bad splice - poor quality signature.

good splice - signature of quality workmanship

Arborists make many decisions during their work days. And when involved in tree preservation (as opposed to tree removal) nothing makes more of a lasting impression than the cable the arborist installs. A properly installed cable should provide many years of additional support to a tree branch or leader union that might otherwise fail and/ or require removal. Many considerations, measurements and calculations go into each and every cable. The installation of a cable and splice may best be described as the arborist’s “signature”. Sometimes years after an initial cable installation, another arborist may ascend the tree perhaps for some pruning or another cable and that old cable will say something about the installers’ quality of work (see photos):

In the many years I have cared for clients trees, I’ve seen some really sad and telling cable installations. These include the following:

too low in the tree
unapproved hardware
missing thimbles
improper bolt angles
tree decay AND poor splices

A splice using common grade cable should be neat, include the minimum wraps (all in the same direction) and include a snuggly fit thimble.

At chippers we love what we do and it shows. It shows in the big things that you see, and it shows in the little things that you may not see. If you’re not sure about the quality of cables in your tree – give us a call and we’ll check the signature!