Essential tools - Pole pruners/hook

This is one of those tools I went for years without and now wonder how on earth I managed, I now take them to every job

They may not get used on every job but I'd sooner have them and not need them than need them and not have them!

I have x2 4ft poles and x2 6ft poles which gives me a good range of options for height, I may think about adding another 6 ft pole at some point.

The pruners are perfect for the finishing touches on a medium reduction or for virtually every cut on a small one and the hook comes in equally useful, whether its freeing hanging branches, pulling over small trees or lifting phone lines clear of a branch, I wouldn't want to do some jobs with out it.

I also use the poles for my Big shot, which again may not get used very often, but makes life a lot easier when it does.

My poles are Frank Marvin, but they look identical to Jameson poles and are interchangeable with there accessories. I've been very impressed with the quality and build and seem to take any punishment I throw at them and show very little sign of their age or use

Rigging kits

This is my current set up in terms of rigging gear that I take out on my own private jobs. 

I've talked about these petzl bags before, still can't say enough good things about them.

First up in the large (35lt) bag I have 60m of 16mm Sirius Bull rope and a 4m long 16mm dead eye sling with a small ISC cast pulley attached, this kit only comes out on big jobs or if I don't know the job (i.e.  freelancing) then I may chuck it in as well. 

Then in the first small (25lt) bag I have a selection of things; 30m 14mm sirius bull rope, 5 m dead eye, small ISC portawrap, small woopie sling, large woopie sling,  Medium ISC swing cheek lowering pulley with steel dmm crab,  2m split tail, large loopie sling, x2 petzl tandem pulleys, another smaller woopie (orange) , small mallion, small rigging plate,  2m tape sling and crab, 10m length of xtc line, couple of lengths of hitch cord. 

The idea with this bag was to have everything I'd need for small/medium scale lowering, as well as all the other trinkets you occasionally need for complicated lowering jobs. The 30m rope is usually sufficient for most small trees and also comes in handy as a second line if using the bigger rope. 

Then in the other small bag are some other bits that go out with me on almost every job now. From left to right: in the black bag is the Mini MA system, 22m of 12mm sirius bull rope (tag line), 5m multi sling, 4.5m dead eye, rigging gloves, and big shot/trigger set up 

The tag line has come in handy on numerous occasions, especially on those jobs where I've been told there is no rigging to do and then discover that there definitely is!

I'm pretty happy with my current set up, It covers me for a large range of rigging scenarios, the only major thing I need now is a decent bollard, something like the Stein RC3001 that I get to use for my current main employer 

Big shot trigger video

Follow up video from a previous post

Not a huge tree, but with the 6ft pole and a 12oz weight I get the fork I wanted first shot, base tied and SRT up the other side to remove/reduce a few lower branches overhanging a golf green. Definitely saved a few minutes.

Pole pruners storage

Its annoyed me for a while having the poles kicking around in the back of the truck and when carrying them you can never seem to hold more than 3 without dropping one, so finally found a use for those old bits of hitch cord I inexplicably keep.

Tied with a constrictor knot they are kept nice and tight together, making storage and transport much easier. 

The link above explains a bit more about about the constrictor knot and its uses. Its a really handy knot to have in the bag.

Big shot trigger set up

There are things I can do well and there are things I cant, using a throwline is most definitely one thing I can't! I think a big part of it is lack of patience, I miss a few times or the line gets stuck and I give up grab the ladders and just climb the tree. This has lead to me never developing my throwline skills at all.

 

So when presented with a job a few years back where ladders were going to be woefully inadequate and the throwline the only realistic option I had a choice to make: practice for hours and hours till I could hit any branch, or buy a big shot...

 

 

So this is the big shot, on its own it definitely increased my accuracy and success rate with the throwline, but still wasn't perfect. The trouble was that there is quite a bit of variation in where you hold the catapult, especially when putting it under a lot of tension, this leads to a lot of variation in where the thing ends up!

 

I spotted a thread on Arbtalk where someone had developed a system involving an archery trigger and a tie down strap to turn the big shot into something you could almost calibrate.

 

Here I've fixed the archery trigger to the business end of the tie down strap and covered it in heat shrink to tidy it up (my gear OCD again!)

 

The trigger clips into a 3mm piece of accessory cord tied onto the big shot pull down handle

 

The hook end of the tie down strap just sits in the end of the pole, I use one 6ft pole for most stuff or x2 4ft poles for really high shots.

 

And you end up with this:

Sorry bit of a rubbish picture

 

The tie down strap gives you a 2:1 mechanical advantage with the grab bit capturing progress, so you can set it to the desired tension take aim and fire when ready!

 

Here's a link to a video of someone else's system in operation

 

Big shot tie down strap

 

Then the whole lot packs into this old chalk bag for storage

 

 

Not something for every day use but it most definitely has its place and has saved me a lot of wasted hours.