Look what the wind & rain brought me!

[Adkpk]

Is that quicksand? Never seen something so stuck in the mud before. Is there an explanation for how that happened?
I would drill a hole on the underside of the trunk, drive a 12" spike into it. Hook a chain onto the spike and form the opposite side try to roll it out of that hole with a come along. Is there a big tree to use as a dead man? Also if you double it back you can give yourself twice the pulling power.

 

[aquan8tor]

The woman is my girlfriend, and yes, she is a sweetie. I think I can get a wagon down the hill. I just dont trust getting the tacoma down the hill. It only has a 6 foot bed anyway, so keeping the boards inside might be a little tricky on the way out anyway.

As far as the mud is concerned, the location is at the bottom of a big ridge, and we've had a HUGE amount of rain lately. The flat area isnt quite perfectly flat, so the weight of the canopy of the tree has been pulling the tree deeper into the mud. It may even spring back up a little bit after I get the crown detatched and a few log sections off. That is, itll spring back if I'm lucky. Last winter in a storm a pine went down, and I had to cut it to get to work. I was left with a 20' section standing straight up when I got home. The root ball had almost perfectly righted the tree.

 

[woodshop]

It may even spring back up a little bit after I get the crown detatched and a few log sections off. That is, itll spring back if I'm lucky. Last winter in a storm a pine went down, and I had to cut it to get to work. I was left with a 20' section standing straight up when I got home. The root ball had almost perfectly righted the tree.

Same thing happened to me with an ash tree, but a little more suddenly. As soon as I cut the second 8 ft section the rest of the tree sprang up quickly, almost strait up, scared the $#$$%# out of me standing there still holding the saw as this thing took off towards the sky. There was a machete sticking in the log, which was now 18 feet up. Looked kinda silly. Took a little doing with a rope thrown up there to get it down.

Looks like you might have to dig a little to get a floor jack under that tree to move/roll it out of the way so you can mill it. Also, if that ground is soft, you might need a hunk of 2x6 under the jack... common sense of course, you don't need me to tell you that.

 

[aquan8tor]

:biggrinbounce2: good point. I probably would've forgotten to take some pieces with me. It'll be a few weeks before I get to this one. Maybe even after thanksgiving. I'm in school full time now, so I work every weekend. Free time is a scarcity. I appreciate the suggestions, and especially your previous posts---almost a little guide, that I'll be following closely!

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

I'm no expert on the spar pole but this site has some good pictures of some in use. Basically it's using an existing tree to lift logs by means of ropes and pulleys. What I'm suggesting is, of course, on a much smaller scale. If you can't get a floor jack dug in enough to lift out the log it may be an option.

 

[Sawmill_Bill]

cant hook

If you still want a cant hook, and I mean a CANT hook, go to www.logrite.com . They make theirs out of aluminum tubing. Strong, light and the hooks work! They make a "super stick", 78" of pure cant hooking fun. I got one and I love it. Not cheap, but what is money anyways

If you call them, tell them "Hot Pink" sent you (it's a long story).

 

[ASEMASTER]

Real Big Tree

It May Be Worth Your While To Hire A Skidder To Get That Tree Out To Where You Can Do The Work On It You Want, It Maybe Less Than You Think, If You Figure The Mishap Possibility's, Your Time And Energy. A Big One Will Bring The Tree Out In Two Hooks Including The Top You Can Sell For Fire Wood And Pay For Skidder.

 

[aquan8tor]

I appreciate the response, but a skidder is impossible due to the location. The entire area that the tree is situated in is loose forest debris; nice loamy soil, and receives a huge amount of runoff from a nearby ridge. It stays soft. The area is my family's land, and they wouldn't want a huge skidder tearing up the place. It gets cut where it fell, or it doesn't get cut.

Believe me, it wont be a picnic, and will be lots and lots of work. But, if I want it, I work it. Thanks.

 

[aquan8tor]

I forgot to mention. About the location; you have to cross 3 fords through a river to the only access point to the property. Sometimes privacy has its downsides.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

I forgot to mention. About the location; you have to cross 3 fords through a river to the only access point to the property. Sometimes privacy has its downsides.

I look at that as a plus. Keeps trespassing down and "visitors" away.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

If you still want a cant hook, and I mean a CANT hook, go to www.logrite.com . They make theirs out of aluminum tubing. Strong, light and the hooks work! They make a "super stick", 78" of pure cant hooking fun. I got one and I love it. Not cheap, but what is money anyways

If you call them, tell them "Hot Pink" sent you (it's a long story).

