Maasdam rope puller

I most often rig the Maasdam for a 2/1 MA. It gets the puller person away from the drop zone plus gives it more pull. My main Maasdam rope is only 100ft. long but my 5/8 ropes are 150ft. I've got two Maasdams and gear enough to put both into action. Been using one 15 years or so and the other is newer.

Maasdam two to one pull throw line set.webp
 
That's the right practice, that is often overlooked.




A rope that hasn't fully cinched up, can do so when heavily loaded, allowing it to rock back, dynamically, before the rope grabs again.

Seems like if there is so much resistance that 3/4 ton of pull is too little, banging those wedges to help lift the tree, as well as pulling, and possibly thinning/ gutting the hinge, might be in order.

Maybe a higher cinching point.

Maybe two pull ropes or 2:1.
 
The softer 3 strands don't tend to slip but if you get one that's really stiff they slip alot until you get pressure on them. As for safety line some companies require using a prussic with another rope to a tree as a safety incase come along breaks. As for safety on slipping if u dont have someone to hold tail then put a overhand knott onntail
 
Hi Corey, I would say welcome to TreeBuzz but I see you joined a year ago. Anyway good to read your thoughts on Masdam usage. Mine doesn't come out as much since I got a chipper withv winch but, still have it at the ready and a fond spot for what it can help me do.

Lot's of good info stored in older threads (I see above South Sounds name this one was last added to in 2016) thanks for waking it up.
 
Yea I work doing line clearance so this is what we use daily to pull trees away from the line it's about the only thing the company will give us. Was trying to see if anyone had any luck using any kind of old climbing lines in it instead of the 3 strands
 
I have heard a person or two say they could use 1/2 braided rope in it but never seen it personally. It's know to slip at some point pretty early (1500 lbs?). I wouldn't try braided myself because I don't want it to slip at any less than that.
 
Honestly, the 3-strand it's made to work with (as far as I know, I've also heard of people using other rope types) is so cheap I don't know why you wouldn't use it. Pulling over trees often causes the tree/log to smash the rope into the ground which can damage it. Cut the section out when it becomes an issue and just keep rolling.

It's a simple and incredibly useful tool, I use it all the time. Mostly to pull over whole firs or sticks at the end of a climbing removal, but the other day I used one to lift an apple that fell on a shed.

DSCN7249 (Custom).JPG

DSCN7925 (Custom).JPG
 
The company I work for gets a 3 strand that's very stiff and it slips alot so was thinking about other options without having to buy one I already have alot of my personal gear out here so didn't know how a retired 12 stand would do since just got new climb line. But sounds like I should just got get another pull rope thanks guys
 
Coreys15 said:
The company I work for gets a 3 strand that's very stiff and it slips alot so was thinking about other options without having to buy one I already have alot of my personal gear out here so didn't know how a retired 12 stand would do since just got new climb line. But sounds like I should just got get another pull rope thanks guys
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Do you know what specific 3 strand that is that slips a lot?

I only have 30 feet or so on my Masdam. Then I use the retired climb lines as light/modest pull pull ropes - do mid line connection.
 
Serf Life said:
What’s the story with this one? View attachment 74544
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"Just in case."

That stump was the first tree of the day, conventional face, flat back-cut, just the normal stuff. As I was felling the big log in the photo and was looking down its intended lay, because it was close I thought to myself "what if I screwed up and hit that stump?" It was a high stump for comfortable cutting and for the excavator to grab when digging it out, so if the log hit that high stump and sharp edge, it would have bounced and spun in some wild way. By cutting that angle, if I somehow screwed up dropping the log, a glancing blow on the stump would still let it go safely to the ground staying flat and controlled.
 
Hard-lay 3-strand treemaster grips well, once the tension on the line pulls it into the Maasdam's textured sheave.

I had braided rope be a PITA recently, but used softer braided line successfully previously.
Might have been Fly kernmantle that was slippery.
 
When I had mine I used half inch three strand Safety Blue. I think I rigged it with about 20 or 25'

I didn't like using it and bought a Lug All cable come along. This has performed flawlessly for years. I've had to have a new thimble swaged onto the end a couple of times. It can be rigged 2:1 too

lug-all.com

1000-15 - 1/2 Ton Cable Hoist

The Lug-All model 1000-15 is an industrial-grade 1/2-ton cable come along ratchet winch hoist with 15 feet of cable and a 1,000-pound capacity. All Lug-All cable hoists are made in the USA using 7x19 aircraft cable and are designed with an aluminum alloy main frame with open construction for...
lug-all.com lug-all.com
 
I've used mine a lot to work on dead (EAB) ash trees. I often use it to break off branches to thin out the canopy before felling the trunk. It reduces the chances of getting hung up or of damaging something of value. I don't like climbing the ash trees when they've been dead for years. Way to sketchy, since I've seen solid-looking ones break just a few feet up from the ground.

On really stubborn limbs, I often use a 2:1 or even a 4:1 MA to get them to break. Always use a redirect so you're not pulling things toward you. It's pretty amazing watching a piece of a limb go flying when it breaks under a 4:1 MA with probably 1000 pound force from the Maasdam.

I've used mine so much I buggered up the little pin that allows you to release tension one notch at a time. I posted a vid on another thread. I'll copy it here.

 
TreeCo said:
I most often rig the Maasdam for a 2/1 MA. It gets the puller person away from the drop zone plus gives it more pull. My main Maasdam rope is only 100ft. long but my 5/8 ropes are 150ft. I've got two Maasdams and gear enough to put both into action. Been using one 15 years or so and the other is newer.

View attachment 35378
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TreeCo is spot on here - particularly when he notes in his illustration the height of attachment to the tree - that is to say the bigger, heavier or more back leaning the tree the higher one needs to anchor. With difficult tall trees I’ve climbed first to set a firm anchor around the trunk about 60 feet up and used a 4:1 pulley MA with a single Maasdam to excellent effect. (If you misjudged a pull you can add a second Maasdam more or less parallel to the first to double your power even if your alone - rope stretch takes up the slack between your cranking one and then the other.)

For the type of work I’m doing these days (thinning - woodlot improvement) I put a line with a pulley at least a tree height distant coming back to the Maasdam anchored near the base of the tree I’m felling on almost every tree I fall, regardless of it’s lean. This is because it is very unlikely the tree will not hang up to some degree or other in the canopy and need help to come down. I now always also install a independently anchored tag line a few inches below me Maasdam winch line anchor, in case it becomes necessary to winch the tree trunk laterally because of the way in which it hangs up. This tag line insurance puts my fall success rate in the high 90%s. Even a large heavy tree can get hung up by twigs if it catches while almost vertical or near its balance point.
 
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