felling jack

[zotso]

has anyone made a felling jack to make the tree fall the way you want it to go

 

[Gologit]

has anyone made a felling jack to make the tree fall the way you want it to go

You can make one out of a bottle jack but you'll need to put some kind of tilting head on it for it to work efficiently. Otherwise they're prone to popping out of the cut...sometimes with a lot of force behind them.

 

[CRESTLINE]

I made one out of a cargo jack that truckers use to secure the loads in the trailers. I cut off the rubber padded feet on both ends then made a base out off 2" angle iron to sit on the ground. It is 6" long with 3 v-notches cut into the side touching the ground for non-slip grip. I used a piece of 2" X 1/4" X 6" steel for the top end. I cut 2 v-notches in it and then ground a 45 degree angle on the top to sharpen the points so that it would dig into the tree for a good grip. Just place on the ground at about a 45 degree angle to the tree, operate the jack handle a couple of times to tighten it up then start your felling cut. You then add more tension as you go until the tree falls. Works great.

 

[rtrsam]

http://silveychaingrinder.com/hydraulic-tree-jacks

Bailey's used to sell them, don't know if they still do.

Spendy but built for this exact purpose, and they really work.

 

[naturelover]

You can make one out of a bottle jack but you'll need to put some kind of tilting head on it for it to work efficiently. Otherwise they're prone to popping out of the cut...sometimes with a lot of force behind them.

Reminds me of the time I was watching one of the workers at a local scrap yard trying to repair one of their trailers. Not sure what was on it, but the 20 ton jack wouldn't lift it, and he asked me if I had one to help.

So I go back to the garage and brought out my biggest jack, an old 8 ton I had acquired from somewhere. We stuck it under there, and started pumping them both up.

Got the tire off the ground, and was starting to block off the trailer when all of a sudden we hear a loud bang and the trailer jerked. Out of the corner of my eye, I see pieces of my jack and hydraulic fluid flying everywhere.

Needless to say we had to find another 20 ton jack to finish the job...

 

[CTYank]

Unless you're talking huge West Coast trees, I should think felling wedges should do nicely. They work great in the East for felling & bucking. With a pouch on my belt 4-5 wedges are right there, and they're much lighter than any felling jack.

 

[Cheesecutter]

My neighbor uses a similar hydraulic spreader in his auto-body shop. I have thought about trying it as an alternative to wedges.