I almost did it today.

[Mustang71]

With the wife and kids watching I was cutting down my last planned tree of the season today. It was leaning over the road so I tied a rope to it and a come a long. Did my cutting and then pulling and nothing. I drove a wedge into one side and did some more cutting and more pulling. I repeated about 5 times, watching for cars on the road the whole time, and then the 028 got pinched in the tree. I placed the wedge hit it with the axe and the whole deal let loose. I don't remember much other than seeing the tree falling at me and thinking I should run. The rest I guess wasn't important enough to make a memory of. I did hit my self in the head with my axe when running. Good thing I have no hair and always wear a hat or I would have a few stitches. My wife asked me if I was ok after watching me almost cut my last tree. The tree fell into the road and I had to grab my other saw to clean it up quick. I was sweating by the time I was done. Rough day lol

 

[spyder62]

Hope all is well

 

[Mustang71]

I'm fine. My wife keeps calling me stupid and I have a bump on my head lol.

 

[sirbuildalot]

I think every husband has been accused of making stupid decisions from time to time. We are guys after all. Lol. Not like women are perfect either. The important thing is that you are here to tell the tale.

 

[rwoods]

Glad you are okay. Have you reconstructed the cut to figure out what went wrong and why? If you have, great as that may help keep you around. If not, please do. Not trying to get you to post about it, just encouraging the first steps to help prevent a repeat, if possible.

Once again, glad you are alright.

Ron

 

[svk]

Glad you are alright

 

[hanniedog]

Have had that situation several times over the years. We just called either the Twp or County and they provided flaggers so we could just drop the tree on the road.

 

[rwoods]

No expert here (except quite experienced at messing up), but due to one of my latest mishaps I can’t help but wonder if you hit yourself in the head while at the tree. Recently I was trying to wedge over a heavy leaner and my 5# axe bounced off the wedge and came straight back at my face. Can’t remember if it hit my hard hat or not, but I do remember thinking that could have hurt and maybe high stumps and hard lifters pose a risk I hadn’t previously considered.

Ron

 

[Mustang71]

That was the issue the road. I would have dropped it into the road no problem. My plan didn't work out but the dumb part was trying to save my saw. It was one of 8 trees together and I dropped the other 7. Some were hard some didn't lean over the road. I decided I would play it safe and rope this one down. The tree didn't agree and now what it's hanging over the road 3/4 cut. Gotta end it. But damn there's a million 028s out there and I saved mine.

 

[Mustang71]

I had just sharpened my axe too. No cuts with it. I always wear a hat. I believe it's safety gear. Sounds silly but it will protect against punctures and slices and it did again today. I don't remember hitting the wedge just deciding I needed to run.

 

[rwoods]

That was the issue the road. I would have dropped it into the road no problem. My plan didn't work out but the dumb part was trying to save my saw. It was one of 8 trees together and I dropped the other 7. Some were hard some didn't lean over the road. I decided I would play it safe and rope this one down. The tree didn't agree and now what it's hanging over the road 3/4 cut. Gotta end it. But damn there's a million 028s out there and I saved mine.

Sure the kids would rather have you than the saw. Wife’s choice may vary.

Ron

 

[Mustang71]

I'm happy I wasn't driving wedges with my fiskars or id be in pain now with some stitches.

I almost always cut alone but it was 40* out today so everyone went out side to watch. It didn't really bother me at the time. I'm used to tough situations but knowing that the whole family saw that bothers me.

If my 028 was broke I'd have to get another one and that would bother the wife lol.

 

[Mustang71]

I'm happy no one was driving by in my time of panic. I'd hate to hurt anyone else when I'm cutting trees for firewood.

