Dolmar Enthusiast
Saw Stalker
A term of endearment, since I am not only a member of the malarkey slinging club, I'm the president...
And this discussion started being tedious at best, I should know better than open my big mouth....
Advise on felling a leaner
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And this discussion started being tedious at best, I should know better than open my big mouth....
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I understand this. A sharp chain equals a fast cut, a good thing. OR, the opposite of a sharp chain, could mean trouble.
Young Man we can not explain to people what it is like. You may have had the injury before me. Part of my skull is replaced with a plastic used to cast false teeth. I don't have cable or dish. DVD s are run so when my brain skips I can back it up to fill in the blanks. The most correct thing I've read here a few times is a couple more pics of the hollow side of the tree wood help in the manner in which dropping the tree is recommended.
Stay safe, any doubts get away from this tree.
Trx250r180
Saw polisher
This pic is after i cut the y off the top,the weight and bend of the tree would have shattered an alder ,oak is much tougher wood ,our hardwoods are chair prone ,if yo can bring them down slower less chance of breaking the log
hseII
Addicted to ArboristSite
Roger That.
I like bouncing the fatties personally, less limbing, but I get your point.
Dolmar Enthusiast
Saw Stalker
I figured out what he was try to tell me,I just assumed that the gentleman was smart enough to question his approach /ability on the tree removal, so mistakenly I assumed that he would have already figured out at this point in life if he could sharpen a chain well enough to determine it's spitting chips or dust.
The problem arose when I misread his mind in the middle of this statement.
What I read, and was trying to ask him was, basically a sharp chain could make it all go wrong?( Disclaimer : paraphrasing). What I should have read apparently is (2nd portion )What if he can't sharpen a chain worth a flip, that could be the thing that makes it all go wrong. (Disclaimer :again paraphrasing )
That is why I was asking him(I think, that was a long time ago)
I asked because I misunderstood him and apparently he misunderstood me, and that sucks. I'm new to this Internet thing and may not possess the PCness required to hang out. Its definitely not Rainbows and Unicorns like my kids told me ...
Beetlejuice
Addicted to ArboristSite
You're fine.. The net on-ramp is only so long .. You'll be passing people on the Internet freeway in no time.. Patience my friend, patience, and practice.
Dolmar Enthusiast
Saw Stalker
Gracias,Senor Beetlejuice...
To start off I'm sorry for coming across the way I did and being short, I should not have replied when I didn't have the time to answer in a clear and respectful manner.
I'm doing good today Matt, although it's been a very long day, and tomorrow is promising to be the same.
Sorry, I wasn't trying to avoid the question, a sharp chain is surely the way to go and all the more for the cutting the OP is asking about.
Bummer about your memory, that's not something I would want to joke about unless I knew you were ok with it as I have friends who have had various brain injuries and it's no joke. The good thing is we have relationships where we can laugh at all of our shortcomings.
Gotta run, tomorrow will be as big of a day as today, oh wait it's already tomorrow.
Go to bed. I just woke up after about a 2 hour nap. Took 2 more Alieve, waiting for it to kick in.
Well I don't have to worry about taking it down, a neighbor of the parents came over this past weekend and did it. Not sure how it was done but I don't have to worry about it now. I just have to cut it up for them and help split it now.
Thanks for all the input on this.
Thanks for all the input on this.
If the wood looks solid I have an alaskan chainsaw mill you can borrow if you want to make some slabs.Well I don't have to worry about taking it down, a neighbor of the parents came over this past weekend and did it. Not sure how it was done but I don't have to worry about it now. I just have to cut it up for them and help split it now.
Thanks for all the input on this.
They would probably curve a bit when they dried, but just a though.
Just for the record, Chipper, I tried to process firewood from an American elm tree that was leaning like this for about 40 years. It was also about 36" across at the base. I cut it all into 18" lengths, noodle cut the rounds in halves, and let it all sit for six to eight months. My 22-ton log splitter could handle only about half of it. I have never seen such twisted grain. The splits went every direction imaginable. Nothing could have been tougher, and I finally bonfired about a ton of it at a labor day party. Somehow, I managed to burn the rest.
Now, imagine what that stuff would have eventually done after cutting it into slabs with an Alaskan saw mill. Gasp!
I'm sure there would have been some twisting, but I wonder how it would look.
Hope all is well with you
.Hoodiegadoo
ArboristSite Member
My experience on trying to mill a tree leaned over like that has been a once and never again experience. Complete waste of time. Unless you’re making something without a single straight piece of wood anywhere...lol
I got a big leaner in my front yard I need to cut. Tree is hollow and at least 36in dia. Tree is also dead, lighting strike, bark is slipping. I had a guy a couple years ago take out a few dead and dying limbs, with the hopes getting rid of the dead wood would extend the life of the tree. Didnt work, but it is one of the few big trees I have left so we took the chance. Anyways, the tree has one big limb that hangs over where I park my truck. The tree is leaning towards my house, and would hit it if fell. Aint but one direction it can really fall without tearing down my shop or shed or my house. Been trying to get the guy that climbed it back to help take it down, he keeps putting me off. Going to hang a cable in the top and hook a truck to it to pull it the way it has to go. With this tree being hollow, I dont think a cooes bay cut will work. Nothing in the center to hold. A bore cut might be the best bet, with a little variation. Bore and then cut toward the back and run like heck. I doubt there is more than 6inches of wood where the back cut would normally be. Anybody want to volunteer to take this one down.
If i lived close by I'd surely help.
I have many large oaks in my yard and as soon as one doesn't leaf up in the spring i climb up 20ft or so " treestand " and strap it.......use my 9K Jeep winch in conjunction with chainsaw.....tree drops exactly where i want it everytime.
