My First Crane Job!

The crane went up and the tree came down

[@GameofTrees]

Your honesty and love of the work is your draw, keep that.

[@zaccheus]

Thanks man!

[@wildermanj]

Love your content! I enjoy watching you problem solve and stay so chill. Keep posting!

[@zaccheus]

Thanks man, will do!

[@ryanslandandtreesvc454]

A customer with a crane to use. How awesome! And I thought a customer buying lunch was good

[@zaccheus]

Haha right! It was literally a once in a life time experience 😂😂😂

[@billroberts3864]

Zach, you and the crane operator made a good team for your first crane job. Maybe you and the crane company can do more crane jobs. Blessings to you.

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Bill!

[@osagejon8972]

Congrats on your first crane job. I'd say it was a beautiful day because no damage done! Maybe not the smoothest of days but beautiful none the less.

[@zaccheus]

Haha, thanks Jon! You're right, it was good enough and sometimes that's all it needs to be.

[@roncar1761]

As a Traffic Flagger I have work with tree crews a number of times. I have also done jobs with mobile crane operators. They are the most friendly and mellow people I have ever work with! When checking my work zone on a different job I notice a crane on a hill with about 10*-15* slope! The operator told me it take two days of planning before he came out. Once he got there he made minor changes. Seeing three of the four wheels off the ground was amazing! Watching him break down was good too!

[@zaccheus]

Wow, that's intense! Thanks for sharing!

[@roncar1761]

@@zaccheus Check your email address. Subject line will be CRANE/PORTLAND OREGON

[@andrewvanada52]

Hey, Zach. Great job on your first crane job. I started on a knuckle boom too & then found a guy with a stick crane. WAAAY easier & safer to use the stick. 😉 My only suggestion is to help the crane operator -- as you approach the end of movement, give him a count down. So, that'd be "boom right ... (pause) .... and 5 ... 4... 3.. 2.. 1.. stop". Gives you a smoother ride & it's a bit easier for him to guess when to stop moving. It's a little trick that I learned from my stick crane guy. Hope it helps!

[@zaccheus]

Hey Andrew, thats a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I'll definitely use that next time around. From what I understand a grapple on the k-boom makes things better. I've never tried it, just heard from people who have. I guess the typically strategy is to snap cut and get away from it before the crane breaks it off 🤷‍♂️

[@metaspencer]

Cool to see your process and learning on the job

[@zaccheus]

Thanks!

[@bioniclife]

Great meeting you today. Thanks for the help with the generator/ air compressor. Hopefully we ur paths cross again, soon.

[@zaccheus]

It was an absolute pleasure, I have a feeling they will!

[@spiercevaughn]

Great vid 💪 I’m really psyched for this Friday. We have a crane job with a 60 ton lined up and the tree is a super huge ash tree fenced in up on a hill behind a house with no ground access.

[@zaccheus]

Oh that does sound like a fun project!

[@speshulk1207]

Smart move going with the Reon method of having 2 climbers for crane work. One setting slings and one cutting. Much more efficient than one doing both.

[@zaccheus]

Thanks! It seemed to work pretty good for us even on the small picks that we cut. Reon often takes much bigger ones which makes that method even more productive 😅

[@austinsmith3749]

Dude…. Crane work is awesome! Super excited for you and getting to do some. Very impressive for first time. 👍👍👍

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Austin!

[@scotttam7491]

You did good I was lucky on my first crane job for a couple reasons. I had a great crane operator who did a lot of tree work plus I was doin pines. That being said iv done a lot since then I find one of the biggest things is just learning to read the branch and you curf that can tell you a lot on it if need more or less pressure. That an V cuts work well in some situations as well. But it really is like most stuff in tree work you gotta know the basics but your proficient at that stuff and then just getting out there an doin it. It’s good you done so much rigging and the GRCS has got to have shown you alot on how pre tension on branch’s works. You did pretty good for your first crane job especially because it wasn’t a good ash tree like the ones I got to do on my first crane job. Gotta love the free ride to top tho that makes the day.

