Work Photos

Steve Connally said:
It was actually a 75t. The field mower is on there from a job last week and just hasn't gotten taken off yet. It should come of tonight for sharpening.

I don't think he'd trade yard access for size Deevo. He's really big on the fact he can get just about anywhere with the little Crane that could. I think he should trade up to a 33t myself.
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Yeah sorry I should of clarified ( I know that link belts like my crane guys 75ton) I meant bump it up from the little guy to at least a 60. Lol, yeah your right a 33 ton like the crane mans can get a lot done and into tight spaces and not crush driveways. What's your bosses number anyways I'll talk some sense into him for ya! I'll just say one of your groundies was concerned for you!
 
Regarding Steve's split tree, I'm unclear why some are cautioning about unbalancing the whole tree by take one half at a time. The full weight of one part must not be totally dependent on the other as the crack was closing when it was windy. The crack will close if the weight is remove but the other part wasn't being held up by it anyways.

Wind,rain, snow and ice have been occillating this tree for years with this split in it, what can a removal with a crane do that would cause a failure of the opposite section?
 
Brocky said:
Regarding Steve's split tree, I'm unclear why some are cautioning about unbalancing the whole tree by take one half at a time. The full weight of one part must not be totally dependent on the other as the crack was closing when it was windy. The crack will close if the weight is remove but the other part wasn't being held up by it anyways.

Wind,rain, snow and ice have been occillating this tree for years with this split in it, what can a removal with a crane do that would cause a failure of the opposite section?
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All depends on how far down the crack goes, condition of the trunk, rot etc... Believe me you don't want to find out the hard way when your dealing with tens of thousands of pounds of wood and something goes south. Could barber chair depending on the lean, a lot can go wrong if you aren't prepared. Not saying it's going to happen on every split tree, but take an educated approach and have a good plan together. An extra few straps can't hurt. I know this isn't a real storm work type situation Steve had but when doing storm work dealing with split, mangled up trees there are some that have reacted in ways you wouldn't think of or planned on, I'm going by quite a few years of experience, and experience says plan for the worst, hope for the best ! There is a reason Steve brought in the bigger crane insisted that on his boss, and did this tree right, if they would Of used the small crane that could I doubt Steve would be posting much here after something bad happened! That's all, I'm just trying to help out others and share my experiences. I'm all for doing things right and not half assed like the hacks.
 
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Brocky. The concern was not for the rest of the tree. That split was just below a large union with about (now that it's done and I can estimate from crane pics) 25k worth of wood above it. It was a fork with two equally long limbs. My thought was the balance of taking 12k off one side would shift the balance of weight(counterbalance) the was keeping it up. In other words it had found some lucky sort of stasis the kept it sitting the way it was and interupting may cause a twist and possibly cause a total failure. It did have years of decay in it since the split and column of rot was over 8' long. I wasn't remotely worried about the other side of the tree. It was very hollow at the base. I could curl up in the cavity for a nap and I'm 6'1" this was all out of my comfort zone. I don't do much hazardous work like this. Funny though since I've been in the game close to 20 years. This split opened more after Matthew and has been growing over the past few weeks. Worse on the day of the job than when it was bid a couple days prior. This think was coming down. We had gale force winds today. I'm thinking it would have failed today most likely. I did do another crane job today and actually had a gust blow me off a branch like I was pushed by somebody.

Anyway hopefully that clarifies things a bit.
 
Good work getting it done safely, Steve!


Do you think that lacing it up with trucker straps have allowed it to be picked in small pieces, alternating leads, if you couldn't fit another crane?

Shooting a line through a strong high crotch on one side, and another crotch on the other side leader, and tensioned, can be used to close and stabilize a split from the ground, I've heard, but never tried.
Helpful if it's a climbing access only tree, before the climber straps the tree.
 
My plan was smaller pieces but after the first pic(6k) everything looked good so we went with one side with another pic and it was fine. I wanted more straps and chains but we didn't have the stock on site. In retrospect I think we should have run up to the closest shop and grabbed a few more. I needed the most strength low because if it failed I wanted it on wood big enough to snap the chain and not the good side of the tree. Ideally I would have had 2 or 3 more higher up at about 10' spacing. If it had no access I have no idea what I would have done. Probably just cut and dropped stuff. Idk.
 
So the way I see it, removing half of the canopy would have an impact on the forces applied to the roots and would reduce the tree's ability to absorb dynamic forces (whether it be wind, rigging, etc.). I'm not a crane guy so I speak from limited experience, but I don't think removing half the canopy would have a drastic impact on the tree (very short term of course). That is of course unless the roots are comprised or a storm is rolling in. Always best to expect the unexpected and go with your gut though.
 
