Coloradobum
ArboristSite Operative
I took out a red maple the other day out of my front yard. It was way too close to the house to drop in one piece, so I took the top 20ft out of it first. Here's how I did it:
tied off top of 16' ladder to trunk
put on my rock climbing harness, girth hitched a sling around the trunk, and clipped in. I made sure it was positioned so there was minimal slack, to avoid a static fall onto it.
the tree was leaning ever so slighlty toward me, but big branches on the other side made me sure it would go away from me
I notched the far side, then cut from my side to intercept the notch just above it. The top fell like clockwork and went right where I wanted it to.
Here's what I didn't like: when cutting, I was in an awkward position. If the saw had kicked back I would have been thrown off balance.
So the question is: what is the proper sawing position for topping a tree? Saw above your head? To the side? Chest level? Lower? There's got to be a better way than what I did......
PS the tree was about 14" where I made the topping cut.
tied off top of 16' ladder to trunk
put on my rock climbing harness, girth hitched a sling around the trunk, and clipped in. I made sure it was positioned so there was minimal slack, to avoid a static fall onto it.
the tree was leaning ever so slighlty toward me, but big branches on the other side made me sure it would go away from me
I notched the far side, then cut from my side to intercept the notch just above it. The top fell like clockwork and went right where I wanted it to.
Here's what I didn't like: when cutting, I was in an awkward position. If the saw had kicked back I would have been thrown off balance.
So the question is: what is the proper sawing position for topping a tree? Saw above your head? To the side? Chest level? Lower? There's got to be a better way than what I did......
PS the tree was about 14" where I made the topping cut.