c/arborists

Climbing spikes on a live oak - am I the only one who used to do this without thinking?

I spent my first two years climbing trees with spikes on every single job. That's just how my old boss taught me - strap on the gaffs, bite in, and get up there fast. But last summer I had a client follow me around a 150 year old live oak in Savannah. She pointed to every gash I left in the bark and asked if that hurt the tree. I brushed it off at first, but that night I did some real research. Turns out I was basically wounding the cambium layer on every climb. Now I only spike dead trees or removals. Pruning climbs are hands and rope only. Is there a line between being fast and being a hack, or do most of you skip spikes for live work too?

I finally got why some guys swear by hand pruning over power tools

I was talking to this old timer named Jerry at a job site in Portland last month. He was trimming this big oak and using just a handsaw while I was dragging out my pole pruner. He said something like "you hear the tree better without the noise" and I kind of laughed it off. But then I tried his method on a smaller branch and felt the cut way different, cleaner and more controlled. Made me think about how much I rely on noise and speed instead of actually feeling the wood. Has anyone else had a conversation that changed how you approach a basic task like cutting?

Picked a gas-powered pole saw over a battery one for my weekend job last summer, and now I'm wondering if the extra noise was worth the power.

I went with the Stihl because I had three big oak limbs to take down and didn't want to stop charging batteries, but after 45 minutes of that two-stroke roar in a quiet neighborhood, a neighbor came out and asked me to knock off early has anyone else dealt with that trade off?

Misjudged a branch weight on a huge oak in Portland last Tuesday

I was taking down a big limb over a driveway, figured it was maybe 300 pounds based on the size. Turned out the thing was waterlogged inside and closer to 500. My notch cut was too shallow for that weight, and the hinge started cracking way earlier than I planned. Took a lot of wrestling with the lowering line to get it down safe. Has anyone else been fooled by a rotted core making a branch heavier than it looks?

Saw a guy on a jobsite trimming a massive oak with a hand saw yesterday

He was up there for 3 hours on one branch and I had my Silky on the truck but he said he 'prefers the workout'. Anyone else run into stubborn climbers who refuse to use modern gear?

The chip drop scam finally got me to stop ordering mulch from landscape yards

Everyone told me never to use chip drop because you get junk wood with poison ivy mixed in. I kept ordering from the local landscape yard at $45 a yard for double ground hardwood. Then I got a load from chip drop last spring that had mostly clean oak and maple chips. Saved $180 on a 4 yard job and the chips broke down faster than the landscape yard stuff because they were fresher. Has anyone else had good luck with utility arborist drops for playground or pathway work?

Old timer at the saw shop changed how I think about sharpening chains

Was getting a chain sharpened at Bob's Saw Shop last Thursday and this retired logger named Hank asked me why I didn't sharpen my own. Told him I never got the hang of it, he goes 'you're trying to cut with a dull brain, not a dull chain.' That hit me because I've been avoiding learning new stuff for years now. He sat me down for 20 minutes and showed me his method, cost me nothing but my pride. Has anyone else had some old hand call them out and actually make them better at the job?

Saw a 5-year crown recovery on a maple today and it flipped my opinion on root pruning.

I always thought root pruning during transplant was too risky, you know, like cutting off the lifeline. Then I visited a job in Portland where the arborist showed me a maple he'd done 3 years ago with heavy root work and the canopy was twice as full as a nearby untreated tree. Has anyone else seen long-term results that completely changed their take on a standard practice?

Why does nobody talk about how much faster a Silky saw cuts than a handsaw?

I’ve been using a regular handsaw for pruning jobs for 3 years and finally grabbed a Silky Zubat last month. The difference in cut speed is ridiculous like it slices through a 6 inch branch in 10 seconds flat. Has anyone else switched and noticed a big jump in efficiency on the job?

I finally listened to the old guy about climbing line care

For a long time I just hosed my lines off after a muddy job. Last month I started using a bucket with a little bit of mild soap and a soft brush, then letting them air dry away from sun. The difference in how they feel and handle is huge, like they're brand new again. Has anyone else found a simple cleaning step that made a big difference for their gear?

That old oak stump in my neighbor's yard took me three full days to grind out

I figured it was a one day job, maybe two tops. The root flare was over four feet wide and the taproot went straight down like a tree pillar. My Vermeer 252 wouldn't even touch it at first. I had to switch to a bigger machine, a 672, and even then I was just chipping away at it for hours. Ended up spending three eight hour days on it, which I definitely did not quote for. Has anyone else run into a stump that just refused to die?

Vent: My $400 pole saw head snapped on the first big branch.

I was doing a backyard prune in Tacoma and the whole thing just gave out, so what's a solid brand that can handle a 6 inch maple limb without breaking the bank?

I finally had a climbing line snap on me during a removal

It happened about two weeks ago on a big silver maple removal in the south part of town. I was about 35 feet up, making my final cut on a large limb, when my main climbing line just gave way. It wasn't a clean break, more of a frayed snap about six feet above my hitch. I had inspected it that morning, but I must have missed some internal damage from a previous job. I dropped maybe eight feet before my secondary lanyard caught me, which was a real gut punch. My ground guy saw it happen and had the bucket truck moving before I even shouted. We got the tree down safely, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking for an hour. I'm now checking every inch of rope under a bright light before it even goes in the truck. Has anyone else had a rope fail without obvious external wear?

My climbing line coiling method got a total overhaul last season

I used to just do the classic butterfly coil, but after a workshop in Boise, I switched to a mountaineering-style coil with a girth hitch finish. It's way faster to deploy and never tangles in the bag. Anyone else make a switch like that and stick with it?

Got stuck for a full day trying to free a climbing line from a huge old oak in Springfield

Bought a cheap climbing rope from a discount site and it snapped on my second job.

It was a 120 foot line I got for $60 online, half the price of my usual brand. I was about 30 feet up a big oak in a client's yard when it just gave way. Luckily I was tied in with a second line, but it scared me bad. Anyone got a solid rope they trust that won't break the bank?

I thought topping trees was fine until a job in Tacoma last month

A homeowner insisted we top his big maple, said his old guy did it every few years. We did it, charged $800, and I felt weird about it. Two weeks later I saw the same tree, and the new growth looked so weak and spindly. Has anyone else had a client push for topping and how do you talk them out of it?

After a storm in Spokane, I saw a split maple that changed my view on cabling

I was looking at a big silver maple on a client's property that had a major split, and the arborist who cabled it years ago used a single bolt through the union instead of two, which got me wondering if that's a common shortcut or a genuine mistake.

I finally tried a proper pole saw after years of using a ladder and a handsaw

Last month in a big oak in my own yard, I spent two hours up a shaky ladder with my old Silky saw, then borrowed my neighbor's Stihl pole saw and had the same limb down in ten minutes. The difference was not just speed, but feeling safe and in control the whole time. For those who've made the switch, which pole saw model do you trust for regular residential work?

Got a call for a 'tree rescue' that turned into a squirrel standoff

Lady thought her prized maple was dying because the leaves were gone... turned out a family of squirrels had stripped every single one to build a nest in her attic vent. Took me an hour to explain I'm not a pest guy. Anyone ever had a job that just wasn't in the book?

The great 'just prune the top' misunderstanding I keep seeing in my town

Okay, so I'm in a small city park a lot (Springfield, if you're curious) and I keep hearing homeowners tell each other to 'just take a bit off the top' of their big oaks to let more light in. They think it's a simple haircut. I saw a guy last Tuesday with a brand new pole saw, about to just flat-top a beautiful pin oak because his grass was patchy. I had to walk over and explain that topping is basically a death sentence, creating weak, fast-growing water sprouts that split later. It doesn't fix the light issue, it just makes a dangerous, ugly tree. I showed him how to identify a few interior crossing branches we could actually thin out instead. How do we get this 'top it' idea out of people's heads for good? Is it just bad advice from old gardening books?

My old climbing rope gave out on me during a big oak removal

It happened about two weeks ago on a job in Springfield. I was about 40 feet up, making a cut on a big limb, and I felt a weird little pop in my line. When I looked down, I saw about six inches of the sheath had just peeled back like a banana. My heart jumped into my throat, man. That rope was my first real climbing line, bought it eight years ago when I was still working for a big company. I did the slow, careful climb down and just sat on the tailgate staring at it. It wasn't even frayed anywhere else, just that one spot where it must have rubbed against a stub a thousand times. Made me think about all the gear we trust every day. What's a good sign you guys look for to retire a rope before it tells you itself?

Am I the only one who thinks the new carbon fiber pole saws are overhyped?

I spent $650 on one last spring thinking it would be a game-changer for my pruning jobs. The weight savings are nice, but the flex in the sections makes precise cuts way harder than with my old aluminum one... especially on anything over 15 feet. Anyone else find they just don't have the same feel?

My grandpa swore by using a bar of soap to lubricate a saw chain, and after trying it on a stubborn oak limb in my backyard, I have to admit the old man was onto something.

What's the weirdest piece of advice that actually worked for you guys?

My new climbing line got a nasty core shot on a pine removal yesterday and the debate is whether to retire it or do a short splice.

The sheath tore about 15 feet from the end when it pinched against a stub I missed, so I'm torn between the cost of a new rope and trusting a repair on a primary life support line.