Dangerous Tree Comes Down

[flyboy553]

I cringe every time I see a stump with the sloping back cut. Have stopped to tell a guy that was a good way to kill himself too. He didn't even have a face cut! I looked around where he was cutting and he had about 20 trees cut down, and ALL of them had barber chaired! Showed him the right way to cut and he was happy to learn. New guy with a saw and had NO knowledge whatsoever on how to cut a tree down.

Ted

 

[twochains]

Cheers Ted! ...and I still LOVE your avatar!

 

[1270d]

Whew.

 

[Metals406]

Whew.

Just finish a jog?

 

[1270d]

More like a slog. Folks getting testy at loggers again? Makes me teary eyed.





With laughter

Maybe I spend too much time by myself in the woods

 

[KiwiBro]

Where was the "hold my beer" at the start of the vid?

Have to laugh at the comments towards the end:
"get out of there Mike" quickly followed by another voice saying "little bit more". Genius. Pure Genius.

Got some pictures somewhere of me bucking a log while straddling a kayak and a ladder. This site has lost the one of my high-wind barber chair.

 

[Steve NW WI]

I got a whole fencerow to tip into the field this weekend...
They all have to be cut at 4' or higher so the dozer can get a fit on em'...
After I dump em' I'll cut the tops at an angle and get a pic of 100 trees in a row with sloping cuts, then put it on the L&F Forum...
That aught to be fun...

After I waded through 11 pages of this, I NEED to see this one.



Can't say I'm taking sides here. The "Pros" are just that, they're not teachers. They did'nt spend years learning how to communicate what they're trying to say. Some have been giving advice (good advice) here for a long time, and are fed up from being ignored when their opinion is asked.

On the other hand, it's a good ole boys (and girl) network to some extent. It wasn't many months ago that I put a couple pics in the "Not so pros" (which I think I fit into) thread, and was told by a guy that can't tell 14,000 from 15,000 posts I'd be better off putting it up in the firewood section.

On the OP's video - the best lesson to be learned is that once things go to hell in a handbasket (when the wedge from the notch jammed in the trunk), it's time to back away and come up with a plan B. Perhaps the best plan B there was to stay the heck out from under it till the wind did it's thing, wouldn't have stood long, and that tree wasn't out in a public place.

Seems everyone's a little cranky lately. Go stand by the stove for a minute, warm up, and try to smile.

 

[lfnh]

After I waded through 11 pages of this, I NEED to see this one.



Can't say I'm taking sides here. The "Pros" are just that, they're not teachers. They did'nt spend years learning how to communicate what they're trying to say. Some have been giving advice (good advice) here for a long time, and are fed up from being ignored when their opinion is asked.

On the other hand, it's a good ole boys (and girl) network to some extent. It wasn't many months ago that I put a couple pics in the "Not so pros" (which I think I fit into) thread, and was told by a guy that can't tell 14,000 from 15,000 posts I'd be better off putting it up in the firewood section.

On the OP's video - the best lesson to be learned is that once things go to hell in a handbasket (when the wedge from the notch jammed in the trunk), it's time to back away and come up with a plan B. Perhaps the best plan B there was to stay the heck out from under it till the wind did it's thing, wouldn't have stood long, and that tree wasn't out in a public place.

Seems everyone's a little cranky lately. Go stand by the stove for a minute, warm up, and try to smile.

yup, front row seats are going for an arm n leg. nearly sold out

wait'll cabin fever sets in.

GOL allows slopping backcuts a long as they bored up and out.
Read that some place on the www. seriously. ask Ginger. she used to post here.

meh, mayebe that's down n out. Ginger bakes a better cookie than she cuts

 

[HuskStihl]

 

[HuskStihl]

Lumber jacks vs farmers!

 

[slowp]

Well, there are farmer loggers....(turn head and spit.) That's just the way it is...opcorn:

 

[Bushmans]

Ash is very busty anyway...poor choice of tree to cut by someone with only 20 trees to their belt...you are very lucky that things didn't go really really bad there!...and to cut it at chest height....OMFG! WOW!

Dear twochains,
I was the guy who was holding the video. I get your point though.

So today I was back at the site and I was there early. I wanted to scope out the rest of the trees and I had a video for you all but I hit pause when I should have hit play and vice versa so most of it is the camera pointing at the ground as I walk. Oh well!

In this wood lot there are a bunch of double and triple trunk ash trees. I was scoping them out when I heard some cracking. (wind was blowing this morn) So I peeled the bark of this one tree and lo and behold Deja Vu. Looks just like the other tree only it has a twin!



I made sure the other guy seen this tree and told him to stay the hell away from it. Hopefully it comes down in the storm tonight!
I cut down 4 small ash trees today. One heavy leaner that I used a T cut on. Worked pretty well. I practiced some regular notches and back cuts on the other three and I really need to work on the placement of the back cut. One was even with face and one was below. The other was almost spot on!

