- Location
- Seattle WA
cabling 2 stems less than 3 ft apart
- Thread starter Kathy_Holzer
- Start date
- Location
- Seattle WA
- Location
- Seattle WA
- Location
- Seattle WA
- Location
- Seattle WA
sure was quick and clean to install, and lots less crap to haul into the tree than the old-style pigtails etc. feels pretty good to not have made holes in the tree too. i can sure imagine doing a lot more cables if i don't have to weigh the cons (drilling holes) against the gain. thanks for all the ideas guys.
k.
k.
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
Nice job! The tree is thanking you for not poking holes too.
I like to cover the whole eye with the fabric tubing. Then bunch up some extra on the side where the splice is made to allow for growth.
Glen will probably resize the pics
If you decrease the size to about 500x400 pixels and decrease the pixel count to about 70 they'll fit the window better. The we don't have to scroll around the screen to see the setup. You should be able to go back and edit if you care to.
I like to cover the whole eye with the fabric tubing. Then bunch up some extra on the side where the splice is made to allow for growth.
Glen will probably resize the pics
If you decrease the size to about 500x400 pixels and decrease the pixel count to about 70 they'll fit the window better. The we don't have to scroll around the screen to see the setup. You should be able to go back and edit if you care to.
- Location
- Boulder County, CO.
KC guy,
These were cables placed at the right height, approx. 2/3'rds up. It wasn't tension that caused them to fail, so additional cables higher up wouldn't have made a difference, I don't think. I think it was the constant flexing aver a short span that fatigued the metal. Three or four cables out of more than 500 installed failed in the cables themselves, all of them short (<3 feet). Many other cables across wider spans held much greater loads than these did, so, again, I don't think it was the tensile force that did it.
These were cables placed at the right height, approx. 2/3'rds up. It wasn't tension that caused them to fail, so additional cables higher up wouldn't have made a difference, I don't think. I think it was the constant flexing aver a short span that fatigued the metal. Three or four cables out of more than 500 installed failed in the cables themselves, all of them short (<3 feet). Many other cables across wider spans held much greater loads than these did, so, again, I don't think it was the tensile force that did it.
- Location
- Berlin, Germany
Nice pic, i can see why you wanted to cable it.
I´m really glad you chose Cobra. It´s so nice to the tree! Love to trees, love to trees.
Why don´t you show some nice pics of your lovely handiwork itself, ie. the cables? That would be much better.
In waiting,
Ady-Tree-Lover
I´m really glad you chose Cobra. It´s so nice to the tree! Love to trees, love to trees.
Why don´t you show some nice pics of your lovely handiwork itself, ie. the cables? That would be much better.
In waiting,
Ady-Tree-Lover
- Location
- Berlin, Germany
Sorry, I´m stupid! Somehow I didn´t see all of the photos that were already there!
I´m really glad you were nice to the tree.
Some constructive critique? May I? In the name of a good world arboriculture I shall proceed with my positive criticism...
You don´t have the dildo in there (I realise that could be understood the wrong way. Please, nobody take this last sentence out of context. Thankyou.)
The dildo is really important, because the actuall elasticity of the cable is pretty low (just a few percent, and then only under sufficient force), but the didlo allows 20 cm of movement regardless of length of cable, which is an excellent idea which the other dynamic cabling people companies don´t use, thus making Cobra, in my opinion, better than the others.
You don´t have the dildo in there.
Not only that, but you don´t have much slack at all.
Obvious concern - will the two stems actually be allowed to move dynamically?
I think you could have fitted a dildo in there (ok, perhaps this isn´t so constructive, because the jobs done now, and well done you), but perhaps for the future?
If you can´t fit one in then just cut it a little bit or use something else, I mean the principle is the cool thing here, so theoretically you can use anything which flattens under tension, because that is what happens with the dildo, thus allowing the cable to become longer.
Long live dynamic cabling systems,
Tree-Love-Peace
I´m really glad you were nice to the tree.
Some constructive critique? May I? In the name of a good world arboriculture I shall proceed with my positive criticism...
You don´t have the dildo in there (I realise that could be understood the wrong way. Please, nobody take this last sentence out of context. Thankyou.)
The dildo is really important, because the actuall elasticity of the cable is pretty low (just a few percent, and then only under sufficient force), but the didlo allows 20 cm of movement regardless of length of cable, which is an excellent idea which the other dynamic cabling people companies don´t use, thus making Cobra, in my opinion, better than the others.
You don´t have the dildo in there.
Not only that, but you don´t have much slack at all.
Obvious concern - will the two stems actually be allowed to move dynamically?
