Basics of Rigging Thimbles

Join Nick Bonner as he discusses and demonstrates some of the rigging options provided by the application of rigging rings and thimbles.

Hey, Nick Bonner from TreeStuff.com. We're here to talk today about rigging thimbles and especially this one setup of them, which is the rigging ring. This is the Rope Logic Rigging Ring Large and also comes with a small version, where this is the number three and this is the number two on the small version, you have the number two and then number one, because they're set up with a big ring and a small ring, they can be used just like friction savers where you set them remotely from the ground or the bucket and retrieve them remotely as well. But that makes them really versatile. You can use them from the ground, set it up above a small tree and pick the entire tree with a GRCS or other lifting system. So it's really neat and can save you a ton of time. You can also set them remotely as kind of like a pre-directed rigging point or set an alternate rigging point and a different part of the tree where you can use it and then move somewhere else and then pull it to where you are. So being able to use it like a traditional friction saver is a big benefit of both the large version and the small version. We'll show you here in just a second outside and go and make a cut with a small version where we show you how we can snatch a limb from above and catch it with this. And we'll also talk about some of the other sling types that this comes on, including ultra slings, dead eyes, they also come on Whoopie and Loopies and things like that. So, lots of different options. People have found a ton of different ways from using these, whether it's as a form of rigging point or as a redirect. And just a lot of really different versatility that these tools offer. The silver rings that you see here are non-coated aluminum. They also come in a variety of slings with the X-Rigging brand rings on those are the black ones that have the ceramic coating, and those usually will run a little bit smoother, and they have a little bit less friction to them. So a lot of great options. Let's head outside and we'll show you a cut with the ring and ring small.

Here we are. We're all set up. Right I've got this limb here, right everything looks good. I'm gonna go ahead I'm gonna, you know, talk down to my groundie here. I've got my two tie in points I'm tied in. We're going to go ahead and finish this cut. And our guy on the ground is going to lower it through using the ring and ring small. All right, big rope, small piece. Gonna make it down there. No problem. So you know, I love this rigging ring. Rigging rings come in all sorts of other configurations. If you're looking for a single ring. For a rigging redirect, we have these. These come on dead eyes. They come on whoopies they come on loopies. And of course they come on my favorite the ultrasling. These are so easy to use. You simply throw it up there, pick the appropriate pocket, feed it through. And that's it. There's no step two, you get these on nice and easy. You can use these, you know, we probably could have rigged that piece down on this by ourselves. Easy enough, or even something larger.

Now you also have your triple thimble. So the triple thimble. You know what, here's the secret guys. I don't actually have a groundsman today. So, I'm going to pull this piece of rope back up. Alright, so yeah, I didn't have a groundsman, but toss this piece back down there. Alright, nice. So go ahead and secure this back up to me so I don't drop it. So you know, we showed how to rig a piece down pretty simply with the rig and ring small here, which worked really well. But we have a lot of other options as we've discussed. So you know, here you see, this is the Safebloc. This was the first thimble that came out with three holes. And it was predominantly meant to be used, like such. So this was actually designed to transfer friction away from a lowering block up into the canopy and allow the force on your tie in for your rigging point to be a lot lower. So this is very cool. It has a lot of ton of different uses.

You saw the triple thimble come out shortly after that. This one works similarly, but it does alleviate some of the issues that you saw there with rope friction. So in the same way it can be used in this triple thimble configuration, which will allow you to transfer friction up to here. You can also use both of these with simply just one I like this if you want less friction, or what's really neat about this device is you could potentially have a second rigging rope here and they can be totally friction free. So maybe one's on one side of the tree one's on another or maybe you're using both at once to control rather large or long pieces. Another option you have with this is or even with this one is that you could suspend it like this with another sling between two points and create a floating rigging point really easily, or even use two of these eyes and have two ropes hanging from that floating rigging point as well. So a lot of options with these. Again, they come on stable braid slings hollow braid slings, they come on whoopie slings, they come on loopie slings. But as always, my favorite is going to be the ultra sling, you want it a little bit farther away, boom, it's a little bit farther away.

So these are all really great options rigging thimbles have no moving parts. They are in a lot of ways simpler than blocks. But that's not to say that there's not a situation where a block is the right choice or the best choice. So these are all just more tools for your toolbox. And they come in a variety of different options. So definitely check these out, if you can only have one, it's the ring and ring small all day, the most useful tool that you'll find in your toolbox. So thank you for watching. I hope that these rigging thimbles are maybe a little demystified for you now, and that this highlights just some of the different configurations that you'll see on TreeStuff and let you figure out which one will be best for your situation. So please be safe and have a great day.