So far I have pulled almost 4 cord out of this site. 3 is split and stacked and the other one is stacked up in rounds. The splitting maul can't keep up with how fast I bring it home.

Any advice on cutting big triple trunk ash? The base is one trunk and about 5 feet up they split into three. BIG tree.
I'm hoping the wind knocks that one down too!

 

[HuskStihl]

Best get some spring boards for that one. If you cut it low they'll split and all take off different directions

 

[bootboy]

The tree pictured above can still be brought down. Sound it of course with a few good whacks with your axe. Its well within the realm of possibility that the tree has good wood under that rotten exposed stuff. Bore it to check. If it's sketchy, leave it. If it's sound, dump it. Just do all of your cutting below the defect and don't waste any time in the back cut, get a good wedge in, commit to it, and then retreat when it starts over. I can't se how rotten it is just from that pic, so you'll need to assess it in person.

As for the ash, there are multiple ways to do multiple stem trees. The methods vary widely on the specific scenario though.

Is it truly single stem below the split? Or does it actually split low and have several feet of trunk above it with included bark? Which way do the stems lean, in general and in relation to the others? Are the branches of each stem independent or inter-grown with the others? A lot of factors at play here.

Pics would be helpful.

 

[twochains]

Bushmans, you have a stunning avatar pic also! In order to get any sound advice on a tree, pictures usually portray to scenario better. Show some pics of the main stem and show if there are any growth seams leading from the codoms into the main stem and anything else that someone would need to see, and I bet you will get some good advice. The growth seams will dictate whether the tree can be felled w/o having problems with the codominate leaders splitting down the trunk. Be safe out there! Old time loggers here say an Ash is just waiting to kill a logger.

 

[Bushmans]

Bushmans, you have a stunning avatar pic also! In order to get any sound advice on a tree, pictures usually portray to scenario better. Show some pics of the main stem and show if there are any growth seams leading from the codoms into the main stem and anything else that someone would need to see, and I bet you will get some good advice. The growth seams will dictate whether the tree can be felled w/o having problems with the codominate leaders splitting down the trunk. Be safe out there! Old time loggers here say an Ash is just waiting to kill a logger.

I had a video of the dang thing but screwed it up.
I wont' be back for a few days and I hope this big storm knocks 'em all down. The main trunk is probably around 40" or so. Each trunk goes in opposite direction of other ones. There is so much wood in that one tree it's crazy.

The avatar is my wife.....she just doesn't know it yet!

 

[Bushmans]

[QUOTE
s it truly single stem below the split? Or does it actually split low and have several feet of trunk above it with included bark? Which way do the stems lean, in general and in relation to the others? Are the branches of each stem independent or inter-grown with the others? A lot of factors at play here.

Pics would be helpful.
][/QUOTE]

I'll get some pics.

 

[Metals406]

Dear twochains,
I was the guy who was holding the video. I get your point though.

So today I was back at the site and I was there early. I wanted to scope out the rest of the trees and I had a video for you all but I hit pause when I should have hit play and vice versa so most of it is the camera pointing at the ground as I walk. Oh well!

In this wood lot there are a bunch of double and triple trunk ash trees. I was scoping them out when I heard some cracking. (wind was blowing this morn) So I peeled the bark of this one tree and lo and behold Deja Vu. Looks just like the other tree only it has a twin!

View attachment 325985

I made sure the other guy seen this tree and told him to stay the hell away from it. Hopefully it comes down in the storm tonight!
I cut down 4 small ash trees today. One heavy leaner that I used a T cut on. Worked pretty well. I practiced some regular notches and back cuts on the other three and I really need to work on the placement of the back cut. One was even with face and one was below. The other was almost spot on!

So far I have pulled almost 4 cord out of this site. 3 is split and stacked and the other one is stacked up in rounds. The splitting maul can't keep up with how fast I bring it home.

Any advice on cutting big triple trunk ash? The base is one trunk and about 5 feet up they split into three. BIG tree.
I'm hoping the wind knocks that one down too!

Oh, here we go again!

 

[treeslayer2003]

bushmans, I honestly try to fall multibles independently if at all possible. deffenetly not for just learning.
that cracked one wouldn't bother me as much, I bet it not cracked thru. try to fall those with the natural lean and cut at a comfortable height. open face back cut without a lot of playin around. if you put in a good open face then when it starts and you LEAVE it will go ahead and fall and do what its gonna do.

 

[Metals406]

Bushmans, you have a stunning avatar pic also! In order to get any sound advice on a tree, pictures usually portray to scenario better. Show some pics of the main stem and show if there are any growth seams leading from the codoms into the main stem and anything else that someone would need to see, and I bet you will get some good advice. The growth seams will dictate whether the tree can be felled w/o having problems with the codominate leaders splitting down the trunk. Be safe out there! Old time loggers here say an Ash is just waiting to kill a logger.

Clint, his avatar is a ploy used to pry information from our super secret playbook. . . And I'll be damned if it isn't working!

I want to see this ash-hydra too. opcorn: