blocking down wood safely

Yeah, horror stories blocking down a spar out of the safey alone. Once watched a fellow doing the same, and his safety caught on a stub that put it in line of the cut he was making. Oh, we were all yelling up to him to stop. Screaming and jumping up and down. Seems all was in vain, but he noticed our frantic motions on the ground and stopped to check what he was doing.

For years I use to block down spars out of the safety alone. Today I use a redundant safety or leave my climbline around the spar as I work my way down.

Got me to thinking about that just the other day while blocking down some second growth redwood. Climbline around the spar below my safety as a precaution. With the thought, "what good is it if there isn't a stub for the climbline to catch-ride on and use accordingly. Hmmm.

There are a number of ways to do it.

For years the best way,,, was to do the work while being suported by the climbline set in an adjacent tree, or spar. Easy to do here in my neck of the woods. The trees generally grow so close together.

In isolated trees?? Girth hitch a false crotch for the climbline? It will work sure enough!! And the thought has crossed my mind at times. Though I have ever yet to use it while working down the spar.

Though I have used just exactily that setup many times to rapple out of a single standing spar without a stub for the climbline to ride on.

Which brings to mind the question of why I never left a stub to tie-in to for that very reason.

The answer to that was often "any stub left below will surely cause problems when lowering the structure from above".

Seems no matter what you start talking about it always leads to something else. Sorry for that!

Jerry B
 
Jerry, it is quite common place for many climbers in the Uk to leave stubs on a stem when dismantling for just the reason you mentioned, techniques such as chockering the climbing line with karabiners, running bowlines or the use of adjustable friction savers are all techniques that are very new in the Uk, we have plenty of good climbers who utilise older techniques, that would take us onto another thread! Many will leave stubs not only for the reason of preventing your line from slipping down but also as a support when working on spikes to realieve any leg pressure they may experienence, some also leave them as a confidence booster rather than working on a complete naked spar. Pegs are often left to aid in the securing of rigging or tag lines to prevent the ropes from slipping or running down the section, and climbers will also stub trees to prevent there SCL from moving over the stem when snatching timber against the main trunk if there SCL is set above the pulley. One of the the tales that has come to me during training and talking to other climbers is the fact that when the section leaves the top of the tree the subsequent "snatch" force where the stem moves forth and back has had some climbers off there spikes and impact ribs etc on the stubs.
 
i always picture cutting through 1/2" lanyard with a handsaw if i had to, let alone a power saw. Another reason, i don't have an SCL, is without powertools, under tension (otherwise, i would jsut release it), should cut very well.

Well, i know it does, for a pole saw makes a fair, remote 'quick release' i found on occassion.
 
SCL.... Ah, Steel Core Lanyard. Had to check the context of the threads to figure it out. Got it now.

Talking to my groundman the other day about Steel Core Flip Lines. Charley White. He's an old tree topper from the days of big time logging around here. One of his many jobs was to climb, limb, top and rig spar poles. He said, "The chain saws in those days (40's) were too heavy and us climbers stilll used cross cuts and axes." I asked him if he ever hit his line with the axe. And he said he did once. Those falling axes are sharp man and and Charley hit his line and examined the damage. Oh baby, cut three strands out of six. Still had three and the core left. Charley said, "After that I was a lot more careful".

Charley is a great person. Getting near 80. Drags brush, tends lines, bucks and splits wood all day long. His stories are terrific. I love him.

Charley is quite impressed with all the new techniques we use today and says, "If I had all the things you guys use today way back then, my job would have been a whole lot easier".

Again, sorry for getting off the subject, but I couldn't let this one slip by.

Jerry B
 
Hello all

I'm a little new here and have been going through the replies to the different topics. Decided to put a little some thing in on this one.

I have little to offer in the way anything of a technical nature that hasn't been said as far as climb line and lanyard placement on the spar.

The one thing I have noticed is that in discussions such as this, no one ever mentions the importance of the chain saw itself in realation to safety.

When blocking down a spar wheather free falling the pieces, or using false crotch methods, this is no place for a saw that isn't 100%. A 100% saw is one that one that starts first pull after warm-up, no matter what the weather is like or how long it has been shut off. There is no room on the spar for a saw that is hard starting, chains that turn when the brake is off due to bad carb settings, grabby clutchs, inproper chain tension ect.ect.

The most important thing to me is not only does the saw have to be SHARP, but also has to cut straight and true with little or no effort on the part of the climber. Safety is compromised if a saw binds in the kerf, or cuts crooked due to improper sharpening, spread bar rails or maybe a slightly bent bar. All this is critical when it comes to blocking down the spar,especially when your standing on spurs, with a saw that has a bar length 24" and up.

