha, I might need to find a practice tree.
Haha, I bought mine for a specific tree too. I've found that I use it every chance I can rather than just when it's necessary. In most decurrent trees I can rig way bigger pieces, especially lower in the crown than I can with just a porta wrap.
Enjoyed he video. The GCRS is certainly a big help on come jobs....although pretty expensive. On jobs like this with long limbs over no go targets I will use two rigging lines, tip and butt....and or tag lines with one rigging point. Nice work taking out that dead Maple.👍
Thanks man! It really is a handy device amd I'd say that 90% of the work I do with it could be done without it. Though it's hard to quantify the ROI on a GRCS, I think they really do pay for themselves in making things go faster and safer. The method you described there is most certainly a go to without a shiny winch 😅
Dead silver maple no way, dead sugar..I would..that’s hard stuff:) but I think that bark sloughing off indicates better than a season dead, perhaps. Love your film style, the explanations are very organized and helpful. By the way, I like that rope and am about ready to anti up for a new one, what rope is that? Through Treestuff?
Yeah I'd say the same for sure, especially with the typical structure of silver maples 😬 I really wonder how long it was dead. Like I mentioned the brush showed signs of not very long, but the bark looked like it had 3+ seasons on it. Makes me wonder if it was something in the outer wood that killed it. 🤷♂️ And thanks! I really appreciate hearing that. I got it from my local arborist shop. It's Yale Confetti, but it was a limited run and I fear that it's probably near impossible to find available anymore.
That’s what spider lifts are for. No reason for SRT. 90% of time. I’m a third generation arborist been climbing 35 years. Tried and used it all. Worded in many different states and only had a hand full of times were it was necessary. That trees has been drying for years. Good job.
Thanks! I'd say just about any tree can be climbed with srt or drt. I just like srt because it's faster for me. Yeah, a company with a spider lift may have been able to take down the neighbor's fence and gain access to the tree that way, but it was still safe to climb and so we saved the customer money by climbing it 🤷♂️ I really do think the tree had greenery in it one year previous. Probably not on all of it, but on more than half of it.
If I had to climb all the way out there to tie the rope I maybe would have just peiced it out. Rigging is more controlled so I see why you chose the grcs. Badass. When we lift a limb we just use our miniskid and scoot way back. Good job very well done even with a pounding headache.
Thanks man! I used to do that a lot too with a bollard on a BMG grapple. The only things I didn't like about it was that it distracted the loader from dragging brush if we had to do it alot, and I didn't like that how much you could lift was based on how much traction was available. It's definitely we sweet method for a couple limb if you have a mini skid.
Dude! The big log rig that didn’t move at all… NICE! Great job on a sketchy tree. Took a couple maples out the looked just like this, this year. Any idea why half the tree dies like that? Seems like it’s only this species that dies in this exact way
Haha! Thanks man, I was really proud of that one even though I wasn't super expressive about it. My head just hurt too much 😅 I don't know, and I really hope someone can tell us in the comments. It's quite off to me that it died so fast that the little twigs were on the end and the bark was falling off already. Makes me think that it was maybe something that attached the cambium or something in the outer part of the tree. Maybe it's also just the nature if the species to shed the bark really fast 🤷♂️ it be really nice to know what killed it
Haha, that's relatable. I haven't had any for a little bit either. Most of the videos I have to post now are jobs I saved up from earlier this year. I always start to get some bad cabin fever around mid January. Might take up indoor rock climbing this year to help me stay fit...
@The chill tree climber It really is. With interest rates going up and inflation and everything I think folks are having a little less confidence in the economy and are less willing to spend money. I fear this next whole season will be a little slow.
Great post. Really love how you talk through what you're planning, expecting, then doing. What rope do you run through/ like the most with that zig zag
Thanks! The rope I'm climbing on here is 11.7 Yale confetti. I actually prefer a little thicker ropes in the zigzag. It seems like a bigger rope fills up the links a little more and does allow for as much set back. If you get too big of a rope though, it doesn't like to self tend very well. The only ropes that have ever given me trouble were high strand count static ropes made for SRT. They wanted to slip a little more. I think it's because the rope were so stiff.
Yeah, it absolutely is! It definitely requires a little more mental effort than a porta wrap from the operator, but I've yet to find a groundie that couldn't handle it with some brief training. It can be run very similar to a porta wrap with either the winch or the aluminum bollard that comes with it. Both are made out of different materials and are bigger in diameter than the porta wrap so the friction coefficient is a little different and requires some experimentation to figure out. Nothing too challenging though.
Thanks William! I think if it was a silver or red maple I would have been much more hesitant. There's nothing wrong with trusting your gut and taking a safer route!
