Another narley day in the PNW with long bars and full wrap

[Lakeside53]

NOPE.. they are still waiting... for a wind or me, or Rbtree..

 

[Log Splitter]

Thanks for sharing and for the pics, Andy.

Lot's better thread than what we've had to suffer with for the past few days.

 

[Wood Hick]

Nice work Andy! Its nice to see someone who knows their stuff give a little demo! Are those 30 footers up for any East Coaster that gets there first?

 

[GASoline71]

Lot's better thread than what we've had to suffer with for the past few days.

That's a fact!

Gary

 

[2000ssm6]

Looks good Andy!! What type of Hoe was helping? I love to use the backhoe when a tree has to fall the right way

 

[Adkpk]

Nice work Andy! Its nice to see someone who knows their stuff give a little demo! Are those 30 footers up for any East Coaster that gets there first?

Better hurry up, I'm already halfway through Ohio. :chainsawguy:

 

[adkranger]

Nice work Andy!

Great pics too......

 

[hogjaws]

Great Post Lakeside

+1 on the best tread in a few days.
Thanks for the pics, looks like a great day all around.
Not only have you guys been a bad influence but
now you your making me jealous to boot, friends, woods,
machines, saws. What more can a guy ask for.

 

[Just Mow]

Just helping out a neighbor.. One 140 ft+ 27 dbh hemlock leaning at 15 degrees, hung up and with the root ball partially torn out, and a 130 foot cedar with center rot. Both as measured.. I estimated them much bigger


The hemlock was a joy.... Had a rope 50 feet up tied though a snatch block to a track hoe.. just to help it out of the top of the adjacent tree and to make sure it wouldn't come down on the house. Cutting the back cut was weird - the root ball was settling and the tree was pushing back. Damn... Full wrap only (escape path) on that cut. Check out the butt cut - if it's not white, it's rotten. Vast quantities of sound hinge wood there! Went pretty much as planned though.

The cedar was real fun... about 54 inches at waist height with multiple wide flared buttresses and a rotten arch up to about 12 feet. The plan was to cut a huge front cut 3/4 of the way though the front wood (sound) and the rotten center, find good wood for a hinge in the rear 1/3, then a back cut and push it over with the track hoe. It had to fall in a 20 foot target 100 feet away between the house and the trees... and the tree was way over 30 feet wide... Decided to shoot a line up in the tree and pull it with a truck ...just to be sure..

My butt.

My buddy Jake...

The face cut got a foot higher and went back to the rear 1/3 of the tree. Unfortunately the wood wasn't sound there either and the tree was groaning a bit, so no one around to take pics... The track hoe became the "backstop".


Note the "hinge" wood

A blatant Stihl ad, just for Mow. The back cut was about 8 inches higher than the face base - I wanted to make sure it didn't push back thought the crappy wood and nail the trackhoe.

Nice pictures and one hell of a big tree. What ad?

 

[sperho]

Great pictures - thanks for sharing.

 

[RiverRat2]

That little saw is an 066 with a 36 inch bar... That sure was crappy "hinge" wood..


Give that guy a saw. The tree went down right where it was supposed to! Just as well...

Another ad for Stihl.

whats he need a saw for when he's got the Ho!!!!!!!

You're the Mac Daddy on the saw Lakeside,, that was a pretty deep face cut on a spar that tall,,,,, I bet it was doing some groaning when you were removing those ties to the Buttress,,,, You got Balls as big as all outdoors,,,
I woulda been rushing my socks off,,,,, wooo!!!!! did it jump forward a bit off tha stump?????

 

[Bermie]

Wow!!! now I know what BIG is!!! Great pictures! I'm east of the east coast so...

Looks like your bar was only just long enough for the hemlock, you can see where it was inside the tree just at the last bit of the hinge...just an observation, not nitpicking

Not ever having come across trees that big...why did you set your face 2/3 deep into the tree? Was it to do with the rot?

 

[RiverRat2]

Yo Bermie

Wow!!! now I know what BIG is!!! Great pictures! I'm east of the east coast so...

Looks like your bar was only just long enough for the hemlock, you can see where it was inside the tree just at the last bit of the hinge...just an observation, not nitpicking

Not ever having come across trees that big...why did you set your face 2/3 deep into the tree? Was it to do with the rot?

Yeah, he stated that between the pix in his post,,, I wooulda been crappin in my chaps with a face cut that deep but I suppose they had the Hoe and some lines secured to a truck as a back up,,,, stihl, I think he described it best "GNARLEY" but I say he must be pretty Burly

Hey mate did ya ever get your saw???

 

[Lakeside53]

Looks good Andy!! What type of Hoe was helping? I love to use the backhoe when a tree has to fall the right way

It was a Komatsu 150 this time. Sure makes bucking easier too! This is the hemlock.

 

[Lakeside53]

Wow!!! now I know what BIG is!!! Great pictures! I'm east of the east coast so...

Looks like your bar was only just long enough for the hemlock, you can see where it was inside the tree just at the last bit of the hinge...just an observation, not nitpicking

Not ever having come across trees that big...why did you set your face 2/3 deep into the tree? Was it to do with the rot?

Nit-pick all you want. You've cut a lot more trees than me!

The cedar face cut was 2/3 to find good hinge wood. Don't try that without a back-hoe for a back-stop (reached up 30 feet) particularly when the weight is slightly "back"... and the house was 40 feet way. The bar wasn't long enough on that one either - I had to cut the flared buttresses off one side first and it still didn't reach on the back cut side. The 088 would have been better, but I had enough trouble reaching up high (way over my head when finishing) with the 066 for the face! Climbing would have been safer, but my neighbor is cheap and I don't climb



Your observation:

The hemlock face cut is a little over 1/3. The entire enter was rotten so no point in chasing the face for "good wood - there wasn't any except at the edges.

Here's another pic that more clearly shows which is the face and back cuts- the face is down.

and the stump - face to the right - now you can see the ratios more clearly.

I deliberately left a wide hinge as partial compensation for the rotten center. The 28 inch bar was just long enough... so why the slight short cut on the back side and all the fiber tear? - 'cos I'm CHICKEN and decided to get out of there a tad early... I was goosing the cut, the back cut started to open but mainly because the root ball was tilting down, then the tree pushed it down with slight jerk and lots of popping/snapping/groaning - enough ... I'm standing on the moving root ball and I had 15 foot bad zone to get out of and only one way out. There is always a chance the the tree (being hung up 100' up) will push back off the stump and roll. The back cut isn't quite level, but the tree was at 15+ degrees (or so) so I was guessing.

 

[Lakeside53]

You're the Mac Daddy on the saw Lakeside,, that was a pretty deep face cut on a spar that tall,,,,, I bet it was doing some groaning when you were removing those ties to the Buttress,,,, You got Balls as big as all outdoors,,,
I woulda been rushing my socks off,,,,, wooo!!!!! did it jump forward a bit off tha stump?????

Yes... every time you cut though one the live sections the tree moves and changes its weight. Pita, and you need to be on your toes. Pretty hard to figure out what's happening in nanosecond and where to go if the tree come apart.


Didn't jump much at all. Maybe a foot or two. Had a lot of canopy to slow it down.

That's my Dad in this pic... He waited with his finger on the shutter for about 30 minutes while I fussed with the cuts (and got my suck 36 bar out with the 044), then he MISSED it falling

You can see the huge face cut on this pic.

 

[manual]

Great pictures Andy,
Is it normal to find rot in a 55 year young tree out there?

 

[Lakeside53]

Great pictures Andy,
Is it normal to find rot in a 55 year young tree out there?

I'm not sure about "normal", but in Cedars it's not uncommon. The Cedars generally out-grown it and you get the coolest man-sized caves inside the older trees. This one might have been damaged when younger.

The hemlock center rot is always fatal to the tree and is real common when the roots have been disturbed by construction. Take 15-20 years and then a seemingly healthy tree suddenly blows over...

 

[manual]

I'm not sure about "normal", but in Cedars it's not uncommon. The Cedars generally out-grown it and you get the coolest man-sized caves inside the trees. This one might have been damaged when younger.

The hemlock center rot is always fatal to the tree and is real common when the roots have been disturbed by construction. Take 15-20 years and then a seemingly healthy tree suddenly blows over...

I can see why you took all the safty measures.
Red flags would be going off in my mind too.

nice thick hindge. Did the tree free fall or did you give it a shove
I'm suprized the sides did not blow out

 

[chainsawjunky]

Those look like some pretty nice trees. Good job.

Evan

P.S. check and clear you inbox Andy