c/arborists

A homeowner's comment about my pruning cuts changed how I use a handsaw

Last spring I was doing a big oak reduction in Tacoma and the owner came out and said my cuts looked like I was in a hurry. I thought I was being clean, but she pointed out the bark tearing on the underside of a few branches. I started going slower, making an undercut first on anything over 2 inches, even with a handsaw. It adds maybe 10 minutes per tree but the wounds heal way better and I haven't had one complaint since. Has anyone else had a client give feedback that actually improved their technique, even if it stung a bit?

Best Saturday in the saddle since I started climbing

Had a job in Tacoma last weekend, dead cedar over a tool shed. Client wanted it gone, no crane, tight drop zone. I got the TIP set on the first throw, dropped the top clean in a 6 foot gap, and had the whole thing down and split in under 3 hours. Foreman just nodded and said 'that's how it's done.' Made me feel like all those sketchy spars last winter finally paid off. Anyone else get a day where everything just clicks, or is that just me?

Rope gaff vs spur gaff, I had it backwards for years

I always thought spur gaffs were for beginners and rope gaffs were for pros, but last spring during a big oak removal in Portland I watched a climber fly up a spar using rope gaffs and it hit me that I'd been fighting the wrong tool for my style. Turns out spur gaffs work better for me because I lean back and use my legs more, and once I switched my footlock times dropped by almost 30 seconds per 100 feet. Anyone else figure out their gaff preference the hard way after years of stubbornness? What brand do you run with for removals?

I finally fixed my stump grinder teeth after 4 false starts

Every time I thought I had the tooth pattern sorted on my Vermeer, the vibration would eat a bolt in under an hour. Spent a whole Saturday in my garage in Columbus trying different torque specs before I found the real issue was the wedge seat being packed with old grit. Cleaned it out with a wire brush and a $9 pick set, now it runs smooth on two big jobs. Anybody else deal with hidden debris messing up their grinder setup?

That 90 foot oak in Austin taught me to walk away

Last month I climbed a huge oak in a backyard off Riverside Drive, the homeowner wanted a full deadwood removal and crown clean. I quoted $1,800 based on the pics they sent, but when I got there the trunk had serious decay pockets near the base and the whole lean looked sketchy. I told them I needed to reassess and they got pissed, said I was just trying to jack up the price. I packed up my gear and left, no hard feelings but no way I'm risking my neck for someone who won't listen. Has anyone else walked off a job after seeing the tree in person, and did it come back to bite you or save you?

Picked a rope wrench over a mechanical system, zero regrets so far

I had to decide between a rope wrench setup and a full mechanical ascender for my SRT work. I went with the wrench because I do a lot of limb walking and wanted something simpler to fix in the field. After 3 weeks up in some tall oaks around Asheville, it handles like a dream and I actually feel more connected to my line. Has anyone else stuck with a classic setup over the high-tech stuff and felt it was the right call?

Realized I was girdling trees with my own tie job

I spent 5 years strapping nursery trees tight to stakes thinking that was the right move. Last spring a customer pointed out bark damage and I finally looked up what proper loosening looks like, my trees were slowly strangling themselves. Anyone else have a habit they stuck with way too long before a client called it out?

Retired logger swore by sharpening on site, he was onto something

Old guy named Bud watched me struggle with a dull chainsaw on a job outside Eugene and told me to stop hauling spare bars and just sharpen every tank of gas. I laughed it off for years, then ran a 20 inch bar through a knotty fir last week and it took me 3 times as long as his method would have. Anyone else ditch the backup bar and go full manual sharpening on the truck?

Overheard a guy at the equipment auction about bucket truck cable wear

Was at a Ritchie Bros auction outside Tulsa last Saturday and overheard two old timers talking about a 2019 bucket truck they were inspecting. One pointed at the boom cables and said, "See that fray? That's how you lose a bucket and a limb in the same afternoon." He said most guys check the lift cylinder but skip the cables until they snap, then they're paying for a hospital visit and a new truck. I've been running my own climbing gear for 12 years but never thought about the cable inspection side when I rent a lift. I went home and pulled the manual for my buddy's truck we use for deadwood jobs, and sure enough, the recommended check is every 30 hours, not whenever someone remembers. I've got a big job next week in a tight alley where a cable failure would drop the bucket right onto a fence and maybe a pedestrian. Has anyone else had a cable fail mid-run, or does everyone just trust the last guy's inspection sticker?

Rope wrench vs. traditional DdRT for deadwooding tall oaks, which actually saves your shoulders?

Tbh I deadwooded a 90 foot red oak in Portland last week using a rope wrench for the first time and my shoulders felt fine, but on the next job back on DdRT I was cramped up by hour two, so is the learning curve worth switching full time or am I just getting old?

The oak on Maple Street looked 20 years younger after one good crown thinning

I did a big crown thinning on this old white oak in Cleveland last spring, and the difference in the canopy density is wild when I drive by now, way more light hitting the house and the grass underneath actually grows. Anyone else notice how much a proper reduction changes the whole feel of a tree versus a year later, or do you think it's mostly the new growth filling in tight?

