making up a lanyard

sawsong

right,

want to sort myself out a 5m lanyard

not seeing many of these ready done, so I thought id put one together myself.

so 5m of half inch rope... can anyone suggest a fairly stiff one? (comparable to others)

now, what to do about its termination? I would like to have an eye on the end whether spliced or stitched and have a snaphook on the end.

Now i realise I could have the rope spliced around the eye of the snaphook, but if i were to buy a ready spliced length of rope, could I use a PPE certified maillon to connect the two?

a 5m new england split tail that would be ideal for the job costs nearly 30 quid, making by my reckoning the splice about 20 of those.

ive no problem with tying the rope onto the snaphook but I personally think it looks a bit untidy and cluttered. Id prefer to keep my climbing and positioning systems as 'clean' and simple as possible.

whether I adjust with prusik or a grab is as yet undecided but not as important.

all input greatfully received

Jim

TreeDimensional

sawsong, I don't know if you are aware of it, but they DO make a replacement rope (5M) for the grillion. I use three differnt lanyards, I have 2 grillions and a steel core.

Once you own the camming device of the grillion, it isn't that difficult to swap out the 3M for the 5M. I always use 2 lanyards, one attached to the left and one on the right side D's. The rope for the grillion is very stiff compaired to climbing line. We had a boo-boo with a 3M grillion and I replaced the rope with climbing line. I would NOT recommend doing this, it is like trying to advance a wet noodle. I had a friend of mine (ex sailer CAF) stitch the loop on the snap, and I have always been concerned about it's integrity. You HAVE to be able to TRUST your equipment or the stress of worry will make you old before your time.

Working position gear is task specific, and IMO this is the last place short-cuts should be used. Buy the stuff you NEED, not like our Buddy Aerial.

sawsong

cheers dude,

yeah i could switch out the cord in the grillon for a 5m... BUT the spec for the course asks for 2 individual strop setups, so I can only imagine that both may be required at the same time. Im also thinking using a prusik secured one as well as a camming one covers me as per it being part of the course to do everything with knots as well as with hardware.

Ive tried getting in touch with the instructor but thus far had no luck. the centre itself is drawing a blank.


did some measuring. an eye splice on a length of rope uses 28inches
tying a double fishermans uses 18 inches of half inch rope
a stitched eye only uses 5inches of the length up so would be the desireable choice...

perhaps I should get 5 1/2m of applicable cord and by the time ive tied a double fishermans onto the snaphook at one end and a fig8 stopper the other, it'll be 5m

Aerial

I've considered the idea of making my own splices, but getting the weave just a bit wrong in a piece of gear that holds me to my lifeline seems all too likely.

My wife just saw my Petzel Stop and Kong Indy together at the same time. This was a mistake, as even though they are different colors, as long as she only saw one at a time, I was OK, now I have to buy her a new washing machine.

Aerial

sawsong

for reference sake, this is what im trying to imitate and better



description:
Adjustable Lanyard complete with 4mt length of Industrial 11 ml rope, snaphook, prussik, pulley and attachment Biner. £35.00

but id like to make it 13mm/half inch and 5m

TreeDimensional

Aerial, IF she only KNEW the whole story, you'd be on your way to the Porshe dealership! Just tell her that its a whole lot cheaper than supporting a girlfriend.

I agree with your statement about it not looking quite right, Me thinks you are acquiring the "Little Voice" OR the small guy sitting on your shoulder whispering in your ear saying "ya think thats a good idea to do that".

That all being said, tree climbing is all about the tree. You can have the best gear in the world, and IF you ignore the tree, STUFF can happen fast! A good example of this is climbing a tree and discovering that there are a lot more problems with the tree that you couldn't see from the ground. This is why there are standards to keep the climber safe. Like the use of a lanyard, in conjunction with a climbing line. Another standard that is accepted here and possibly different in other locations is the OLD PHRASE "Three points of contact with the tree at all times".

The last time I checked, they didn't pay me to climb, they paid me to work on the tree. Climbing is a small component of tree work, it is an important component none the less. The most important thing about tree work, is the tree. A good understanding of tree biology is essential in keeping the tree alive, as well as the climber.

