*Solo rigging* Whatcha using? Swivel Bail Shackle and similar methods/?

[skygear]

I read on here somewhere someone mention they use one of these when solo rigging dropping\ lowering limbs to the ground. Decided to dig into my bag of tricks and play with some gear. Wondering if whomever is using these could show how they are using them. I was thinking some 1/16"/1.5mm Dyneema attached to the pull pin running the length of the rope to the ground. Twisting, I can see, would be an issue.

What are you using for solo tree work when rigging?

 

[skygear]

Pics

 

[Jehinten]

I do a lot of solo rigging and a I have a few choices on how I do this:
speedline, go down and collect the slings

double whip tackle (DWT) with speed line slings, release the end of your rope and pull it through the sling and back up to you. (leaves the slings on the ground)

DWT again but use a rigSaver http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=9062 on the limb to be lowered , once the limb is on the ground remove the rigsaver like you would a friction saver on a MRS system. (sling is returned to you for the next piece to be rigged)

tie a piece on like normal, cut and lower, then tie a midline knot onto your next piece and cut and lower... this works well with natural crotch and wrapping around stubs for friction.
Using speed line slings and alpine butterfly knots work well

I also use a few components put together to allow a more traditional lowering without leaving slings on the ground and without all the rope mixed up in the brush like the last technique. This technique works really well on static rigging and then I switch to something else when it gets more dynamic.
girth the webbing sling around your limb and through the steel ring and then hook it with the open hook. tension your rope and cut, once lowered you can shake the hook loose, as you pull the rope back up the red sling pulls the webbing loop free of the limb and brings it all back up to you.

 

[southsoundtree]

You can do a lot with solo uncontrolled speedlines, particularly on conifers. Even set up two speedlines to different landing zones if you wanted to send more pieces per climb.

Natural Crotch speedlining saves gear.

Limbs building up on the speedline will bring the effective-ground-anchor point closer to the tree being stripped. Tensioning from the top with a releasable under load method, with a fixed bottom anchor works well.

Sometimes a canopy raise on a fir will be a dozen limbs over a garden bed. EZPZ solo.






As mentioned, DWT with sling and biner, or natural crotch!

 

[skygear]

I do lots of Laurel oaks, live oaks, and similar. I agree with the conifers statement though.

 

[Brocky]

A piece of bungee cord tied on a fifi hook that has a sling trapped on it. Tie a Blake's hitch on the rope with the bungee, put the sling around piece, slide the bungee hitch up the rope, lower. When it hits the ground, the bungee pulls the fifi out of the sling.

 

[Ronhayden]

Anyone have these solo rigging techniques on video? I can kind of picture it but a video or some pictures would help

 

[Jehinten]

Anyone have these solo rigging techniques on video? I can kind of picture it but a video or some pictures would help

Heres a video of DWT

 

[Jehinten]

This technique is called "hard work"

It's a pretty impressive job to be done by one person

 

[skygear]

If the money is right, I do the same thing. Lots of the time my WINCH on the truck is my ground guy. Use a wireless remote while I'm in the tree.

 

[GreenstoneVT]

I run my solo speedlines through a pulley at the far end, back through a pulley at the base of the tree and then tie/tension it on a stub on the backside to partially offset side tension by putting the backside in compression. Obviously side tension wins out so if I have any concerns at all about stability I’ll do a complementary base tie to my speedline to reduce that as much as possible.

In regular rigging, DWT or I’ll just set multiple rigging points if I need to swing things away. If I have to get down to untie one line/piece I’m going to make it worth my while and do 2-3 lines/pieces. This does take a little air traffic management, especially if you are controlling the descent from your perch as well, but well worth eliminating the multiple up/down trips.

 

[skygear]

Today I tried running everything through my block and safe block. Since I have a 200 foot rope I was dropping one or two big ones at a time letting him hit the ground then midline attaching another one or two big limbs and dropping them until I use the full length of the rope.

It worked. Knocked out a elevation in about 40 minutes

 

[southsoundtree]

Midline attachment helps a lot.

You can take a second rigging rope up in the tree, as well.
I'm going to pick up some 3/8" rigging rope for light weight.

Vertical speedlining, choked at the bottom, adjusted at the top, adds options. Maybe already mentioned.

You can hitch branches to a tensioned lowering rope, and attach many branches to the anchored rigging rope, cut them all, then lower then down. If you're using a POW at the base, you can lower the rope, locking it off as each one lands and detach/ process the limbs, rinse and repeat, keeping you from having a messy pile of branches and rope.

 

[skygear]

I saw someone tying a Knott and lowering. Once it hit the ground, they released tension and gave the rope a few tugs. Boom Knott releases and the rope is on its way back to them.

Cant find the video. Reminds me of a suicide/deadmans anchor I saw a few times rock climbing.

 

[southsoundtree]

Once, I was dismantling a big dying fir on a hillside, where everything started in place.
I topped and chunked with my top-handle until low on fuel and into a little bigger wood.

Descended, took a break, wraptored up with a big saw, with a zipline ground-anchored up the hill. A 100' lowering line controlled the wraptor to the ground-anchor. Then I threw the zip and control line down, easily retrieved later, by not dropping logs onto them, with Wraptor well uphill.

 

[moss]

Double whip tackle and speedlining are my go-to for solo rigging, as many slings and screwlinks as you can carry is how many rigs you can do before going back to the ground. You can always put more slings etc. on a tag line and pull them up if you are doing an epic amount of rigging per tree. I'm wary of quick release schemes for rigging, the scenarios are too dynamic when you're throwing wood if you have targets below, which is the reason you're rigging ;-)
-AJ

 

[southsoundtree]

You can natural crotch your DWT's if you have a suitable crotch. Sometimes, a sling and biner is preferable for landing it, solo, like natural crotch ziplining. You don't need or want to be limited or slowed by gear. A NC piece never has the sling and biner missed before chipping, nor misplaced.

 

[moss]

You can natural crotch your DWT's if you have a suitable crotch. Sometimes, a sling and biner is preferable for landing it, solo, like natural crotch ziplining. You don't need or want to be limited or slowed by gear. A NC piece never has the sling and biner missed before chipping, nor misplaced.

Ha, that's cool, I've accidentally natural crotched a speedline ;-) When stuff hits an inclined line it often rides it. Slings and steel screwlink or carabiner into a chipper, not cool.
-AJ

 

[southsoundtree]

Rarely do I use steel on speedlines, just because small, full-strength aluminum wire gates are so cheap and effective. Just how I roll. If I cut a large limb onto a speedline, it's usually pretty easy to cut it to hang if you cut into the collar, tightening the sling/ speedline, then cutting the limb the rest of the way free. Saves a jerk on the groundie's arm more than the biner or sling.

Speedlining wood or sizeable-enough tops, steel.

 

[evo]

Rarely do I use steel on speedlines, just because small, full-strength aluminum wire gates are so cheap and effective. Just how I roll. If I cut a large limb onto a speedline, it's usually pretty easy to cut it to hang if you cut into the collar, tightening the sling/ speedline, then cutting the limb the rest of the way free. Saves a jerk on the groundie's arm more than the biner or sling.

Speedlining wood or sizeable-enough tops, steel.

I was just thinking of a 3/8s line. Are you going with double braid or static?