huge Oak limb - tricky cuts

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jnahnet

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Mariposa
I had an Oak drop a huge limb. I bucked most of it, what I'm left with is a "tripod", I don't know where to start cutting that isn't going to destabilize the whole thing. I'd appreciate any advice on how to do this without having it roll over on me. Thank you in advance.tripod-limb.jpg
 
How big is huge? Hard to tell from the pic.


From what I can see in that pic, I'd just cut either leg off the fork, just cut bottom up.
 
I had an Oak drop a huge limb. I bucked most of it, what I'm left with is a "tripod", I don't know where to start cutting that isn't going to destabilize the whole thing. I'd appreciate any advice on how to do this without having it roll over on me. Thank you in advance.View attachment 518248
Thank you for you're suggestions. The limb @ it's widest (where it cracked off the trunk) is 65" around, the thinnest is 38". I only have a 20" chainsaw, so I'll have to back & forth. So cut from the ground side up?
 
or....
Flip with rope/truck and take top bind out of equation.
.
Flip meat end onto brush/haystack gives spacer between log and dirt.
.
As is;
would cut baby faces in top near meat end, then from bottom cut up and make legs fold into face;
just like felling, only model rotated.
 
I thank you all for your advice, I'll try all suggestions. If I can reduce the weight I'll flip it with the quad.
Again, thank you, I'm a 64 year old woman living alone on 5 acres and dealing with the fall out from
the California drought, this won't be the last time I ask for advice.
 
I thank you all for your advice, I'll try all suggestions. If I can reduce the weight I'll flip it with the quad.
Again, thank you, I'm a 64 year old woman living alone on 5 acres and dealing with the fall out from
the California drought, this won't be the last time I ask for advice.

nothing wrong with asking for help when needed. It only looks like 10-25 minutes of cutting... I'd help you out.
 
G'day ST&L, if that site is steeper than it looks, and your OP suggests it might be, just be careful of it coming downhill if
you're working on the down hill side.

That top fork on the left of pic could get you if it went wrong and rolled 180 deg. when the lower part of the fork on the
left of the pic was cut out. At this stage that fork is supporting the weight of the rest of the piece and stopping it all rolling
downhill.

Good advise to not work alone, good advice to flip it over so the the "legs" point upward if you think there are safety issues
with where it is.
 
nothing wrong with asking for help when needed. It only looks like 10-25 minutes of cutting... I'd help you out.
It was considerable more than 25 minutes; but that's because of the size of my chainsaw and inexperience. I was touched by your offer of help; if you're from Mariposa I'm sure you have your own plate full of drought downed trees, yet you still offered. Thank you.
 
Wow that is much larger than the picture makes it to be. I would have guessed make two feet so across at the crotch.
 
Thank you for you're suggestions. The limb @ it's widest (where it cracked off the trunk) is 65" around, the thinnest is 38". I only have a 20" chainsaw, so I'll have to back & forth. So cut from the ground side up?

Wow that is much larger than the picture makes it to be. I would have guessed make two feet so across at the crotch.

65" around is 20.7" in diameter.
 
65" around is 20.7" in diameter.
I took a measuring tape down the hill, so that 65" is accurate, the trunk measures 142"on tape. There are 2 more dead limbs on this Oak that are almost as big.
Both overhang the fence, I'm out of my depth here, I'll have to have a professional do those.
 
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