crane work- balancing vs standing

LeviRockett said:
As opposed to using spider legs and what not to balance a crane pic I was taught to tip tie, or tip choke, the piece and use the crane to stand the piece up vertical than away she goes. Is there any specific reason to use one method or the other or is it six of these half a dozen of the others?
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This is what we usually do 99% of the time
 
For us it also depends mostly on the situation. If it's really tight where the chipper is set up we will lift pieces vertically so they can widdle off whatever is needed to handle the pick.

Spider legs do minimize movement which is especially important with dead limbs that are prone to fall apart.

There is a trade-off in time. We hardly ever dangle brush behind the chipper. If the spider rig is on, the pick is set down, not laid down. Then it's off to the next pick.

What is your average turn around time per pick? We usually average 10-15 minutes per pick on hardwoods even with the spider rig. Of course that's also using two climbers: a hooker and a cutter. On the same tree we may switch between the two methods several times.
 
As Stihlmadd alluded to, its tools in the bag. Like pick weight its as much about the drop zone as it is about the tree. Do we have the room to maneuver a balanced piece at the drop zone or will it be better to have it standing? Oft times we've removed lower limbs first to open up the view or access to the rest of the tree for the crane op. In those cases it is balanced, for the most part.

It's all about what's the most effective, efficient, safest, predictable way to go. I'll figure 15 mins/pick. Which is a consistent average for us.
 
Personally with a big crane I like to go smaller most of the time, so one choker. Did 6 90' 85-130cm dbh previously topped (very hairy) poplars last week. Used 60ton (jib and stinger) and our rear mount elevator. We were right a 1500# all day, and under 5min pick cycles. Could have gone bigger but cycle times slow down, 5 guys on the ground get swamped, crane has a harder time laying picks out so he's slower. Fewer groundies and I may have gone smaller. Plus keeping the picks smaller the operator doesn't get nervous and he's not afraid to throw the pick around once he owns it.
Smaller crane balance a pick out so the crane stays happy.
 
levi, sometimes using spider legs on pick you want to stand up helps. If you want to stand something up sometimes a spider leg will keep it from rolling while the crane is standing it up. More important if you are using a snap cut to stand it up cause if its not balanced correctly it can roll off the snap cut before it gets vertical.
 
JontreeHI said:
What about advanced techniques like complete inversion? This is best done with a largely oversized crane so that the shock load is minimized. Also, a point for safety, only use a dog leash on your saw if you are scared you might drop it.
:hueco:
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I was about to make a very similar comment to this one. Beat me to it.
 
One thing I have not seen mentioned spacifically yet is species. I find some species lend very well to standing the pieces up as they hinge very well, elm, Locust, and sometimes tulip poplar are good for this. Others I find I can not trust the hinge and dont even bother trying to stand them up, red oak and cottonwood are natorius for this.
That said, I prefer to balance as much as possible, but thats just my style and system. Also the crane op I use likes the pieces balanced more often than not as well, just for the fact he can use any breeze or other objects available to turn the piece. And the slings always wind up on top of the piece for easier landing (unless the rigging wasnt right).
A 2 man crew (1 climber 1 groundie) can balance all day long at 1500# per piece, start pushing out to 3000# and Ill come down to help cut and chip but we are still only 25 - 30 min. before Im hooked back up headed for the next piece.
 
Stihlmadd said:
it's more about time and place for me, have you heard the expression "horses for courses' I decide what to do based on the site requirements less about preferred "tried and true" technique doing the same every time, besides balancing is more fun :sorprendido3:
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Yeah I hate stuffing 20 pounds of shit in a 10 pound bag
 
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