Great job but he definitely nice work get sugar maples usually still pretty strong once it's dead great work though my friend what kind of rope are you climbing on
You cracked me up when you said whoops cut some of my hinge off. I know your on RU-vid and everything so people are picky but your cutting a limb that your rigging out. Lol it’s fine. Those people can zip it. It’s not like you were dropping a tree or a giant top. Good video
Haha thanks man! I honestly stive for high standard when people are Watchung and when they're not. Hopefully I'll set a good example when they are and hopefully I'm just producing quality work when they are not. Either way, thanks for the back up 😂
Very good video! I am relatively new to climbing. I use a zig zag when I am descending the truck of a tree. It can be difficult/isnt very fast at retrieving and lowering my tie in point between cuts. What setup are you using? It looks much safer and more efficient. Thanks!
Hey Reef, that's great! This setup is the pulley saver made by teufelberger. It's kind of pricey. A cheaper alternative is an adjustable friction saver. There are a bunch made by different companies and if you're primarily for to use it for descending down a spar it would work pretty nice.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you charge to bring it to the ground? If you had equipment and employees, what would you charge including debris haul away?
I'll decline to share what I charged on this one only because it's a part of the homeowners personal information and I don't want to disclose that. For full service with clean up I would guess the $1,600-$2k range. Idk, prices have changed so much since I ran a full crew 🤷♂️
Dead trees are a PITA to clean after. Curious did you have your groundie remote set that line at 16:29 or did you climb out and set it? And how long did that take to set that up?
They certainly are! I was glad this one was a no clean up job. I climbed out to set all of them. I didn't break any, but there were some that felt pretty sketchy 😬 I don't know exactly how long we're were out there, but it felt like way too long. A lot of small rigging with just one grpundie in a small space made it rather tricky to move fast. I think we had 6 or so hours there 🙄 it would have been and easy hour tree if I could have just air mailed everything to the ground.
that tree’s definitely been dead for more than one season, that customer is crazy.. that tree’s been dead for at least 2-3yrs.. time goes by faster than we think sometimes.
I'd be inclined to think you're right, but I just can't see how the little twigs on the branch ends could have stayed on there that long. Either way, I don't let the customer's pay a huge role in deciding to climb or not. That feels unfair to me 😅
Im a climber in Portland and just had a job that was 11 crispy dead poplar trees with no twig wood or foliage, large woodpecker holes, and right at the edge of the property line with the neighbors house maybe 8 ft away. The way we deal with that is we charge time and materials and leave the option to walk away from any of them. Also charge a large premium. Sometimes you can feel bad for a client that cant afford it. But also have to remind yourself that theyve seen those trees EVERY DAY for years waited until it was a life or death situation. That DESERVES a slap on the wrist at the minimum. The intentional neglect for the neighbors safety is completely uncalled for. So whether we can do it or not, were going to charge you up the ass for being so thoughtless.
@Marcus Turner Oh that sounds terrible. It's a hard game to play. Ain't no tree worth getting hurt or dying for though amd there nothing wrong with calling it "too dangerous" before something happens
Thats great man! I've heard about your ticket system over there and I think it's cool that kind of thing is regulated. I do my best to show safe practice, but I'm not perfect and certainly not a substitute for formal training 😅
How do you get into climbing on contract? I know on RU-vid there’s guys doing it. How do you sell your service to tree services? I own and never once looked to sub any help. So I am wondering how you sell. I wouldn’t mind doing a sub climb now and then. Have you tried a rigging wrench? It works in place of the grcs on small limbs and branches under 100lbs very fast and efficient especially solo
It's been a bit tricky. The hard part is finding safe guys to work with. I've gotten a few clients through youtube. I have one client whom I met by introducing myself when he did some work for my neighbor. I've heard of people hanging out at dumpsites and handing out business cards... there are a bunch if different ways to do it, but I'd say that none of them are conventional marketing like you would do for you business. Seems like a good strategy is to get in when someone needs climber temporarily or when getting started up in the spring. If you're pretty good, they won't want to let you go. W2 climbers are obviously cheaper, but the benefit of contract climbers is that they are available just when you need them for big or tricky projects.
Are you contract climbing more than your own work because of the time of year or something else? I've had climbing ads for years and unless I'm doing light pruning it isn't worth the effort to do jobs on my own compared to contract climbing. I love your content thanks for sharing.
I've downsized my participation in the tree industry. I used to run a single crew operation and sell all of my own work, but I liked climbing more than running a business so now I primarily contract climb. The contract climbing market is pretty tight around here so there isn't a ton of money to be made. I'll still take jobs where the customer wants to do the clean up like this one. Thanks! I'm glad to hear it!
@@zaccheus I'm in Philadelphia and regularly get calls to climb. If you have a license and show up on time in your own vehicle, you beat 90% of the competition. A few years ago I changed my approach to deal entirely with tree health care, diseases treatment, soil samples etc. It's a lot easier to get clients and work without buying a ton of equipment or finding reliable help. Good luck out there.
@@ryanarborist That's mighty interesting. I've never heard of anyone with an approach to climbing like that. I can see how it would work. You can operate a large side of the business without the overhead that it takes to cover only one aspect, the clean up. So you deal with customers on PHC matters and then climb for local tree services?
