Cutting a Tree That Will Lodge

[beastmaster]

I'll give you your props, you all are professional fellers and loggers and have lots of experience. Though I understand why a slopping back cut the way troythetreeman described is foolish and dangerous in your line of work, especially in big timber, and granted maybe he shouldn't of recommended it for this situation, but as a skilled Arborist who specializes in difficult removals in urban environments I have had cause to use this cut in rare situations. It's a tool that sometimes fits the situation.
I'm not going to go to humboldt co. and try to compete with guys in the logging industry, but us arborist work in a totally different environment, that is way even up in Washington state, I see ads looking for tree trimmers that say loggers need not apply.
My self, I would just take out a top first and be done with it. One thing we can all agree on, snags are unpredictable and dangerous and best avoided. Find a climber, have him take the tree down to where it can safely be felled. Its not something a home owner should be messing with. Any cut you try off the internet if not done properly can have grave consequences. Beastmaster

 

[056kid]

There is no reason why a guy can't get the butt of a tree on the ground with face angles. . . For example; a box cut out of the tree at a determined depth and a determined height with a snipe cut out if the stump at a determined depth and angle, but some old guy that is way smarter than me already stated that. I just wanted to reiterate. .

Shoot, I guess it is unfair to pick on arborists. . After all, you guys like to kill 2 or 3 trees, make a few grand, and eat at subway. might as well work at walmart and sell methamphetamine

 

[RandyMac]

Uh, I think that will probably be after the hand holding, and gazing, and singing and such.

Bob, I can't believe you can be more rude than me. Maybe I'll throw some red rep to make up for that.

 

[Gologit]

Bob, I can't believe you can be more rude than me. Maybe I'll throw some red rep to make up for that.

I'm older than you...I've had more practice.

I don't think red rep is necessary...it's good to save red rep for the real idiots. We're just dealing with advice and experience that's based on two different skill sets.

Beastmaster made a good point. Loggers and arborists look at things from different perspectives. And, just as there are arborists who wouldn't hire a logger, a doubt if most loggers would hire an arborist. I have the utmost respect for a good arborist. I've watched them work and what they do is a world away from what I do.

One thing stays constant between the two, and that's an appreciation, a necessity really, for doing the job right and doing it safely. T the T Man's only real mistake here was advising an advanced technique to somebody who obviously wasn't skilled enough to try it. When any of us, loggers or arborists, give advice on the Homeowner forum we need to remember that some inexperienced guy with a box store saw and no real idea of what he's doing will take our word as gospel. All of us know that there are a lot of little things that can go wrong and when we start advising advanced techniques the odds of a little mistake turning into a disaster go way up.

The slopping back cut might work for small trees and shrubbery, or on limbs when you're climbing, but it has no real value other than to get the membership into another brawl. When somebody advocates it's use we're apt to label him as a rookie or a fake. Or an idiot. Most of the time we're right.

So, that being said, I think my remark about HBRN and T the T Man tripping off through the woods hand in hand was probably off base. We have no real evidence that they'd actually do that. Unless they really wanted to, of course. Their choice entirely.

They could probably have a good discussion about the slopping back cut but we'd appreciate it if they kept it private. :msp_wink:

 

[RandyMac]

It makes me happy when you bring up that you are older.

 

[Gologit]

It makes me happy when you bring up that you are older.

Better looking, too.

 

[RandyMac]

Better looking, too.

yeah and I get better looking every day, so maybe I'll catch up with you.

 

[Sport Faller]

It makes me happy when you bring up that you are older.

Better looking, too.

yeah and I get better looking every day, so maybe I'll catch up with you.

You guys are like Lemmon and Matthau in Grumpy Old Men :jester:

 

[Captain Crunch]

all the bashing and flaming of me not one of you offered any real advise to the homeowner asking for help
good work guys

I am NOT an arborist, nor a logger, nor a farmer. I have some advice for the OP: planning to cut a tree and have it hang up is a bad idea. They do hang up some times in spite of best efforts, but this should seriously be avoided.
As others have said, if you even think it has a good chance of hanging up, get a climber do something different so that the plan is for it NOT to hang up.
I have freed a few, either from others jobs gone bad or blow downs, not fun. To few of them to offer advice on what to do, but enough to say, don't do it.

 

[serial feller]

The slopping back cut might work for small trees

I'm curious, where do PNWers set the mark for what's big and what's small? I'm sure your idea of big is vastly different from that of us here in the midwest. For example the largest tree I cut this summer was a red oak just under 3 feet on the stump. They do get a bit bigger than that but it was decent size for these parts. An extremely rare old growth might hit 5 feet, and that's HUGE by my standards. I don't have the equipment to move it, and would not cut it. Things start to get small at around 16" dbh.

 

[RandyMac]

You guys are like Lemmon and Matthau in Grumpy Old Men :jester:

Come over here and stand there while I take a stick to you.

I'm curious, where do PNWers set the mark for what's big and what's small? I'm sure your idea of big is vastly different from that of us here in the midwest. For example the largest tree I cut this summer was a red oak just under 3 feet on the stump. They do get a bit bigger than that but it was decent size for these parts. An extremely rare old growth might hit 5 feet, and that's HUGE by my standards. I don't have the equipment to move it, and would not cut it. Things start to get small at around 16" dbh.

Small, under 36", medium is +- 60", large could go to 240"+ diameter. This would be North Coast California timber.
Have you seen the picture of the 26' Redwood?

 

[Sport Faller]

Come over here and stand there while I take a stick to you.



Small, under 36", medium is +- 60", large could go to 240"+ diameter. This would be North Coast California timber.
Have you seen the picture of the 26' Redwood?

Hell no, I aint gonna get cracked, also I wish the stuff around here would measure up to that timber classification

here it's more like: 36" = a damn nice tree 60" = you better have some time stamped pics or it didn't happen 240" = umm no, not even back in the good ol days

 

[troythetreeman]

I am NOT an arborist.

exactly, why would i climb a tree if its easier, safer, and faster to prop it up against another one?
mind you, such cases are rare, but they do occur
we can tell this homeowner that leaning it into another tree probably isnt the best way to do it
im sure hes aware without that
but he intends to do it anyhow

 

[beastmaster]

Shoot, I guess it is unfair to pick on arborists. . After all, you guys like to kill 2 or 3 trees, make a few grand, and eat at subway. might as well work at walmart and sell methamphetamine

Why what do you get paid to cut down 2 or 3 trees? I like eating at subway, Im old enough I might take a job at Wal-mart as a greeter, and so long as there are enough Loggers around to sell to ....................................

 

[troythetreeman]

why what do you get paid to cut down 2 or 3 trees? I like eating at subway, im old enough i might take a job at wal-mart as a greeter, and so long as there are enough loggers around to sell to ....................................

lol

 

[Captain Crunch]

exactly, why would i climb a tree if its easier, safer, and faster to prop it up against another one?
mind you, such cases are rare, but they do occur
we can tell this homeowner that leaning it into another tree probably isnt the best way to do it
im sure hes aware without that
but he intends to do it anyhow

Not sure what your saying here Troy.

 

[kdslocum]

exactly, why would i climb a tree if its easier, safer, and faster to prop it up against another one?
mind you, such cases are rare, but they do occur
we can tell this homeowner that leaning it into another tree probably isnt the best way to do it
im sure hes aware without that
but he intends to do it anyhow

absolute genius