101 tricks of the trade

mattbc

mattbc

Location
NH
I was thinking today of all the little tricks that I have learned in the last 12 years that make my job easier and I figured with everyone sharing we can make everyones job easier. I will start:
1.I am a big fan of the stick trick for judging height of trees and where they will fall.Get a straight stick that is long enough to hold in your hand with your arm straight horizontally outstretched to the corner of the same eye (left eye =left hand etc.)then keeping your elbow straight and arm still horizontal rotate the stick vertical if the tip of the stick is below the top of the tree(sight from the same eye) walk back a couple of steps if it is above walk forward and try again until the tip of the stick is even with the top of the tree now you are standing in the very spot where the tree will land.
 
It is a great trick that I have used quite often. I have found that instead of looking the yard over for a straight stick, a rake handle or a pole saw works great. You just have to hold one end at your shoulder and grasp the pole where your finger tips end. It is also important to note that you have to take into account the lean of the tree. If it leans away from you, it is going to be longer than the trick tells you it will be. If it leans towards you it should be shorter. We like to put markers on the ground and see who can get the closest to where the spar is going to land.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Good tip...a small variation...

Put the stick on your cheek bone not near your eye.

IN Jeff Jepson's new book, 'To Fell a Tree' he details this tip.

[/ QUOTE ]good point The angle is the same probably better not to put a stick in your eye
 
Talcam powder or Dr.Scholls medicated powder down the saw pants on a hot day before a climb, I have lost days to a wicked cases of chaffe. Save yourself a few bucks on the spur covers you consatantly seem to lose and jam a chunk of garden hose on the gaffe tips.
 
Here is a way to determine a tree's height without a stick. Stand with your back to the tree, bend over and look between your legs at the top of the tree. When you can see the top through your legs take one step toward the tree and that is where it will fall.
 
How about tying a 1.5" stick midway on your throwline to break those annoying little dead stubs that stop you from getting your line to settle in the crotch.
 
WHAT?! i wouldn't do this in someones yard for fear of looking like a complete dumb azz. i think i'll stick to the stick trick
 
A trick for rigging wood with newbies :

Use a slipknot that is set loose in front off the pulley to make sure the piece off wood or branch will fall beneath your feet and the lenght off the rope in front off the slipknot will stay safe even when the unexperienced rigger newbie tries to pull the wood into your face ;-)

The slipknot must be set in that way that the falling load will slip it out easy.
 
when setting ropes if you would rather have the short end on the other side of the crotch tie a knot to make a loop and then spin the loop until you have reversed the orientation of the rope in the crotch it is alot easier than overhauling 200 feet of rope!
 
[ QUOTE ]
A trick for rigging wood with newbies :

Use a slipknot that is set loose in front off the pulley to make sure the piece off wood or branch will fall beneath your feet and the lenght off the rope in front off the slipknot will stay safe even when the unexperienced rigger newbie tries to pull the wood into your face ;-)

The slipknot must be set in that way that the falling load will slip it out easy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Better tip, untie slipknot before tipping the load into the rigging....
 
Than it will not go beyound your legs anymore ;-(

And thats the whole point off tying a slipknot when your not sure about the guy on the ground and his rigging qualities.
 
If you forget your pole saw and have a pole pruner with you you can sandwich the blade of your hand saw between the closed blades of the pruner and tie the cord around the handle. Makes a sweet pole saw for a couple of cuts.
-------------------------------------------------------------
 
When you don't have a rope bag, but you need to "hank" your rope, don't look for an end. Instead, look for the middle, and grab it there. Start taking large bites, two ends of the rope at a time, until you inevitably (and twice as quickly) run out of rope. Tie it up with a max of two wraps, pass a bight through the coils, then another bight through that, then the end.

Sounds complicated maybe, but after extensive personal testing, this style of rope-wrapping definitely unfurls better than the old "grab and end, make tons of coils, then add tons of wraps, until the rope is gone" method. I nearly always throw this rope to the ground after using my technique and see it completely unfurled with no knots or twists left over.

The advantage of grabbing it in the middle also saves a bunch of time.

Hope this is a nice tip for someone.
 
your 1 ton makes a great skidder. Put a block 10 or 15 feet in a tree and you can skid out that 100 foot pine you just dropped into the woods. If you are good you can even stack the logs. Sure beats dragging brush and wood uphill through the woods.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom