Little tricks

I was conversating with some blokes at arbtalk concerning a big Sequoia removal that an extremely talented italian climber recently did. He was forced to cut tater chips when he got down into some very big wood, and I suggested this was the perfect time for the old “teeter totter with some wedges trick”. Much to my surprise no one knew what’s the fuck I was talking about. So simple, or why didn’t I think of that was their response when I described this simple little trick.

I imagine many of you already know this cave man simple technique, but for those who don’t i figured I would share it with you.

You cut horizontally until the wood begins to sit on your saw fairly hard, which is always well beyond the center line. You then tap a wedge in right behind your bar near your tip, and set another wedge right behind the bar near your power head. First you have just lifted the wood off your bar. Since you wedges are past the centerline you have more importantly just created a teeter totter effect which will allow the heavier weight of the wood behind the wedges to simply lift the wood of your bar as you finish your cut. Like butter.

I learned this trick many many years ago, but it continues to be one of my most valued tools in the tool box. I use this cut when cutting tator chips in big wood, flushing off bigger stumps, picking big vertical logs, or anytime I am in vertical/ near vertical wood, and simply want to cut straight through without worry of a pinched bar, or needing to pull my saw and make another connecting cut.
 
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Don't you have more leverage banging in the wedge right from the top?
Its not about the leverage Kevin, but the teeter totter effect you have created with the wedges being set beyond the balancing point. You simply plow though the wood, and at the end of your cut the wood literally lifts off your bar. An added bonus is that when using it to cut tator chips off a spar, or flush off a big stump, it make sliding the wood off the spar/stump so much easier as you no longer have the surface area of both sides of the cut rubbing against each other. Hope that all makes sense.
 
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But there are uses of the clove that the pile just won't perform.

@TallTreeClimber

Like?

To attach a throwline to a rope in the winter...or with gloves...I know that the clove won't work.

Not intending to argue...based on years of clove hitch use then many more years of using the pile hitch. I learned it from Jeff Jepson while he was writing The Tree Climbers Companion. There's a fun story of how he found the pile hitch and included it in TTCC
 
I cut a 5" plastic wedge in half, lengthwise on a bandsaw and keep it in my ditty bag. Not really a groundbreaking trick I know but takes up less space.
Funny how often I use now that I got it with me in the tree already. Had to reduce my habit of pushing the chunk up with one hand and running the saw with the other hand.

As simple as it seems, my ditty bag might be the most useful accessory I've bought in the last 5 years. Quick access to the tourniquet too, just in case. Best 14$ I ever spent.
https://www.gaparboristsupply.com/shop/product/weaver-ditty-bag-with-first-aid-pouch/

29306-004-0032907_m.webp
 
I like that in tree, especially for even earlier kerf close /support on horizontal trims etc.
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Tried in top hop type close , but to get hop seems needs speed of slam input, so sometimes went opposite direction an d double kerf, trim rear sides for faster saw/less resistance on finale.
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Semi truck tire changing spoon fits in kerf of climbing saw back cuts for in tree lever, kinda heavy to always carry tho. Can flex hinge over earlier sometimes , or tilt over heavy chunk onto Humboldt slide for friction and more controlled chunk drops.
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With our tall palms and then dead, stripped trees down here, this worked very well,
Also doesn't necessitate feeding pull line up to point of thowline
>>so throw line point can be much weaker point, just tool to load pull line lower on strong part of tree.
Simply use throw line to pull rope up, and also to keep Bowline open, sometimes stepping Bowline over small stobs etc. Before allowing Bowline to close tight.
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throwline_no_branches.png
I wonder if a variation of the Honda knot wouldn't be a good choice for this trick. Instead of a slipknot and an overhand maybe use a reverse fishermans loop (tail can slip out) with a spiked alpine butterfly as the stopper.
 
I put the wedges in a bit earlier, from both sides, basically as soon as I'm as deep as I need to be, before noticeable bind. 8" wedges, maybe 10". Basically, just try not to have to unnecessarily reposition to reach the far side.

