Bulldog Bone preparations for Japan

SoftBankHawks

SoftBankHawks

Branched out member
Location
Japan
ODSK have been preparing for the import of Gordon's Compact Bulldog Bone and have recently created an article and two videos. Those of you that have experience with one Bone this may be of interest as it focuses on the use of two. There is also general information for those with no experience of it.
Article
http://www.works-odsk.jp/original74.html?mode=pc
Explanation video
Climbing video
 
RopeShield said:
At around 1:00 it doesn't grab?
Please explain.
It looks as though it will require constant attention.
Click to expand...
Thomas, what you witnessed is something I've never experienced aloft with the proper bollard size for the rope.

All that is required is the weight of the climber. The lower friction bollard is activated by pulling down from the attachment point. If that point is pushed upwards, it will release the system, even with the proper bollard size.

That being said, any fall or mishap on behalf of the climber will be arrested by the Bone, reliably and consistently.
 
Paul, nice job with the video footage and a great song selection. You truly make me laugh!

Good on you, also, for describing proper use of a Delta Link with Spacers for the twin system. That is crucial information.
 
Dem Bones. Very nice videos you have made Paul, thank you. I have always thought the Bone looked like a small climber using his arms and legs to climb the rope, but your doubled Bone looks like a standing man figure, very neat.
I think you will like my new BOLA also, and could likely use it in your two rope system for work positioning with those same ropes, with one side SRT and the other side a long lanyard used DdRT.
 
I appreciate all of the effort it takes to produce a video, but I have to say that I find the background music really distracting. The man in the video (is that you, SoftBankHawks, or someone you know, with you behind the camera?) is a fairly soft spoken guy, and I for one would just prefer to hear what he is saying without having to strain to get past the background music. I feel the same way about both videos. The content of the video is interesting enough to stand on its own.

Sorry if this seems like a downer. I just get a bit frustrated when I see a guy with so much to teach, with all of the subtlety involved, and his message is being blocked by a soundtrack that I find irritating.

I do appreciate your efforts, though.

Tim
 
RopeShield said:
At around 1:00 it doesn't grab?
Please explain.
It looks as though it will require constant attention.
Click to expand...
In the second video at 11 minutes you can see the Tachyon Bone set itself. It's a little like the Wrench, you can choose to set it upways for no slop or just sit into it but it will need a little downward motion to set.
 
TimBr said:
I appreciate all of the effort it takes to produce a video, but I have to say that I find the background music really distracting. The man in the video (is that you, SoftBankHawks, or someone you know, with you behind the camera?) is a fairly soft spoken guy, and I for one would just prefer to hear what he is saying without having to strain to get past the background music. I feel the same way about both videos. The content of the video is interesting enough to stand on its own.

Sorry if this seems like a downer. I just get a bit frustrated when I see a guy with so much to teach, with all of the subtlety involved, and his message is being blocked by a soundtrack that I find irritating.

I do appreciate your efforts, though.

Tim
Click to expand...
Hi Tim,
I know what you mean, ODSK make the videos, I just embarras myself by being in them. I'll mention it to them.
 
Sorry your answers failed to inspire greater confidence.
OK rewatched it several times.
Looks like it is levered into an open position
And needs to be manually reset to grab.
And other times sets and grabs reliably .
Bit of a design flaw. Possibly component reduncies I suspect.
 
RopeShield said:
Sorry your answers failed to inspire greater confidence.
OK rewatched it several times.
Looks like it is levered into an open position
And needs to be manually reset to grab.
And other times sets and grabs reliably .
Bit of a design flaw. Possibly component reduncies I suspect.
Click to expand...
The only time it has not grabbed reliably for me in over a year of constant use is when the rope diameter and bollard size are mismatched. I have never had to manually reset the bdb.

Funny things happen with any device on a short length of rope that's been having the up/down over and over.

Also, it doesn't grab instantly, then he lifts it up and appears to hold it collapsed to bring it down the rope for a better view. When he pulls it all the way down the rope it was being manipulated to do so I believe. Not just free sliding collapsed.

I say again, I have been using this thing on a daily basis longer than just about anybody and never had an issue with it grabbing. I say all this, not to dismiss your observation, but to explain the mechanics of what I saw as an experienced user of the device.
 
RopeShield said:
Sorry your answers failed to inspire greater confidence.
OK rewatched it several times.
Looks like it is levered into an open position
And needs to be manually reset to grab.
And other times sets and grabs reliably .
Bit of a design flaw. Possibly component reduncies I suspect.
Click to expand...

Know exactly what you are getting at RopeShield as I myself went through the exact same thought process' as you, even as I held the Bulldog Bone in my hand putting it up and down the rope (just as Paul is doing in the video).

The Bulldog Bone is amazing, and it will grab reliably every time - provided you have it set up with the right bollard size for your climbing weight on your designated rope.

I've been thinking for quite some time on just 'how' the Bulldog Bone works - of course, I still don't fully understand it - but here is my best shot at explaining what I know so far;

I think of the lower (and upper) arm as a sort of Teeter Totter (or See-saw) that only truly 'grabs' the rope when you have weight on it; it is this combined with the 'pulling down' motion on the back of the upper arm at the same time that makes the bone work. Crucially - when this happens - two friction 'bends' are created in the rope by the angle that the rope goes through the 'chain link pins' as the orientation of the arms change, ie - go down on one side - the climbers side. When you look at this motion in reverse - ie, when you 'lift' the bone by the back (or scruff of the neck... :)) when you are ascending the line - the arms are tipped the opposite way and the 'chain link pins' are oriented 'flatter' - allowing the rope to 'flow' through as smoothly as possible.

It's hard to take footage of the Bone working with your weight on it - as most videos would be a view down on top of the bone (into the climbers crotch) - not the best camera angle.

I have had so many doubts about this device before I got it, and I still don't fully understand it - though it is amazing, and I love it. I didn't believe it, until I was climbing on it myself - and I'm still finding it hard to believe.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom