Went 3 years cutting limbs from the wrong side of the tree

I've been roofing for 12 years but started doing tree work on the side last summer. A buddy hired me to clear some dead oak limbs at his place in Austin. I was cutting from the top down like I was trimming rafters. He watched me for about 20 minutes then asked why I wasn't making undercuts first. Felt like a total idiot. Any other new guys make bonehead mistakes like this when they started climbing?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_torres6018d ago

At least your buddy got a free show out of it. Job security for the rest of us, I guess.

williamd7018d ago

My first time trying to top a pine tree I strapped my chain saw to the rope thinking it would just ride up as I climbed. Got about fifteen feet up before the rope slipped and the saw dropped clean through the bed of my 1999 Ford Ranger. Took me three hours to dig the chain out of the dirt and get the rope untangled from the branches. That truck still had a dent the size of a pizza box in the bed when I finally sold it last year.