I think you could have fitted a dildo in there (ok, perhaps this isn´t so constructive, because the jobs done now, and well done you), but perhaps for the future?
If you can´t fit one in then just cut it a little bit or use something else, I mean the principle is the cool thing here, so theoretically you can use anything which flattens under tension, because that is what happens with the dildo, thus allowing the cable to become longer.
Long live dynamic cabling systems,
Tree-Love-Peace
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
When using Cobra for short spans I opted not to use the shock absorber. The installations I did were in thin tops that would have lots of movement. The point of installing the loop in these cases was to only limit the movement in one direction, perpendicular to the included union. The tree could rotate and flex in every other direction.
When I pull on the ends of the shock absorber it takes X amount of pull. If I were to put an equal amount of pull on the place where the Cobra was installed the tree would move quite a bit. Since wood fibers are pretty flexible in themselves I don't feel that I'm comprimising the system a bit.
At one time I tried to make a shorter shock absorber by taking a shock absorber and cutting it into two pieces. Then I tried to shape a taper on the end with no luck.
Someone told me about break tests that were done with Cobra using the shock absorbers. The cables broke at the end of the tapered shock absorber, not the eye splice. This shows where the weak point is in the system. Trying to use a shock absorber with a non-factory taper will put much more load on the fibers and more likely to cause a failure.
Just my opinions from observation and conversation...
When I pull on the ends of the shock absorber it takes X amount of pull. If I were to put an equal amount of pull on the place where the Cobra was installed the tree would move quite a bit. Since wood fibers are pretty flexible in themselves I don't feel that I'm comprimising the system a bit.
At one time I tried to make a shorter shock absorber by taking a shock absorber and cutting it into two pieces. Then I tried to shape a taper on the end with no luck.
Someone told me about break tests that were done with Cobra using the shock absorbers. The cables broke at the end of the tapered shock absorber, not the eye splice. This shows where the weak point is in the system. Trying to use a shock absorber with a non-factory taper will put much more load on the fibers and more likely to cause a failure.
Just my opinions from observation and conversation...
- Location
- Seattle WA
hey adrian,
thanks for the feedback. i myself was a little concerned i hadn't left enough slack, though i think there is more than it looks like. as for the rubber insert, there wasn't enough room in this cable job to even have the recommended "bury" of the splices, so there was definitely no room to spare for any insert. i did talk to sherrill's cobra "expert" who said it was preferable to install the insert but ok to do a cable w/o one in a short span. my thought was: better this than an invasive cable (hand-spliced), a home made cable of unknown strength, or no cable at all.
i guess the tree will tell us in the long run, and you can bet i will keep an eye on this one.
k.
thanks for the feedback. i myself was a little concerned i hadn't left enough slack, though i think there is more than it looks like. as for the rubber insert, there wasn't enough room in this cable job to even have the recommended "bury" of the splices, so there was definitely no room to spare for any insert. i did talk to sherrill's cobra "expert" who said it was preferable to install the insert but ok to do a cable w/o one in a short span. my thought was: better this than an invasive cable (hand-spliced), a home made cable of unknown strength, or no cable at all.
i guess the tree will tell us in the long run, and you can bet i will keep an eye on this one.
k.
Mangoes
Participating member
- Location
- Greater Toronto Area
Mangoes
Participating member
- Location
- Greater Toronto Area
- Location
- Lexington, KY- USA
I would like to try the cobra system. It sounds like a good idea but my employer is "old-school" and will not stray from the 7 strand steel cable, eye bolt, thimble, and cable clamps.
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
You use 7 strand and cable clamps? Why not a splice? I think that it would be stronger. It's cheaper, free, I know that
- Location
- Berlin, Germany
No worries. Totally agree with your thought about it being better than an invasive cabling systwm. "Shock absorber" was of course the word I was looking for. Where are you doing your cabling anyway? I´m guessing you´re in the states. I´m in Berlin.
Adrian
Adrian
- Location
- Seattle WA
adrian,
i live in seattle, the pacific northwest.
k.
i live in seattle, the pacific northwest.
k.
Raven
Branched out member
- Location
- Northwoods
Nice thread guys. Tom D rocks! Hey Mangoes-that's alotta wire, must love their tree huh? With a system like that it musta been almost fallin' apart.
Mangoes
Participating member
- Location
- Greater Toronto Area
The house was built in the 1860's, homeowner swore the tree was planted then, my guess would be around the turn of the century, regardless he didn't want anymore limbs lost.
Y'all didn't notice the cabling in barefeet though.
Y'all didn't notice the cabling in barefeet though.
Yeah? How's that work for footlocking?
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