Felling FUBAR situation

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effigy

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this was a 3 trunk tree, i dropped the first 2 with no problems, but late in the day i made a mistake on the third, my back cut is a ittle too much above the gapped-face cut, the tree is a little bit of a leaner, and that lean is towards the house 15 feet away.

Any advice on how to proceed to remedy this situation?
 

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Find a rope or cable and get it hooked to a anchor of some kind. Preferably something that can pull (pickup, tractor etc.) If not, a come a long may work depending on size. Good luck with it, and let us know how it turns out.
 
I agree, tie it to as big a vehicle as you have as high up as you practically can. Also anchor the vehicle so that it can't move backwards. Ensure your rope is longer than the tree! Put tension on rope & keep driving the wedges.
For future reference you need to work on your notches
 
You may wrap a chain around the the part where you started your back cut and finish your back cut correctly. You may also go where your wrong back cut and put in another notch. I do not know without being there. Rope and rope pressure is good idea. Rope needs to be sixty percent up the tree. Go slow and be safe.
 
Leave that rope set and get another rope set higher, the tree isn't going anywhere, just breathe. Get some tension on a higher rope and then bring it on over as you finish your cut... your back cut is too high but as long as you pull it past the cg you will be ok.
 
Be wary of pulling too hard on it as although this type of tree isn't prone to it you may still cause it to barber-chair (ie don't be standing behind it when putting tension on the rope)
 
Find a rope or cable and get it hooked to a anchor of some kind. Preferably something that can pull (pickup, tractor etc.) If not, a come a long may work depending on size. Good luck with it, and let us know how it turns out.
currently have a come along, and two 3ft ground anchors.... but it seems the middle ground anchor is not secure
Your cuts, sorry to say, broadcast your lack of experience.

Also, if you have a rope pulling the tree . . . what need do you have for wedges?
considering this is literally only the 3rd tree i've tried to cut down im not surprised. my cuts may lack experience but the other 2 trees dropped exactly where i pointed them

Leave that rope set and get another rope set higher, the tree isn't going anywhere, just breathe. Get some tension on a higher rope and then bring it on over as you finish your cut... your cock cut is too high but as long as you pull it past the cg you will be ok.
Was hoping I could use the wedges and the come along to get the tree over the center of gravity as you describe and get it to fall but things are obviously not going according to plan...

To make it worse the saw just doesn't want to eat the wood (despite being brand new...), even with a new chain it still doesn't seem to want to eat the wood the way it should be...


EDIT: the anchors have a 3,500-lb holding capacity, but it seems the ground it was secured into may not be solid enough.... not sure...
 

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That tree is barely 20 feet tall, if the house is 15 feet away, go ahead and finish the cut... and then put your saw up on ebay...
putting the saw up for sale afterwards was pretty much the plan, this was just a home improvement project and every place i called in town wanted multiple thousands of dollars...

if i finish that cut through the hinge won't i lose complete control of the fall direction?
 
putting the saw up for sale afterwards was pretty much the plan, this was just a home improvement project and every place i called in town wanted multiple thousands of dollars...

if i finish that cut through the hinge won't i lose complete control of the fall direction?
It doesn't matter too much as long as you have an escape route planned before you start cutting and you don't run with the saw.
 
Is the tree still standing? Curious minds want to know. I'm half inclined to think this is a joke, as that white post in the pic looks insanely ridiculous. I doubt anyone would charge several thousand to take out those trees, unless there is some hazard not shown in the pics.
 
Why are you doing such a complicated cut on a simple tree? I'd have cut a standard notch, bored it, set 2 wedges, cut my strap, pounded on the wedges a little and ate a sammich...

You have a rope in it, pull it over, wedge it over, whatever but don't leave a compromised tree where it could hurt someone.
 
Is the tree still standing? Curious minds want to know. I'm half inclined to think this is a joke, as that white post in the pic looks insanely ridiculous. I doubt anyone would charge several thousand to take out those trees, unless there is some hazard not shown in the pics.
100% absolute truth, i contacted a handful of companies in town and because the tree had 3 trunks they all bid it as 3 trees... the bids ranged from $1500 to $1800, and those prices did not include grinding the stump. the only hazard is the house is 14ft away and the lot is on a 3 foot raised hill above the road...

the tree is still standing, took the photos before it got dark.
the plan for tomorrow is to relocate both anchors to where the anchor with the pulley is, then use them both with the come along, tighten it as much as possible, finish the cut. I suspect the rope & anchor will allow the tree to fall mostly in the correct direction.
 
Why are you doing such a complicated cut on a simple tree? I'd have cut a standard notch, bored it, set 2 wedges, cut my strap, pounded on the wedges a little and ate a sammich...

You have a rope in it, pull it over, wedge it over, whatever but don't leave a compromised tree where it could hurt someone.
was attempting to wedge it over but it just seems to not want to go... it's close but close isn't enough... it was the end of the day i was tired, i ****ed up and my back cut is too high...
 
Good luck then. Hope all goes well for you. You may want to watch some timber felling safety classes for the future, or find someone locally who can show you some better ways to take down a tree. I honestly hope it works out well for you.
 
100% absolute truth, i contacted a handful of companies in town and because the tree had 3 trunks they all bid it as 3 trees... the bids ranged from $1500 to $1800, and those prices did not include grinding the stump. the only hazard is the house is 14ft away and the lot is on a 3 foot raised hill above the road...

the tree is still standing, took the photos before it got dark.
the plan for tomorrow is to relocate both anchors to where the anchor with the pulley is, then use them both with the come along, tighten it as much as possible, finish the cut. I suspect the rope & anchor will allow the tree to fall mostly in the correct

was attempting to wedge it over but it just seems to not want to go... it's close but close isn't enough... it was the end of the day i was tired, i ****ed up and my back cut is too high...
The reason why your wedging isn't working is you have no real place for the wedge to work / hinge wood. If you raise your notch to match your back cut, and cut in a slight Humboldt style notch, leave yourself about a 1.5" of hinge, that wedge will do the trick
 
was attempting to wedge it over but it just seems to not want to go... it's close but close isn't enough... it was the end of the day i was tired, i ****ed up and my back cut is too high...
Ok, now you gotta show us how it went, that's part of the deal, haha
 
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