[@zaccheus]

Haha for sure! I definitely looks forward to the next opportunity to learn more. I feel like I learned so much just from watching the video and I have a bunch of things I'll try to do differently on the next crane job.

[@toddjacks8288]

Awesome video brother as always

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Todd!

[@jonahclark6670]

Very good for your first crane removal! You went home with all your fingers and toes! We are all learning. I work a lot with this style “knuckle boom” crane and they are in my opinion harder to judge than a stick boom, but same concept. A tip i would give is make sure your “hook” or “cable” is in the middle or above your load depending on horizontal or vertical. For the horizontal limbs, I’ll tie my first attachment as far out as i feel safe and have the operator snug up a little, then put my dogleg somewhere near the buttend. That assures me (not always) that the butt will go away from me. And most likely i will put a half hitch somewhere in the mix on my first attachment point. then waste the rest of your sling.

[@zaccheus]

Thanks man, really appreciate your thoughts. I kinda wondered if we weren't setting ourselves up for more of a challenge with the knuckle boom, but I didn't really have an opportunity to choose 🤷‍♂️

[@AC4849-]

I would say you did a really great job! Art New Hampshire

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Art!

[@BissellMapleFarm]

You, sir, are guilty of treeson! This was a cool video. More! More! More!

[@zaccheus]

Haha, someday maybe 😅 Thanks Nate!

[@leonardvirtue5753]

Nice 😊 mate 🤙🤙🤙beautiful!!!!!😲✊👍

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Leonard!

[@chrisleblanc3616]

Your work all the UP TO your first crane cuts were the real work my friend. NOT AT ALL SAYING THERE ISNT A SHIT LOAD TO CRANE WORK. There really is ! BUT I’m sure any climber worth his harness will tell you the same !

[@zaccheus]

Thanks man, this job was definitely an experience that shpuod have had more experience on on site 😅 I often prefer a day of rigging to a day of crane work, but it's also nice to have a little easier day every now and then.

[@nickbaker9607]

There is always more movment on picks when u use a knuckle crane compared to a stick crane. Nice work

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Nick! That does make good sense with there being much less room between the boom and the piece. I wish I would have thought of that before we got started 😅

[@steveb5278]

Awesome job dude 😄👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Steve!

[@benjaminsagau]

That first hinge cut at the stump got me worried. It could’ve ended bad, the hinge was fat next to the house, if it hanged bad, the whole section could’ve lean twoards the house. But you got it. Congratulations, that was not easy job. I would’ve cut the tree in way smaller pieces, just for the peace of mind.You are way more courageous than me 👏👏

[@zaccheus]

Haha, we contemplated taking is down in smaller pieces. And yes I understood the value of making a good hinge on a critical fall like that. We got away with it this time, but we gotta do better.

[@michaelwhiteoldtimer7648]

Nice job, everything worked out and crane did well

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Michael!

[@havespurswillclimb]

Enjoyed the video. Some problems with sling tying points. But, no damage was done. So, you did good on your first crane job. I'm sure you will get a lot of pointers/info in the comments. Some good, some so-so. Experience will be your teacher. 👍

[@zaccheus]

I think you're spot on 😅 glad you enjoyed the video, I look forward to my next crane job for sure. I already have some things in mind for what I'll do differently.

[@bioniclife]

Cutting a Maple tree? Well, it's a red, I guess that's not quite as bad as a Sugar. I love your cool and calm coms with the crane operator. Watch for a 440 area code to pop up on your Caller ID in the next few days.

[@zaccheus]

Haha, I'll keep an eye out! I love love love intercoms. They are single handedly the best addition to tree work since the chainsaw. I think this tree was somewhere around 45lb per cubic foot. Oak is 80lb/ft^3 for reference

[@br-dj2ti]

And Buddy using a crane would be new to me I maybe use the crane six times in the 20 years I've been cutting we just don't have a crane and we never rent one so your experience level is great just because you don't have experience on a crane doesn't mean you're not an experienced tree guy I think you do amazing

[@zaccheus]

Thanks man! That's really encouraging to hear from a veteran of the trade!

[@suave2964]

congrats! the pick at 9min i think boom angle was at fault and a you left a bit of hinge on your shelf-cut. but great first crane job, with no mentoring on the ground too!

[@zaccheus]

Thank you for your thoughts!

[@dancutting8940]

I was expecting to see your sling work at the end with a choker, not in a basket. Did I see it correctly? If so, was that direction from the crane operator? I haven’t done crane work, so curious.

[@zaccheus]

To be frank, the slings at the end were not quite the appropriate tool for the job. We used a basket because they are much stronger in that configuration than in a choked configuration. I realize it may not have been the best solution, but it seemed like the best solution for the task at hand with the tools at hand 🤷‍♂️

[@_WatsoBrii94_]

Almost exactly what last place trophy said and I have a few questions. Were you using rope to tie off each pick? If so I would definitely try and grab some crane slings a lot easier to tie and able to carry multiple for multiple point picks . Second question thought does your crane guy have a pressure guage allowing him to tell you how much he has on it ? You can guage by the size of the pick how much pre tension should be adequate after a while of doing it . Last thing I was surprised you didn’t do any vertical salami cuts I’ve heard it called. Where you tip tie the pick and cut from the back to the front on a downward slope towards the crane 📉 to sum up my description good work tho being first time crane guy working with trees and you first time riggin crane picks 🙌🏾🙌🏾💪🏽💪🏽🤝🏾 and I’ve heard a few times to always think when talking about boomin up or cable up. Cable is for up close and personal boom if for major movements didn’t know how to take it but once put in positions to think about it, it definitely makes sense when applied correctly

[@zaccheus]

Hey Brian, thanks for all of your thoughts and questions. 1.) We were using a series of 3 dead eye slings. Pretty much the same principles as using crane slings, but with lower capacity and a little more stretch. 2.) I believe you're referring to a load moment indicator or LMI. Most modern knuckle boom cranes display the available capacity in a percentage of what the crane's capacity is in that particular location. Stick boom cranes often display avaliable capacity in pounds which is much easier to work with. 3.) I'm not familiar with that particular cut, but it sounds like it would be very dynamic and we generally want crane picks to be as static as possible. 4.) That makes sense if the crane can move faster with boom movements than cable. It's important to remember that boom movement also mean horizontal movement aswell.

[@rickstafford5316]

Great job! Stay safe

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Rick!

[@timbermen11]

Good job on your first crane job dude I watched your video on getting my akimbo rebuilt…. Do you know if they replace the bottom brake with stainless steel like you suggested or is it still aluminum? Keep up the great work buddy💪🏼

[@zaccheus]

Thanks man! I'm pretty sure they sent me just a new one off of the shelf. It had a new serial number and everything. The bottom brake is still aluminum. Maybe someday they will revise it.

[@lastplacetrophy3821]

I was yelling at my phone when you were making the one cut that swung up towards you because I knew what was coming. I couldn't see exactly how you rigged it, but there may have been room for improvement. The big thing that I was seeing was that instead of a shelf cut, use an off center, or compound V cut instead when the load is weighted to likely shift. This means not just a standard V, where the near and far sides of the V are the same width, but a vertical V that narrows horizontally, with the narrow side facing you. If you pre load the line with just enough tension to prevent binding and no more, this cut will make it very unlikely to shoot out towards you until the operator starts lifting, meaning you can cut through, then swing or climb out of the way before lifting. The second would be a 'shake and break' cut, where you make horizontal cuts about 55% of the way through from either direction offset by a few vertical inches, which leaves a tab of wood holding that the crane operator can break off by giving a 'shake' (either cable or boom up and down).

[@zaccheus]

Haha, I hope you didn't suffer any public embarrassment 😅 Those both sound like plausible approaches to me, thanks for sharing!

[@scottmallery7788]

When u have a crane on site put all the picks in one spot dont put down half the tree in the yard easier and faster cleaning up one pile!

