"I'm really sorry about your fence ... "

[Nailgunner]

Had a small horror yesterday ... clearing some larches and I dropped a 70' conifer (no idea what it was). It was leaning into the dead zone I'd cleared earlier, nice and straight, away from the barn and everything else. So I put in a good size notch, checked it was all aimed straight at the dead zone, and started the back cut tidily over the notch. Just to make damn sure I didn't squash the barn I tapped in a wedge behind the bar to get it moving the way i wanted. So far, so good. I put the back cut a bit further in, and fair sh*t myself as the tree started to move, nowhere near my target, but 70 degrees to the left. It smashed the wooden top off a block wall and came to rest parallel to the wall, perched across the wall. The landowner said of it, "these things happen", and I was forced to agree, although it wasn't my first thought upon seeing the thing hop off its stump and trash a wall I didn't want to trash.

It seems to be the case that half the stump (right side) was rotten ... so when I wedged it, it broke at the rotten side and fell to the left

Also, I've really no idea how to check for rot in these trees ... I've a suspicion a lot of them may be going the same way. Any clues? drill test holes? rope every one to be sure? OTT perhaps, but I'm very wary about having this happen again. The prospect of getting killed or butchering someone else really doesn't appeal. help, advice etc appreciated.

 

[Jacob J.]

I bore the base and check the color of the chips as they come out of the cut.

 

[Paul001]

Check the color of the chips. Tap with a hammer and listen to the sound as you move around the base and up the trunk. Directional line and pull line.

Oh where are the pictures

 

[John Ellison]

Yep, like these guys said sounding and boring to check for rot. That tree must have had a fair amount of side lean for it to go that far off.

If you have any side lean at all, you could get away with a little rot if it is on the off side of your hinge. But if it is like your situation and you had side lean and rot on the holding side, I would want a 90 deg. line set for a guy. It would save the rest of the hinge and keep it from falling off.

 

[Nailgunner]

No pics didn't think of it really, I cut it up and dropped 10' of trunk back over the fence. Then I dragged all the brash to the heap. I did this first to give me a chance to think of a good way to say "I sent a massive tree the wrong way and demolished your fence", not really knowing what sort of response I'd get.

Colour of chips - the rotten bits were coloured no differently to the rest of it, it just had that weak-grained look to it in the stump, you know how it goes into almost cuboid shapes without a strong grain structure. I'll have a better look next time i'm there and see if I can get a good sounding off it with a hammer and apply the same test to the next few i drop.

... After I finish fixing the fence i shouldn't grumble, at least I'm allowed back.

 

[doc874]

Cut into tree with the saw pointed at the tree straight on not side ways like you'd do when cutting the tree, do it about where your going to make your cut to fell it and check for brown wood chips flying out from your saw, that may indicate rot in the tree, pick some up and have a look-see to see if its wet and soft that will tell you what your dealing with. Don't be afraid to bury the blade if need be going in a couple of inches won't tell you much about the center of the tree.

 

[slowp]

Look at the tree first. Is the butt (don't laugh) shaped differently from the other trees? Swelling? Are there conks (fungus) anywhere on the ground around the tree or growing out of the tree? Scars? Pitch coming out? These are all indicators that there might be rot in the tree.

 

[Nailgunner]

Not laughing a bit. It had a good looking butt! until i stuck a saw up it, anyhow. That's really why I was surprised, it looked perfectly healthy.

I'll have a go with the hammer next time i'm up there listening for dull spots. I didn't try that beforehand. Wish i had. At least now I can thump the stump where I know there's a dead patch and listen for a difference.

Thanks for the tips - Anything we can do to make all our lives a bit safer is good, and nobody called me an idiot. Love to y'all.

 

[J.Walker]

Nothing like a tip line when working around stuff. Could have been worse.

 

[2dogs]

Look at the tree first. Is the butt (don't laugh) shaped differently from the other trees? Swelling? Are there conks (fungus) anywhere on the ground around the tree or growing out of the tree? Scars? Pitch coming out? These are all indicators that there might be rot in the tree.

Yep. And like Jacob said bore it if something feels funny. Go with your gut at times. Pulling a tree is never a bad thing either.

 

[JT78]

Anytime there is something nearby that I could land the tree on I always rope them just to be on the safe side. If there is nothing in the way I usually check to make sure that there is nothing funny going on then I will bore the tree if everything is ok I cut it and watch it fall. Got caught with my pants down once and didnt rope the tree had a barn about 5 feet away cut my notch started my backcut and the wind suddenly blew the wrong way the tree sat on the saw I luckily was able to drive in some wedges and send it the way I wanted it but just goes to show you ya never know what they are going to do.

 

[windsong]

wall drop

View it as a learning experience. As a rule always rope the tree if there is anything in the drop area 360 the height of the tree. I have seen some pretty crazy drops, and the cutter tries to explain how it got there, thought he had it figured out only to his surprise. Always be as sure as you can be in this business. A little more work roping the tree in the beginning might save a ton of work, or worse later. Not to mention insurance costs these days. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

 

[motoroilmccall]

While I usually don't rope off. If its near a house, or an expensive fence, I will. But from the sounds of it, you really had no warning signs. A more experienced guy might have seen something you missed, but sh1t happens. I don't miss much, but it happens to the best of us. I haven't crushed anything yet, but my cutting partner did crush his brand new 660 one day. Thank god I had a spare 394 with me...

At least the HO seemed like a good guy. A lot of folks wouldn't have taken it so lightly.