Advice on Solo Removals

Dan Cobb

Dan Cobb

Been here a while
Location
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I do tree work occasionally for friends and neighbors. It's always a one man show. One of the last removals I did was a 70 ft/14" pine leaning over a privacy fence into a backyard, towards the house, above shrubs. While it went fine, cutting up pieces small enough to throw to a clear zone or rappelling alongside larger pieces while lowering them from a figure 8 anchored just below the cut (so I could keep them off the shrubs as they got to the ground), taking the tops out seems hard when solo. I rigged the tops to the trunk thru a figure 8 with little slack, then leave some slack in the lower line after the 8 before securing the line so it can be released under load. This lets the tops run a bit before stopping, but still gives a fair jolt. I just don't have a 3rd hand to control the lower line while making the cut, as it's usually not one I want to one-hand. I then cut the top into pieces I can throw down while it's hanging alongside the trunk. Is there a better way? It seems like most techniques require a ground man. Had no place for a speedline and not sure that would be much better. I have lots of vertical caving and technical rescue equipment, but no spikes.
 
Doing tree work for friends? Hopefully they are enough of a friend to recognize the increased safety for you in hiring a second person to be your helper. Or being that helper.

I’ve used the client as a groundie dozens of times, it requires being a good teacher. I’ve taught a 90lb person who’d never done any tree work to lower pieces with a Portawrap, by 1pm that day she was lowering 3-400lb trunk wood no problem. You can get a sense of your friend/neighbor/client and know in an instant whether that’s something they can do or not.

Remember theres only one Dan Cobb, and he needs to get home safe, every time!
 
I like to use your technique for deadwood thats too big to send down on a prune. Here's an old post listing the other options that I use. Post in thread '*Solo rigging* Whatcha using? Swivel Bail Shackle and similar methods/?' https://www.treebuzz.com/forum/thre...shackle-and-similar-methods.39297/post-584376

Recently I've started cutting into the collar on pine limbs, then stowing the saw and throwing the limb. If a piece is too hard to break off, you can pull it horizontal across the curve of the trunk to leverage the fibers into breaking.
On this technique I really like to face the direction that the brush will be dragged out and drop the limbs in two piles, one to the left and one to the right with all the buts facing forward. Of course this is harder if you have to throw away from an obstacle.
 
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Double-whip tackle lowering with slings/biner.

Natural- crotch rigging instead of F8.

You can take wraps on a stub to "lock" the rope in place, descending on a safe side, then flicking wraps off to "unlock" the natural-crotch friction.

Mid- line attachments for rigged limbs, and multiple lowering ropes.

Top-side slack adjustment for speed lines.
Terminate the speed line up a tree, rather than ground level, if helpful.

Just did a 36" x 140'+ doug- fir before Christmas.

No subcommittee meetings.
 
southsoundtree said:
Double-whip tackle lowering with slings/biner.

Natural- crotch rigging instead of F8.

You can take wraps on a stub to "lock" the rope in place, descending on a safe side, then flicking wraps off to "unlock" the natural-crotch friction.

Mid- line attachments for rigged limbs, and multiple lowering ropes.

Top-side slack adjustment for speed lines.
Terminate the speed line up a tree, rather than ground level, if helpful.

Just did a 36" x 140'+ doug- fir before Christmas.

No subcommittee meetings.
Click to expand...
Thanks for mentioning DWT. I've done some branch lifts, running the line to the ground (using pulleys as required) and setting up a haul system. If it's much weight, I usually use a Z-rig, pulling it with a 4:1 for 12:1. Adding a pulley on the branch sounds good for branches just a little too heavy to handle without some M.A.
Not sure about just using a natural crotch for my friction device; seems like that would tend to wear out ropes more quickly. I do like leaving a few stubs for wrapping a lowering line.
I have a couple of 300 ft ropes, so I can use those for doing multiple lowers with the same line. We don't have super tall trees in my area.
 
Dan Cobb said:
Not sure about just using a natural crotch for my friction device; seems like that would tend to wear out ropes more quickly.
Click to expand...
This is a good technique to grab the appropriate rope for. 16 strand, 12 strand, and 3 strand work well for this technique good, better, best in that order. Personally I don't keep a 3 strand on the truck because the 12 and 16 work so much better than the 3 strand in blocks, pulleys and porta wraps making them better option for more situations.
 
Jehinten said:
This is a good technique to grab the appropriate rope for. 16 strand, 12 strand, and 3 strand work well for this technique good, better, best in that order. Personally I don't keep a 3 strand on the truck because the 12 and 16 work so much better than the 3 strand in blocks, pulleys and porta wraps making them better option for more situations.
Click to expand...
I have lots of 7/16" PMI static kernmantle rope, >2000 ft total, so that's what I've been using. I'll have to start charging more if I start buying new stuff regularly. I'm considering some steel Geckos and a rope wrench as next purchases. Hard to justify spending a lot on new gear since I don't do tree work regularly. And being 58, I may not do it for that many more years.
 
The will make more ropes.

Don't worry about wear.

It's like truck brakes, don't abuse them, use them for work, get new ones.

Tree-master and True Blue have good stretch when employed appropriately.

Let the wood fiber work for you, easing 'the work' into your rope rigging system.

Recoates channel on Youtube...skilled veteran treeman who likes to one-man band it.



P.S. if you send down (arbitrarily) 3 bundles on a rope in the same direction, and don't have enough for the 4th to go the same direction to the ground, you can tie it on the tail, and get it part way to the ground, counterweight by the first 3.

Exit safely.
Retain mindfulness of what is holding what. Analyze, release, and lower.




If in doubt, Don't.





I often find I can land limbs with swing and timing that would be more difficult with a ground worker helping.

Only having to do one person's job is less mentally fatiguing.
Having a trained, pro ground worker can gold... and like gold, hard to find.



Check out the O.L.D.S. thread, started by @Tom Dunlap , back in the day.
 
Dan Cobb said:
I have lots of 7/16" PMI static kernmantle rope, >2000 ft total, so that's what I've been using. I'll have to start charging more if I start buying new stuff regularly. I'm considering some steel Geckos and a rope wrench as next purchases. Hard to justify spending a lot on new gear since I don't do tree work regularly. And being 58, I may not do it for that many more years.
Click to expand...
Look into threads on 10mm and the rope wrench. I like the rig n wrench but cannot remember if 7/16 is compatible with it. I believe its equivalent to 10mm.

As for ropes, true blue is a great natural crotch rigging rope that's fairly inexpensive and has great hand. Of all my rigging ropes its the one I reach for most often.

Natural crotch is great on removals but can cause damage to the tree on pruning. With the exception of deadwood and structural defects I try to remove a small enough amount that no rigging is required but the occasional light limb lowered slowly would be fine.

Your current rope can be used in the same manner as true blue, but may not hold up as well. Also
 
Jehinten said:
Look into threads on 10mm and the rope wrench. I like the rig n wrench but cannot remember if 7/16 is compatible with it. I believe its equivalent to 10mm.

As for ropes, true blue is a great natural crotch rigging rope that's fairly inexpensive and has great hand. Of all my rigging ropes its the one I reach for most often.

Natural crotch is great on removals but can cause damage to the tree on pruning. With the exception of deadwood and structural defects I try to remove a small enough amount that no rigging is required but the occasional light limb lowered slowly would be fine.

Your current rope can be used in the same manner as true blue, but may not hold up as well. Also
Click to expand...
I’ve used Cherry Bomb/Blue Craze with a Rope Wrench for about ten years, and that’s a 7/16” (11.2 mm) rope. It’s worked great for me all those years.
 
Ropewalkers with a Rope Wrench/ Hitchhiker/Akimbo/ etc, are key to spurless SRT, IMO.

Full on leg- propulsion(or at least 85%)!




Spurs make things so easy compared to no-spurs on the large majority of removal work.
 
southsoundtree said:
Double-whip tackle lowering with slings/biner.

Natural- crotch rigging instead of F8.

You can take wraps on a stub to "lock" the rope in place, descending on a safe side, then flicking wraps off to "unlock" the natural-crotch friction.

Mid- line attachments for rigged limbs, and multiple lowering ropes.

Top-side slack adjustment for speed lines.
Terminate the speed line up a tree, rather than ground level, if helpful.

Just did a 36" x 140'+ doug- fir before Christmas.

No subcommittee meetings.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Taking wraps on stubs can work well ... with just the right number and types of wrap the piece can run a bit to avoid shock loading the line
 
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