Retrievable Top tie for SRT

I've always favoured a top tie for SRT, I find it cleaner and neater and don't need to worry about someone (or me!) cutting my base tie. I tie a figure 8 around a dmm anchor ring which has been preinstalled on the other side of the line. This way there is less friction/ware on the point at which it cinches on the line/tree.

The main flaw with this system being that I always need to climb back to the top to remove the tie in and then usually have to switch back to double rope to descend.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this it can be quite time consuming, So I have been experimenting with using a 5mm cord and a small DMM snap to retrieve the line

I clip this into the figure 8 not the dmm anchor ring, as then when you pull the cord the ring stays in the right orientation and does not add friction to the system, it seems to retrieve the tie in quite well, the cord is just thick enough to get a good purchase on it to give it a good pull. It has worked on a 2ft ivy clad stem so I'm hoping it will retrieve from most anchors. the only issue so far is when to clip the line in and how much would it get in the way if installed at the beginning?

Stihl ms200t - refurbs

 

Decided to do something about my old climbing saws that had sat around unused since I got my new husky. They had both been pretty temperamental for some time, and only one would ever work at anyone time.



 

 

I can do most aspects of saw maintenance myself, but I felt these needed something more, so having read good reviews about the work of 'spud' on Arbtalk I decided to send them to him. 

 

Turned out they wanted quite a bit doing to them and the parts replaced included the following: Fuel tank breather, Second-hand Crank, Secondhand Flywheel, Fuel pipes X2, Carb kits X2, Recoil Handle, Crank bearing, SealsX2, Sprocket X2, clutch springs X6, Lower AV buffer, Throttle trigger, Chain-catcher. They were also cleaned through, pressure tested and retuned to run on Aspen

 

 

This will be especially beneficial for these saws as they will be back up saws and may sit for months at a time without being used, which would be detrimental with normal pump fuel.  

 

Slowly making the switch over to aspen on all my saws and hedge trimmers, but this is another post altogether...

 



Lirios Armor hitch cord - first impressions

Picked up a couple of metres of Lirios Armor hitch cord at the APF on the recommendation of Honey Brothers, at 3 times the price of the Sirius I normally use I was initially doubtful and it was going to have to seriously impress me

Only used it on 2 climbs so far, one large (SRT) and one smallish (Double rope) and I have to say I was very impressed, used it with my usual knot - distel. Its very smooth, holds well and tends nicer than any cord I've used before. So if it lasts I may well be a convert! I won't speak to soon though, its early days yet, more later...

Tree Runner P500 - First Impressions

Had a couple of opportunities recently to try out the new Tree runner rigging bollard I picked up for CTC's lightweight rigging kit from the APF

Rigged down this smallish sycamore last week 

Nothing overly massive or complicated but still needed rigging

The ratchet holds the bollard well, and there was no sign of any movement, even when rigging some pretty hefty lumps (kind of size lumps that need cutting into 3 - 4 pieces in order to lift them onto the van)

We were using it with a 16mm rope, which is technically bigger than recommended (14mm) but seemed fine, just needed less wraps than you'd need with a thinner rope. 

As a secondary device for reductions/limb removals it would more than sufficient and a definite improvement on a portawrap or similar. The main advantage being the user friendly nature and how quickly in-experienced ground staff can pick it up and get to grips with it. 

Being rated at only 500kg it is no replacement for a Stein bollard, but would be a good device for small crews and start ups. or as a secondary device for larger firms. 

Husqvarna T540xp - ongoing review

Been Using this saw almost exclusively for at least 6 months now.

Things I love about it:

- Feels balanced in the hand
- The power is definitely there, maybe not quite as quick as a good 200t, but its definitely there, you notice this especially when chogging down larger that bar length timber
- The clip on the back that allows one handed clipping to a caritool or similar

Things I hate:

- Not entirely sure I'm sold on auto tune yet, don't like how the saw runs when its ran dry
- The general build quality

This was the handle after it fell 1m out of the truck and hit concrete, not quite all the way through and not completely un usable but still not good. 

And this is the rear AV spring after I went away for a few days and one of the other climbers took it out and must have been dropping it on its strop rather than clipping it short. 

I do like this saw but feel they may have slightly missed the mark on build quality...