Lag bolt ideas

[gearpump]

Where does everyone get lag bolts for the mainline wire? Bascoms has the lag bolt with the insulator. What this for?!, maybe in case you want to hook up the mainline to a fence charger to keep the vermins from chewing? The ones at the hardware store seem kinda weak.

[Russell Lampron]

The hardware store ones work just fine. I use the 5/16" ones and have gotten them at Maxfields Hardware, Loudon Building Supply and Home Depot. I haven't checked Lowes yet.

Russ

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[maple maniac65]

I get my lag bolts from Goodrich's in Cabot VT. They will not bend or break and are about $3.00 apiece. As far as I know a tree grows from the top not the bottom. So if you put a lag bolt in at 4' it will still be there at 4' 100 years from now. The diameter of the tree will change at the base but most of us re-tube our orchards every 7-10 years anyhow, which allows for thinning and culling of trees when tubing is being replaced.

[oneoldsap]

We run the wire through a piece of garden hose, wrap it around your anchor tree and put a ratchet tensioner on it. You will be able to adjust it as needed, and you haven't put hardware into your tree. I don't believe a good steward puts hardware in trees. Thats just my thinking. Leave a good sized loop around the tree and it will grow unobstructed, Plus it will tighten tour wire for you as it grows.

[mountainvan]

I built ropes courses for many years and have done my far share of damage to all species of trees. When I first started,we wraped the trees with cable( 7/16" a lot heavier than we use for mainline) and hose on the cable. This damaged the trees fairly quickly by compressing the wood where the cable was, keeping the xylem and phloem from working, not good. Then we put blocks on the trees so the cable would not touch the tree. Solved the compression problem, but a new one popped up. Moisture getting trapped between the block and the tree causing rot/ fungus, which can also kill the tree. Then we started through bolting, this was an industry wide trend, using threaded bolts like on telephone poles. Does that damage the tree? Yes. Does it do much less damage than the other methods? Yes. I saw on the back cover of the leader catalog that they wrapped, or recommended it, to the guy in Ohio. My advice is to stop wrapping the trees. I'm sure someone has been the wrapping their trees for years and take the tension off every year and the trees I fine. That person is s fine sugarmaker { official disclaimer by me}. But, putting a small bolt in the tree does about as much damage as tapping it. Just don't leave them in the tree when you die, your ghost should come and pull them out or haunt a neighbor till they do, cause you don't want a logger finding it years latter.

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

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[Breezy Lane Sugarworks]

We use PT(less rot) blocks around our end trees. I know others that do the same and swear by it. I guess it's whatever floats your boat!

[powerdub]

I use lag hooks and I figure the wound to the tree when I put the hook in is no less than drilling a hole for a tap which could be considered hardware. When the tree grows in diameter around the hook I can back it out a couple of turns and never have to move it.

[Russell Lampron]

I try to find a non maple tree to use as an anchor tree. Usually that doesn't have much timber value either.

Russ

[saphead]

A good idea is to paint each anchor lag w/flouresent(sp) marker paint. This serves a two fold pupose;one, the paint will catch your eye to remind you to inspect the lag to see if it needs to be backed out,two,it will remind you to remove it if you abandon the anchor. I know some are concernened about backing out the lag and screwing up the anchor wire(no pun intended),I have seen little swivels in McMaster-Carr and other catalogues,these would eliminate that problem.

[ennismaple]

We use all sorts of lags and other hardware that is typically used for building hydro lines - kinda helps that my father is an electrical contractor in his other life! We used to lag to the trees but now we install posts using old hydro poles and string the guy steel between them. We'll install a post every 200' to 300' and put in T-bars every 50 feet to keep the sag out of the line. We'll wrap around a tree at the end of the mainline with 2x4 shims to keep the wire from girdling the tree.