No throwball , can't climb it!

Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

I'm gonna put my 4 cents in here.

First: Tom, I sometimes carry 2 cell phones with me. Apparently my Treo from Verizon can't take 2 different lines... most expensive phone in the store, I had to buy a $30 phone in order to get another phone number. (914) and (203)

Second: I was taken to a job down county last winter after being told it was a little pine tree removal, where I just had to limb it and bomb the top. Get down there, it's a BIG blue spruce. Get that done and now the guy I was working for is told "Oh, let's prune that other pine while you've got your climber here." The other pine was of course another BIG blue spruce. The first dead branch was at least 25' off the ground, and I didn't have a throwball or a ladder to go up with. The dead branches were very dense going up to about 40', so I wasn't about to throw my rope up there and climb off anything.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

bigcry.gif
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

What’s wrong with a pole saw? I have an ARS saw there I can take off the saw and replace it with a hook instead. When I stretch I get about 7” and my telescopic reach 20“. So with that I advance up to 27” each time with my climbing line.
If I can’t set my throw ball in about 15 minutes I give up and use a ladder or my pole saw instead.

Excuse my spelling, I’m Swedish.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

I think it's funny people are still calling it a throwball. I wonder how many of you ever used one of those bigass rubber balls someone mentioned upthread? God, I'm glad there are throwBAGS now.
I think using a throwline and bag is most often the most effective way, but yeah, whatever works best for you, and it is good to have more than one method (though personally I've mostly been pretty stuck on throwing a line in). I would say that unless you're climbing really short trees, throwline skills are crucial sometimes.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
it's all good. having an open mind is the best skill of all i think - many tools in the proverbial toolbox.

my 2 cents.
k.

[/ QUOTE ]

Much more than 2 cents there.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

Throwball is to throwbag as Jamboree is to Tree Climbing Championship. It's a mark of the vernacular history of our profession.

In the Midwest US we call in shinnying [sp?] up a tree. I like the sound of hucklebucking though! If I add a word to my vocabulary do I have to retire one?
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

Those big rubber throw balls sure did bounce off of limbs.

The throw bag is a large improvement.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]


In the Midwest US we call in shinnying [sp?] up a tree. I like the sound of hucklebucking though!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats funny Tom, in Scotland we call hucklebucking shimmying not shinnying!
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

it depends....are you launching rocks at your neighbors kids or are you setting your line in a tree?
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

[ QUOTE ]
In the Midwest US we call in shinnying [sp?] up a tree. I like the sound of hucklebucking though! If I add a word to my vocabulary do I have to retire one?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I think this is like climbing tecnique, the more you have the better off you will be, or the more you have the more likely you are to have the right one.

My favorite style (obviously depending on the situation) is to throwline into the easiest crotch atleast half way up and then manually advance the line more once I am up there. I love throw lines, but can usually get by without them.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

MAYBE throwlines have been rated and slated by people who have very little experience with one. They aren't simple to use.

One numpty I trained with (and, bear in mind, we used them for nigh on every single tree) thought that throwlines were purely luck based. They are so hard to use at first, for some, that it probably seems that way.

As the Chinese say, you must eat a thousand meals with chopsticks before you can use them properly. It's a skill - like any other you may have adopted since you first clipped into a climbing system.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

As to those Big Black "throwballs" that keep arising in the thread, I have a little fun-time story. Back when I was an intern with the previous company I worked for, one crew-leader would only use one of these monsters. He had just finished pruning a large ash so I was busy about 35 feet away doing my usual groundie work. He was setting his line in the next tree. As it turns out, he bounced the thing off of the main trunk about 45 feet up, the darn thing arched through the air and hit me in the right calf. Let me tell you, I dropped like a sack of potatoes. Ended up with about a 6 inch bruise and a fun story.

Moral of the Story: If you plan on using one of these things, remember they are rather heavy, and EXTREMELY bouncy. Use at your own risk and with the safety of your fellow crew-members in mind as well.
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

That was my first line setting device. It came with some 1/4 inch line....ugghh.

I remember the day I lost it in some brush. also had a shot pouch by then, so forgot to find it...no loss, that's fo sho!!
 
Re: No throwball , can\'t climb it!

Plant health care notwithstanding, I suppose the root of the topic revolves around efficiency. What is the most effective way of getting to TIP to start getting material to ground...maybe begs the question of what is the skill level of the person climbing.

Funny this thread would pop up right now. I just started with a company who considers gaffing acceptable for pruning jobs on trees they consider 'garbage' trees. Namely weeping willow, elm, doug-fir, and box elder to cut it short.

Now, myself being trained by an oldschool CUA I'm inclined to just get the job done albeit at the sacrafice of "mainstream" personal safety. But my own training and all pertinent 'oak' style training I have come across say, no spurs, be nice to the tree etc, etc...where is the line between efficiency vs PHC AND productivity.

I'll mention that using my new techniques I am able to stay withing allowed person hours on work orders using new techniques while old school techniques are in mind while my boss does his quotes...begs the question...are new school techniques just as effecient as old school once properly used?

My vote it still comes down to skill of the climber...like a few people have mentioned in this thread it is a balance of new school and old school to get the job done safely and effectively. IMO
avid.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom