How would you drop this? What saw?

[old guy]

Oliver, you got it right, it looks to me like all the strength of that tree is in the edges, I would make the face cuts with a long bar and then switch to a lighter powerful saw with a short bar for the backcut, actually this is one place where two guys one from each side on the backcut might be wise but I really dislike more than one to a tree.

John

 

[Creeker]

No face cut? Just a backcut with a pole saw? Wow.

OK, how deep and how wide a face cut do you think you'll get before all that weight in the head pinches the chain/bar or isn't that going to happen ?

Are you entirely certain, given the shelly look of the trunk in the second lot of pics, that its not going to fail while putting in the face cuts ?

Unless you have a very long bar, when you are putting in the face cuts and can work without getting under it, then you're on the wrong/dangerous side of the tree, you comfortable with that ?

Why would you get all but under that trunk and under the direction of fall ?

The splintery looking pieces in side the trunk "may not" be adding much strength to the trees ability to remain standing, if that's the case the shelly outer
wood is indeed heavily loaded given the huge weight up high in the head.

These are the reasons I would consider it to dangerous to put in a facecut. An onsite inspection may change that view.

Given the probable shelley nature of the trunk a pole saw offers safety in the distance you can stand back from the tree and detect the very first movement.
Laugh at the polesaw if you like, mine cuts 9 or 10" eucalypt limbs on occasions and has plenty of ability in that regard.

Sometimes fallers get caught up in doing it their way and can't open up their mind to alternative methods or equipment.

No expert btw, but no beginner

 

[whitedogone]

a little tannerite and diesel fuel will get it on the ground fast

 

[slowp]

How fast can the OP move? Because, the technical name for such a cut around here on danger trees is Cut And Run Like Hell. That's what timber fallers call those trees. Let me see if I can find a bad picture of a guy cutting a bear trap. He's one handing a saw with a 32 inch bar, on his toes, and ready to run. That's what it boils down to.
How confident are you and can you outrun a tree when it does something unplanned? Maybe I'll post the exploded snag too. The guy who cut it is the best, and he had two well cleared trails to run like hell on to get away.

A bucking safety tip: Just like falling, clear an area to step back into if you sense things going wrong. Now I'll go look for the pictures.

 

[Gologit]

How fast can the OP move?

A bucking safety tip: Just like falling, clear an area to step back into if you sense things going wrong. Now I'll go look for the pictures.

 

[lone wolf]

Hey what model Stihl is it?

 

[RAS61]

How fast can the OP move? Because, the technical name for such a cut around here on danger trees is Cut And Run Like Hell. That's what timber fallers call those trees.

Wouldn't a rope and a little tension eliminate or at least help reduce the potential for unpredictability and kick-back? Also, isn't the tree in the video a different situation - a hanger?

 

[slowp]

The bear trap. What was above.


The faller is cutting, one handed, as far away as he can, and ready to take off. This is his job, and he's a fast mover. No ropes, or machinery are available. The only equipment will be a carriage mounted on a skyline, and that won't be in the area until the falling is complete.


It went, he ran, and went on to keep on cutting. Not a job for amateurs.

 

[RandyMac]

Sometimes fallers get caught up in doing it their way and can't open up their mind to alternative methods or equipment.

No expert btw, but no beginner

oh yeah, all we ever see is straight up, clean and green timber on flat ground..

 

[slowp]

Ok, here's the exploded snag. I believe it was measured to have a diameter of 11 feet. I was working elsewhere so no pictures of the process. I wouldn't have been allowed near it during the falling so that's a moot point.

Here's one of two well prepared escape routes.

What happened to the butt log and the stump.

The rest of the snag.

 

[slowp]

Gotta post this again. This is a cheery picture in the same timber sale. The little guy on the right is the guy in the beartrap photo.

 

[slowp]

Wouldn't a rope and a little tension eliminate or at least help reduce the potential for unpredictability and kick-back? Also, isn't the tree in the video a different situation - a hanger?

Production fallers carry a lot of gear as it is. They are not working next to a road. Sometimes the roads aren't even built yet and they've got a pack in unit to cut. They're carrying in saw, gas, wedges, axe, extra chain, fire extinguisher, shovel--if cutting during fire season, first aid kit, miscellaneous saw stuff, jacket, maybe lunch or a snack and drinking water. There's probably something I've forgotten.

They are working on steep ground. If it were flat, a feller buncher would be doing the cutting.

