Proper topping technique?

[Coloradobum]

I took out a red maple the other day out of my front yard. It was way too close to the house to drop in one piece, so I took the top 20ft out of it first. Here's how I did it:

tied off top of 16' ladder to trunk

put on my rock climbing harness, girth hitched a sling around the trunk, and clipped in. I made sure it was positioned so there was minimal slack, to avoid a static fall onto it.

the tree was leaning ever so slighlty toward me, but big branches on the other side made me sure it would go away from me

I notched the far side, then cut from my side to intercept the notch just above it. The top fell like clockwork and went right where I wanted it to.

Here's what I didn't like: when cutting, I was in an awkward position. If the saw had kicked back I would have been thrown off balance.

So the question is: what is the proper sawing position for topping a tree? Saw above your head? To the side? Chest level? Lower? There's got to be a better way than what I did......

PS the tree was about 14" where I made the topping cut.

 

[CNBTreeTrimming]

All in or not at all is the only safe way. Invest in spurs and a flip line to go with your rock equipment. Then you'll have all the bases covered. Half in the tree on a ladder although tied in sounds like a statistic waiting to happen.

 

[NCTREE]

Wait! let me get this straight, you topped a tree back to 14" in diameter hanging from a ladder without spikes??? Are you amish?

 

[ctrees4$]

If the limb or top kicks back and hits the ladder you fall off There will be many awkward possisions you will find yourself in but try not to cut over your head. Know when you are doing dangerous and take the time to make them as safe as possible.Always expect the un expected

 

[imagineero]

I'm sure you'll get plenty of heat and different responses on this one!

I have to take trees down bit by bit pretty often myself, but have never climbed on spurs. I've often thought of buying them but then I look at the price tag and decide to just keep climbing on my ropes!

I agree with the earlier responder that a ladder plus rope is bad news. Go one way or the other, but not both. Personally I go for rope. I get up in the tree as high as I can when topping, which reduces the mass of the top being dropped. Sometimes you can drop it straight down on the ground. I generally cant and have to rope it.

Think carefully about which side you are going to drop on. If all positions are equal in terms of felling direction then I try to find myself a really good branch to be on, and make the felling cut to my left which is a position I'm naturally strong in. I try to fell at waist height.

If it looks tricky I rope the top (before I start notching it!!!). Have a really good look above the cut site paying extra special attention to the ballance of branches and any weak branches that might let go. I usually will drop as many branches as comforably possible off the back side of the tree to help it go where I want it to. In all cases I dont cut it to felling point with the saw. I notch, cut most of the way through, place a wedge, cut a little further. Then I take the saw out of the cut, stow it safely (often tied to the tree rather than myself), get down in the trunk a little lower and start in on thee wedge with the hammer. If you rope the top you can get completely out of the tree for extra safety and pull it down with whatever you have. If staying in the tree then take care not to take up any more than just the slack on that rope or you might turn that tree into a whip. If not, stay at a 45degree angle to the top (never directly behind in case of barber chairing) and knock the tree over with the wedge(s). This way, I get plenty of sound and visual warning when the tree is going over. As soon as its going I drop my hammer (attached to me by rope), get down, and keep an eye on how its going, being ready to move if I need to.

Always think safety first, give yourself as much protection as possible, even if you think you dont need it. More safe always = more good.

Shaun

 

[sweetjetskier]

Congratulations on still being alive !!

With that setup anything will and can happen at anytime and those results are often life ending or life altering.

One more thing to add, topping is one of the worst things one can do to a tree.

Crown reduction,heading back,etc are some of the encouraged management techniques,even these have many limitations.

 

[yooper]

I took out a red maple the other day out of my front yard. It was way too close to the house to drop in one piece, so I took the top 20ft out of it first.

One more thing to add, topping is one of the worst things one can do to a tree.

Crown reduction,heading back,etc are some of the encouraged management techniques,even these have many limitations.

Where I live topping a tree before taking it down is an accepted practice. Crown reduction,heading back,etc would be a complete wast of time to reduce the height of the tree before cutting it at the stump

 

[Coloradobum]

Lots to think about, thanks. I used to just climb up the tree and cut the top out when I was younger, no ropes no ladder, nothing. Stupid, I know. I think I've used up most of my luck and I'm trying to do things right now. The main trunk of the tree had broken off up high, and the top I cut out was half dead. I was more worried about dead branches breaking off and clobbering me than anything. Had a hardhat on.

Can someone clearly explain to me why they think my ladder and sling anchor setup is a bad idea? I didn't have a rope per se, just a sling to anchor me to the tree. I used a 6 footer which gave me some freedom to move around in case the top came back towards me. I felt like my setup was good, unless I foolishly sawed my own sling I wasn't going anywhere. It was the sawing position I was uncomfortable with. Again, what is the optimal position to strive for, if you can't get far from the trunk since there's no branches to lever out on? Thanks, I'll consider every piece of advice.