 

[rwoods]

If it helps any - I recently cut a large tree that had a heavy long limb over a small county lane near an intersection of a fairly busy county road. I checked everything for clearance - especially the power lines and county road. Good to go - rope and wedges to keep it out of the lane. Just one major problem, the weight was more than the combined leverage of the rope and wedges. Rope too low and not enough traction with truck. Little tug with truck tree just begins its fall and overly thin hinge breaks immediately. Tension of the rope pulls the stem forward and it drops into the ground three feet in front of the stump. Tree spins 70* and falls to the side. The now repositioned long limb brushes a telephone drop pole which immediately breaks off at the ground (inspection showed it was almost completely rotted at the ground though sound in the air). The pole falls across both lanes of the busy county road. Thank GOD no car was close. Had cars backed up both ways within the five minutes it took to get the pole out of the road. Took my cutting buddy and I four hours to clear the county lane. The part that bothers me the most is the broken pole - it could have killed innocent folks who were just driving down the road. Easy to beat up myself over it, but am trying to learn from the experience instead. Hope you do too.

Ron

 

[Mustang71]

I have one of those poles on my property. It's full of wood pecker holes I've called the power company and they don't care. I don't cut near that. I try to play it safe but dead trees hanging over the road are my responsibility and I'm cutting trees for fire wood. I've had to take limbs off my neighbors power line too. I know the risks of the situation and choose not to bother with them. I guess at work being a hvac foreman it's up to me to get every job done even if it's hard to handle so I do the same at home.

Once you start there's no turning back. I won't try to completely redirect leaning trees again though.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Didn't you recently have another sort of serious Fu©k up?

That's right, I found it:

Pinched my 028 in a tree today that tried to fall the wrong way. I almost called 911 I wasn't sure it was going to make it. Pulled that tree down with a rope and my two hands to save my 028. If it were my husky I would have grabbed another saw and ended it.

So, after these two events I'm going to make a couple of strongly worded recommendations.

One: get a hard hat. Don't argue. Get a hard hat. Tapping wedges and felling trees is a job that requires one. Your hat is not safety gear.

Two: take a goddammed safety class. I see you're an HVAC professional. Would you do your job without any training? Why do you think you can buy a couple of Stihl saws and start dropping trees? Obviously you know enough to be dangerous, but not to do things safely. I'm no professional either, but about 5 years ago I took a great one day safety class from a forestry safety organization. Am I an expert now? No. But I know what I can safely handle, and I know when to call in help. I think I recall you saying that you burn firewood. Well, that's great. Firewood is a lovely heat source. Cutting wood is great exercise and can be very fun. It's also super dangerous. Don't take it lightly. Saving a couple hundred a month on your heat bill isn't worth getting maimed or worse. Sounds like you've got a family. Bet they'd like to keep you around...


I understand that I might sound like a di©k right now, but this is serious business. You need to learn from your mistakes before you make one you won't be around to learn from.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

If it helps any - I recently cut a large tree that had a heavy long limb over a small county lane near an intersection of a fairly busy county road. I checked everything for clearance - especially the power lines and county road. Good to go - rope and wedges to keep it out of the lane. Just one major problem, the weight was more than the combined leverage of the rope and wedges. Rope too low and not enough traction with truck. Little tug with truck tree just begins its fall and overly thin hinge breaks immediately. Tension of the rope pulls the stem forward and it drops into the ground three feet in front of the stump. Tree spins 70* and falls to the side. The now repositioned long limb brushes a telephone drop pole which immediately breaks off at the ground (inspection showed it was almost completely rotted at the ground though sound in the air). The pole falls across both lanes of the busy county road. Thank GOD no car was close. Had cars backed up both ways within the five minutes it took to get the pole out of the road. Took my cutting buddy and I four hours to clear the county lane. The part that bothers me the most is the broken pole - it could have killed innocent folks who were just driving down the road. Easy to beat up myself over it, but am trying to learn from the experience instead. Hope you do too.

Ron

Couple of things you can do to prevent this happening again. Maybe you already know them, but I'll list them anyway.

Get a throw line and a weight. Use the line to set your bull rope higher in the tree.

Make your back cut BELOW your face cut by a couple of inches. This makes it much much more difficult to pull the tree off the stump. Take care to leave a big enough hinge.

Redirect your bull rope through a pulley anchored low on another tree. Pulling a rope that's set high in a tree unloads your rear axle on the truck and reduces your traction.

Put some weight in the truck before your attempt to pull anything.

Watch Terry Hale's videos on YouTube, especially the one about pulling over trees. Dude really goes into the math involved and breaks it down very well.


Good on you for understanding the risks at hand and wanting to avoid them. Hopefully the OP does the same.

 

[Mustang71]

Didn't you recently have another sort of serious Fu©k up?

That's right, I found it:



So, after these two events I'm going to make a couple of strongly worded recommendations.

One: get a hard hat. Don't argue. Get a hard hat. Tapping wedges and felling trees is a job that requires one. Your hat is not safety gear.

Two: take a goddammed safety class. I see you're an HVAC professional. Would you do your job without any training? Why do you think you can buy a couple of Stihl saws and start dropping trees? Obviously you know enough to be dangerous, but not to do things safely. I'm no professional either, but about 5 years ago I took a great one day safety class from a forestry safety organization. Am I an expert now? No. But I know what I can safely handle, and I know when to call in help. I think I recall you saying that you burn firewood. Well, that's great. Firewood is a lovely heat source. Cutting wood is great exercise and can be very fun. It's also super dangerous. Don't take it lightly. Saving a couple hundred a month on your heat bill isn't worth getting maimed or worse. Sounds like you've got a family. Bet they'd like to keep you around...


I understand that I might sound like a di©k right now, but this is serious business. You need to learn from your mistakes before you make one you won't be around to learn from.

After that issue I did some research on what I did wrong with my notch and back cut. Also bought a wedge. I have been cutting wood for about 5 years now and only this year have i had problems. I'm beginning to think it's this 028.

I get it I'm not big on the safety department. Same deal at work. What did i do wrong today? Idk should have shut the road down and cut safely.

I get it. Sometimes you have a bad day. I don't cut near power lines and won't cut near the road anymore i will let it fall down in a storm. When I don't have to prove the laws of physics wrong I do ok. Last time I roped a large ash down against the lean with success and this time my confidence got the best of me. Next tree I will do some more thinking before I cut the notch.

 

[Mustang71]

I'm no pro at cutting trees but I'm not a know nothing home owner. I didn't buy a stihl and think I can cut anything. I have been cutting since I was a teenager only in the last few years have I been cutting for fire wood and been buying saws and learning about felling trees. Experience is the best way to learn. My situation today would have been solved by closing the road down or having a bucket lift. Any dumby home owner would have dropped it backwards into the road not trying to prevent it or avoid it. The tree was very dead and had no bark on it. It was less than 25 feet tall and about 12 inches in diameter.

 

[rwoods]

Couple of things you can do to prevent this happening again. Maybe you already know them, but I'll list them anyway.

Get a throw line and a weight. Use the line to set your bull rope higher in the tree.

Make your back cut BELOW your face cut by a couple of inches. This makes it much much more difficult to pull the tree off the stump. Take care to leave a big enough hinge.

Redirect your bull rope through a pulley anchored low on another tree. Pulling a rope that's set high in a tree unloads your rear axle on the truck and reduces your traction.

Put some weight in the truck before your attempt to pull anything.

Watch Terry Hale's videos on YouTube, especially the one about pulling over trees. Dude really goes into the math involved and breaks it down very well.


Good on you for understanding the risks at hand and wanting to avoid them. Hopefully the OP does the same.

Thanks. Indulge me with this reply to flesh things out a little more as summary advice can be dangerous.

1. Weighed throw line - had one and used it. As others have pointed out to me climbing or a device to put the throw line higher may be necessary.
2. Backcutting below the face is a judgment call - risk to cutter versus other risks.
3. My errors were multiple. Cutting on the spur of the moment as a favor; not appreciating the differing characteristics of this species; taking on a challenging tree with little experience with the species; underestimating the limb load (the tree was straight); taking a short cut due to lack of equipment (if I had cut the limb off all would have been well, but had no way to reach it as it was on the bank side); thinning the hinge too much; too low rope; inadequate equipment for the job; and stressing the hinge with a tug. Probably many more misjudgments.
4. No anchor points available - sole tree of size on a bank in the edge of a field. I always pull from the front of the truck. Better view and more weight in front unless of course you have a loaded truck.

Ron