Phil
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- Oak Lawn, IL
First the basic question and then my thoughts...
"When blocking down a trunk, where do you place your flip line and where do you place your main line?"
This questioned was spawned while I was at work and watching my buddy remove a spruce trunk. Regardless of how much experience a fellow climber has, I always analyze everything they do if I can see it from the ground. We don't do a lot of spike work because we can usually get the bucket to the removals so this issue hasn't really been relevant until now. My buddy had the pulley hitched to the tree and was getting ready to make his notch. I noticed both his flip line and main line were fastened ABOVE the sling for the pulley. To me that is a red flag. I asked him about it and he said something about arbor master videos mentioning putting a rope above the pulley sling. That doesn't make sense to me. After i brought this up he agreed that having them above the sling was dangerous and he put them below the sling for the rest of the removal. After the tree was finished we had a discussion about the situation. Here were some of the issues we talked about when we were all on the ground:
1. With both ropes above the pulley, the climber runs the risk of the rope flipping over the trunk in the event of a shock load or a swaying trunk after a piece is cut.
2. With both ropes above the pulley sling the climber is more susceptible to being affected by fiber tear as opposed to the pulley sling taking the force if both lines were below the sling.
3. With both ropes above the pulley sling and so close to the zone of cutting, if one rope were to be accidentally cut with a chainsaw, chances are both will be cut.
4. If both ropes are placed Below the pulley sling, and the pulley is tied as close and tight to the trunk as possible, the pulley itself could damage or possibly cut through one or both lines during the lowering of a section.
5. Place one rope above the sling and one rope below the sling.
6. Leave 2-3 inches of rope between where the pulley hangs and where the sling wraps the trunk to allow both ropes to be below the sling and free from contact with the pulley.
Those are the main ideas and or concerns we talked about on the job site. My way was number 6. To me, that is the safe way to do it. What concerns me though is that my buddy referenced an arbormaster training video with regards to placing a line above the pulley sling. I don't recall seeing this particular video but non-the-less I am here for input, advice, and a concern for safety.
This discussion is officially open for business.
"When blocking down a trunk, where do you place your flip line and where do you place your main line?"
This questioned was spawned while I was at work and watching my buddy remove a spruce trunk. Regardless of how much experience a fellow climber has, I always analyze everything they do if I can see it from the ground. We don't do a lot of spike work because we can usually get the bucket to the removals so this issue hasn't really been relevant until now. My buddy had the pulley hitched to the tree and was getting ready to make his notch. I noticed both his flip line and main line were fastened ABOVE the sling for the pulley. To me that is a red flag. I asked him about it and he said something about arbor master videos mentioning putting a rope above the pulley sling. That doesn't make sense to me. After i brought this up he agreed that having them above the sling was dangerous and he put them below the sling for the rest of the removal. After the tree was finished we had a discussion about the situation. Here were some of the issues we talked about when we were all on the ground:
1. With both ropes above the pulley, the climber runs the risk of the rope flipping over the trunk in the event of a shock load or a swaying trunk after a piece is cut.
2. With both ropes above the pulley sling the climber is more susceptible to being affected by fiber tear as opposed to the pulley sling taking the force if both lines were below the sling.
3. With both ropes above the pulley sling and so close to the zone of cutting, if one rope were to be accidentally cut with a chainsaw, chances are both will be cut.
4. If both ropes are placed Below the pulley sling, and the pulley is tied as close and tight to the trunk as possible, the pulley itself could damage or possibly cut through one or both lines during the lowering of a section.
5. Place one rope above the sling and one rope below the sling.
6. Leave 2-3 inches of rope between where the pulley hangs and where the sling wraps the trunk to allow both ropes to be below the sling and free from contact with the pulley.
Those are the main ideas and or concerns we talked about on the job site. My way was number 6. To me, that is the safe way to do it. What concerns me though is that my buddy referenced an arbormaster training video with regards to placing a line above the pulley sling. I don't recall seeing this particular video but non-the-less I am here for input, advice, and a concern for safety.
This discussion is officially open for business.