Maybe, Rico is reaching around from the uncut side, due to size of wood, rather than the side of the cut was started on, IDK. Just whatever has economy of motion.

The plastic makes a sliding surface for the round to come off the spar more easily.
Wesspur sells the DK Slider. August Hunicke has piece of teflon or something.

I've thought of a 3/8" or so (kerf-width) dowel on a string as a tetter-totter/ roller combo that is cheap and saw-friendly. I can't think of the last tree I chunked down in rounds, though. A lot of PNW climbers chunk firewood rounds, I hear.
 
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I put the wedges in a bit earlier, from both sides, basically as soon as I'm as deep as I need to be, before noticeable bind. 8' wedges, maybe 10'. Basically, just try not to have to unnecessarily reposition to reach the far side.

Maybe, Rico is reaching around from the uncut side, due to size of wood, rather than the side of the cut was started on, IDK. Just whatever has economy of motion.

The plastic makes a sliding surface for the round to come off the spar more easily.
Wesspur sells the DK Slider. August Hunicke has piece of teflon or something.

I've thought of a 3/8" or so (kerf-width) dowel on a string as a tetter-totter/ roller combo that is cheap and saw-friendly. I can't think of the last tree I chunked down in rounds, though. A lot of PNW climbers chunk firewood rounds, I hear.

Rounds all day .... if it’s in the backyard and he’s to get moved to the front and chipped, I’ll round down 100’ trees all day so that myself and 2 ground guys maintain a nice flow
 
I try to keep things as big as possible for machine handling and big-saw cutting, and spend as little time as possible standing in spurs on a spar, with the smallest saw I can reasonably manage, as I'm making fewer cuts, and will double-cut as needed to keep the ground crew working on ground stuff.

If I were to be rounding-down trees, I'd look in to spur platforms.
 
I try to keep things as big as possible for machine handling and big-saw cutting, and spend as little time as possible standing in spurs on a spar, with the smallest saw I can reasonably manage, as I'm making fewer cuts, and will double-cut as needed to keep the ground crew working on ground stuff.

If I were to be rounding-down trees, I'd look in to spur platforms.

We get into a lot of tight quarters here where machine access isn't necessarily possible .. it's also common for me to do this so the ground guys can start the cleanup on the rest of the property if we're leaving firewood on site.

My Pfanner Zermatts are comfy on spurs all day ... maybe I'm acclimatized. Maybe it's because I'm 24.
 
I try to keep things as big as possible for machine handling and big-saw cutting, and spend as little time as possible standing in spurs on a spar, with the smallest saw I can reasonably manage, as I'm making fewer cuts, and will double-cut as needed to keep the ground crew working on ground stuff.

If I were to be rounding-down trees, I'd look in to spur platforms.
I tend to do just the opposite by making myself stand in spur longer than necessary, packing the heaviest saw possible, and making as many cuts as I can. Fuck efficiency! Who needs it?
 
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i can't say enough about 'lost art' of sweating purchase/swigging.
>>To wrench the rope tighter by reverse strategy of pulling across the tensioned force column
The tighter the line trying to bend>>The less flexible the lever of rope
>>the higher the leveraged return
The same errant angle try to show in 'Clock Hitch' of pull across rope column/no teepee
>>that doesn't work as a support column
>>works as a wrench to tighten system
sweatingToss-Adkins.JPG


Bend the line to raise the tension, then snatch purchase of line thru the frictions to keep purchase.
>>Leaving less line on load side>>line is tighter and/or load moved
tie downs, every rig, into Porty, lock down input of 5:1 and bend to get last little pull into 5:1 etc.
Brion Toss tells swashbuckling tales of starving men on sea, unable to control sails as capstan handle was broken or washed overboard etc.
>>They'd sweat the line to power sails as shown or die
Sweat/Swig line is opposite yin/yang arguement to Pure Inline quest for support column function of rope.
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