Now I can move heavy things.

I've been thinking for a while that I should acquire some quality rope and associated rigging hardware in case I want to persuade a tree to fall in a direction it's not naturally inclined to fall. I have very little rigging experience, but I did enough reading to get a sense of some of the basics.

One of the first things I realized is that quality rope is surprisingly expensive if one is used to thinking of cotton clothesline as "rope." So, I started checking Craigslist every now and then, and this weekend I found an ad for 1/2" nylon/polyester rope. There wasn't a lot of detail in the ad and the price seemed a little high, but it said "OBO" so I inquired. It turned out that the seller is a rescue climbing and rigging instructor who'd accumulated more gear than he needed. His pregnant wife was anxious for him to get rid of unused stuff to make room in the house, and I ended up buying almost 200' of 1/2" static rope in a nice rope bag, stainless moveable-side single and double pulleys, a couple of web slings and a half-dozen twist-lock carabiners for less than the rope by itself would've cost me at retail. He even threw in an old come-along he had sitting around.

I think I'm set.

 

That's a good set of tuggin' tools right there Jon. I did the same thing last fall and bought a 200' section of 5/8" rope. I'd always had a fit when I'd tie a knot and then couldn't get it out because of the tugging. I came on here and ole Paul bunion and jetjr had used a couple sticks tied in the knot to make it easier to untie. It worked really good. Can put it anywhere you need along the 200', and take it right back out. Here's what I did...

 

I'm going to have to go back to the books and re-learn a larger variety of knots than I can currently produce. Boy scouts was a long time ago.

 

That one right there is the easiest knot you'll ever tie, and with the sticks in there, easiest to untie. The loop you end up with won't slip along the length of the rope so you can put a loop anywhere you want it. All you do is grab the rope, and just fold it 180* like a paper clip (double rope) and tie one simple knot with the whole thing. Double rope loop goes around and back thru, pull tight. That's it. It's called a "right hand knot" and prolly has other names too. You'll laugh once you get it... it's so easy. After you tie it, slide in the sticks. You could pull on that knot with 2 pickups in opposite directions... then, move those sticks back and forth and then slide them out... the knot falls apart.

 

Gotta love the Stinnster, a man of many talents....

 

And here I am, barely able to tie my shoes.
Really nice find Jon. That should come in very handy to pull a tree where it doesn't wanna' go.

 

Tried needle point the other day...

 

Best knot to know is the bowline. I can't explain in righting how to tie it but you should find it pretty easy.

 

His first MRI is gonna be fun...

 

Bowline is a wonderful knot that won't bind.

 

I actually know that one! In Boy Scouts they taught us a mnemonic for the bowline, involving a rabbit coming up out of its hole, going around a tree and then back into its hole. It's easiest for me to tie it around myself, since it was being taught as a rescue knot.

 

Hey, here's one that looks useful. I was looking for a knot that would make a loop in the middle of a line, to facilitate attaching a carabiner and pulley. It's easy to tie, and from what I'm reading it can be loaded in any direction and is not prone to jamming / is relatively easy to untie.

Butterfly Loop



Now I'm itching to try this stuff out. If I don't watch myself carefully, I might wake up and realize that I've somehow pulled all the shrubs out of my yard without meaning to.

 

Don't bother with the shrubs....do the trees. At least you'll get some firewood out of it.

 

I've seen this called an alpine knot.

 

If my dog had a face like that, I'd shave his arse and teach him to walk backwards................Mom & Dad have got to be REALLY PROUD of that.........................

 

Here`s a good knot reference page with step by step photos.

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexarborist.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com