Freaking nails, spikes, screws and metal...

[AustinPSD]

Today I was sectioning a large diseased (oak wilt) live oak in preparation for final felling tomorrow... This is one of several 70" to 80" diameter (above the root flare) trees that are coming down here in the park I work in.

I was running my MS 361 using a Carlton 28" premium bar and Oregon 75JGX full-skip chain, and got to the last big limb section of the tree. I'd made an open-face cut on the underside of the limb (probably 20" diameter at the nodal point), and was about 2/3 of the way through the back cut when I saw a couple of sparks.

I immediately let off the throttle and lifted the bar, and saw a glint of metal in the cut...

It turns out there was a stainless steel screw, about 1/8" diameter and three inches long embedded in this limb section, apparently driven in when the tree was young, which the tree "absorbed".

I was lucky, as none of the cutters were knocked off, it only dulled the chain which was otherwise freshly sharpened and cutting nicely, but it was a close call. Pisses me off to encounter stuff like this in a tree...

Makes me wonder if there's some way to know in advance with a metal detector or something - if I'd made the back-cut about 1" off my original mark I'd have missed this hazard entirely...

I was able to complete the sectioning using my spare chain, and have this tree and two of its similarly ill-fated companions ready to come down to the stump tomorrow. What a pain! I filed the damaged chain tonight, so I'm good for the work tomorrow morning. Why do people have to drive screws, nails and spikes into nice trees anyway? End of minor rant...

 

[Anthony_Va.]

It'll make you mad to do it once.

Try hitting metal 4-5 times a day, and thats on a good day.
I have to cut old fencelines out all the time to build new fence. Some of these lines are 40-50 yr old full of wild cherry, maple, walnut, poplar etc.

As you can guess, the wire has been nailed up to all of these trees over the years. Well, you get better at reading the trees, but you will miss every now and then and hit the old wire, staples, etc.

It'll drive you mad! I can ruin a new chain in a week sometimes. Glad my boss has to buy them. Fencing is hard on saws. I use my 660 when we get in the big ones. Other than that, he stays in my truck. Especially since the boss man bought my old 066!

 

[Bubbles Up]

It :censored:me off to see people doing that at camp grounds to make a clothes line etc .It is not hard to tie knot in a rope.

I killed the B/C on my dol-kita 4610 by hitting a lag bolt in a piece of wood down at the river bank.Once i get the B/C in I will flash it up and take some action shots!

 

[tallfarmboy]

Hedge rows around here are the worst... haven't broke any cutters yet... knock on wood!

 

[AustinPSD]

It :censored:me off to see people doing that at camp grounds to make a clothes line etc .It is not hard to tie knot in a rope.

I killed the B/C on my dol-kita 4610 by hitting a lag bolt in a piece of wood down at the river bank.Once i get the B/C in I will flash it up and take some action shots!

This happens all the time here, despite printed and verbal warnings given to the campers. This past weekend, a dimwit thought it was funny to drive a tent spike, through the head of a catfish carcass, into the trunk of one of the river-front cypress trees. I caught it before they left the site, and banned them from the campground permanently.

The related problem is dark-colored line used to make clothes lines, and left in place. It's hell to be running the zero-turn mower and get "clotheslined" by one of these left in place by an inconsiderate camper.

 

[Bubbles Up]

This happens all the time here, despite printed and verbal warnings given to the campers. This past weekend, a dimwit thought it was funny to drive a tent spike, through the head of a catfish carcass, into the trunk of one of the river-front cypress trees. I caught it before they left the site, and banned them from the campground permanently.

The related problem is dark-colored line used to make clothes lines, and left in place. It's hell to be running the zero-turn mower and get "clotheslined" by one of these left in place by an inconsiderate camper.

Well there should be more people like me I pack out more garbage than i came there with and I clean up all my lines and ropes If i use a drak rope a couple pieces of flagging tape from th saw box is wonderful stops the clothes line .

 

[Gypo Logger]

Other than barbedwire, here's the stuff I just hate!
John

 

[isaaccarlson]

I found a railroad spike a few months ago...hit it three times!!!!

 

[Anthony_Va.]

Other than barbedwire, here's the stuff I just hate!
John

Nylon baler twine?

 

[dingeryote]

Other than barbedwire, here's the stuff I just hate!
John

Damn Yukon!!!

You're supposed to cut that bailing twine off before ya go to cutting into the round bales. Most folks I know use a handsaw cuz they don't get bound up as bad. Gotta admit though, Noodling a 1,200lb round bale sounds like fun!!

In all seriousness, I hate bailing twine too.
There's about 300' of it looking just like your rim, but wrapped up and into the bearing seal on my Rotovator. 3 dollar part+6 hours of filthy greasy work.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[SteveH]

Couple times over the years I've hit a nail so deep in a trunk that it has to have been sixty plus years or a hundred since it was driven in. Thing is, this is near my house, several miles outside the nearest small town and no other homes within two miles. No old homesites anywhere around, just a few mine diggings here and there. The terrain is very steep, often 45-50 degree slopes or even more than that. Someone had to work really hard to get up to these trees and put a nail in one. Just as hard as it is for me to climb up and cut the tree. I could see, or imagine, someone a hundred yr. ago putting a big spike into a tree to hold a rope to help them climb up the hillside or pull up a bucket of tools. But small nails?? I'd be less surprised if there were an old cabin site or mine digging closer than a mile away.....

 

[Wolfcsm]

Today I was sectioning a large diseased (oak wilt) live oak in preparation for final felling tomorrow... This is one of several 70" to 80" diameter (above the root flare) trees that are coming down here in the park I work in.

I was running my MS 361 using a Carlton 28" premium bar and Oregon 75JGX full-skip chain, and got to the last big limb section of the tree. I'd made an open-face cut on the underside of the limb (probably 20" diameter at the nodal point), and was about 2/3 of the way through the back cut when I saw a couple of sparks.

I immediately let off the throttle and lifted the bar, and saw a glint of metal in the cut...

It turns out there was a stainless steel screw, about 1/8" diameter and three inches long embedded in this limb section, apparently driven in when the tree was young, which the tree "absorbed".

I was lucky, as none of the cutters were knocked off, it only dulled the chain which was otherwise freshly sharpened and cutting nicely, but it was a close call. Pisses me off to encounter stuff like this in a tree...

Makes me wonder if there's some way to know in advance with a metal detector or something - if I'd made the back-cut about 1" off my original mark I'd have missed this hazard entirely...

I was able to complete the sectioning using my spare chain, and have this tree and two of its similarly ill-fated companions ready to come down to the stump tomorrow. What a pain! I filed the damaged chain tonight, so I'm good for the work tomorrow morning. Why do people have to drive screws, nails and spikes into nice trees anyway? End of minor rant...

This is just unthinking people In the Northwest there has been a problem for years of tree huggers driving spikes nails, etc into good sale able trees to stop cutting. They were using metal detectors on trees before cutting down or sending them into the mill.

What are you using to cut into the trunks of those big trees?

Hal

 

[Freehand]

Other than barbedwire, here's the stuff I just hate!
John

Looks like John was testing out his chaps.......:biggrinbounce2:

 

[AustinPSD]

This is just unthinking people In the Northwest there has been a problem for years of tree huggers driving spikes nails, etc into good sale able trees to stop cutting. They were using metal detectors on trees before cutting down or sending them into the mill.

What are you using to cut into the trunks of those big trees?

Hal

I'm using the sectioning cut method with an MS361 and 28" Carlton bar/Oregon full-skip chain.

Before the felling operation, I limb the tree using an 011AVT from either a lift (on the truly dead trees) or from the tree itself via climbing, and section all the large branches off the lead, and the lead itself to leave as short a trunk as possible.

Once I'm down to a single trunk, I typically make an open face notch and use sectioning cuts to make the back cut.

We've been hit by Oak Wilt pretty hard in central Texas, so there are a significant number of very large, very old trees (sadly) that are either completely dead or within a year of death, beyond treatment. We just have to take them down try and prevent the spread of the disease.

 

[madhatte]

I completely ruined a new chain a couple of weeks ago bucking blowdowns out of firing ranges. The bullet I hit mist have been an AP round because it flat tore the cutters off of the clutch side of the chain. There wasn't enough metal left to grind out or re-profile. Total loss.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Try hitting a horseshoe, 5 miles from the closest settlement who would have thought. Lost 5 cutters off the chain and ruined 6-7 more, total wright off.
Pioneerguy600

 

[isaaccarlson]

that railroad spike was in the tree because a tornado went through in 1958. I imagine some of that stuff could have been from a tornado. The spike was still in the timber when it hit the tree and then the timber part broke off with the top part of the spike. I counted the rings and it had been in there roughly 50 years. Sounds right to me.
I once hit a bullet with the school planer....took some nice pieces out of the blades. Made an awful noise. Some dingbat shot the oak tree and the mill just happened to miss the bullet on both sides when milling a 1" board.

 

[DSS]

Found out the hard way that the city I live near puts metal tags on all the trees with a number on them. You have to have a permit to cut down any urban tree. I get some wood from a tree service, mostly the big 'ol butt ends that are too much work for them to cut up for firewood.
These little tags are about 1 by 2 inches, but they put them on with nails about three inches long.
Destroyed an almost new loop of 33rsc on my p40 doing some noodling....I watch for them now, but they're hard to see on a 48'' oak trunk.

:monkey:

 

[Rounder]

Ohhhh Man, I dread logging jobs on private ground just for that :censored:! Kids tree houses that are no longer there, old fence lines, etc., none of it goes well with square ground chain - I feel your pain - Sam

 

[NeoTree]

I'm using the sectioning cut method with an MS361 and 28" Carlton bar/Oregon full-skip chain.

Before the felling operation, I limb the tree using an 011AVT from either a lift (on the truly dead trees) or from the tree itself via climbing, and section all the large branches off the lead, and the lead itself to leave as short a trunk as possible.

Once I'm down to a single trunk, I typically make an open face notch and use sectioning cuts to make the back cut.

We've been hit by Oak Wilt pretty hard in central Texas, so there are a significant number of very large, very old trees (sadly) that are either completely dead or within a year of death, beyond treatment. We just have to take them down try and prevent the spread of the disease.

I see a ms660 in your future.:hmm3grin2orange: