throw line reel.

Tree Machine · 27th November 2008, 01:39 PM

Here's the swivel detail, the very first time I tried it. I just schlocked it together, a wire. It worked great.

Then the magic of the chop stick for one whopper of a technological leap.

Tree Machine · 27th November 2008, 01:47 PM

Swivel down.

Swivel up,

Tree Machine · 27th November 2008, 03:13 PM

Here's a good way to bore the hole in the base; a hole saw.

Nice, clean hole.

Tree Machine · 29th November 2008, 01:34 AM

Add shotline, you're ready to fire

Tree Machine · 29th November 2008, 01:40 AM

Here's what I'm running right now. What the heck, y'know?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevMcRev

OK TreeMachine, lets keep this rolling, i really keen to see where this ends up.

The topdog throwline reel, the current evolution

OK, we're about ready to enter the current era. This is gonna be a fair number of pictures.

As the polycarbonate base era evolved, the project got more and more fun. I mean, when you streamline a process in your arborist working arena, it's like one of life's little successes. You overcome some older, less effective way and find a better one. After a couple hundred shots/throws in a row with perfect deploy and speed on return, man, that's called money-in-pocket. Time is money, the tool saves you time, the tool is working for you, doing it's job, performing brilliantly.

That's what I'd want in ANY tool I use, so the reel has to step up to the high mark and get put up for public scrutiny before any one of you ever sees one.

Tree Machine · 29th November 2008, 02:06 AM

This is the most nicks ever put into the outer rim. Usually two will do. All these tiny details are pretty important to the overall, beginning-to-end shotline winder experience.

Tree Machine · 29th November 2008, 02:31 AM

Mmmmmmmm.

Tree Machine · 14th January 2010, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevMcRev

OK TreeMachine, lets keep this rolling, i really keen to see where this ends up.

The topdog throwline reel, the current evolution, i want to explore beyond the cube, but i want to at least start where your at today.

January, 2010

Are you still wanting to keep this rolling, Trev? Wanna take a look at the next generation? I made one up this last week with an improved design for the new year and I have a bunch of juicy images.

TrevMcRev · 14th January 2010, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tree Machine

January, 2010

Are you still wanting to keep this rolling, Trev? Wanna take a look at the next generation? I made one up this last week with an improved design for the new year and I have a bunch of juicy images.

Hi Jim, i want to get hold of one. Do i order one from them or can i get one
direct from you, autographed collectors edition of course!

Man we could have used these right now. We are working in deep forest on 200"+ trees, every tree is bigshot for access. Any misfires mean line tangled in debris on the forest floor, not good for your second shot. Open canopies like the mtn ash are pretty good for 1st shot, but some of the dense stuff like sequoia & doug fir riddled with ivy can be tough!

Tree Machine · 15th January 2010, 01:13 AM

Hey Trev.... so good to hear these tidbits of your work in the bush.

I just read The Wild Trees, which had a juicy segment on the approach and climb into the canopy of the Eucalyptus regnans, the book took me there.
As I read the book I was imagining how the shotline winder would or should look like if it were in their kit.

So as weird as it may sound, I have unknowingly been researching the shotline reel, deep jungle, tall-tree version for you and am better prepared to build a reel for just such purposes.

I will make you a custom version, a little beefier, the drum lip set higher and able to accommodate more line. Your reel will get 400 feet instead of 200 feet.
You get a choice of which custom swivel.
Brings the cost to $89 + shipping for the double length, 1.75 mm FlingIt, higher-lip, Trev McRev Rain Forest 400. Already we have a deep subcategory in the reel family and we're only on the second one.

And officially, since the first reel built was a donation to the 2010 Geezers Competition, this second reel is my first official sale. An historic moment.

Order here and in the note say, "Tall-Trees Version" what we affectionately refer to here now as the 'Trev McRev' version.

Hey Trev, see on the image of the reel above, the left side where you see 001 enscrawled into it?

Trev, you get # 002

Tree Machine · 15th January 2010, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrevMcRev

autographed collectors edition of course!

Yes, if you can get me Ace Master's autograph. I'm a big fan.

TrevMcRev · 15th January 2010, 11:04 PM

I've just ordered #002 & #003.

1 standard & 1 trevmcrev special!

Tree Machine · 27th January 2010, 12:50 AM

Hey Trev.

Your reels made a public appearance at the ISA Indiana chapter conference/expo last week.
Those are yours in the bottom-left of the picture.

They were shipped immediately after the conference and should arrive sometime in early 2010.
The attendees had some fun watching me toss the bag down the aisle right off the reel, missing other vendors and attendees, and the 40-foot retrievals in under 7 seconds

I got a gamut of responses, from "Wow! That thing's frickin awesome!" to "So, what do you use shotline for?"

