So my engineer cousin who can fix anything and spew out calculus like he's speaking Latin had been picking my brain for years about helping him drop a BIG dying ash tree in his front yard. He's smart as a whip but also affectionately known as " the dumbest smart man I know" by all his beer drinking buddies, myself included. I love his can-do attitude.
The problem was his yard tree would absolutely demolish his house if anything went wrong in the drop. I always told him to hire an insured professional for that one(it's your house!) but knew he wouldn't listen. The day finally came. He called me early a few weeks ago and left a message that went something like:
" My Dad, brothers and I are gonna drop this tree if you want to witness the carnage."
Honestly, I stalled for awhile because so much was at stake but in the end realized I needed to be there for my two cents if it saved his house. I was relieved his 80 yr old Dad was going to be there(my Dad's twin actually!) because they've been cutting for 60 years and he wouldn't let him go too wrong. And my cuz knows chainsaws too. But the stakes were high!
So after hem-hawing and loading saws I get to his house pulling up slowly because the tree could ALSO fall across the road and power lines!
I arrive to him walking to the tree with saw running. I honestly thought the tree would be down by the time I got there, whether it be good or bad but it turns out his newer 60 cc husky saw he bought last year wouldn't start. I found out after the felling sheepishly from him he filled the wrong holes(gas/bar oil)! That's the smart/dumb man I know and respect! Lol.
I hurriedly parked in the neighbors drive out of the drop zone and grabbed my big Dolmar 7900 as he was making the face cut. I ran up to the tree base as his dad welcomed me over 90 decibles of whining chainsaw while he drank a beer. At 80 I guess not much can excite you. I love Uncle Bob! He was better off than his other boys and grandkids who were standing within 20' of the drop zone of a 100' plus tree!
I did manage to have my cousin check his face cut with the sight line on his saw in the cut and he cleaned it up a bit. It was an aggressive face cut but ash is forgiving thank God. He started the back cut with his saw but his bar was overmatched so I stopped him to use the dolmar with its 24" bar and even that barely made it. Keep in mind I just walked into this!
After stopping him to adjust his back cut higher he was on his way all or nothing! Sweat beads of seeing his living room flattened popped up on my neck as he stopped his felling cut an inch from the drop... U wanna bang that wedge in he asks?
No! Drop the ****** tree before it crushes your house my head is screaming but I just react in the moment. I tap the the wedge in once to seat it and hear the pop. I hit it hard fast and hear the crack! There she goes!!
Safely on the ground a few feet from the sight line we gauged a few moments before. Amen! I tried to get the video from the guys next to the fall zone that had limbs shooting at them like shrapnel afterward but they can't get the file to send. Or they are too embarrassed because they're woodcutters too! Lol. Either way it was safely on the ground. My cousin was happy then pretty shaken. The stump was very punky and he slept under it in his house :
He had to take a break from the rush and I went to town bucking!:
The house is just left of my beer supervising uncle out of the pic. Cuz stands in awe. 90 minutes, 3 tanks of gas and one sharpen touch up later it's miller time by the fire!:
U can just barely see my red work tune earmuffs for scale at the bottom of that first round. All safe and sound and a good day cutting in the end thankfully.
The problem was his yard tree would absolutely demolish his house if anything went wrong in the drop. I always told him to hire an insured professional for that one(it's your house!) but knew he wouldn't listen. The day finally came. He called me early a few weeks ago and left a message that went something like:
" My Dad, brothers and I are gonna drop this tree if you want to witness the carnage."
Honestly, I stalled for awhile because so much was at stake but in the end realized I needed to be there for my two cents if it saved his house. I was relieved his 80 yr old Dad was going to be there(my Dad's twin actually!) because they've been cutting for 60 years and he wouldn't let him go too wrong. And my cuz knows chainsaws too. But the stakes were high!
So after hem-hawing and loading saws I get to his house pulling up slowly because the tree could ALSO fall across the road and power lines!
I arrive to him walking to the tree with saw running. I honestly thought the tree would be down by the time I got there, whether it be good or bad but it turns out his newer 60 cc husky saw he bought last year wouldn't start. I found out after the felling sheepishly from him he filled the wrong holes(gas/bar oil)! That's the smart/dumb man I know and respect! Lol.
I hurriedly parked in the neighbors drive out of the drop zone and grabbed my big Dolmar 7900 as he was making the face cut. I ran up to the tree base as his dad welcomed me over 90 decibles of whining chainsaw while he drank a beer. At 80 I guess not much can excite you. I love Uncle Bob! He was better off than his other boys and grandkids who were standing within 20' of the drop zone of a 100' plus tree!
I did manage to have my cousin check his face cut with the sight line on his saw in the cut and he cleaned it up a bit. It was an aggressive face cut but ash is forgiving thank God. He started the back cut with his saw but his bar was overmatched so I stopped him to use the dolmar with its 24" bar and even that barely made it. Keep in mind I just walked into this!
After stopping him to adjust his back cut higher he was on his way all or nothing! Sweat beads of seeing his living room flattened popped up on my neck as he stopped his felling cut an inch from the drop... U wanna bang that wedge in he asks?
No! Drop the ****** tree before it crushes your house my head is screaming but I just react in the moment. I tap the the wedge in once to seat it and hear the pop. I hit it hard fast and hear the crack! There she goes!!
Safely on the ground a few feet from the sight line we gauged a few moments before. Amen! I tried to get the video from the guys next to the fall zone that had limbs shooting at them like shrapnel afterward but they can't get the file to send. Or they are too embarrassed because they're woodcutters too! Lol. Either way it was safely on the ground. My cousin was happy then pretty shaken. The stump was very punky and he slept under it in his house :
He had to take a break from the rush and I went to town bucking!:
The house is just left of my beer supervising uncle out of the pic. Cuz stands in awe. 90 minutes, 3 tanks of gas and one sharpen touch up later it's miller time by the fire!:
U can just barely see my red work tune earmuffs for scale at the bottom of that first round. All safe and sound and a good day cutting in the end thankfully.
looks like the woodlands crew was there a'plenty to lend a helping hand... most certainly worth of our applause! 
