kodiakyardboy
ArboristSite Operative
No, dropped a 30" spruce on it! It involved a winch cable, an icy slope, and a rotten core and as you can see, it didn't end well. Glad I was able to get off in time.
Don't let your guard down for a single minute!
- Thread starter StihlyinEly
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Officer's Match
Addicted to ArboristSite
:msp_ohmy:
Wouldn't have wanted seatbelts about then. Glad you only lost an ATV outta' that one.
stihl023/5
Addicted to ArboristSite
You are very lucky to get out of the way.
Yestreday I was doing some tree work for a friend. Paid job but I gave them a break on price (no good deed goes unpunished)
Removed a 6" diameter locust limb hanging on the roof and trimmed some dead branches out no big deal.
Back yard a tree company a year or two ago removed or should say topped to large limbs off the home, but only cut the limbs back to the point of just about hanging over the home and at around 10" in diameter at two story height. Limbs joined at about 6' from the trunk (silver maple). The limbs died off. I was going to climb both limbs and cut them down to size as the limbs were going to hit the sun porch or deck below if cut back at the tree. Limbs were split down the middle I could see on the top side (didn't feel it would be safe to climb them) so short version I roped them from above and swung them back to the trunk and lowered them. All went well.
Pine tree in the back corner of lot dead. Wood fence one side, chain link fence other side. Neighbors garden on other side of fence. Power lines and phone cable (tree was into low voltage stuff not the top line. Not near that. Dropped all the branches no damage. Left a short 3-' stub on the trunk as I was tired and tree had proper lean to fall into the lawn at this point. Cut my hinge and everything was right so I thought. Trunk is maybe 20' long at this point......plus the stub I was to lazy to cut when I had the saw in my hands (it was near 100 degrees and I was tired). Diamter of trunk where I cut the hinge was 24". Making back cut I put two wedges for what I thought would be insurance to start the tip and the dang trunk fell right towards the fence like a freight train was pulling down
The last 12" of the stub I was to lazt to remove took out the chain link fence. NOt really a big deal but I hate failure and take it personally when I know it could have been prevented.
I have not cut thousands of trees but have dropped many and I had never had a trunk spin like a top as this one did and even after that had I cut the stub off it wouldn't have been a big deal as then it would have missed the fence at least. Frustrating to me. Worked so hard to not damage anything on this tree and on e the last cut I did that.
All I had to do to the fence was replace two 10' sections of top tube one retainer and pull the fence back up. Friends had no issues with it at all. I felt very unprofessional though:bang:
Removed a 6" diameter locust limb hanging on the roof and trimmed some dead branches out no big deal.
Back yard a tree company a year or two ago removed or should say topped to large limbs off the home, but only cut the limbs back to the point of just about hanging over the home and at around 10" in diameter at two story height. Limbs joined at about 6' from the trunk (silver maple). The limbs died off. I was going to climb both limbs and cut them down to size as the limbs were going to hit the sun porch or deck below if cut back at the tree. Limbs were split down the middle I could see on the top side (didn't feel it would be safe to climb them) so short version I roped them from above and swung them back to the trunk and lowered them. All went well.
Pine tree in the back corner of lot dead. Wood fence one side, chain link fence other side. Neighbors garden on other side of fence. Power lines and phone cable (tree was into low voltage stuff not the top line. Not near that. Dropped all the branches no damage. Left a short 3-' stub on the trunk as I was tired and tree had proper lean to fall into the lawn at this point. Cut my hinge and everything was right so I thought. Trunk is maybe 20' long at this point......plus the stub I was to lazy to cut when I had the saw in my hands (it was near 100 degrees and I was tired). Diamter of trunk where I cut the hinge was 24". Making back cut I put two wedges for what I thought would be insurance to start the tip and the dang trunk fell right towards the fence like a freight train was pulling down
The last 12" of the stub I was to lazt to remove took out the chain link fence. NOt really a big deal but I hate failure and take it personally when I know it could have been prevented. I have not cut thousands of trees but have dropped many and I had never had a trunk spin like a top as this one did and even after that had I cut the stub off it wouldn't have been a big deal as then it would have missed the fence at least. Frustrating to me. Worked so hard to not damage anything on this tree and on e the last cut I did that.
All I had to do to the fence was replace two 10' sections of top tube one retainer and pull the fence back up. Friends had no issues with it at all. I felt very unprofessional though:bang:
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kodiakyardboy
ArboristSite Operative
Those type of preventable screw ups are humbling. I remember to try and be more safe every time I think about my ATV getting squashed. Trees seem to go in slooooow motion when they fall the wrong direction!
StihlyinEly
Addicted to ArboristSite
Man, that's the truth.
