Aerial Friction Brake Discontinued

evo · Dec 9, 2019

JeffGu said:
...can't we all just get along?

View attachment 63933

I prefer human shields.

Serenitree · Dec 10, 2019

Tom Dunlap said:
@Serenitree

Are you still listening?

The BMS Belay Spool is available. Not expensive either. Compare the specs between the two devices. Would you hold Ford responsible for loading an F150 with an F350-esque load?

There isn't a conspiracy behind everything. Your thread title is inflammatory and misleading. From what I've gathered from this thread and off-line communication the AFB is off the market for two reasons...damage from overloading, hardly the fault of Treestuff/Notch...and low sales.

Have you gotten more information from Wesspur?

I think there’s a good argument for what you’re saying, I did edit the title of the thread, I still feel it’s important that the conversation is open. I don’t think it’s necessarily open and shut because of the statement that the afb was discontinued due to sales. I think it is telling that none of the people who got their refunds or replacement with a broken bollard has started a thread before about it.

I stopped getting emails about this thread for some reason which is why I stopped replying not to intentionally leave a misleading title or something of that nature.

eyehearttrees · Mar 31, 2020

Serenitree said:
I think there’s a good argument for what you’re saying, I did edit the title of the thread, I still feel it’s important that the conversation is open. I don’t think it’s necessarily open and shut because of the statement that the afb was discontinued due to sales. I think it is telling that none of the people who got their refunds or replacement with a broken bollard has started a thread before about it.

I stopped getting emails about this thread for some reason which is why I stopped replying not to intentionally leave a misleading title or something of that nature.

Gotta say I just don't see validity in designs like the AFB or the RigWrench, seems silly to make rigging gear w/ such low ABS I mean even if you're like "OK I'm going to be super gentle with it" the reality is most are doing rigging-math atrociously and, when you're using such low-ABS gear, over-load failure accidents are BOUND to occur, blew my mind seeing a rope-wrench being sold for rigging (and the AFB as well)

Wish Sherrill would sell the Safebloc at a reasonable price, if you've got a Porty, some ringed-slings and a Safebloc you can handle SO much and the kit is small and cheap (especially if you don't over-pay for simple TEC splices or over-priced rings, for instance Elevation Canada has pairs of XL's for $75 shipped, TEC is $1.50/ft, for a couple hundred you can make multiple terminal anchors (double-XL-ringed slings), if you're lucky like me to find a loose Safebloc at a discount then even better (my 9' TEC safebloc whoopie was <$100 all-in, maybe $90ish, but got the Safebloc for $65 a hard feat now that Sherrill/Treehouse are holding it back w/ that absurd $130 MSRP)

Have you already chosen a new setup? Would be curious to hear specs about it! I'm new to heavier rigging but have definitely found my tastes favor:
- Safebloc at terminal position whenever possible,
- 5/8 bull rope as default (I use polydyne, wouldn't use anything else except Atlas or maybe Nystron) and
- extra ring-anchors when appropriate, both for equalizing/spreading-loads as well as "building-in-brakes", they say "low friction" but if you add 3 XL ring-slings in the canopy I promise it'll feel like 50-100% of a bollard on a Porty

This ^ type of setup is absurdly strong, versatile, it minimizes peak-forces excellently and, since I get my cordage from Wesspur's Clearance section (odd-lengths) and splice myself, was able to setup a full heavy duty kit for around $500 (am not even experienced enough to use the kit to its potential but hope to by end of year, at any rate w/ rigging a verrrrrry good general guideline is "over-build" and be redundant, rigging strong setups is relatively simple, the equipment is simple & affordable, but sadly the AFB(or RigWrench) are inappropriate for this category IMO (especially at their prices....how somebody sees an AFB alongside a Safebloc and chooses the former, I will never understand! Safeblocs are epic I can't wait til their adoption is more widespread, looking @you Sherrill/'notch'/treestuff!!!)

cerviarborist · Mar 31, 2020

Overloads are only "bound to occur" if you either 1. Suck at basic math, or 2. Never follow instructions or 3. 1 & 2. If you use a screwdriver to drive nails.. you're going to have an incident. If you use a hammer to run screws.. same same. If an end user is too ignorant to pay attention to or to observe and follow specifications and limits on usage, It's not the designer/manufacturers issue.

Personally I don't like the notion that Home Depot would stop selling hammers because too many people are hurting themselves trying to run screws with them.

Steve Connally · Mar 31, 2020

cerviarborist said:
Overloads are only "bound to occur" if you either 1. Suck at basic math, or 2. Never follow instructions or 3. 1 & 2. If you use a screwdriver to drive nails.. you're going to have an incident. If you use a hammer to run screws.. same same. If an end user is too ignorant to pay attention to or to observe and follow specifications and limits on usage, It's not the designer/manufacturers issue.

Personally I don't like the notion that Home Depot would stop selling hammers because too many people are hurting themselves trying to run screws with them.

So well put. Should I be putting 3 large rings and a small tree I need to rig out with 1/2 line? Maybe i'm missing something because i've done plenty of work with the rig-n-wrench and the AFB. All tools have a place.

Tom Dunlap · Mar 31, 2020

Too many people don't wear seatbelts which leads to terrible consequences.

cerviarborist · Mar 31, 2020

Tom Dunlap said:
Too many people don't wear seatbelts which leads to terrible consequences.

That's why from now on, I'm only accepting assignments within walking distance. In a related matter, I'm preparing to write a business guide "How to Make a Small Fortune in Arboriculture (Start with a Large Fortune)"

JeffGu · Apr 1, 2020

eyehearttrees said:
...when you're using such low-ABS gear, over-load failure accidents are BOUND to occur...

I'm not sure what planet you live on, where you can judge the weight of large logs better than you can small ones, and where impact forces on large heavy objects are less severe than on smaller, lighter ones... but never once have I broken a Rig 'N Wrench or an AFB. In fact, most of the time I'm just holding the rope and letting it flow through my hand, only applying any additional friction if the load is moving faster than I expected. I spend more time flicking the rope to get the load moving than I do trying to stop it from moving.

If you think that all tree rigging is taking the biggest, heaviest pieces you possibly can and hollering "Holy shit!" when you see the craters in the lawn, then by all means avoid light rigging gear at all costs and spend the money on better/more liability insurance. You'll need it.