Do you really want to know the answer to that question?.. seems like you have your mind made up. and certainly think you know what I "should" have done based on the limited info in the video.
The limb dropped so far because the overhead annchor point was at the same height as the tie off point. Thus the top was going to drop however many feet (I'd guess 12-15) the two points were away from each other.. You make a bad assumption in saying the lower line wasn't set up as well as it could have been.
Also another bad assumption in saying that is why so much deadwood fell. If you watch the video carefully you can see that the deadwood was off before the top dropped fully onto the rope. This was expected. If you listen carefully, you can hear me say on the very first scene (shooting the big shot) "the knot is on the bottom and its gonna want to roll to the top at some point". I was talking about the running bowline on the top. Because it was set up from the ground, the knot was on the belly, and it was bound o flip around at some point as the weight came onto the line. And the top of that tree was dead for some time and just hanging on as dead cherry does.
Again if you watch it closely the dead tops broke out early. The piece leaned into the adjacent limbs in the canopy, hung on for a second before the tops broke out. After the tops broke out the piece dropped into the rigging and then twisted slightly... So the dead top got slightly limb locked on the adjacent canopy and hung on til it broke out. Only then did the piece drop fully into the rigging.
So nothing you suggest below would have kept that deadwood from falling. It was apparent to me that it would be falling away from me, but you never know if a piece is gonna catch just wrong and get thrown back at you from the spring of the adjacent tree. I took the safe route and set up the cut with a remote trip becasue I could.
You might be one of the best at putting big wood on the ground, but your pre-conceptions, bad assumptions and analysis of the video are just as wrong as any weekend warrior or pimple faced kid on this site.
Bottom line is this was $770 low bid job and we were on site for 1 hour 45 min. Job was done safely. Stay in your box if that works for you..
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The small Cherry top was rigged and tied from the ground and was butt heavy . The limb was tied off till you had control of it , and your plan was to cut n bail and pull the limb . Why did the limb drop 5 to 10 feet before the rope caught it? that is why so much dead broke out . The top lowering line in the tree wasn't set up as well as it could have been . The piece was not that big , probally should ( could) have taken it a little bigger since you were pussing out on the cut anyway ( I mean edumakating safety with the runaway hinge cut) . You could( should) have hung a block correctly , pulled the limb snug , stayed with the cut and let it drop off smooth , maybe lower the but, nah , too easy ( very possible, on Planet Earth though) . That worked , just what you want to do with a dead top in a tree over a fence , shake it pull it yank it . Shake , pull and yank , you'll grow hair on your palms and go blind , thats what I've heard . Time for a cane and Palm comb ?
*** The SPY rigging , Shake -Pull- Yank , how's that sound for a rigging class , the title will be...
The Runaway Hinge Cut Incorporating SPY Rigging
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