To start with anything thing I post is information only and in no way training. What I will do is post some of the gear I use, techniques I use, and answer questions related to tree falling, tree care, soil management, and tree climbing.

First up is saws. I typically go with Stihl due to parts availability. That being said Husky/Jonsered make some great saws and the next saw I buy will be a husky. What is shown here is 2x 660s, a 271, and a 201.

This is a Big Shot sling shot, a throw ball, and throw line. This is used for hanging ropes in trees without climbing up there. Typically I just throw the ball up there unless I need to go straight up, or I need to get over about 65'. Wear a hard had when you use this stuff. You may knock dead stuff out of the tree, and the ball itself can cause severe injury if you yank it out of the tree and it comes down and hits you.

This a Maasdam puller, 150' feet of 1/2" safety blue 3 strand rope, and slings to anchor it. It is similar to a come along however it will pull however much rope you set it up with without needing to be reset. Way more control than pulling trees over with a truck.

Typically when using stiff rope such as 3-strand I will use a bowline with a lock off as apposed to a regular bowline when setting up a running bowline. Depending on the situation I will also use a water bowline or a double bowline.

Redirect block with some slings. Handy for redirecting the rope back to you so you can work the maasdam puller on your own if you don't have help.

This is a snap cut. It is used in situations where you need to make a cut, but also need the piece to stay put while you set the saw down or do other stuff before sending the work piece on its way.

This is a modified Humbolt, typically used in logging as it results in more lumber at the mill. Also used to look fancy in front of home owners and new guys on tree crews.
Double open face. Typically used while climbing to throw over larger tops. This allows the top to stay attached until the spar has returned to its natural position before breaking free. This causes less shock load to the spar and less of a ride for the climber. Notice that the back cut is made inline with the notch.

This is the original Humbolt. It is made with a bore cut and two parallel cuts. Seldom used anymore, it still has its uses. On live trees it is very responsive to steering with the back cut, allowing you to snake trees around other trees when dropping whole trees out in the woods. This can help prevent damage to trees that aren't coming down, and to help prevent hanging up the work tree.

What saw so you feel you run the most ? I have a husky 450 20" 2 Stihl 026 one has 16" other is just power head and a 14" Mac and 16" poulan saw I know nothing I have can run a mill but i would like a saw I can stick in a mill for up to 12"-19" wide cuts

I would also like to read about your felling techniques

For that size a Stihl 441 with a rip chain will do fine in an Alaskan saw mill.

Top is a DRT/MRT climbing system, on the bottom is an SRT climbing system. This is what is used as life support for a tree climber. DRT is typical in removals, while SRT is more common in pruning.

great info and seriously nice gear too.

Pretty cool.
Does it matter which cut you make first?

Thanks maybe if I can find a blown up one I can rebuild it i have been struck with a bug I love rebuilding them my 2 026 are torn apart waiting for parts should be here any day now

If you are inclined to go that route I wood look for an older 046 or 044.

Not really. Typically I make whichever cut will be hardest first. What really matters is how you orientate the cuts. The cuts should be parallel when done, and if cutting wood that is horizontal at its lay then you should make the cuts on the sides of the piece so they are 90 degrees to the ground. If you are standing on spurs you will want the cuts parallel to your chest which will make it much easier to break the piece off.

How about trees that lean ? Or trees that are very large umbrella?

i would like to see any before and after pruning pics. hows and whys included.


please.

I will do this on the next tree that is a good candidate for pictures. In the mean time if you are really interested in proper pruning buy this boring ass book. Pruning

If you ever higher a guy to prune your trees, ensure you have it mentioned on the estimate/contract that all pruning is done in accordance with ISA and ANSI standards so you will have contractual recourse if the they screw up and kill your tree.

I have the perfect tree coming up for pictures on leans.

Hard leaning trees pose many challenges. If falling into the lean and depending on the health or lack there of of the tree several things must be considered in selecting a notch and how the back cut is done. If falling away from the lean you are now fighting physics which brings in a whole heck of a lot of issues.

Trees with large canopies pose different issues altogether, however I will be able to get some pictures up on that as well as go more in depth in explanation on how I do them tomorrow afternoon.

Pruning....

I started logging with a family owned logging company in Tennessee as a 14 year old. I was not able to attain my Tennessee Master Logger cert. because I went to Meps in Ohio and joined the Army when I was supposed to take the course. Post Army I went back to logging, only this time mountain side in KY. This got me into climbing. I left the logging world in 2010 and became a residential tree climber. Currently I am ISA certified as a tree worker climber specialist, Arborist, Utility specialist, and currently working toward Master Arborist. Currently I work as a subcontract/hired gun climber and own a small tree service of my own. I do consultation on tree health, soil management, tree risk, and conduct training for loggers and urban tree workers in regards to tree ID, falling, rigging, safety, and production efficiency. I work often as a climber, with bucket trucks, various lifts, and cranes. If you have a tree related question, I have a tree related answer, though it may take a minute to run it through the network if you're cool enough to ask something awesome.

Lack of helmet is very telling. Lack of chainsaw pants or chaps tells a further story. In total I would wager this guy doesn't know shit nor does he have insurance or a bond for workers comp.

Why the zig-zag and not a unicender?  Midline attachment is nice.

I do have a Unicender, and find it in many ways better than the zig-zag, however midline attachment is the least of my concerns. The only area the Zig-Zag is better is dedicated DRT on constant bomb outs when hanging slings on crane jobs, or big removals.. Mechanical devices are the wave of the future. If you do big removals all day on a DRT system I would go with the Zig-Zag. If you can only afford one climbing system and must switch between SRT and DRT with that system often I would go with the uncinder. In my case I find that the Zig-Zag is best for DRT and a rope wrench is best for SRT. Honestly if you work for a tree service a blakes hitch is fine. If you go hired gun contract climber you are going to have a bunch of different climbing systems, plus crane systems, skylines, and bucket systems.

Strapped to his belt is actually a chainsaw. Looks like a 200 or 201. Tree climbing gear is pretty specific to tree work and has very little crossover with other industries, including linesman and other utility pole climbers.



This image shows the difference between a tree spur, shown on the left, and a pole spur, shown on the right. Pole spurs are often used by tree climbers, most climbers have both on hand as different trees will have different requirements. If you are pruning the tree spurs are not to be worn with very few exceptions specific to line clearing and some utility work.



Tree climbing saddle. This falls into the life support category. Also sometimes called the office chair. Differs from many rock climbing harnesses in that it has hard points for tools, and by the design of the bridge.



Buckstraps, lanyards, fliplines. These will come sized 7/16" to 1" diameter and typically range from 8'-16'. Rope shown above, and steal core, shown below, are both common. I typically use both, with the primary exception being when working around power lines where risk of electrocution exceeds risk of cutting the buckstrap with a saw.



False crotch. Used to set a climb line where no limb exist.

Licensed and insured.  



Other than that, don't care, the price was right and they did an great job dropping the tree with zero issues in a tight location next to the house over a fence. Didn't even divot the law.  
 

I have a chainsaw mill and run a 460 magnum in it
It sucks in hardwood above 18". It's so slow
I upgraded to a small bandsaw mill. Night and day difference. Instead of a 10-15 minute cut, it's 30 seconds

Think hard before you spend the money going down that path.  And if you do, I suggest a 660 or larger.

I don't want to fork the cash for a bandsaw mill as I do not have a large enough wood supply to warrant the need if I had trees coming out my ass I would get one in a heartbeat most of the stuff I have access to is softwoods

If you find yourself using the mill more than once a month or so you will eventually want to upgrade to a bandsaw mill.

Alaskan mills do work, and work well for what they are. However that being said you will be working for every board foot. A rebuilt 460 with a 25" bar with proper ripping chain is not a bad set up at all. With the same bar size I really did not see enough increase in performance to justify buying a 660 if I didn't already have a few. All this being equal an 044 is going to work close enough to as well as a 460 for milling while using much less gas.

There was a   and   after the pruning.  
I figured it was apparent that the tree was dead.
 

 

It is very apparent that the tree is dead.

It is very apparent that this is a removal and not a prune.

It is very apparent from the picture you posted that the climber who is most likely the owner or a foreman is clueless.

It is very apparent that the pictured climber has done tree work for awhile but using the absolute biggest POS and cheapest pole climbing saddle on the market.The saddle he is using is not made for tree work but it is only $100. That saddle is normally used by guys that are doing tree work for drug money. For example one of my trainees uses a saddle that cost more than every piece of gear the climber pictured has in the photo, including the saw most likely. Keep in mind that the trainee isn't allowed to go airborne with a saw yet.

It is very apparent that the climber pictured is unable or unwilling to understand the risk associated with climbing dead trees as demonstrated by a lack of helmet. Climbers and groundsman not wearing helmets is a sure sign that the guy you hired is not in anyway a professional.  

It is very apparent that the climber pictured can not or will not recognize the risk associated with top side tree work as shown by not setting up a skyline, multiple rigging points, load spreading, and so forth.

I get that it was cheap. Very typical attitude from home owners. Can I ask a few questions? Did you call his insurance company and ask that his payments existed and that he was in fact insured? A very common scam is to get landscaper insurance. It cost 1/3rd as much but does not cover tree work in any way shape or form. When you called the insurance company did you ask if his insurance  covered tree work? Accord is the most common company associated with this scam. Did he give you a paper showing workers comp? Did you call to confirm? It is very common for an owner of a shady company to get workers comp on himself and then 1099 his guys so he can get the right papers to show you without actually paying a bond.

Cheap is great, until a tree guy dies in your yard, and you find out that the insurance wasn't worth the paper it was printed on and that your state is one of many states where the homeowner is on the hook for injuries.

If the guy was legit, great, aside from the fact that the lack of safety gear is a huge slap in the face to literally everyone. I'm glad you got a good deal.  I'm glad the guy in the picture exist. He generates about 30 percent of my work. Anyway, I started this thread to push professional level knowledge down to homeowners and homesteaders, so that is all I will speak on this matter.

This ain't my first rodeo with contractors and insurance.  I've run many CCIP and OCIP programs.
 
 

Here's a question for you. How thin of a healthy tree will you comfortably climb?  I've taken about 20 trees down from around my house in the past year.   Many spur/flip line, others from an off road Nifty lift.  Next tree is a thin healthy cherry that is a bit of a leaner growing out of a hill side.  Maybe 18" at the base and 40', 25' or so climb-able, no rigging point for a hitch climb.   I was able to top the tree from the man lift but, I'm going to have to climb it and half it to take it down (close to house).  Maasdam with a spring will be pulling pressure on the top to keep things moving in the right direction.   I'm getting the feeling that this tree is going to be a damn whip.

what now?

ps
cherry.  phototropism, not upheaval.  DBH is approximately 14".

ar-jedi

Still following this for OP updates

Just picked up a new Petzl Zigzag myself. Got tired of paying others to maintain my trees and do the pruning. Bought the gear and got some training and now I'm saving myself probably $1200 a year.

Did they finally update the zigzag so they stop breaking?

I think they're on the third generation now, but I'd still check the links for cracks.

I use one. I even use one with a rope wrench for SRT

tag for later reading