Dangerous Tree Comes Down

[pennsywoodburnr]

Bushman. I've got a big 5-6' at the base white oak left to cut at a buddies place I'm clearing for him to farm. I saved it for last cause I think its hollow and my 7900 only has a 28" bar and I'm going to have to go at it from all angles. Im not real comfortabe with doing it, but im obligated to cut it down. I [ATTView attachment 324912 ACH=full]324912[/ATTACH] feel your pain.

Ashman, what makes you think that big oak is hollow inside? My neighbor and I dropped a couple chestnut oaks at his place a couple weeks back and you could clearly see those were hollow because of a gaping hole that both trees had. I worked the bull rope to keep it from falling into his fence and he cut with the husky 445. Both trees he dropped weren't anywhere near as big as the one in that photo you put up, but you could see something was wrong with them. That white oak you put up looks pretty healthy though.

 

[ash man]

I haven't inspected the white oak all that closely yet but the property owner said he thinks its hollow. Guess I'll find out when I start cutting it. I've probably cut and hauled 12-15 cords of that property and the deal was to take them all down. He's got a company coming in to grind the stumps down 18" below grade and he plans on farming the ground this spring. I've cut some big trees before, but not quite that big and that's probably why I'm apprehensive. Im sure it will work out. I will just be extra careful on this one.

 

[Vibes]

"Get out of there Mike!!" Best advice I heard yet. At least you had the hard hat on. I dropped a dead ash this summer onto a paved driveway/ parking lot. It broke like glass when it hit. There were pieces of that tree on the roof of the house and they weren't there before the tree hit the ground. We covered all the windows with plywood before we dropped it. My buddy thought that was overkill. Boy was he wrong.

I'm burning that tree as I type this.

 

[branchbuzzer]

A good reminder to always be honest with yourself about your skill level and the equipment you have to do the job with. If you're unsure about either, you probably don't.

Watching the pros work is important for learning the safest way to do it, but even more so for learning what one shouldn't be attempting to do.

I'm guessing if you were doing this in MI this was not your only source of standing dead ash so maybe letting this one alone would have been the wiser thing. All those dead ash trees are getting more and more brittle as time passes. Keep an eye out for dead limbs coming down as you cut, look up, look up, look up.

 

[slowp]

Limbs can impale themselves in asphalt, and then the firewood can become expensive.

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

I haven't inspected the white oak all that closely yet but the property owner said he thinks its hollow. Guess I'll find out when I start cutting it. I've probably cut and hauled 12-15 cords of that property and the deal was to take them all down. He's got a company coming in to grind the stumps down 18" below grade and he plans on farming the ground this spring. I've cut some big trees before, but not quite that big and that's probably why I'm apprehensive. Im sure it will work out. I will just be extra careful on this one.

Definitely take your time with that one. Is it pretty wide open with nothing around? Any time I have to eye up a tree for removal it's not uncommon for me to look it over for a good 10 minutes trying to plan out all scenarios in my head.

 

[Vibes]

Limbs can impale themselves in asphalt, and then the firewood can become expensive.

Yea I know. But asphalt is cheaper than roofs. And cheaper than plywood

Keep an eye out for dead limbs coming down as you cut, look up, look up, look up.

I had a friend get hit in the head with a punky piece of wood that was a little bigger than a paper towel roller. It fell about 35 ft. It cracked his skull, and they were 65 miles from the nearest hospital. And 10 miles of that was out on a dirt mountain rd. He said every bump that they hit felt like someone cracking him in the head with a nightstick. He went into shock a long ways before he got to the ER. He is real lucky to have been able to tell that story. Good thing he wasn't alone.

 

[Chris-PA]

Two production fallers fell a tree that was splitting up from the roots. I watched and did traffic control. They took a wrapper and wrapped the tree above where they were going to cut-- they had a binder to tighten and hold it. The cutting was the fast part. They chose to cut it like a normal tree and it behaved as a normal tree and fell where they wanted it to go.

It was a father and son team and both had years of experience as fallers.

Any suggestions as to what to use for a binder strap?

 

[zogger]

Any suggestions as to what to use for a binder strap?

I have used length of chain (my generic long tow chain) and also quite a few wraps of heavy rope. Last two big trees I did like that, my lightning hit oak. the secvond one I cut, glad I chained it up. chained it in two places, one high from a ladder then right above my felling cuts. That sucker was all sortsa cracked all through it.

I guess some guys use real heavy ratchet straps.

 

[slowp]

Any suggestions as to what to use for a binder strap?

I have some that were given to me to use on alder, out in the shop. Spotted Owl gave them to me at a GTG. It is chain. The fallers also used chain. I'll try to remember to take a picture. The shop is a cold and damp building this time of year.

 

[Chris-PA]

I have used length of chain (my generic long tow chain) and also quite a few wraps of heavy rope. Last two big trees I did like that, my lightning hit oak. the secvond one I cut, glad I chained it up. chained it in two places, one high from a ladder then right above my felling cuts. That sucker was all sortsa cracked all through it.

I guess some guys use real heavy ratchet straps.

I have some that were given to me to use on alder, out in the shop. Spotted Owl gave them to me at a GTG. It is chain. The fallers also used chain. I'll try to remember to take a picture. The shop is a cold and damp building this time of year.

OK, I thought about chain, but a heavy cargo tie down would allow one to cinch it up more.

Mostly I let stuff like that stand so the critters can have at it. I have plenty of other stuff to burn. I've been watching a split and rotten one for years now - it's made it through our Halloween storm and Hurricane Sandy and several other ice and wind events. I have no idea what keeps it up, but I wouldn't even tap the thing with an axe at this point.

 

[ash man]

Pennsy the big oak is in a big open spot and has a ever so slight lean to it. If its not hollow I will feel pretty comfortable felling i with my 7900. I might get a chance to drop it latter this week. I will take some pics and update you all. Thanks for the advice.

 

[bootboy]

You can use a heavy duty 3" ratchet strap. Most are rated to about 10,000 lbs. put 2 wraps on it and call it good.

 

[Hinerman]

Wow. I am surprised you haven't been flamed more than you have. Either AS is getting soft or the pros in the forestry and logging forum haven't showed up in force yet. I do not claim to be a pro; in fact, I am novice at best, but: face cut too deep, wedge not completed or removed before making back cut, sloping back cut, cutting at eye level.....Glad nobody got hurt. Be safe.

 

[nk14zp]

I also am on the fence about cutting high like that. I cut a big rotten maple down a couple of years ago and everyone there suggested I cut it high. I was not comfortable cutting something up close to my face so I cut it at normal height. There was hardly any sound wood left but the tree fell perfectly, well perfectly considering it was rotten. There are at least a dozen more like it to cut and I will likely cut them the same way. Just too many things to go wrong at that height and if they do your options are pretty limited. Some day they will make a remote control chainsaw or maybe a high hoe with an attachment on it that clamps on and cuts trees down.....

They do we call them fellerbunchers.

 

[woodchuck357]

Tree wasn't dangerous until the cutting started. If you work at it most trees can be made into dangerous ones.
A notch with the chunk left in just is not a notch! Sloping felling cut will do nothing to keep a tree from jumping back off the stump, but neither will making the felling cut a few inches higher than the apex of the notch and I see lots of people recommending that.
The sloping back cut causes no problems, other than being a longer cut, unless you need to wedge the tree over then it may split out as a chip rather than tip the tree over.

 

[woodchuck357]

Bushman. I've got a big 5-6' at the base white oak left to cut at a buddies place I'm clearing for him to farm. I saved it for last cause I think its hollow and my 7900 only has a 28" bar and I'm going to have to go at it from all angles. Im not real comfortabe with doing it, but im obligated to cut it down. I [ATTView attachment 324912 ACH=full]324912[/ATTACH] feel your pain.

Assuming the tree is hollow, notch it wide in the direction of the lean about one third of the way thru the tree. Leaving about a 4" hinge on one side bore in, then saw around almost to the middle of the back side. Bore in from the other side also leaving a hinge, then cut around toward the back completing the felling cut.
Trees growing in the open often have wide spreading strong branches that may spring the tree back or to the side, so step away smartly when it starts over.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I don't understand all the dicking around with the back cut.

 

[AKDoug]

Assuming the tree is hollow, notch it wide in the direction of the lean about one third of the way thru the tree. Leaving about a 4" hinge on one side bore in, then saw around almost to the middle of the back side. Bore in from the other side also leaving a hinge, then cut around toward the back completing the felling cut.
Trees growing in the open often have wide spreading strong branches that may spring the tree back or to the side, so step away smartly when it starts over.

This. Did that tree close up tight on the wedge in the face cut? If not, an axe to beat it out would have been a wise choice.

 

[nk14zp]

After watching the vid all I can say is that is not how I would have done it.