A Crane Removal in Southern California
While no crane operation should be considered “run of the mill,” tree workers in Southern California know that arborists in other parts of the country may yawn at the thought of reading about another crane removal. Rest assured, this article is not so much about the crane operation that David’s Tree Service undertook in February […]
When do you retire rigging rope?
I once told Don Blair I thought I could tell when to retire a line that had always been used in natural crotches by the visible wear, but I asked, “How do you know when to retire a line that has only been used with a block and a lowering device?” Kind of at a […]
Urban Rigging: Working in Tight Spaces
Urban rigging is, essentially, tight-quarters rigging. While you can find this scenario anywhere trees need to be worked on in close proximity to structures, it is nearly the norm in urban environments, from the street trees that have found a way to thrive in their impossibly small curbside planting pits to the backyard big boys […]
Looking at the Elements that Make Up a Rigging System
In this article, we’ll take some foundational rigging concepts and reintroduce them from a new perspective. Some of this information is well known and almost common knowledge, but some of it, I find, gets missed in early training or overlooked in the daily grind. Some of it could help us avoid the abuse we sometimes […]
Rigging and the Likelihood of Failure
Rigging is probably the most dangerous thing climbing arborists do. In addition to working aloft, which is dangerous in itself, rigging often involves cutting with a chain saw and, sometimes, large pieces of wood moving very quickly. When butt-hitching or blocking wood (which also is known as negative rigging), the anchor point of the rigging […]