Good line placement for safety, coupled with proper cutting tools and good rigging methods can make any technical removal a piece of cake, as well as a safe one. Provided the tree is safe to work on, but that is an other matter.

Another day
Another time

Ax-man
 
When I come down a spar, I always have my lanyard and my climbing line with friction saver. When ever I am making a cut, I always have both attached to me. My co-workers say it's time consuming. I say, oh well, it's safe and I make more than you guys, so go rake those leaves! Then they hit me with things. We have a good working relationship. I am also an advocate of leaving stubs. This is probably due to the fact that I don't wear spikes. Climbing up a spruce, I quickly plan out which branches to leave stubs on. Sometime, If I am roping the spar down, I have to cut stubs that are near my face, chest, or crotch. I fear having the spar wobble violently and having something destroyed by a stub. Always got to be looking out for those trees trying to get you!

love
nick
 
Gotta side with Tom on this one. You will learn in a few years as you gain experience. Just about everyone starts out by leaving stubs until they get enough ropes hung up or bounce enough chunks off them to quit leaving stubs. You will learn one day.
 
The fellow that is my Jedi Master-tree climber-mentor leaves stubs and has adjusted his work style to incorporate their use. Whenever I climb, I think of WWGD, What Would Gary Do?

I think it's more a matter of style than learning what is "right". That said, most climbers that I know, cut off stubs.

Tom
 
Yeah Nick, flush those off and put on a pair of T2s. You can put a block anywhere you need for lowering and what everyone else has said about some of the bad aspects of nubs are true to me. Besides, if you slip or get knocked around from one of the ground workers that you make fun of, those nubs will sting a bit!

I love the fact that you refuse to work off of a spar without both the lanyard and line. How else would you rappel in an emergency? Keep it up.

With the adjustable FC or a simple running bowline (or such) you no longer need those pesky nubs for tieing in either!
 
Personally I don't leave any stubs, to much gets caught up in them. On the other hand,a few stubs can help prevent a chunk from rolling when it hits the ground!


The 100% saw is a critical one that I never thought of. This work is hard enough, don't need a saw that doesn't cut, start, or run good!
 
Brian siad something about experience teaching you to remove stubs, but I think that if you can plan ahead and know where limbs will be falling, it may be to your advantage to leave a stub or two. I'm not talking aout stubs that will hold up lowered limbs or possibly injure the climber, I mean a few well placed stubs for later on in the removal as the climber works his way down.
Sometimes I cut stubs so they are at such an angle as not to hang up lowered limbs, but stick out enough to take a rest on during spar chunking. Like a proper prunning cut instead of a flush cut. Or, leave a small stub on the downhill side of spar to work off later.
When felling a spar, a nice sized stub can poke into the ground and make a hole in the yard. It might even break an underground service wire or dog fence. If you are responsible for yard repair and have called digger's hotline, a stub in just the right spot on the spar can make for a small deep rut, which is an easy lawn repair, compared to a 30 foot long dent in the lawn.
So, experience can be a good thing, just so you don't think it means you know it all. It can be frustrating for those of us who do know it all. Hehehehe...
 
To stub or not to stub that is the question?

I get rid of them unless I absoulutly need one for one reason or another. I recieved a puncture wound one time in the forearm. It really wasn't a stub that was made by a chainsaw, it was a jagged piece from a broken off piece of deadwood, that stck out 2-3 inches from the main stem.

All I was doing was reaching around the backside of the main stem to get a hand hold to move up, that darn thing stuck in me the forearm like it was a knife. Had to go to the hospital, five stiches to close it up. Didn't even know I did it till I looked at my arm, there was hardly any bleeding.

I prefer a stub free clean spar to fall, you can always put down a few cross pieces for the spar to fall on. If the spar is to be cut into smaller pieces once on the ground, it is easier to roll and manage if no stubs are present.

Also, stub free pieces are easier to load unto a truck, if space is an issue, you will save space on the truck with those annoying stubs cut off.

I'm not trying to change the subject here, but has any one out there ever heard or used the word stern in place of the word spar.

A spar is a round stout pole or mast of a ship.
A stern is the rear of any thing, as far as tree removal it is the last (rear) thing prior to the felling cut.
Just curious if any one else has ever come across this little tid bit.

Another day
Another time

Ax-man
 
I always try to remove all stubs for reasons everyone has said. One of the biggest is for handling once the climbing is done. We recycle all of our debris. If we have a bunch of stubs that is more handling of material.
 
Well, off the stub section and back to the flipline and climb line section.

I put my climbline under my flip for safety and cinch it up. However, I switch over to a Blake hitch when chunking down the trunk wood instaed of a Machard .I feel i grips better when I have it that close to the trunk or even somewhat wrapped around it a little .
 
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