I also have a 58 second video showing the winding on of the full 400 feet onto your tall-trees version.

Tree Machine · 31st January 2010, 02:00 AM

I've had the opportunity to use the new-style reel several dozen times, almost all throwing, but the last couple days with the BigShot.
Trev, I think you're going to be very, very happy. I drained an 80 foot shot, right off the reel. This has been my highest shot so far in the relatively few attempts yet with this new version reel.

The former version always performed in excellence. This new one is truly showing to be better, the way the lip is formed on this reel gives less overall resistance to the line peeling off, and the shotbag just sails. I could hear the line coming off the former version right after a shot, but this one is quiet.

TrevMcRev · 1st February 2010, 08:59 AM

Lovin the engraving mate!

Look forward to it arriving and taking some shots.

Crow Horse · 17th February 2010, 10:47 AM

Tree Machine efforts inspired me to make my own throwline "reel". Made from a spool that contained stainless guy wire that the military used and some odds and ends that were kicking around my shop.

I'm not a pro, nor do I want to hamper Tree Machine's marketing. His winder is highly refined and mine isn't. At this juncture, mine appears that it will suit my needs.....

I've only hand thrown and the line peeled off well without any tangles.....

Tree Machine · 17th February 2010, 04:21 PM

Yee-Ha! That should work very well for you. Looks hefty.

Hand sand your lip some, 120 grit, then run a low, slow propane flame along the lip's entire circumference. This will gloss the lip's edge and make it perfectly smooth.

I think you will like your reel a lot, Crow. Do report back.

Crow Horse · 18th February 2010, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tree Machine

Yee-Ha! That should work very well for you. Looks hefty.

Hand sand your lip some, 120 grit, then run a low, slow propane flame along the lip's entire circumference. This will gloss the lip's edge and make it perfectly smooth.

I think you will like your reel a lot, Crow. Do report back.

I sanded the lip and then experimented with the waste from cutting the spool. It didn't respond well to heat , trying both a torch and a heat gun and various techniques. Heat wasn't going to be my friend. What did work well was using a dremel and polishing/buffing compounds.

It's not perfect and I'm not entirely pleased with the method I had to cut the spool and the results. I would have preferred to cut it on a lathe, but I didn't have one available to me at the time. That said, considering I had to hand cut the spool with a jig saw, I'm reasonably happy. I'm a perfectionist and sometimes things like this drive me crazy.

Tree Machine · 18th February 2010, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crow Horse

I'm a perfectionist and sometimes things like this drive me crazy.

Drive on, Brother.

Crow Horse · 31st March 2010, 11:08 AM

Finally put the finishing touch on my reel. I powder coated the "T" handle......

I used mine about a week ago and it worked really well hand throwing. I'm very pleased........

R.Boreal · 11th December 2010, 04:24 PM

I've been using dairy crates to flake it in and deploy when working with large lengths from the ground. A Home Depot pail is great too. Big, but when you flake it in you want to go fast and the wider the opening the better. Turning it round a center has it's disadvantages in that it creates twist. (But I gotta say Crow, that thing looks marvelous. Suicide ball, motorcycle grip - hey, ya got sealed bearings in that f__er? Ha! Seriously, I bet that's the fastest way ever to get a line back. Tension might be an issue - maybe the Trev McRev version has it's advantages.)

So I've been reading your posts, and you guys have worlds of experience over me, so I know you can back up what you say. But in the 8 yrs I have been doing this work, a throwline in a tree is indispensible. Sure I re-crotch regularly with a positioning lanyard, and yeah I carry an extra length of rope up. But if the throw is difficult and I have crazy little branches in the way, I can't see mucking about with a 1/2" line and a hangman's knot or a monkey's fist. A throwline and a reach tool, like a pole saw or something you make yourself (I made a good one from 2 chimney cleaning rods and stiff wire bound on with zip ties) will make quick work of a strategy.

A heavy throwbag and about 150' of 1.75mm line wound around a Smucker's plastic jelly jar stowed in a small throwline bag goes with me on every working climb. Lots of times I don't use it, but when I need it it's there.

It's not about re-crotching to a higher TIP, although I use it for that many times. Mostly for me it's about placing the lowering line in an optimum point so that when I drop the limb it's not going to skid the roof or decimate the trees under it. I don't have cranes or buckets, so my rigging is either to the tree or to a neighboring one (preferable). The throwline gets my rigging high up on the limb on those sprawling ones that I can't drop straight down, and where I need extra insurance to safeguard the homeowner's property. Where I'm not sure I can climb, either cause it won't hold me, or I don't trust my spike skills on wood that small.

