Thanks for the help Zach, it was a fun job to do together. A bit strange being a groundie but it was a nice change of pace. Looking forward to working together on another sometime
Jon, what model of saw were you using at the end when you raced Zach? You mentioned an 029, an 044 and an 066 but I didn't catch which model you were holding.
I have a spot under my left eye from an Osage thorn that is 8 months old it will almost heal and then start bleeding and scab up again and another fella same property almost lost his eye from similar injury from a thorn ... you have any remedies just curious since your named like the tree that caused it lol be safe buddy
Balls of steel! Nice job man you do a good job explaining stuff. Keep up the good work man and keep posting, I think you’ll have a big channel in no time,
From a professional bow maker :) Most elms are very strong in tension and have particularly interlocking grain/fibers. It makes great bows for these reasons. Your branch held on so long because of the woods tension strength...even so I would've expected it to pop off sooner than that! The woodworms absolutely love the stuff as well - as seen by the patterns under the bark. Interesting to see your work - thanks.
@@zaccheus No problem :) Yes it makes very good axe handles. As I'm sure you know there are a lot of elms out there but in general the wood will be a little less dense than hickory with also a little less bend resistance. If you copied a good hickory shaft exactly the elm would feel a little 'springier' in the hand and it would weight a little less. If you wanted the same solid feel that hickory has (and the balance of the axe) then simply increase your dimensions a little. Stiffness goes up with the cube of thickness so you only need a little extra material to increase the stiffness significantly. I've booked onto an Arborist course here in England - time for a change of career....hence why I'm watching your videos. Thanks for putting them out there and taking the time/effort to make them. Very useful for us who want to learn :)
@@eclipsearchery9387 Oh wow, that's super cool! I'm still pretty new to the game, so don't refer to my videos as any final authority. My old ones especially are full of egregious mistakes 😬. There are some really good channels with really good, solid information though. "The Climbing Arborist" comes to mind. I think you might have some different standards across the pond there too. Thanks for your insight on wood types!
Great video with lots of useful information. As a 21 year old its cool to see a fellow young guy taking pride in his work and perfecting his craft. Stay safe man.
I tend to stay away from real dead trees in terms of climbing unless there’s a nearby tree I can tie into. However, every climber has their own personal tolerance for risk and what they are comfortable with. I think it’s very important to be in tune with that. Nice work, and good explanation of stuff.
Absolutely, I'd say it's super important to avoid climbing anything you're not confident it. I usually prefer to tie into another nearby tree when it's possible too. That can still be quite danger ous too though if you don't do it correctly.
Ya I wouldn’t have climbed that out. One wrong shock when lowering looks like it was enough to tumble that stick. Fortunate that your “groundie” understands rope work and lowering shock. I can see why 3 companies passed.
@@zaccheus No problem! We hardly have any companies here that still climb. Needed a big tree down and we’re getting quotes anywhere from $5k-$9k. Finally got ahold of a climbing company and they did it for $3k. Crazy job that takes lots of bravery and professionalism.
I made it to 5:32. Probably watch the rest later. If one needs a hinge to hold longer, the hinge can be established closer to the trunk where there is the overlap of trunk and branch wood with a low, for lack of a better descriptor, back cut. Also, if roping having the rope farther out on the branch helps support the piece and aids the hinge. Your work positioning lanyard would have to be elsewhere because it is in the area where this cutting would happen. I use this method in black walnut and even white pine. Hope this makes sense. I climb a fair amount of dead trees as well. Thanks for the content.
Thanks for your thoughts John! I think I'm familiar with the two principles you describe. I guess I haven't made a habit of making hinges in the collar wood, but for the reasons you mention I might start trying that more.
@@zaccheus If it helps, great! Sometimes there isn't enough room and the branch must be cut shorter (obviously). I find that dead American and slippery elm both hinge well; dead Siberian elm less well. Anyway, I have had much help and learned from others and enjoy seeing others succeed in tree work. 👍
Hey Zack that was a nice piece of work I appreciate your professionalism I see you have a lot of potential to be one of the best in our business I've been climbing for 17 years and what I seen with a very good job young man I hope you make a boatload of money and stay safe and remember when in doubt rope it out will keep looking up
Hey Samuel, those are mightt kind words amd I really appreciate you sharing them 😊 I have a mentor who has encouraged me with that exact motto about roping things down. It really seems to be an excellent approach.
Great job Zach, you are proving to be a diligent student of your craft. I’ve been in many a dead elm. And they are quite stable through the second year, three year dead elms are definitely troublesome. Another option to consider on dead trees is to rig from the top down if the structure allows for it, to leave a dampening effect in the lower canopy. This looked like a pretty sturdy tree. Great job, you speak to the work well. Keep it up. Great seeing you yesterday. Thanks for stopping by.
That's an interesting thought. I've rarely considered working the tree from the top down, but I think I can imagine how that would benefit. Thanks for sharing! It was indeed and absolute pleasure to meet you yesterday. I look forward to when our paths might cross again.
That comment on reaction wood behavior for angiosperm and gymnosperms was an eye opener for why some cuts I made in the past didn't behave as I anticipated. All the information helps thanks for the great videos👍
I just made it for the first time to your channel and found it very interesting and informative. Great job teaching and showing! Thank you for your work.
Nice job on the tree - My first of your video's and would have to say you have a great style with explaining the simple stuff which is important. Bring it on!
Thanks for bringing up reaction wood. Just defined it for the first time and did a DEEP dive. The tension for angiosperms (deciduous) and compression for gymnosperms (conifers except some broad leaf) is cool. And I’d be terrified to climb that. Great job, you’re good at teachin stuff while climbing dead trees
I saw your comment on Spencer Lawn care. You invited people to come over to your channel to watch you cut trees. Enjoying so far. I subbed and hit the bell for notifications. Be careful out there.
Good didactic video with fine explanations. For me as a garden owner it important to know about the value of professionals making this work. Plus: Your video has strong entertainment character at 28:31 like STIHL Timbersports: Contestants ready, hands on the wood, Go! Stay safe and alway good jobs!
A great way to see if you're working with a hollow tree (and only if the tree is big enough) is to do a vertical plunge cut straight through the tree. If the saw suddenly moves forwards you either have a cavity or some really rotten wood. Just don't do a horizontal plunge cut if you are about to climb the tree because that would weekend the tree far too much!! The vertical plunge cut is more on the same line as a vertical crack, so you'll still have the majority of the strength of the wood.
Elm wood is very strong and through being resistant to fungal decay, is very durable. These qualities, together with their upright habit, make elms one of the safest (or rather, least unsafe) trees to climb when dead. Underneath the bark of your tree many egg galleries of the Elm bark beetle are visible: many wavy grooves radiating out from a central short straight groove (which is where the beetle first bored into the tree). These beetles carry the fungus that causes Dutch Elm Disease, which was likely the cause of death of this tree. Elm wood used to be used for coffins and for funeral pyres; folklore holds that it burns with a cold smoke. But this is mistaken and true only when burning wet wood: the dense & fibrous nature of the wood means it holds onto the water content well and so it takes a very long time to season properly - 2 or 3 seasons for wood of any size. My experience is that it is wonderful firewood, burning hot and with very little smoke if really dry (15% or even less). Thanks for an interesting video - I notice and appreciate that you are a clear speaker, and articulate when describing your reasoning - which is well worth hearing. Though as Reg is the master of demonstrating, sometimes less is more.
Thanks for leaving an awesome comment and for sharing so much interesting information! I don't think I'll ever compare to a legend like Reg, but I'll do my best to share the information I come across. Thanks again for sharing!
A trick I learned from my grandfather was cutting two small side cuts where you put your rope. Helps on smooth bark trees and dead ones too. Keeps the rope from sliding off.
I've been pleasantly surprised by most trees that look bad by the amount of heartwood that is still solid. If you're in an area of severe weather, you know it's taken more stress than you will put on it by bombing or careful rigging. Of course a high tie in a close live tree is great when you can.
Absolutely! Although I'd say dead trees take way less beating from the wind with no leaves on them. I think it's all about doing the proper pre-climb checks.
Quick way to tell if a hickory is shellbark or shagbark, most of the bark on shagbark exfoliates from the top and bottom (making it shaped like a" C") while shellbark only exfoliates from the bottom (more of a "J" shape).
Glad to hear it Art! Thanks for watching so many videos here recently. If there's anything in particular you'd like to see more of, don't hesitate to let me know
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh I hate climbing dead trees especially Ash trees.. Great job.. You're groundie is a Heck of a good guy..very smooth..he be a great asset to any tree company..
Thank you for you kind words, I'll be sure to tell him you daof that. I've been more scared in dead ash trees than I have been in any other trees I think. I'm learning when to say no. That's most important.