 

[Coloradobum]

Congratulations on still being alive !!

With that setup anything will and can happen at anytime and those results are often life ending or life altering.

One more thing to add, topping is one of the worst things one can do to a tree.

Crown reduction,heading back,etc are some of the encouraged management techniques,even these have many limitations.

I didn't top the tree to manage it, I topped as the first step in taking the whole tree down. See original post

What's so bad about my setup? Securely anchored to the tree, which was solid at my anchor point, so I'm not going to fall. Enough room to manuever if, God forbid, the top came back towards me. If I'm doing something dangerous please point it out. I'm here to learn. I felt safe. Of course that's a relative thing, I've rockclimbed for 15 years so my fear of heights is probably a bit jaded

 

[ddhlakebound]

What's so bad about my setup? Securely anchored to the tree, which was solid at my anchor point, so I'm not going to fall. Enough room to manuever if, God forbid, the top came back towards me. If I'm doing something dangerous please point it out. I'm here to learn. I felt safe. Of course that's a relative thing, I've rockclimbed for 15 years so my fear of heights is probably a bit jaded

If you were to cut yourself, or break a bone from something going the wrong way, how would you get down? And in the case of the cut, could you get down before you bled out?

Some trees can be topped easily without spikes. Some trees not so much. Work positioning is everything as far as keeping yourself safe in the tree, and working effectively. Having the right gear for what the job needs makes it easier and safer.

As far as dodging a top gone wrong....Well, hope for good luck, because real time is much faster than "mind" time. By the time you realize what's gone wrong, and decide what you need to do to avoid the trouble, you're hit.

 

[CNBTreeTrimming]

If you were to cut yourself, or break a bone from something going the wrong way, how would you get down? And in the case of the cut, could you get down before you bled out?

Some trees can be topped easily without spikes. Some trees not so much. Work positioning is everything as far as keeping yourself safe in the tree, and working effectively. Having the right gear for what the job needs makes it easier and safer.

As far as dodging a top gone wrong....Well, hope for good luck, because real time is much faster than "mind" time. By the time you realize what's gone wrong, and decide what you need to do to avoid the trouble, you're hit.

Strong :agree2:

 

[newb]

My motto is "Plan for the worst, hope for the best" , it seems by reading your post your motto is opposite of mine. Lets just say the only thing that went wrong was the limb knocked down your ladder. How long could you have hung there before rescue? Was someone there to do a rescue? Your attitude seems a little caviler, Hey I thought this whole thing out, nothing can go wrong. The difference between rock climbing and tree work is your not taking down the rocks your climbing on. Be safe Pete.

 

[Coloradobum]

Again, I know my method is probably not the best. Any solid advice on what I should do different? How would you do it? The top was definitely going to fall away from me, I've cut down hundreds of trees, almost always from the ground though, and I know how to read them. I was hoping for advice on how to secure myself to the tree so that I would be in a good, safe position to make the cut. If my ladder falls I am more than capable of downclimbing the tree. If I broke a bone etc yeah I'm screwed. I will use a rope instead of a ladder next time. There was no way to tame this tree down without topping it.

I am not cavalier about this, that's why I'm here asking questions, using a harness, etc. I appreciate the advice and concern, I'm all ears. I don't assume that because I can rockclimb that I'm a tree expert. It's a whole different game.

 

[treemandan]

Lots to think about, thanks. I used to just climb up the tree and cut the top out when I was younger, no ropes no ladder, nothing. Stupid, I know. I think I've used up most of my luck and I'm trying to do things right now. The main trunk of the tree had broken off up high, and the top I cut out was half dead. I was more worried about dead branches breaking off and clobbering me than anything. Had a hardhat on.

Can someone clearly explain to me why they think my ladder and sling anchor setup is a bad idea? I didn't have a rope per se, just a sling to anchor me to the tree. I used a 6 footer which gave me some freedom to move around in case the top came back towards me. I felt like my setup was good, unless I foolishly sawed my own sling I wasn't going anywhere. It was the sawing position I was uncomfortable with. Again, what is the optimal position to strive for, if you can't get far from the trunk since there's no branches to lever out on? Thanks, I'll consider every piece of advice.

I think you did well. As long as you had supplementery support, thought the process through and possessed the confidence to know the outcome. It is never accepatable to make cuts from a ladder without supplematry support and that suppost should be condusive to the operation at hand. Keep that in mind throught things and ladders are something of bad mojo around here, unless you can prove it was being used practically and completely safely ( which is possible) you will be ostracized if you haven't allready been paralyzed from a previous ladder accident in which case we would have sorrowfuly bowed our heads. I know I would have.
So Plan In, Plan Out, do it like that, lots of planning.