Also, with the throwline in the tree, I can set my TIP for my next tree much easier... hell, I'm already 80' up! Just toss it almost dead horizontal and BOOYAH, I'm in. Then drop the throwline bag (I have the smallest one) cinched halfway so the line spools from the Smucker's but the plastic jar doesn't come out, and if I drop it right, I miss most of the branches and I have a nice setup for entering the next tree. I keep stuff inside the Smucker's that weighs it down pretty well. My last job I blocked a section right on the Smucker's when it was on the ground... shattered and crushed. I missed it already the other day. Soon as I'm done with this post I'm ordering the next larger throwline storage bag, 7" dia and 9" high. Big enough to hold my favorite portable throwline spool - the plastic Folger's coffee can. A couple slits and a hole in the bottom - perfect.

What's it good for? Well since it's a jar, inside the Smucker's I kept earplugs, bandaids, a throwbag, and a cheap pliers for loosening tool-tightened oval links I set for my recreational false crotches. (I have 60 trees and I climb for fun too.)

That's just the way I've done it for awhile now - probably most of the spots I'm tossing for access, you crazy gaffers would just spike up like squirrels and cut away. Spikes still give me a scare sometimes - I like to toss for access when the limbs get under 6" in dia.

27th November 2008, 01:39 PM	#121
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Here's the swivel detail, the very first time I tried it. I just schlocked it together, a wire. It worked great. Then the magic of the chop stick for one whopper of a technological leap. Attached Thumbnails

27th November 2008, 01:47 PM	#122
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Swivel down. Swivel up, Attached Thumbnails

27th November 2008, 03:13 PM	#123
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Here's a good way to bore the hole in the base; a hole saw. Nice, clean hole. Attached Thumbnails

29th November 2008, 01:34 AM	#124
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Add shotline, you're ready to fire Attached Thumbnails

29th November 2008, 02:06 AM	#126
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	This is the most nicks ever put into the outer rim. Usually two will do. All these tiny details are pretty important to the overall, beginning-to-end shotline winder experience. Attached Thumbnails

29th November 2008, 02:31 AM	#127
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Mmmmmmmm. Attached Thumbnails

15th January 2010, 01:13 AM	#130
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Reels are available Hey Trev.... so good to hear these tidbits of your work in the bush. I just read The Wild Trees, which had a juicy segment on the approach and climb into the canopy of the Eucalyptus regnans, the book took me there. As I read the book I was imagining how the shotline winder would or should look like if it were in their kit. So as weird as it may sound, I have unknowingly been researching the shotline reel, deep jungle, tall-tree version for you and am better prepared to build a reel for just such purposes. I will make you a custom version, a little beefier, the drum lip set higher and able to accommodate more line. Your reel will get 400 feet instead of 200 feet. You get a choice of which custom swivel. Brings the cost to $89 + shipping for the double length, 1.75 mm FlingIt, higher-lip, Trev McRev Rain Forest 400. Already we have a deep subcategory in the reel family and we're only on the second one. And officially, since the first reel built was a donation to the 2010 Geezers Competition, this second reel is my first official sale. An historic moment. Order here and in the note say, "Tall-Trees Version" what we affectionately refer to here now as the 'Trev McRev' version. Hey Trev, see on the image of the reel above, the left side where you see 001 enscrawled into it? Trev, you get # 002

15th January 2010, 11:04 PM	#132
TrevMcRev Mature Tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 1,605	Re: throw line reel. I've just ordered #002 & #003. 1 standard & 1 trevmcrev special!

27th January 2010, 12:50 AM	#133
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Trev McRev Special Hey Trev. Your reels made a public appearance at the ISA Indiana chapter conference/expo last week. Those are yours in the bottom-left of the picture. They were shipped immediately after the conference and should arrive sometime in early 2010. The attendees had some fun watching me toss the bag down the aisle right off the reel, missing other vendors and attendees, and the 40-foot retrievals in under 7 seconds I got a gamut of responses, from "Wow! That thing's frickin awesome!" to "So, what do you use shotline for?" I also have a 58 second video showing the winding on of the full 400 feet onto your tall-trees version. Attached Thumbnails

31st January 2010, 02:00 AM	#134
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	new style reel. I've had the opportunity to use the new-style reel several dozen times, almost all throwing, but the last couple days with the BigShot. Trev, I think you're going to be very, very happy. I drained an 80 foot shot, right off the reel. This has been my highest shot so far in the relatively few attempts yet with this new version reel. The former version always performed in excellence. This new one is truly showing to be better, the way the lip is formed on this reel gives less overall resistance to the line peeling off, and the shotbag just sails. I could hear the line coming off the former version right after a shot, but this one is quiet. Attached Thumbnails

1st February 2010, 08:59 AM	#135
TrevMcRev Mature Tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 1,605	Re: throw line reel. Lovin the engraving mate! Look forward to it arriving and taking some shots.

