I put some iPhone pictures of this tree removal project on my Facebook page, but here are some follow-ups of more recent events with the real camera (the iPhone camera is better than anyone would have a right to expect, but it has its limitations).
Here’s how it looked at the beginning of the week, lots of structure up there.
The bucket truck unfolds its arm (orange), straight up, then comes from a kneel into an upright position. The combination of arm and legs, as it were, gets the elbow above the power wires, so he can move around with the (white) fore-arm and the bucket itself.
Above, notice the goodly-sized limb being lowered to the ground.
I’m not the only one watching the adventure. The kids were waving, and the guy in the bucket waved back.
The man in the bucket spends considerable time getting a rope around the bit he plans to cut next, and coordinating the rope with his partner, who is responsible for the high anchor that keeps the cut piece from falling into the power lines or damaging the house.
They spend a lot more time with the ropes than actually cutting and lowering.
If you don’t trust your harness, your ropes and the quality of your work, you’re in the wrong business!
The saw itself is on a long arm, powered by a hydraulic motor driven by the truck below. The hydraulic motor is on the outside of the bucket, not really visible in any of this set of photos.
This fresh-cut piece looks fairly small, until you see it on the ground. You certainly wouldn’t want to land on your head. There’s a man on the ground paying out rope to lower it at a moderate rate.
And of course, they chew it up and at the end of the day, haul it away.
On the one hand, it seems they go very slowly, and it has to be costing a bundle: a crew of half a dozen men for two weeks, and they probably have another week to go before the tree is completely gone. On the other hand, they haven’t brought down the power wires yet!
Tags: Tree removal
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