[@zaccheus]

Absolutely, if we would have had a big chipper and appropriate ground equipment on site, we definitely would have done that. I think they started setting stuff down in a second place because they ran out of room in the first place. The clean uo was done by the homeowner with a pickup amd trailer

[@justinsnyder6256]

I could see picking peices with that type of crane hard to balance. Cable cranes winch in on the cable for tension and don't move the boom once the climbers have rigged the peice. He was moving the center of gravity trying to tension. To use that type of crane it should have a grapple attachment and not use slings.

[@justinsnyder6256]

That was fun to watch for sure. Way to get after it man.

[@zaccheus]

Yeah, I certainly thing a stick boom crane would have been a little easier. It was one of those "we will use what we have even though something better is out there" kind of situations. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bencheston5526]

Nice job bro! Loved the bore cut at end! I learned that from a logger years ago and use it on a lot of my jobs, it’s definitely the safer route in some scenarios 👍 By the way your videos have most definitely been food for thought for me. I like all the rigging videos. I’m in Virginia and we seem to have a lot of the same trees here. I do a lot of rigging also. I’m always looking for new and better methods. Silver maples definitely my favorite tree to remove. Doesn’t matter how big they are they’re always fun. Keep doing the videos you do a good job explaining things. Where are you guys located?

[@zaccheus]

Hey Ben, sounds like we shat similar tastes. Rigging is my favorite part of urban tree work and silver maples are some of my favorites due to the challenges they often offer 😂 I work out of Canton, Ohio.

[@bencheston5526]

@@zaccheus Heck yeah man that’s what I’m talking about!! The more obstacles the better. I have not done a crane job yet either, the whole process is a bit intimidating to me……. That’s what’s up I got family in Wheeling haven’t been in a while, never been up your way though. I’m in culpeper VA.

[@zaccheus]

@@bencheston5526 I don't think I've ever been there. Most of my travel in VA has been passing through to go south with maybe one or two trips to the coast when I was young. Looks like you're in the better half of the state

[@GeraldAlonzoMourning]

That was a difficult tree for first time crane work. I started off with pines and cedars for my first ones which are typically pretty easy but you did great man! It’s tough getting the weight distribution right on those sprawled out trees good work

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Steve!

[@carlobernardi1387]

Brother.. that was a pretty good first time crane job.. quick question.. how did you like the 400 Stihl chainsaw....

[@zaccheus]

I liked it alot! This chain on this one was a little grabby, but otherwise it just felt like running a really hopped up 362. It's definitely a nice mid sized saw.

[@scotttam7491]

Idk if I would of bore cut that first one. I know she had head weight but sometimes il plunged straight in my face cut just to get the heart cut out of it if I’m worried of a barber chair but I like cutting in from the back cause it give you more control over it and at least for me is just easier to line everything up an make sure my holding wood a how I want it good job tho buddy

[@zaccheus]

Thanks! I like to bore cut leaders becaise it gives me the chance to get the high wood shaped up just the way I want it before the tree starts to fall. To each their own though, doesn't matter how the tree gets down, just that it's done safely 🤷‍♂️

[@jeffschroeder9089]

Rock on 🤘

[@zaccheus]

Hahaha. Thanks Jeff!

[@alltreesallseasons]

I’ve found that making a single back cut going towards the direction of the crane on vertical pieces helps because as you cut you allow the crane to adjust to any movements the pick makes and as long as you have a good balanced attachment point and enough butt weight (two most important things other than communication) it should break away smoothly away from you.

[@zaccheus]

Haha, I think we had all of those things wrong on the one vertical pick we made 😅 Thanks for sharing!

[@geoffreygreen297]

Great job. 😅

[@zaccheus]

Thanks Geoffrey!

[@geoffreygreen297]

@@zaccheus how are you doing? Hope you are safe. Have a blessed day.