We've all had our moments. Being able to go home at the end of the day instead of a hospital bed or the morgue is the important thing. Behold a 30" spruce vs Yamaha Big Bear.
That'll buff right out...
imagineero
Addicted to ArboristSite
I hope you take it as a lesson....
Having good habits is a good thing. If you make it a regular routine it really doesnt take any longer. Working as a professional you owe it to yourself and your customers anyhow. No matter whether the tree has a favorable lean or not, wind blowing or not etc, always have a couple wedges and a mallet or axe handy. Even if I think the tree will go over, I have wedges there every time, though dont often use them. When I need them, I'm glad they were there.
If I think I need a wedge, then I also put a rope in the tree... even if I think I don't need it. A lot of the time I wont actually have to put any pull on the rope, but If I needed it, it's there. Working in the residential sector we are around houses, cars, people, power and phone lines, fences, pavers etc. Getting the tree to fall to the desired lay is more than a matter of convenience, and the money paid per tree is orders of magnitude more than the same tree would cost laid out in the forest. The care we put into achieving the desired lay needs to be correspondingly greater, even if the perceived risk is negligible.
Shaun
Having good habits is a good thing. If you make it a regular routine it really doesnt take any longer. Working as a professional you owe it to yourself and your customers anyhow. No matter whether the tree has a favorable lean or not, wind blowing or not etc, always have a couple wedges and a mallet or axe handy. Even if I think the tree will go over, I have wedges there every time, though dont often use them. When I need them, I'm glad they were there.
If I think I need a wedge, then I also put a rope in the tree... even if I think I don't need it. A lot of the time I wont actually have to put any pull on the rope, but If I needed it, it's there. Working in the residential sector we are around houses, cars, people, power and phone lines, fences, pavers etc. Getting the tree to fall to the desired lay is more than a matter of convenience, and the money paid per tree is orders of magnitude more than the same tree would cost laid out in the forest. The care we put into achieving the desired lay needs to be correspondingly greater, even if the perceived risk is negligible.
Shaun
ri chevy
ArboristSite Guru
Rope as a safeguard along with wedges
Sad to say, but I also use a rope as a safeguard if I have any doubt, or if need be to go along with wedges. Better off to be safe than sorry I always say. You look silly doing it until something goes awry, and you need a little extra coercing to go where you want it too, then you look like a hero. It also saves the saw, bar and chain if the tree leans backwards. :msp_thumbup:
Sad to say, but I also use a rope as a safeguard if I have any doubt, or if need be to go along with wedges. Better off to be safe than sorry I always say. You look silly doing it until something goes awry, and you need a little extra coercing to go where you want it too, then you look like a hero. It also saves the saw, bar and chain if the tree leans backwards. :msp_thumbup:
Hermann
ArboristSite Operative
I just had ~12" oak that was severely bowed - it came straight back over 6 feet opposite direction of the backcut when I cut through the hinge in a eery mid speed enough to hurt ya way, kinda scary even though I was to the side, but still too close for comfort, I know that bowed trees have a lot of tension and are dangerous. In this case I thought it was resting on the ground so I figured it was safe to cut the hinge at the time, I don't know if it was tension of the bow on the hinge or the branches that pushed it so far back.. I guess I should have started limbing before removing hinge in this case - but this also can be dangerous as the tree can also fall to the side your limbing on if not careful.. Sorry for all the amateur questions -but should have I started limbing before removing hinge in this case - or should the hinge not be removed until the last cut? I only post here because of the subject matter - please tell me if there is another forum that discusses proper felling techniques so I can read up more, I would be happy to repost there.
oscar4883
Addicted to ArboristSite
Glad everything turned out ok. As a residential tree man I put a rope in about 99% of the trees I fall. Wedges as a back-up in case something goes awry. This isn't to say that I have not put down a good number of trees with wedges only right along side houses because I have but the situation has to be pretty perfect. Often times I use a holding line and a pull rope if there is moderate side lean. Cautious or paranoid I guess. I would hate to be the guy with a tree on a house and a thousand feet of rope coiled in the truck I suppose. imagineero said it just about perfect in his last post IMO.
StihlyinEly
Addicted to ArboristSite
I already acknowledged that I took it as a lesson. Thank God lessons keep coming to us throughout our lives. I'd hate to think I learned my last lesson 30 years ago.
But I DO realize that there are folks who feel compelled to drive home a lesson even after the lesson has been re-learned. Psychopathology is an interesting thing.
I already acknowledged that I took it as a lesson. Thank God lessons keep coming to us throughout our lives. I'd hate to think I learned my last lesson 30 years ago.
But I DO realize that there are folks who feel compelled to drive home a lesson even after the lesson has been re-learned. Psychopathology is an interesting thing.
Darn it. Does that mean we have to quit lecturing you now? :msp_biggrin:
