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    Wedgin' n jackin'

    Looks cool, but I don't really understand the use of a jack instead of a pull line (with a little MA). What's the advantage of the jack? A long pull line set high in the tree seems like it would produce more felling force than a jack setup like in the photo. What am I missing?
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    Self Sufficiency

    Coturnix quail also sound cool. It's been a while since we had them, but I remember they weren't at all noisy. Kind of a soothing sound. The eggs were also really good when pickled. The pickling flavor penetrated the entire egg, unlike pickled chicken eggs.
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    Inspecting a figure 8 belay device

    I don't have an 8-shaped figure any more. It's getting to be more of an oval shape.
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    Hot Enough for Ya?

    We turned on our AC for the first time yesterday. Turned it off in the evening. We live right on Lake Michigan in a spot where the shoreline kind of sticks out into the lake. Loving it right now. A mile inland and the temps are scorching. It's an amazing effect--"cooler by the lake".
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    Wanted: Splice/sew in Dallas area.

    Funny, but there are yacht clubs in the St. Louis area and on nearly every inland Lake that's big enough to float a sailboat. The Dallas area has some big lakes with some big boats.
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    The Grappling Hook...

    I've never tried the boomerang throw on such a horizontal throw, but use the technique all the time when setting a tip. It's a quick and easy way to isolate a tip when the situation is right for it. It also feels great (and impresses onlookers) when you toss your throwbag, loop it over the limb...
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    Stopper knot in Amsteel

    Thanks. I've tied it enough for today to be quick and confident. We'll see how I do with it tomorrow. I assume it's like a button knot or diamond knot where you want to dress and set it pretty hard before using it, mostly to prevent roll-out and give it strength. True? I'll leave some tail on...
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    Stopper knot in Amsteel

    I posted this on the climber's forum, but thought splice guys might be interested in chiming in. I've got a sailboat application for this thread. I want to use a stopper knot (jam knot) for a single strand of 5 mm Amsteel. Two questions: 1. Does a stopper knot weaken the line? 2. What's the...
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    jamming knots

    I've got a sailboat application for this thread. I want to use a stopper knot (jam knot) for a single strand of 5 mm Amsteel. Two questions: 1. Does a stopper knot weaken the line? 2. What's the best stopper knot to use for amsteel? Burying the tail may not be an option due to the size of the...
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    jamming knots

    I'm no expert, but why would you prefer a thimble over a ring?
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    “Unusual Birds” & Trees in your area ?

    No ear tufts but large. Maybe a barn owl or barred owl?
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    Another soft shackle

    That sounds interesting. It's another crappy weather day here, so I may play with that concept a bit. It's nice having cheap rope to experiment with before spending dollars per foot on the real deal.
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    Another soft shackle

    I have made these using different techniques and so far I like this one better than some of the others. The other ones I have done use either a button knot or a diamond knot. I have NO confidence that I am tying my button knot correctly, and only fair confidence in my diamond knot. The one...
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    Another soft shackle

    I made a small eye (locking Brummel) in each end of 5 ft of 1/4 inch cord, and buried 8 inches of tapered tail in each. I then made a small Brummel noose in the middle of the cord. I tied an overhand knot with the two ends, and pulled the Brummel noose through both looped ends of the cord. Then...
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    Another soft shackle

    I was bored and had some cheap polypropylene laying around so I made a soft shackle just for "around the house" use (or non-critical on the boat use). It seems to have worked pretty well. I used the overhand knot technique. Since polypro is such an annoying material, the two "strand" version...
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    Is splice breaking strength proportional to MBS of the rope?

    Thanks Bart. I hadn't considered that. I guess I was thinking in rough terms rather than exact. I assume that if two people try to do identical splices on the same piece of rope you'll get at least slight differences in breaking strength. Since the MBS is different than the ABS, I think that's...
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    Is splice breaking strength proportional to MBS of the rope?

    I had a break test done on one of my splices (where I made up the procedure) just for giggles. I used 1/4 inch Endura braid (New England Rope) Euro version. It has an MBS of 4500 pounds. My splice broke at about 75 percent of that value. If I use the same procedure and rope but in 1/2 inch, can...
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    Kids Climb

    Hoppe Tree Service did a Kids Tree Climb here in conjunction with several city-sponsored activities. I stopped by to watch for a few minutes. The kids were all having a great time. One little (very little and scrawny) girl got all the way up to the TIP and then tried to go down. She didn't weigh...
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    “Unusual Birds” & Trees in your area ?

    My parents' back lawn extended all the way to a river. The geese were definitely a nuisance. One day we were all looking out the big windows they had and saw a white rabbit hopping around in their back yard. The rabbit started chasing the geese out into the river. It was hilarious. The rabbit...
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    “Unusual Birds” & Trees in your area ?

    I had backyard chickens when I lived in the St. Louis area. They definitely roosted in trees during the warm weather. They only roosted in the coop during the winter. It was really fun watching the hens get the chicks up into the tree in the evening. She'd then get them all tucked into her...

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