What type of rope to buy?

[dlabrie]

I have some pretty large trees that I need to take down that are near my house. due to the way they are leaning, I don't dare try to drop them with out tieing a rope to them and pulling them in a direction away from the house. I used to have an old ski-tow rope from a local ski area that I would use, but it has since rotted away. I need about 100' of good, strong rope to do this. I searched for rope on line and came up with all kinds of choices. Any ideas what would be the best to buy; type, size, cost?

Thanks,

 

[khd]

Unless your really good the safest way to do it is with a man lift boom taking a peice at a time as an awful lot of force is needed when trying to fell away from a lean.

We took down an old mulberry that was detroying my sons garage with it's berries and he wanted it down so we took web tow straps and a ratcheting HD chainfall to another tree and two man lines. Kept tension on the straps as the cut began and the man lines were tugged as the the tree fell. Just barely missed the garage and was alot of work even with the chain fall.

As far as rope goes...a 3/4" bull rope is all that I know that is appropriate and rated for such a task without excessively flatening your wallet but a 150' hank of good 3/4" bull will still set you back about $150.00. You can get bull rope from Baileys or I just bought a 600' reel of 3/8" 3 strand twisted nylon $68.00 delivered from these guys and found their prices cheapest and the transaction was fast and hassel free E-Rigging (Disclaimer: Don't use 3/8ths). Just keep in mind that stuff you get from the hardware store doesn't even compare to real rope.

Good luck with the task.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[btolle]

Go to Sherrill Arborist Supply and search for "Stable Braid".

I bought a 150' 1/2" rope from them for $112.50 + shipping.

This rope is made by Samson Rope Stable Braid The average strength for 1/2" is 10,400 pounds.

Samson makes most of the ropes used by arborists.

I use this rope and my 8,000 pound winch on my Jeep.

There are 2 things to watch for when using rope. The most important is to avoid "shock loading", that is jerking on the rope or otherwise subjecting it to an instant load.

The other thing is to watch how sharply you bend the rope.

There is some good information on the Samson site about using rope and taking care of it.

Ski rope, twisted nylon rope, and just about any other rope you find in a hardware store is NOT appropriate for tree work and can be hazardous to your safety.

I don't know what you mean by "pretty large" but where I live that would mean a pine tree 100' or so tall. Let one of those get away from you and you will have a real serious problem.

I beg you, if you are in doubt at all get a professional to take them down. I spent $1,000 2 weeks ago getting 7 trees taken down. But one slip would probably have cost $25,000 to repair my house. Be sure you ask to see the arborist's liability insurance policy before you let them start.

Bill Tolle

 

[dlabrie]

Thanks guys for the advice, I will visit the sites mentioned and buy somthing today. I have been dropping trees now for my firewood for about 25 years and i know how dangerous it is. I wouldn't try to take them down If I didn't think I could handle it. I just need to get them leaning a bit or tied off to drop them away from the house.

My FIL used to tie a rope to the upper part of a tree then string it through a block and tackel at the base of a tree some yards away then hitch the end to a comealong attached to the tree he was cutting down. That way he could cut a little, pull on the tree a little etc. It sounds a bit nuts, but has always worked. (Is there a smiley for crossing one's fingers or knocking on wood? /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif)

 

[btolle]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My FIL used to tie a rope to the upper part of a tree then string it through a block and tackel at the base of a tree some yards away then hitch the end to a comealong attached to the tree he was cutting down. That way he could cut a little, pull on the tree a little etc. It sounds a bit nuts, but has always worked. (Is there a smiley for crossing one's fingers or knocking on wood? /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) )</font>

Doesn't sound crazy to me. In fact, it sounds like a pretty good idea in some cases.

One thing you want to watch is not putting too much pull on the tree you are felling. Too much pull can cause the tree to split before the cut is complete, causing the cut portion to swing up violently. The uncut part will act as a spring for the cut part and you end up with a huge "lever" that can kill you.

Loggers seems to refer to that effect as a "barberchair" since the cut part will swing out like the footrest on a barber's chair will swing out when you lean the chair backwards. Very dangerous, especially on some species of trees.

The other thing is to be sure the tree trunk you tie to has a big enough root system to hold the weight of the tree you are cutting.

Bill Tolle

 

[v8dave]

We all fall back to our experiences. Quite a while ago I did a fair amount of sailing and was surprised at how strong the lines (rope) were. I just looked here at West Marine and the inexpensive 1/2" dacron lines have a strength of ~8,000 pounds. [Although, I'd get something rated at 10,000 pounds. I dunno know exactly why, but something that will pick up more than my F250 truck sounds good to me.] The stuff is easy on the hands, has shock resistance and coils easily. Since there is a store nearby, I still tend to buy marine lines when I need rope. I don't trust the stuff in hardware stores.

edit: Inexpensive is relative. Marine rope is always expensive compared to the hardware store stuff. But, I trusted my life to those marine lines and tend to stick with that--Dave.

 

[dlabrie]

I ended up buying 150' , 3/4", Bailey's Super Strand™ Bull rope. It cost $99 + $8 S/H . I was looking at the Stable Braid rope, but couldn't get a shipping estimate, so I went with the Baileys.

 

[RobertN]

Arborists also have a cool come-along that works with the rope. You run the rope up to the anchor point in the tree. Then, anchor the come-along to another tree or VERY STRONG SECURE anchor point. Then, the rope from the tree feeds into the come-along. Now, tension can be placed on the tree, and then the final cut can be made.

We have a friend that is an excellent arborist. One thing he has always mentioned, is about how bad it is to use a car, truck, tractor ect as an anchor. He has seen a bunch of auto's and tractors smashed up when the tree fell the other way, and dragged the tractor or pickup along for a ride!

Reminds me of growin up in Jeep's(70-CJ5 and 42-MB). They could pull other Jeeps out of stuck positions. But, if a bigger rig had to be pulled out, the Jeep had to anchor to something or it would just drag itself while trying to winch the other vehicle /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[dlabrie]

<font color="blue"> </font><font color="blue" class="small">( He has seen a bunch of auto's and tractors smashed up when the tree fell the other way, and dragged the tractor or pickup along for a ride!)</font> </font>

Ouch! I never thought of that! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
I think I will stick with the come=along.