Safe Falling of rotting Ash

[kenmbz]

Excavator

Too many flying high up branches for an excavator. Though that would have been perfect if I knew they were dying 3 years ago. Too many big branches 80' or higher is what I am trying to avoid.
So rope first on ones that I see the bark separating around the base.
I'll try that before a saw going forward.
Most of my trees that fall naturally, split 10-15 feet up. Looks like a bunch of giant toothpicks.
With the wind yesterday even a poplar branch tried to get me from pretty far away.

This one almost got us, the tulip poplar is about 60 feet off to the left in the forest. Only tree big enough right there, and only tree with a stub where a branch used to be. The rest of the tree is healthy.

 

[GrizG]

That tree must have been dead for a few years. I have been dealing with a lot of standing dead Ash on our property due to Ash blight. I have yet to have one that bad in the roots.

The ash around here is so far gone it is breaking off mid stem and falling over at the ground due to rotten roots. Our area must have been ahead of yours in the kill off...

 

[woodfarmer]

A few more biggns

 

[arathol]

A few more biggnsView attachment 973086

I see that wedge in the cut.....made me think of this -
Cutting like that can get the saw stuck and the pieces hung up. The forces work like this more or less-

If you make the cut vertically in relation to the force of gravity, the upper piece should just slide down the face and fall away.

 

[kenmbz]

Arathol, That is the cut that works on these leaners.
Fall direction on this one is not just based on cut, but also on what the tree is leaning on. The one I am dealing with now is almost vertical and hanging on a branch about 50' up.

I need to keep the pull way from me when I rope it and see if I can lift the butt off the ground.

I already put two cuts in so as it comes down it should split on the cuts.

 

[GrizG]

A few more bigView attachment 973088

That looks like a dead fall trap set over a game trail...

 

[woodfarmer]

It hit the ground no problem when I made the last cut from the far side.

 

[gggGary]

Famous last words

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60929266

 

[kenmbz]

This article is perfect. Some of the self falling ash by EAB (not the same as the problem in the article, but same result) have shot off branches 50-70 feet away from the tree when they come down.
For me this means shooting a rope over the ones that still have branches and trying to get the branch to fall down by pulling at an angle.
These big ones are getting way to unpredictable.

This one made my 620p with 24" bar look like a toy.

While bucking, it's chips, dust, chips, so the tree was heavily compromised.
The still standing ones are worse. Unclimbable and if they were in an area where they could hit something would need a bucket truck or crane to take them apart. (I did hire a team to take some of them down in those situations, quite expensive to say the least).

 

[Oletrapper]

That looks like a dead fall trap set over a game trail...

For a deer or maybe a black bear. lmao OT

 

[GrizG]

For a deer or maybe a black bear. lmao OT

I was thinking more like it being the guy driving under that hazard!

 

[Oletrapper]

I was thinking more like it being the guy driving under that hazard!

Ouch! OT

 

[Cricket]

The ash around here is so far gone it is breaking off mid stem and falling over at the ground due to rotten roots. Our area must have been ahead of yours in the kill off...

I've got one beside my barn, that rotted off and broke about... six feet, maybe (I'm keeping my distance, so sure not measuring it), the summer after the last leaves. I'll try to get a picture of it - it's definitely reinforced may "Not touching *that* one!" philosophy on even dying ash.