When doing this style of face cut you might find it easier to do the angled cut first. It's what they teach and actually do have in Scandinavia. I'm sure you can figure out the advantages if you try it out and think it through.
It what they teach here too. I started out making the bottom cut first and that's how I've allowed my skills to develope. I know the other way has its benefits, I just haven't gotten around to breaking old habits yet 😅
Enjoyed the video. I use a lot of loop runners for rigging also...as well as speed lining. Who makes the beefy runner you use for connecting your rigging line to the tree?
Glad to hear it! CMI makes the beefiest one I could find. 13,900lb MBS choked. It's made out of nylon as I recall. The stretch in nylon helps it stay strong in choked configuration unlike HMPE slings that lose around 50% of their MBS when choked.
I'd climb that tree all day long but there's no way in hell I'd single line that tree with the rope ran through dead brush. I'd climb from the bottom up with spurs and cut my weight out as soon as humanly possible.
That a fair perspective. We could have sailed every piece out too, but since we didn't have to, I thought it might be best to preserve the landscaping below.
I did one about that size in my yard. I didnt have the gear you do (or the skill) so i felled it in one shot. Your way is much less... dramatic. I dont think i couldve monkeyed around that tree like you did with yours even if i did have the gear. Good work.
@ScottLafray-dd2fp Thanks for the kind words man. Felling is definitely the way to go if you can do it. I enjoy climbing, but it's still alot of work 😅
Well we definitely would have taken either of those options if we could have 😅 the hillside made MEWP acess impossible and there would have been some collateral damage if we tipped it over. If it wasn't safe to climb, falling it would have been the next best option I think
Hey man I’m super late to this post. I appreciated the balance between your appreciation for the academic side and recognition that in-field experience cannot be replicated. With that being said, in this video you’re using some sort of clevis on the standing end of your rope and using that to choke the spar. I’m sure it’s rated and considered legit kit, but please don’t use it. Clevises are really dangerous. In a different context I had one fail and it caused a fall. I’m only saying this as someone who doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt, please don’t trust a clevis with your lifeline. Great video and good job on this tree, stay safe.
Hey thanks for your thoughts! I'd be interested in hearing more about your clevis failure experience. The quick shackle I use is a common life support product around here and is sold by many different dealers and manufacturers as a life support tool. I've been using it for a few years and I'd really like to know more about why you recommend against it.
I usually score the smooth dead wood with a saw before or after tying on the rigging line to ensure it wont slip off. 3 kerfs on each side of the piece to be rigged. Try it sometime
I've learned alot just from looking over ISA certification study guides. Even if it's not of benefit to take the tests to you in your position, the study guides have good stuff. Someone else in the comments suggested "The Body Language of Trees" by Claus Mattheck. It's supposedly used as a references in court cases and such. Looks like a good book and I hope to get one soon.
@@johnnienaber5693 That is true for sure. I feel like it's maybe a little more of a challenging topic to put into books. So many more factors than climbing green trees.
Im currently working on a very old, english crab apple tree, about about 40ft high, but its rotten so bad its split down the centre a while ago, then carried on growing as 2 seperate trees, the one side is growing abouve a garage, the right side is above 2 neighbours gardens, as well as a shed in the customers garden and one in neighbours. The garden is small, the tree does not have a main trunk where it split, its a good 8 ft wide trunk below the split, all where its split is fungus and pulp, spurs/gaffs arent finding wood to climb, there are no neighbour trees to tie in or anchor to, there are so many dangers in the garden as well as big, thick boughs/branches falling from rot. After losing 2 anchor points and a rig today, im here searching youtube for some worse, sketchy jobs to boost my confidence for tomorrow, but currently not finding anything close danger wise 😂 wish me luck 😂
Hey Evan, I don't publicly share bids because it's a part of the owners private finances. I was just a contract climber on this job. I imagine Jon won the job based on his excellent reputation in the area rather than by being the lowest price. And thanks!
That looks like elm bark beetle damage took that tree. 17:35 Two things. Spider leg rigging would have been another option there and also do you ever butt tie limbs when you grcs? Doing that with an old ratty rigging rope like 25 ft of it or whatever allows it to swing but stay on the stump and you then can undo it and control the descent with the rope to stop that out of control swinging. I usually put it on a baby buckingham 6.5 inch port a wrap but you can also just make wraps and tuck a bight the yank the bight out and allow the wraps act as friction control. Great groundie work there.