 

[Gologit]

Sometimes fallers get caught up in doing it their way and can't open up their mind to alternative methods or equipment.

No expert btw, but no beginner

Your statement is ********.

Part time fallers might have that attitude. Week-end warriors might have a closed mind about their methods and technique. Loggers can't do that.
Professional fallers, the guys who make their living dropping trees, can't afford the luxury of applying the "one size fits all" method of cutting. I've been around timber fallers all my life and I don't think I've ever known one with an attitude like that. If a faller wasn't constantly using every trick in the book, every bit of accumulated knowledge, and every piece of advice from his peers he wouldn't last very long. If he didn't consider...and use...alternative methods he likewise wouldn't be around very long.
Granted, I've been spoiled by the caliber of people I've worked with. They're usually the very best and it shows in their work. It also shows in their longevity in an occupation that's terribly unforgiving. To imply that fallers don't use their head is wrong on every level.

People who class themselves "no expert btw, but no beginner" are usually the ones who can tell the difference between a tree and a saw...but not much else.

 

[slowp]

Some topography pictures.

 

[aarolar]

No doubt I'd use an MS661 and a 36" bar with a fresh loop of stihl chain...

 

[treeslayer2003]

why do y'all think we told the op to leave it? its because it is dangerous even for most of us.

 

[fearofpavement]

That tree isn't going anywhere unexpected unless there's a tornado or something. I often smile to myself when people on here talk about pulling trees over with vehicles and whatnot. I use vehicles to help guide fells quite often but it would probably take a big crawler and stout cable to have any effect on that one. The sail area of the tree plus a wind would put way more force on the tree than could ever be exacted from a pick up truck and a rope. This tree is going to go over, either with or without help. Once it leafs out + a stout breeze and that will be tons of force persuading it to go over.
The OP indicated they didn't intend to allow the tree to still stand by springtime.
If it were me, I would just keep nibbling away at what is already down and deal with the rest once the area is cleaned up. It'll make better firewood not having it on the ground for a long time. On a tree I'm cutting for firewood, I like to cut them in such a way that the stem remains attached to a high stump to hold it off the ground. I can hardly believe a tree felling thread like this is into the hundreds of replies...

 

[RAS61]

Production fallers carry a lot of gear as it is. They are not working next to a road. Sometimes the roads aren't even built yet and they've got a pack in unit to cut. They're carrying in saw, gas, wedges, axe, extra chain, fire extinguisher, shovel--if cutting during fire season, first aid kit, miscellaneous saw stuff, jacket, maybe lunch or a snack and drinking water. There's probably something I've forgotten.

They are working on steep ground. If it were flat, a feller buncher would be doing the cutting.

Actually, when I was suggesting/questioning the use of a rope I was referring to the OP and that tree, not the pro logger and the video. He makes a living doing that, has forgotten more than I'll every know, and handled that cut perfectly - no second guessing from me on that one!

 

[Creeker]

Any fallers taken a pole saw to work for the day, doubt it !

Production fallers certainly know what they are doing and adapt, no doubt about that but my point
with the tree in question shows a lack of lateral thinking from a few people.

The cut and run approach - for experts only and why use it if alernative (safer) methods are worth considering or using.

Pls don't lecture me about the holy grail of fallers/loggers, I've seen their f/ups often enough and while I could enlarge
on that out of respect to the families I won't here.

If anyone wants to address the Q's I posed above then please do, I have no doubt I can learn something and always keep an
open mind as to other peoples ideas.

JMO

 

[Gologit]

Any fallers taken a pole saw to work for the day, doubt it !

Production fallers certainly know what they are doing and adapt, no doubt about that but my point
with the tree in question shows a lack of lateral thinking from a few people.

The cut and run approach - for experts only and why use it if alernative (safer) methods are worth considering or using.

Pls don't lecture me about the holy grail of fallers/loggers, I've seen their f/ups often enough and while I could enlarge
on that out of respect to the families I won't here.

If anyone wants to address the Q's I posed above then please do, I have no doubt I can learn something and always keep an
open mind as to other peoples ideas.

JMO

Okay, no lectures. You seem to have a rather low opinion of fallers/loggers. That's too bad, you might learn something from them. Or ,then again, maybe not. Either way, good luck to you.

On the subject of taking a pole saw to work...I doubt if I'll ever see that on any of my jobs. They're fine for specific applications but we wouldn't have any use for one. Might give us a good laugh, though.