[@zaccheus]

@@geoffreygreen297 I'm doing well Geoffrey, thanks for asking. I've been plenty busy which is why I haven't been able to get any videos edited recently. Hope you're doing well too!

[@scotttam7491]

Hey it’s good to no that guy tho you can work together in the future an both become better at your trades it always nice to have guys that you can call if you need something like crane lol

[@zaccheus]

Lol yeah, absolutely!

[@dogwoodtreecare1115]

Was that a 36” bar on the 500i? It seems to pull right through the wood!

[@zaccheus]

Yes it is! I do run a skip chain on there, but it pulls pretty good!

[@dogwoodtreecare1115]

Is it stock other than your West Coast Saw add ons?

[@zaccheus]

@@dogwoodtreecare1115 Yeah, only this on there is the muffler cover and the dogs. The muffler cover mostly makes a lot of noise. It might make a bit more power, but it's not so much that it would change what size bar the saw can run.

[@h.i.m.dishonmaurice2599]

You are always too hard on yourself. The only way forward is through trial. GOOD WORK!!

[@zaccheus]

Yeah, you're probably right 😅 thanks for the encouragement!

[@geekay4703]

Welcome to the wacky world of Silver maples. It always seems it is the species that gives the biggest headache on residential property. Hopefully the wood was milled and repurposed.

[@zaccheus]

I love a good silver maple removal. They seem to always be a good challenge. The property owner handled the wood. There isn't much of a market for soft maple around here. The local mills especially don't like urban trees 🤷‍♂️

[@geekay4703]

@@zaccheus I use a metal detector on residential wood. They're pretty cheap and a decent way to make a few extra hundred if you have the means to cut 8+ footers and transport them. Amish here take pretty much everything metal free.

[@zaccheus]

@@geekay4703 Oh thats cool. I do know of one mill that uses a metal detector. They still get pretty sheepish if the detector shows any metal in the log. Guess their blades are several hundred bucks a piece.

[@blujay22]

What's the max pick he can do on a crane like that?

[@zaccheus]

I think he could lift just short of a ton when stretched out all the way horizontal.

[@blujay22]

@@zaccheus dang that's not bad. I've never used a crane like that one.

[@zaccheus]

@@blujay22 it was a super impressive unit to me, but I also haven't spent much time around cranes

[@user-tf4fx7ju7v]

With the red maple top pick you could have done a V cut and it would have just sat in the cut… in theory.

[@zaccheus]

I wondered about that. There was another section we took out of the red maple that didn't get filmed and I did a V cut on that one. I think it went a little better as I recalled. Thanks for sharing!

[@br-dj2ti]

I'm sure buddy you know now but when you ask him for a little pretension up once you start making that back cut ask him for a little pretension down then it'll come off pretty level I know that much for Crane work LOL just cuz I've done it a few times other than that I don't know much about crane work but I can cut a tree down

[@zaccheus]

That's a good idea. I did notice that the common issue was the butt shooting upward. It think that was often in part due to too much tension on the butt.

[@backwoods4131]

Check August Hunicke page out. He's one of the best in tree removal with crane..

[@zaccheus]

Thanks for the tip! I've watched some of his stuff over the years. I haven't seen him do much with a crane other than conifers.

[@Jason-fg4jr]

Rigging something like that tree can be tricky

[@zaccheus]

That's what I was thinking. Best thoughts I had after looking at it from the ground was a controlled speedline over the house and lots of smaller pieces. Possible, but dauntingly slow.

[@nicolaisvlog8701]

you should see my first Crane Job 😬 I ask the Crane operator have you tride this before "nope first time" 🙄😂

[@zaccheus]

Hahaha sounds like we were in the same boat! 😅 glad you survived!

[@nikky3piece452]

When he decided to use his hand side instead of a chainsaw in the first 3 minutes is when I decided to turn it off this video. I cannot stand watching rookies

[@zaccheus]

Lol then why did you even click on a video that literally said "amateur hour" in the thumbnail 😂😂😂 Also if you think using a hand saw is a rookie move, then you've still got plenty to learn yourself 😅