My post was based on the previous description of the tree and it seemed like the two stems were able to stay upright on their own and the chain was only restaining them from swaying too far. I didn't want other climbers assuming from what was posted after that every split tree had to be removed by alternating taking sections from each stem. If they climbed only without a crane, it could be a lot of unnecessary work.

My apologies Steve if you you think I was questioning your manhood or mind. You definitely made the right call and glad your boss got on board and backed your assessment of the situation, especially after your additional descriptions.
 
I'm not trying to be combative folks, or say I know better, but what you guys are saying about causing some type of failure or collapse by cutting one side above the split makes absolutely no sense to me..... maybe for academic reasons, a new thread could help me understand what you guys are talking about. Thanks for any further explanations.... my mind is open.
 
I'm not offended in the least. The tree wasn't the concern for me. Only the forked side near failure. Like I said I don't have a ton of experience in those situations so I was learning as I went. I post things to learn and don't get my knickers in a bunch from differing opinions. I'll try to explain on another thread tomorrow or even better maybe a phone chat Levi?
 
Levi.CO said:
I'm not trying to be combative folks, or say I know better, but what you guys are saying about causing some type of failure or collapse by cutting one side above the split makes absolutely no sense to me..... maybe for academic reasons, a new thread could help me understand what you guys are talking about. Thanks for any further explanations.... my mind is open.
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No problem Levi until you've seen it then you'd know where I'm coming from, about 9 years ago we were doing storm work, big Norway maple with co dom stem split apart, I'd say quite a bit worse then that crane pick I posted, but kinda in 3, one went on the house during the storm, and the other 2 were still standing with a nasty split ( barely) kinda like peeling a banana back, well sure enough as we were setting up, and this is the next day, we didn't even get the crane in yet we were cleaning Debris off the driveway the one side decided to let go ( no wind at all) it went into the back yard, then right after that the other side went into the forest ( thank goodness ) scared the living crap outta all of us there. I tried looking for the pics but have to dig deeper. I know what your saying can't and won't happen to every tree or situation, but yes it will happen, when it does it's very fast violent , and people better not be in the hot zone or there done for. I always bring in a bigger crane and more straps now, go in from on top. I'm just sharing my personal experience.
 
therianclimber said:
So the way I see it, removing half of the canopy would have an impact on the forces applied to the roots and would reduce the tree's ability to absorb dynamic forces (whether it be wind, rigging, etc.). I'm not a crane guy so I speak from limited experience, but I don't think removing half the canopy would have a drastic impact on the tree (very short term of course). That is of course unless the roots are comprised or a storm is rolling in. Always best to expect the unexpected and go with your gut though.
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A normal tree no, just large co Dom split trees, I posted my example to Levi, likeliness of it happening may be slim but on badly cracked trees do a good assessment before you start and put as many safe guards in place as you possibly can, listen for cracks and make sure a groundie it always watching for
Movement and keeping an eye out below for you


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I'll agree with you Steve. Would I personally of done it? Can't say without being there. That tree might have been fine or it could've come crashing down. You made your call based on your experience. Guess what? Everyone went home with all their fingers and toes. I made a call today that my boss wasn't in favor of. To windy with to much risk for the species I was dealing with. Thinking about it now he wasn't to happy with my decision to torch off the winch cable on our new Rayco forestry mower. The guys broke it close to the hook but upon inspection they had messed up almost all of it. Any how, he's a bit upset with me now but as I said everyone goes home with all there fingers and toes. Oh and the country club still has power. So he will get over it
 
therianclimber said:
So the way I see it, removing half of the canopy would have an impact on the forces applied to the roots and would reduce the tree's ability to absorb dynamic forces (whether it be wind, rigging, etc.). I'm not a crane guy so I speak from limited experience, but I don't think removing half the canopy would have a drastic impact on the tree (very short term of course). That is of course unless the roots are comprised or a storm is rolling in. Always best to expect the unexpected and go with your gut though.
Click to expand...
A normal tree no, just large co Dom split trees, I posted my example to Levi, likeliness of it happening may be slim but on badly cracked trees do a good assessment before you start and put as many safe guards in place as you possibly can, listen for cracks and make sure a groundie it always watching for
Movement and keeping an eye out below for you. I'm just saying this is what I do , and what works for us, there's not a training manual for this type of work really just go by experience and good judgement calls, plus bounce ideas off crew members, we do it all the time, just because I'm the boss I listen to my guys and if we have to change the plan I'm open to it as long as it's safe !

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I agree, the more precautions the better. I just can't wrap my head around the physics of it, in regards to Steve's tree especially. Devon, you're story is completely understandable being that it was a developing situation, with it being storm damage and all.
 
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