A bad wedge cut on a big oak taught me more than any class

Last month I was felling a 30 inch red oak and my wedge popped out because I didn't check the back cut angle. The tree sat there for 20 minutes while I re-cut everything, sweaty and embarrassed in front of the client. Anyone else have a simple mistake that stuck with you longer than any certification course?

Switched from climbing spikes to a rope wrench for removals, night and day on trunk health

I used to strap on spikes for every removal, even if the tree was going to a chipper. About 2 years ago a guy on a crew in Asheville pointed out how much damage spikes do to the cambium, even on a dead tree, because you might not get the trunk all the way to the ground. He showed me his rope wrench setup and I figured I'd try it on a medium oak. Now I only use spikes if the bark is coming off anyway or I absolutely need the grip on a slick trunk. It takes a little longer to get my lines set, but I feel like I'm not wrecking the tree before it even hits the ground. Has anyone else made the switch and gone back to spikes for certain jobs, or is it just me?

Tried using my truck winch to pull a stump and ended up ripping my bumper clean off

I hooked a chain around a 20 year old oak stump in a client's backyard in Austin and gave it a gentle pull only to hear the loudest crunch of metal followed by my $400 winch mount flying into the bushes has anyone else had something way too stubborn fight back like that?

Switched from a rope wrench to a mechanical multiascender for SRT climbing...

Been climbing with a rope wrench for about 4 years now, but last month I finally tried out a Rope Runner 2.0 on a 90 foot white oak we were thinning out over a deck. Night and day difference in how smooth the ascent feels, especially when you're hanging there for 45 minutes making cuts. Anyone else switch setups late and wonder why you waited so long?

Used to top oak trees like a fool until a 30-foot limb came through my neighbor's shed

After that oak dropped a limb and cost me $2,700 in damage claims, I finally started actually reading the research on proper crown reduction versus topping, so who else had to learn this lesson the hard way?

Old timer told me to water oak trees in a drought, I thought he was crazy

Back in July during that dry spell we had near Portland, a retired arborist named Jerry told me to haul buckets of water to my mature oaks twice a week. I figured he was wasting my time since those roots go so deep, but I tried it on two trees near my driveway and they dropped way fewer leaves than the rest. Anyone else get told some advice that sounded backwards but ended up working?

Worst week in the bucket truck in 8 years

Had a street full of old silver maples on Maple Ave last Tuesday. Every single one had included bark and co-dominant stems. Wind came up at 11am and a 14 inch limb just snapped off while I was under it with the chipper. Close call. Then the truck overheated on the way back to the shop. Cost me $400 for a new radiator. And I still got complaints from the homeowner about leaving sawdust on her lawn. Anyone else have a string of bad luck like that?

That day in 2015 at a job site in Portland changed my whole approach to pruning

I was working on a big old oak near Laurelhurst Park, probably 80 feet tall, and my boss at the time told me to stop doing thinning cuts and start using reduction cuts instead. He showed me how leaving a lateral branch at least a third of the diameter of the removed limb keeps the tree healthier and reduces storm damage later. It felt wrong at first, but after a few years I've seen way less failure on those trees I worked on back then. Has anyone else had a mentor change their mind on a basic cut type?

I finally learned my lesson about cheap climbing rope

Bought a $40 rope off Amazon back in March to save some cash for a job in Portland. Second time using it, I found a flat spot near the tail end after a simple limb walk. Spent $120 on a real Yale rope the next day and the difference in feel is night and day. Anyone else waste money on gear that just wasnt worth the risk?

That time I took down a maple and it landed on my neighbor's fence

Back in 2019 I was working a job near Portland, thought I had the drop zone all figured out. But the wind shifted right as I made the final cut, and that maple swung sideways like it had a mind of its own. Took out about 40 feet of chain link fence, neighbor came running out yelling. Had to pay his guy $600 to fix it and felt like a fool for weeks. My old foreman taught me to always check the wind before a fell, but I got cocky that day because it was a simple straight shot. Now I throw a weighted line up there first just to see how the branches will move. Anyone else had a tree pull a fast one on them because of a surprise gust?

That morning the 60 foot oak came down on my truck

Comparing rope techniques on a big oak removal, the Blake's hitch won out

I was out with a crew in Portland last month taking down a 90 foot red oak in someone's backyard. The other climber was using a mechanical ascender with a Petzl setup, and I stuck with my standard Blake's hitch and a simple friction hitch. He kept fighting the rope running against the bark while I was able to adjust and stay smooth through the whole thing. The mechanical gear felt clunky on that rough bark compared to just using my hands. Has anyone else noticed a simpler hitch working better on those rough-barked trees?

Pruned a silver maple that hadn't been touched in 15 years, the difference was wild

Picked up a job clearing deadwood and raising the crown on a neglected tree in Denver, and after taking off maybe 20% of the canopy the whole thing looked wider and healthier. Has anyone else seen a tree bounce back that fast after a good thinning or was it just good timing with the growth cycle?

The day I got called out for using a pole pruner wrong after 20 years

I was working a massive live oak in Austin last Tuesday when this younger arborist from another crew walks up and asks why I'm making my cuts so far from the collar. I told him I've been doing it this way since the 90s and nobody complained. He pulled out his phone and showed me a study from Texas A&M about decay rates with improper cuts. I was pretty embarrassed honestly. Has anyone else had a younger crew member teach them something that made you rethink your whole approach?