If your only doing removals, the above statement ALSO applies. The reaction of the tree will dictate the success or failure of a removal. You could say that we are calculating the risk, with all the things we do in a tree.

If your recreational climbing, the only real concern is the effects of gravity. When your pruning a tree, you MUST add the effects of PHC. If your removing a tree, you also add the tree characteristic, dynamics, and physics to the whole gravity defiance thing. Statistics vary from place to place, depending on tree types and locations. There are literally hundreds of books written on tree care (and removal). Each job should be respected for the harm it can inflict on the tree worker. THIS is why core training and experience are crucial to all tree workers.

Sorry IF I got off topic!

Sawsong, My personal opinion is that IF they are taking your money for this certification, the SHOULD have someone available to answer your request for information, quickly. If there is a failure to communicate, what kind of valuable information, that will save your life, is the instructor going to FORGET to communicate to you?

sawsong

true enough. I think the problem here comes in that the course is held at a university's campus where they do forestry and arb courses etc, but it's not their tutors who take the courses. they bring in an external guy to take the course and then of course an external examiner. I think the breakdown in communication is them trying to get in touch with him. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt just for now. This was certainly the case with the chainsaw courses I took at the same place.

anyway. ive spoken to someone who's colleagues took the course at the same place and he said they took exactly what was on the list and the college supplied the rest, if there was a 'rest'.

so in short, I'll follow the list to the letter and i cant go far wrong i reckon

TreeDimensional

Sawsang that lanyard looks OK to me, BUT keep in mind the Regulations for your area. There is probably something that says "meets or exceeds rating 1234".

The "snap" you are going to use is likely the most expensive part of the DIY lanyard. I believe they have to have two separate actions to open, if you have one and it is properly rated, I know what I would do. I think that even the termination at the snap is dictated by the regulations in YOUR country.

I would just feel awful advising you as to what to do, and have you disqualified from the course for non-compliance of equipment. So here is what I suggest, go buy an approved, manufactured lanyard. You will have the benefit of its use for years to come. Everyone needs at least two anyway.

Where I live, it is manditory that there is another complete climbing kit, including spurs, on-site at all times, in the event that someone needs to be rescued. It is probably a real good idea that someone is there that knows how to use it.

So now you know that this occupation is equipment heavy, and expensive. Ya STILL want to be a tree worker?

sawsong

Id best do!!

In courses it stands me to well over £1000 and in gear, probably another £500

that's dedication for you. Ive never found anything ive been so driven to do before

sawsong

well it's christmas again!!



harness isnt new but everything else in the picture is.

today arrived,

yellow 1 man first aid kit (now on back of harness)

caritool (on right of harness)

6m of marlow gecko for 2nd strop/lanyard.
I fitted it up with a prussik if I decide to use it to cynch round a limb as a second short lifeline, and have been adjusting it whilst practicing with a 4 wrap 4 braid VT with micropulley although i like the klemheist just as much. It's double fisherman'd onto a biner one end and when it's not daisychained up it has a fig8 in the other end.

another 4m of 9mm prussik cord but that's boring

nice shiny new Petzl vertex vent helmet (wearing my husky defenders and visor)

two webbing slings both rated for 25kn, one 50cm one 100 (actual length of tape 2x that)

pair of timberland pro extra grip gloves

another triple lock biner. need to get a couple of petzl OK ones or AM'Ds but finding them hard to get hold of at the moment.

the stihl multitool was a prize in a prize draw courtesy of the company i placed the orders for all my gear with. It's actually brilliant

The samurai pruning saw with sheath was a freebie with my subscription to 'Total Arb: A world of Trees' Magazine

deer man

Nod has the Ok crabs at treeworker.

newguy18

hey sawsong are those samurai saws any good?

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sawsong

bloody marvellous for free!

errm... cant say ive ever used a proper silky to compare the two. I nearly bought a sugoi before i saw this as a magazine incentive, but it's SO fast and such a clean cut.

the teeth are so sharp I have to really watch what im doing, but yeah I really like it, and I believe theyre competatively priced too.

mine's the GC 330 (Ichiban)

KANZAWA SEIKO CO LTD :: Fast Cut Saws (GC Series)