The best way to avoid horizontal limbs doing crazy things is to stand them up vertical. Tip tie the limb. Make a face cut on top, back cut on bottom, leave a small bit of hinge. Cable up and stand the piece up vertical. Cable down to approximate weight of limb. Remember to position yourself so you’re cutting above your head as much as possible (that way pieces can only swing above you, not into you) and cut through. Tip tying loads the limb vertically as it’s being transported through the air. Wood fibres are 10 times stronger when loaded vertically. Balancing the limb horizontally makes it 10 times more susceptible to failure from its own weight and should be avoided as much as possible. The slings used here also present a problem as they don’t appear to have the weight needed to reliably break through the canopy. Chains have enough weight to break through and enough length to keep the ball out of the canopy. Lowering the ball into the canopy can cause the crane cable spool to essentially birds nest like a shitty fishing rod should the ball get hung up and the operator continue to cable down. The ball getting hung up then letting go could result in the climber being struck and killed.
Great explanation why you don't want to balance everything out. I've used this method for horizontal limbs since I started doing crane work and it's really common to do it that way her in the Netherlands. I was wondering if someone could explain to me why everybody in the US is using slings instead of chains? Aren't those dead Eye slings much weaker than chains?
Be nice if you could attach 2 small portys to the piece with loops and tension the spider legs on them. Then no knots and easy to tension both and easy for groundies to undo.