17th February 2010, 10:47 AM	#136
Crow Horse Sappling Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Masonville, NY Posts: 49	Re: throw line reel. Tree Machine efforts inspired me to make my own throwline "reel". Made from a spool that contained stainless guy wire that the military used and some odds and ends that were kicking around my shop. I'm not a pro, nor do I want to hamper Tree Machine's marketing. His winder is highly refined and mine isn't. At this juncture, mine appears that it will suit my needs..... I've only hand thrown and the line peeled off well without any tangles..... Attached Thumbnails

17th February 2010, 04:21 PM	#137
Tree Machine Over mature heritage tree Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 955	Re: throw line reel. Yee-Ha! That should work very well for you. Looks hefty. Hand sand your lip some, 120 grit, then run a low, slow propane flame along the lip's entire circumference. This will gloss the lip's edge and make it perfectly smooth. I think you will like your reel a lot, Crow. Do report back.

31st March 2010, 11:08 AM	#140
Crow Horse Sappling Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Masonville, NY Posts: 49	Re: throw line reel. Finally put the finishing touch on my reel. I powder coated the "T" handle...... I used mine about a week ago and it worked really well hand throwing. I'm very pleased........ Attached Thumbnails __________________ All Good Medicine, Crow Creator, everything we do leaves a track. May our tracks be ones we would want you to see and others to follow...... Last edited by Jeff Darby; 1st April 2010 at 09:20 PM. Reason: embeded pictures/ good work crow

11th December 2010, 04:24 PM	#141
R.Boreal Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Upper Dublin, PA Posts: 62	Re: throw line reel - Smucker's jelly or Folgers coffee I've been using dairy crates to flake it in and deploy when working with large lengths from the ground. A Home Depot pail is great too. Big, but when you flake it in you want to go fast and the wider the opening the better. Turning it round a center has it's disadvantages in that it creates twist. (But I gotta say Crow, that thing looks marvelous. Suicide ball, motorcycle grip - hey, ya got sealed bearings in that f__er? Ha! Seriously, I bet that's the fastest way ever to get a line back. Tension might be an issue - maybe the Trev McRev version has it's advantages.) So I've been reading your posts, and you guys have worlds of experience over me, so I know you can back up what you say. But in the 8 yrs I have been doing this work, a throwline in a tree is indispensible. Sure I re-crotch regularly with a positioning lanyard, and yeah I carry an extra length of rope up. But if the throw is difficult and I have crazy little branches in the way, I can't see mucking about with a 1/2" line and a hangman's knot or a monkey's fist. A throwline and a reach tool, like a pole saw or something you make yourself (I made a good one from 2 chimney cleaning rods and stiff wire bound on with zip ties) will make quick work of a strategy. A heavy throwbag and about 150' of 1.75mm line wound around a Smucker's plastic jelly jar stowed in a small throwline bag goes with me on every working climb. Lots of times I don't use it, but when I need it it's there. It's not about re-crotching to a higher TIP, although I use it for that many times. Mostly for me it's about placing the lowering line in an optimum point so that when I drop the limb it's not going to skid the roof or decimate the trees under it. I don't have cranes or buckets, so my rigging is either to the tree or to a neighboring one (preferable). The throwline gets my rigging high up on the limb on those sprawling ones that I can't drop straight down, and where I need extra insurance to safeguard the homeowner's property. Where I'm not sure I can climb, either cause it won't hold me, or I don't trust my spike skills on wood that small. Also, with the throwline in the tree, I can set my TIP for my next tree much easier... hell, I'm already 80' up! Just toss it almost dead horizontal and BOOYAH, I'm in. Then drop the throwline bag (I have the smallest one) cinched halfway so the line spools from the Smucker's but the plastic jar doesn't come out, and if I drop it right, I miss most of the branches and I have a nice setup for entering the next tree. I keep stuff inside the Smucker's that weighs it down pretty well. My last job I blocked a section right on the Smucker's when it was on the ground... shattered and crushed. I missed it already the other day. Soon as I'm done with this post I'm ordering the next larger throwline storage bag, 7" dia and 9" high. Big enough to hold my favorite portable throwline spool - the plastic Folger's coffee can. A couple slits and a hole in the bottom - perfect. What's it good for? Well since it's a jar, inside the Smucker's I kept earplugs, bandaids, a throwbag, and a cheap pliers for loosening tool-tightened oval links I set for my recreational false crotches. (I have 60 trees and I climb for fun too.) That's just the way I've done it for awhile now - probably most of the spots I'm tossing for access, you crazy gaffers would just spike up like squirrels and cut away. Spikes still give me a scare sometimes - I like to toss for access when the limbs get under 6" in dia. __________________ I'm not smug, but I do feel elevated.

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