Mine came in this weekend. I ordered a 60" logrite cant hook from Bailey's after breaking my wood handled one and almost getting hurt. I don't think I'll have that problem with this one. This thing looks and feels bullet proof.

 

[del schisler]

picture resized

i used IrfanView and redone 1 pic i belive it is around 62KB down from almost 1MB I use this program lot's del

 

[aquan8tor]

thanks for the pic upload. I tried twice & couldn't get it to work. I'm really not that technically challenged. I'm picking up my new ripsaw on Friday morning!!!!!! I can't wait. I honestly have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. My little meager teeny stack of walnut is going to get some company next week sometime(cherry--not the white oak beast yet).

Later folks.

 

[aquan8tor]

Well folks, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I had a really productive few days up at the farmhouse in the mountains. The bad news is that I walked the survey plat again with a compass, and DOH.

The tree is just slightly outside the property line. Turns out I made a little mistake by about 50 feet or so when I walked it the first time. I've gotten over the heartache of finding out it wasn't mine because of the large number of other trees on the property that I CAN saw up. I've got enough to keep me busy for a while.

I still want to saw the tree up. I plan to approach the property owner and offer to mill it on my own time, and energy, etc, and with only veggie-oil bar oil, and to not damage other trees taking it out.

So, what do you guys think would be a fair trade off/share to offer the property owner as an incentive for the deal?? I was thinking of offering 40% of the boards, because of the difficulty of access, and what I have to go through to get the cants out. I thought that 50-60% was more common. Not sure. Then, I thought I'd offer to cut the remainder into firewood sized pieces for the property owner. What would you do?? To give more information, there was a rift between my family and him over our caretakers, whom we recently fired because they were taking advantage of the property. Hopefully he'll at least be open to the possibility of getting some free wood without having to do any work. What would you offer???


Thanks folks.

 

[oldsaw]

Mine came in this weekend. I ordered a 60" logrite cant hook from Bailey's after breaking my wood handled one and almost getting hurt. I don't think I'll have that problem with this one. This thing looks and feels bullet proof.

I got one and love it. Great piece of engineering.

Mark

 

[aquan8tor]

I've got one on the way, with the log jack attatchment. unfortunately won't be using it any time soon on this monster, however. Anyone out there have any suggestions?

 

[oneadam12]

Have you thought about using 4" or 6" round post to "roll" the cut sections up the hill? You would still have to use at leat one come-a-long or chainfall. It does help with the heavy weight though.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Well folks, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I had a really productive few days up at the farmhouse in the mountains. The bad news is that I walked the survey plat again with a compass, and DOH.

The tree is just slightly outside the property line. Turns out I made a little mistake by about 50 feet or so when I walked it the first time. I've gotten over the heartache of finding out it wasn't mine because of the large number of other trees on the property that I CAN saw up. I've got enough to keep me busy for a while.

I still want to saw the tree up. I plan to approach the property owner and offer to mill it on my own time, and energy, etc, and with only veggie-oil bar oil, and to not damage other trees taking it out.

So, what do you guys think would be a fair trade off/share to offer the property owner as an incentive for the deal?? I was thinking of offering 40% of the boards, because of the difficulty of access, and what I have to go through to get the cants out. I thought that 50-60% was more common. Not sure. Then, I thought I'd offer to cut the remainder into firewood sized pieces for the property owner. What would you do?? To give more information, there was a rift between my family and him over our caretakers, whom we recently fired because they were taking advantage of the property. Hopefully he'll at least be open to the possibility of getting some free wood without having to do any work. What would you offer???


Thanks folks.

Never hurts to ask. IMO 30% of lumber plus firewood would be a fair number considering the degree of difficulty this tree presents.

 

[aquan8tor]

30% is a good number. There's certainly a lot of tree there, so maybe he'll go for that. At this point, I don't even know how to get in touch with the owner, so this conversation is all theory anyway. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[B_Turner]

If you still want a cant hook, and I mean a CANT hook, go to www.logrite.com . They make theirs out of aluminum tubing. Strong, light and the hooks work! They make a "super stick", 78" of pure cant hooking fun. I got one and I love it. Not cheap, but what is money anyways

Anyone else tried the 78 inch cant hook? Seems interesting but I wonder if it's too long to be manageble for rolling logs. 60 inches it seems would be good, but for the price difference I am wondering if it is worth going to the longer one.