Cutting a havy leaner

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c5rulz

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My neighbor wanted some help cutting some trees. One in particular I consider a "hazardous" tree. It's a 21" box elder with about 45 degrees on lean, a split in it and some rot. I put in a shallow face, and used the "T" cut on both sides. I chained the trunk in the event of a barberchair. As I finished the "T" the tree set down slightly before touching the back of it. Once I started on the back cut, 4" into it the tree broke on the hinge and came down without barberchairing.

I am not saying I am by any means an expert, but this tree needed a plan. My neighbor was going to go after it with his Sears Craftsman saw. He had never heard of a barberchair.

BTW, as I was about to make the back cut, a biker drove under the tree which was hanging over the road. Maybe I am not to smart a guy but If was one the road, saw some rube with a chainsaw cutting a tree hanging over the road, I wouldn't drive my bicycle under it.

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Obligatory saw pics, all carnage inflicted with 357 and 346.

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Nice cuts. Are you not required to divert traffic in a situation when you're falling onto a street?
 
Nice cuts. Are you not required to divert traffic in a situation when you're falling onto a street?

Yes. Your tax dollars paid a very hefty sum for a death that happened on a road not frequently traveled. About 30 years ago, guys were out falling hazard trees along a road. It was the last tree of the day and they figured it wouldn't hit the road. The tree went over backwards just as a local man was going by on his way to his shift at the mill. He was killed. It took a while, but his widow won a large claim. As she should have...

Falling onto a road without any precautions isn't the brightest thing to do. Falling a tree that will hit the road if things go wrong without precautions is also not too safe.
Also, if the road is pavement, limbs can make holes in the pavement, trees can make major indentations in the pavement, and so on.
 
We cut stuff into the road everyday.....set up cones and go to work. Sometimes we block the road right off for a few and drop it right across the road and then cut it up in a few pieces and move it with the skidsteer so its not blocking the road and open it back up. A side street we'll just block right off until we're done.
 
I had two people to stop traffic and clear brush ASAP. In this case disruption to the road was less than 3-4 min. and it is the end of a cul de sac. The guy on the bike came 30 seconds prior to dropping it and signaling the time to stop traffic. My point is would you drive under a tree in the process of being cut down.
 
I have had close calls. I've come around the corner in time to see the tree go. Out here, you can't see what is around every corner and there are lots of corners. There are also people who believe nobody else is ever out in the woods. The closest was a guy running a processor. I had told him he needed to have a flagger on that road. It was/is one of the main haul and tourist routes in the woods. He pooh poohed it. It was odd, because what are the odds that a tree will break off and hit the road where the forester has almost driven to. I almost got hit but managed to slam on the brakes in time. The look on the logger's face was serious enough that not much was said. He radioed up to his chaser and had him come (running) down the road to flag traffic. I didn't say much. I knew the logger and I knew he would not do that again. Probably never ever. It scared him worse than it did me. Trees come down fast. Traffic moves fast.
 
In my world, I'd say box elder is one of the most prone to barber chair tree there is. Probably because they are also one of the most prone to lean. Nice job.
 
Some people just don't care, we have people run cones over and drive right on through all the time.


Years back, before my neighbor moved, he had a small black locust tree he wanted taken down. My other neighbor across the street said he would help with pulling it over with the rope once I got it set. Not a technical takedown by any means. I just wanted someone to guide it as it dropped. So I do my facecut and my friend is keeping tension on the rope. Start my backcut and all of a sudden the other neighbor just casually walks underneath the tree while going to the guy pulling the rope!! I'm like :wtf: are you doing man?!?! He said he wanted to help. I honestly think people don't realize the weight and reach a tree can have because they don't fell on a regular basis. Either that, or just plain ignorance...
 
Auntie was paying a visit and wanted to cut a tree down. I said sure, lets get to it. I picked out an easy one, but still on a steep slope and it had to be felled back up the hill, faced it up, showed her and explained the escape paths, started the back cut for her explained to her that when it starts to go over she should stop and either leave the saw there or walk firmly away, got a wedge in and let her pull the trigger. Well, she stopped the saw at the right time, pulled it out and just stood there admiring her handiwork as this tree comes over. She didn't even take a step away from that stump. I was screaming at her to get the heck out of the way and she turned to look at me with this big, proud grin of accomplishment on her face, followed swiftly by horror as the trunk came sailing close enough passed her ear to whisper terrible things into it, and it kept on another 6 or so feet down the hill.

Talk about one very hairy moment. I don't know who was stooopider, her or me (yep, I guess I do - me). But neither of us will do that again in a hurry.
 
In my world, I'd say box elder is one of the most prone to barber chair tree there is. Probably because they are also one of the most prone to lean. Nice job.


My thoughts too. Box elder grow on fields edges, and then grows out to get light and almost all have lean to one extent or another. They barberchair easily.
 
Nice job dropping it.

My condolences on having Box Elder to burn. Or slowly broil or whatever it is that stuff does.


I toss it on the burn pile, but in this case, the another neighbor who has a skid steer, loaded it up and took it home for his OWB.
 
If your cutting the tree down it's your responsibility not the publics, if you don't understand that then maybe you're in over your head and leave stuff like that to those that know what they're doing.


If memory serves me, didn't you once post a comment regarding never personally dropping big trees yourself?
:thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpictures:

If I am wrong, lets see some pics to critique your work.:cheers:
 
Box elder is not the same as ash but it's bark is a clone. Last fall I helped process an 85-yr-old leaning ash tree that died suddenly. I thought I had some really good firewood until I tried to split it. The years and years of leaning had twisted the grain so badly that it stalled out a 30-ton splitter. We tried everything to save it and had to give up. I'll let it dry all summer and try again, but that stuff could be bon fire bound.

It chips off near the perimeter so that doesn't work either. I've read that the twist is caused by the tree trying to straighten up. Enormous internal stress builds up and the cellulose literally goes berserk, almost like a burl. This is the first ash tree that I've encountered that did this. Elm is far more common.
 
I had two people to stop traffic and clear brush ASAP. In this case disruption to the road was less than 3-4 min. and it is the end of a cul de sac. The guy on the bike came 30 seconds prior to dropping it and signaling the time to stop traffic. My point is would you drive under a tree in the process of being cut down.
So you had two people to stop traffic, yet they let a biker pass under a tree that was partially cut? :dumb:
I have to side with @Ironworker on this one.:wtf:
 
Kinda off topic, but I would not have expected Wisconsin to be so green in April...suppose it depend which end of the state you're on
 

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