OLDS-Overhead Lowering...

I think you guys are making this too complicated. Though I too have used lowering devices for top end control when needed, 99.9% of the time natural crotch rigging is faster and easier. A tough 16 strand like Arbor Master 13mm is all that is needed.

Dave
 
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2. You <u>can</u> get it done without a groundie: Rigging By Yourself ... many good tricks!

3. BUT! the big benefit is the cost efficiency when using an unskilled groundie that only needs to know how to un-clip and drag brush ... which covers A LOT of jobs!

... just sayin'
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A. need to get a skilled groundie and B. need to work in teams. I'm just sayin
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The more I, as a climber can do, the less I need from my skilled groundie, who can be bucking wood, felling spars, filing chains, doing other maintenance, looking at a neighbor's potential work, etc.

A skilled groundie is the way to go, but if you work in a small team like I do, one or maybe two groudies, and one gets injured (has a sprained ankle this fall for a week) and my wife helped me two days), or they want to, heaven forbid ;), go on vacation and visit the family (also happened this summer and Christmas), its good to have more in your bag of tricks. :)

Dave is right. On removals, with light loads, natural crotching can get a ton done where you can change lowering duties to the climber, but sometimes the additional friction necessary on larger pieces.
 
Right-e-o. Just sounded odd the way Singlejack put that originally. Thanks, Tom, for the great idea and explanation. I think this is a good little device for what you use it for: single limbs or limb wood. I think I'm going to get one.

Any thoughts about the Wesspur Advanced Rigging Seminar 2? I've been thinking about going.
 
"Any thoughts about the Wesspur Advanced Rigging Seminar 2? I've been thinking about going."

Yup I'll be there. Price is right and looks like it'll cover quite a bit.
 
Hope to see you guys at the seminar. I'll bring my BS if you want to check it out.

I was just starting to look into a state park cabin or something in the area for the night before. 5-515am hitting the road out of Olympia might be a little too early.
 
I got mine last week and used it yesterday on two doug-fir takedowns. one overstory, one nestled understory, about 4' apart. Small drop zone in a narrow and long backyard between the fence, the landscaping, the house, and more landscaping on the fouth side. Sloping downward toward the small smoke tree and eucalyptus.

I used the Belay Spool on some of the larger branches that I couldn't cut and chuck.

Since most of the branches were down-sloping and not really opposed to one another in order to a snug a natural-crotched rope up against the trunk (unlike how they frequently are in D-f), I girth hitched a sling and 'biner to the base of the larger branches, and used knotless rigging.

I was able to drop-cut the branches, and depending on the weight, they would either not drop if too light and I would feed with a tiny bit of force,
or
slowly drop down the tree. I could shut off the saw and hang it, then grap the rope and stop the branch easily in time before getting to the obstacles below until Erik was back chipper and able to land and untie the lowered piece. Alternatively, I'd finish with a handsaw, and hold the rope.

With a high rigging point in the tall tree, I was able to semi-dynamically catch the small trees two tops.

Then from the same overhead rigging point in the other tree, and the same 540* wrap around the BX, I was able to block down the trunk in 5' sections with a snap cut, grab the rope, and break it free. Erik had two hands free to land the pieces and slide the rope off the end of the log. While he did that, I rigged the next spar chunk. When he was ready to clear the DZ, I was starting the next snap cut.

Spar pieces were 5' long roughly and 9" on the small end of the logs as the top of the tree, down to maybe 12" on the small end on the last rigged log, at which time we had room to fell the short spar.

So far, so good. Looking forward to using it more.
 
I like the idea. I like having a tool ready for the need, when it arises. It would be a tool to have, but I don't see using it alot.

I'd like to see video captured on the device while the rope is running through it and when the line is pulled back to the climber.
 
Put the Belay Spool into use again yesterday. Wish it was a little larger, with a little less drag on 1/2" ropes. Three strand flows better than 12/16 strand.

Bouquet rigging down a whorl of branches on removals. If the weight is right, cut the last of the whorl, bouquet starts to descend, shut off the saw and get a hand on the rope, or handsaw the last one, with a hand on the rope.

Was removing a double leader Doug-fir, one taller than the other. Again, I hung the Belay spool on one trunk, and snap cut 5' pieces of trunk wood from the other. Able to hang the saw, push the block free, and self-lower. Groundman was able to keep moving on the ground with waiting on each other.

As Tom stated (when the rope length is right), the standing end of the rope lifts off the ground out of the way by the time the branches/ trunk gets to the ground.




Jamin- My wife, Amy, has my camera, so I didn't get the video yesterday.

I would liken it to feeding slack through a munter hitch more than feeding through a block, especially as you get more rope weight on the up-side. As I got farther away, I would flick some slack into the up-rope, while pulling the down-rope.
 
Sean: I'm appreciating your posts in this thread. I like the efficiency in which you're doing things.

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Put the Belay Spool into use again yesterday. Wish it was a little larger with a little less drag on 1/2" ropes.

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If the device isn't robust enough for some lowering tasks, you can incorporate the dwt into the rigging. The 2:1 will allow you to lower more weight while staying within the wll of the device.

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Three strand flows better than 12/16 strand.

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Thanks for the insight. I don't rig with 3-strand. I'm wondering whether this is the case with other friction devices like the port-a-wrap for instance.

Joe
 
My light rigging rope is a piece of half inch 16 strand. It always worked well in my system.

Do you use all three wraps? I rarely did that. The rope would come in on one side, spiral between the two spring pins and out the other. If we needed to snub off a large load or add a little friction at the beginning we'd go old school and tail the down rope next to a limb or a partial trunk wrap. It was rare that we ever needed the extra friction once the load was on the rope.
 
I have my camera back now, and might use the BS tomorrow. It might be that the 1/2" rope's wet and swollen. I will try to get them both in there, and get a video for Jamin.

Tom, I took your instruction to enter on one side and exit on the other, not through all three. What did you find by entering in the middle and exiting on one side?

JT, I'll see how it handles and consider a 7/16. I'm getting due for a new light rigging rope.

Aside: For a lot of NC rigging the 3 strand that I decided to try has held up really well and seems to hold a lot less water weight. My ropes are only wet half of the year.
 
That's innovation.

I was imagining something like this for a while, very happy someone made one. Such a reasonable price for what it gives you. Ordering one Monday.

When the climber is in the tree, my meter is running. Lots of time lost when a big branchy piece comes down and has to be cut up and dragged away. Climber could be rigging and CUTTING next piece so goundie does not have a moment to rest.
 
I used it today. I had better luck with the 12 or was it 16 strand rope than the three strand. With enough weight either will work, but for lighter limbs, the 3 strand seemed to hang up more.

As I may have mentioned, sometimes its possible to drop cut with both hands on the saw, shut the saw off while the workpiece is on the way down and grab the rigging line to arrest the load.

The one thing that seems strange is that the two cheek plates do not touch. It would seem that it would be better to have a connector with a horizontal shape (for lack of a better description) to prevent the cheek plates being levered together.

The job was taking longer than expected (98 percent of the limbs were roped down) over tall indian plums, trilliums, and a small pear tree, so no video of the device in action. Sorry. Another day.
 
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