I think you're probably right, I don't recall showing it intentionally. But there were bug paths all over the place under the bark. Yeah, we probably could have piper legged a few. I'm that surely would have been an effective way to reduce dynamic loading onto the tree and rigging system. I do butt tie with the GRCS. Most of the time we set up with the number of wraps we want (we used one wrap for almost every limb on this tree) and give the line a good yank. That seems to pretension small limbs appropriately. I didn't tie too close to any of the buttons on this tree out of fear of the sling sliding off 😅
@@zaccheus Nono I'm saying have your limb tip tied going to the grcs like you did there AND use a ratty rope to butt tie the limb by you the climber. This way you can work in tandem with your groundie ton lower it while eliminating harsh swing. I do it on really large limbs and difficult ones. I have a pic of that setup on my phone but not sure how to share it here.
@@geekay4703 ohhh, I understand better! Yeah, I'm sure that would work out well. I think I've done something similar before. I might have some footage of it in a video titled "doing crane work without a crane" or something like that.
Thanks for the shout out on the groundie work... it was a bit strange as most of the time I'm the climber. I do some butt ties like you were talking about, it's a nice tool to have in the arsenal. Nice to have options.
It really comes into play on limbs like the one you lifted because you can immediately start lowering it or negative rigging you can pull up slack as the top or log is folding over so your not getting as much shock load the only negative I can say is that to do lifting as well as the grcs you need 2 people
@@rf-ov4xn Ohhh, I see. That would be handy to be able to go straight from lifting to lowering. I would have the confidence to flip some bigger pieces onto the line like that. You can grab some slack out of the line with the GRCS. I wouldn't like needing two people to lift with the device, that sounds like it would take up too much groundie time. I'd still like to try one someday if I ever get the chance.
Climbing dead trees......as if there wasn't enough things to keep in mind with climbing healthy trees. But, people ain't calling to have their pretty trees taken out. Very vigilant work. Nice job.
I like them alot. They are the only premium spikes I've ever owned, so I can't give you a good comparison between them and other nice spikes. I have decided to avoid spending money with notch at all costs so that's my only bit about geckos 😅
Dust explosions typically require a confined space for the air/fuel mixture to be just right, so it's not really an explosions hazard. There is more than one reason a saw will throw fine dust. Dull cutters is one, higher rakers is another one, wood type and grain structure is another one, cut angle relative to grain orientation is another one, moisture content of the wood, etc. "Getting the gullet" really isn't a component of sharpening at all. It's more of post sharpening practice to theoretically allow for more chip carrying capacity in long cuts and really has no bearing on dust production.
If it were oak, ash or maple, even locust I would have declined. Elm is good, your assessment was accurate. Most local tree guys tend to be more cautious than you tube celebs, most work from a bucket since it's faster but not as glamorous. My advice: stay local if you're moving around and tap into the native climbers, find out what they are saying. Err on the side of caution.
Thanks for your thoughts! This one was pretty close to home. The views aren't worth risking my life for, but if something hazardous comes my way, I try to capture it on film 🤷♂️
Those weird grain patterns you saw could be sheer squares. Have you read The body language of trees? If not it is a great book on tree risk assessment, fungi and tree biomechanics in general.
Hahaha, fair question 😅 I break out the porta wrap quite often still. It just doesn't make it into as many videos because it's not as fun to use. Part of the decision to use it on this tree was to let Jon have a chance using it. Didn't even plan on lifting anything, it just happened to work out nice that we could. I've never used anything other than a porta wrap or GRCS though if you're asking about that.
I seen a safety slide show of arborist Safety, put on by a township forestry devision. They showed a kids picture who had been up to his waist int he shreader, awful stuff. Turns out was his first day no one told him not to stand on the machine and kick wood into it
Do you think the elderid spikes are worth the money?? I ask cause I noticed a monumental difference when I got gecko’s compared to evokes.. I was way more secure and not wobbly.. noe I’m thinking of the elderids
I like them a lot. They were a big improvement over my old school steel Buckingham spikes. I've never climbed on Geckos so I can't give you a direct comparison. These talons are good enough to make me want to buy them again if I need to.
That tree sure looked sketchy. You guys did a smooth job on the takedown. I guess it pays off to have an experienced climber handling the drops. Nice work Osage! Zaccheus, I was cringing the whole time you were climbing and cutting. At first glance the beetle trails looked like emerald ash borer trails. But after pausing your video and doing some research (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bark_beetle) I could see they are more like Bark beetle trails. I know you said oak but man oh man when you were taking that bark off it reminded me of the ash trees in my yard I had to take down. One was about 20" in dia at the base and all the bark came off, EAB trails everywhere. I thought the beetle trail patterns looked cool so I use a couple bucked logs as side tables around the fire pit. I was able to catch one of the EABs. I see him everyday, sealed in clear packing tape stuck to the side of my monitor.
Jon was the magic behind the whole thing. A good rope man will certainly play a big part in keeping the climber aloft. I believe this was an elm tree that was probably a victim of Dutch Elm Disease. I don't know much about it, but I believe it is carried from tree to tree by beetles which explains some of the beetle trails below the bark.
Any particular reason you used the winch and not the bollard on the GRCS? Every rigging cycle is wearing the knurling off the winch drum, however slight it may be.
My experience has been that switching back and forth between the bollard and winch often becomes a real time adder to the rigging cycle and is often a bit of a challenge for a first time user to manage efficiently. Also the winch provides a unique opportunity to pull slack out if the rope in negative rigs as demonstrated by Greg Good in some of his videos. It also makes pretensioning very quick and easy due to its racheting action. All of those things together are worth the price of having to replace the winch drum prematurely in my opinion. Kevin Hamm has the 4th GRCS ever made and it's drum is half smooth and it still works (though maybe not aswell) for him. I do break out the bollard if we do a bunch of heavy duty negative rigging or something else high impact. That bollard is aluminum though which means it will also wear quickly and it is $400 to replace I believe.
For sure, I've only run ropes a hand full of times and so my rope running skills are not at the top of the industry. I'm you're right, a climber should definitely have a good grasp of the principles
Hey buddy how are you great video as always. we had a bad accident last week Tuesday one of the guys cut their hand pretty bad had to get surgery on it cut through tendons and everything. I did order a silver bull trauma kit I received it today if you don't have one please look into it never thought I needed it really until the accident happened I should have had it years ago God bless buddy be safe
Oh nooo, I'm so sorry to hear about that! My experience with a cut on my knee lead me to become a firm believer in saw pant and chaps. It's always a shame that we have to witness an accident before taking safety stuff seriously. I'll definitely look into that kit. Best wishes for recovery to the injured fella.
@@zaccheus yeah definitely buddy I have to get me some of the saw pants they're just so expensive but yeah I want some of them bad God bless buddies stay safe I mean I say they're expensive but then I buy all kinds of other expensive tree s*** LOL silly me
@@br-dj2ti Lol, I can relate to that! Somewhere I saw a statistic that said the the average chainsaw injury costs $20,000 in the ER. The number starts to make $400 pants look real cheap to me 😅 stay safe out there!
I have been an arborist since the 1980s. I once cut the back of my left hand pretty deeply. If your surgeon is as good as mine, your friend will likely be fine. I have kept a first aid kit in my work truck for years. I am older now. No, make that "old". And I like it. My wife signed on as my apprentice. She had a chunk taken out of her arm by a falling branch. As I gently tended to the wound, I told her, I had not used that first aid kit in 10 years. Things happen. But most of them are preventable. Tell new helpers they can get hurt. And stay out of the drop zone till it is clear. Then my wife and I were "even". (LOL) She broke my thumb in the wood splitter. She always felt horrible about that. But I kept telling her, I put my thumb there, she didn't! Aha! Another "preventable!"
I use a throwline. It's a lightweight string with a weighted bag tied to it. I toss the bag over the branch I want to climb on and then I use the string to pull my rope over. It normally takes me a couple tries to get it right 😅
Haha, thanks 😅 its all about knowing the tree... and the rope man! Mmm, I don't know if he's done out of state work before or not. Maybe he will se this comment and chime in. Reon is in Wisconsin and we are in Ohio here.
I like them a lot! I don't have much to compare them too. My last spikes were some old school steel bucks so really anything modern is an improvement over them.
I honestly don't pay that much attention to my camera settings 😬 I've generally got enough going on that I stick to the same old setting for everything. I think the lens angle is "linear" as I recall 🤷♂️
I've taken down a lot of trees for heat. And I found that dead trees are more likely to injure/kill you because of falling limbs.If you can, let it bring itself down.