Away from my house
I have many large oaks in my yard and as soon as one doesn't leaf up in the spring i climb up 20ft or so " treestand " and strap it.......use my 9K Jeep winch in conjunction with chainsaw.....tree drops exactly where i want it everytime.
Away from my house
I was at the local saw shop today and talked to the guy that orignally trimmed the tree. He works during the day and has been taking care of his mom at night, which I understand and dont hold anything against him for not getting to my tree. Thing is, one of the other guys at the shop also does tree work. I approached him about helping me take the tree down, all three of us discussed the situation and he jokeingly said I think I understand why the first guy doesnt want to fool with it. I have cut many a leaner, dead tree, out in the woods, and never gave it a thought. This one is different, it has to fall right. I believe if I can get a cable up high enough, I can take it down, but I physically cant climb. I think I am going to bait up a squirrel and tie a string to his tail and then chase him up the tree. In the mean time, I am just keeping my insurance paid up. Wife wants a new car, a new house and I need a new truck.. Let the wind blow
Get us some pictures, pictures always make it more un as we can give some armchair guesses
.You know if I was there I'd be on it.
Can you get a bull rope in the tree with a throw line.
I will get a few pics of the tree and post up. Me and that tree have a history. I can remember when this tree was only about 8 or 10 inchs dia. Back in 1974, we had a huge outbreaks of tornados that destroyed homes, lifes, and blew down millions of trees. The property my house sits on now was one of those places that had large amounts of very big timber that was uprooted by those tornados. Whitepines that took 3 people to reach around. Dad got the job of clearing all the timber. We logged there all summer using a Dexter tractor with a winch and a small d2 dozer. Land in the area was extremely steep and rocky, hard for even a dozer to climb up. As things normally go, the dozer broke about half way down the side of the mountain, couldnt get to it with anything. A local wrecker service had a very large 3axle wrecker. Dad got him to come and winch the dozer back to the top of the mountain where we could actually work to fix it. Now that big wrecker was strong, but the winch and weight of the dozer would just pull the wrecker backwards. So the ideal of just hooking the front of the wrecker to a tree to hold it in place was just a natual ideal. Well, back then people didnt use straps, they used chains and choker cables. That choker cable cut into the tree peeling off the bark. That tree is the very tree now in my front yard.
I bought my brother and sisters parts of the house and moved into it in 1999. Dad passed away on March 21, 1999, I guess that is why I am thinking about all of this now. Tree was pretty big then, but it was swell butted and big black ants had made a home inside. The tree was certainly showing signs of decline. I started mulching with hardwood bark, basicly restoreing the lost forest floor, and the tree started healing itself. The big scars almost completely healed up. Then came the lighting strike. I dont know of anything I could have done to try and save that tree after that. I tried selective trimming removing just the limbs that where obviously dead and dieing. Made the tree look better, but didnt fix the problem. Lately, we have had to remove several large limbs that have broken out of the tree. There is a large fork about 20-30ft up that looks like it could break out any day. Thats the one that will take out my truck. I keep full coverage on the truck, LOL, and I dont park there if there is even a hint of a storm coming. What makes this tree so hard to get down is not the actual cutting and falling, it everything around it. No one wants to fall a tree on their house, or shop or shed, but they can all be replaced. It is the other trees around the one your cutting that are hard to replace. 12in dogwoods dont just grow over night. Neither do Hickory's and then there are the wife's litttle pin oak she grew from a acorn. I'll never hear the end if I mash that scraggly thing. Did I mention its a pain to mow around too.
I have one direction only to fall this tree that wont damage anything. This makes this a two person falling job because you need one sawing and one pulling. I have plenty of long cable to tie into the top of the tree. If it ever stops raining and I can scrounge up a little help with a little sense, I'll take that tree down. Would like to have a climber that could remove a few limbs just to mitigate any damage to surrounding trees, but so far that hasnt been in the cards. Cant help it, I cant pay a tree service the big bucks they would want for 30 minutes of work, pinoak be damn, if I mash it, it gets mashed.
I bought my brother and sisters parts of the house and moved into it in 1999. Dad passed away on March 21, 1999, I guess that is why I am thinking about all of this now. Tree was pretty big then, but it was swell butted and big black ants had made a home inside. The tree was certainly showing signs of decline. I started mulching with hardwood bark, basicly restoreing the lost forest floor, and the tree started healing itself. The big scars almost completely healed up. Then came the lighting strike. I dont know of anything I could have done to try and save that tree after that. I tried selective trimming removing just the limbs that where obviously dead and dieing. Made the tree look better, but didnt fix the problem. Lately, we have had to remove several large limbs that have broken out of the tree. There is a large fork about 20-30ft up that looks like it could break out any day. Thats the one that will take out my truck. I keep full coverage on the truck, LOL, and I dont park there if there is even a hint of a storm coming. What makes this tree so hard to get down is not the actual cutting and falling, it everything around it. No one wants to fall a tree on their house, or shop or shed, but they can all be replaced. It is the other trees around the one your cutting that are hard to replace. 12in dogwoods dont just grow over night. Neither do Hickory's and then there are the wife's litttle pin oak she grew from a acorn. I'll never hear the end if I mash that scraggly thing. Did I mention its a pain to mow around too.
I have one direction only to fall this tree that wont damage anything. This makes this a two person falling job because you need one sawing and one pulling. I have plenty of long cable to tie into the top of the tree. If it ever stops raining and I can scrounge up a little help with a little sense, I'll take that tree down. Would like to have a climber that could remove a few limbs just to mitigate any damage to surrounding trees, but so far that hasnt been in the cards. Cant help it, I cant pay a tree service the big bucks they would want for 30 minutes of work, pinoak be damn, if I mash it, it gets mashed.