@@zaccheus exactly. The PHC stuff I got my ISA and the Pesticide license from PA. Even with Insurance and materials it's a small amount of overhead. When I first started my business I did removals and pruning but realized quickly I can only rent and borrow so much equipment. Then when you buy it you're competing with a saturated market of people who do free estimates and can afford to underbid jobs. There are PHC people out here but I'd say it's easily 20:1 average prune and removal companies to PHC. I've been climbing less every year for the past 3 years while I build up the consulting business.
@Ryan J.S. That's super cool man! I don't know of any independent consulting arborists around here. If you want something like that, you have to go to Davey or someone like that.
It's super hard to say. Alot of it comes down to the area you're in and the local market. There are typically three factors that contribute to the price of a tree removal. It mostly comes down to access, difficulty, and size. A lot of crews have an hourly rate that they need to make and so they bid the job by how long it takes a certain number of guys to do the job.
@@zaccheus yeah I guess I'll get some estimates,if it's too much nowadays I guess I'll get the ole super pro 80 ,and Mac 6 fired back up and give it go for old times sake.
@Rick Nelson haha, sounds like it'd be pretty fun to get those units out and running again. It also sounds like you best bet might be to find an independent contractor climber. Someone who carries insurance and probably climbs for different companies, but doesn't have a crew that he has to keep busy to make money. Someone like that may be hard to find, but will certainly cost less than a bigger company with a bunch of guys. Where are you located?
Living in New England, I love these trees. I can be the most rotted out trunk you've ever seen but it still has a beautiful green branch that grows off the side 🤣 how it's possible they stand? 🤷 And you always see these trees tapped in early spring!
@@zaccheus legit 😂 I appreciate them since I started learning all the species in the region. Pretty harty and long lived. I think there's a 500-600 year old one in Canada, eh?
@@anthonyr6286 Oh wow, I don't know anything about it. I'll have to look it up. I know of some that are probably approaching 150 years, which is quite old for a maple around here 😅
@@zaccheus no shortage of houses around here built in the late 1600s to late 1700s with maples out front that look just as old lol same thing with old farms, pasture trees out in the middle of the forest, lots of old logging roads (turned town roads) from the King Pine days of the 1600s. Thanks a lot King Charles 🙄
Hi, Jakub! The 201 has a 16" (40cm) light bar and the 500i has a 25" (~60cm) light bar. Those are the only two saws I run, and they seem to be a nice pair. I keep a 36" (~90cm) for the 500 in the truck, but only use it a couple times a month.
Haha, thays right! Most of the time I have to crawl out there becaise there isn't a great place to swing from. Even when I do that, a lot of my weight stays in the rope so i don't break the limb off
Nah, not at all. As long as they're watching from a safe distance, it's perfectly fine with me. It used to bother me early on when I was less confident in my abilities. Now most of my work goes the way I want it to.
Thanks Rob! No not yet. It is showing signs of wear, but nothing requiring a rebuild yet. Hopefully I don't have to do that again for quite some time 😅
@@zaccheus I hope so too brother lol I have the zigzag and rope wrench combo and a uni but I really wanna get an akimbo. What is the need not a want lol keep playing brother love the content!
Lol I asked myself that a lot throughout this tree 😅 I just wanted to spend some time on the old zigzag again. I could have done it faster and with less effort on SRT. I really haven't come across more than a couple situations where I wished I had used DRT over SRT (aside from crane work). I just know both methods are still common in our industry, amd I want to keep myself familiar with both of them.
@Abe Taylor you can and I know some folks that do. I find it rather awkward feeling and inefficient feeling. I mostly just muscle through my ascents with my arms which probably isn't a good thing for long term wellness 😬 a foot ascender might work a little better on a natural crotch anchor with some friction.
Haha, yeah this was one of those annoying tree where it wasn't real big, but it just took a long time becaise there were so many small limbs to rig. Thanks!
I did have a full service tree service for a couple years, but I realized I liked climbing way more than running the whole show. I laid my guys off and sold my chipper, tractor and such in the fall of 2021. I still have some clients that I'll service or if I get a shot at no cleanup jobs, I'll take those.
Haha, no problem! It seemed really strong to me! I was really suprised at how well some of those hinges held on. That rope is Yale Confetti I think it's discontinued these days though.
@b r Thanks! Do you have a name I can address you with? Even a nick name or something if you don't want to put your real name out on the internet. I see your comments on a lot of other channels to and I'd love to have a name to call you by 😅
@Samuel Luria helicopter? 🤷♂️ I certainly don't have any other ideas in my bag of tricks 😅 I guess it would have been more accurate to ask "would you climb this and rig it down"
@@zaccheus - Ahhhh 🤣....indeed, I misinterpreted the title's question.... ....still, the answer is yes....on the climbing part, Lol. Merry Christmas and a safe and successful new year!
I'm certainly not opposed to working with new folks. I often enjoy getting to know a new soul. I hardly ever hire help anymore, but I'll travel to help someone else out if you're not more than a day's drive away.
