Be careful, especially pushing with a dozer, as it is easy to put one or parts of one in your lap.
Ron
Ron
Safe Falling of rotting Ash
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Most are in a swamp. I'm lucky to get my ATV and trailer in/out. I took my 4WD tractor in there once. It was almost a one way trip. You know how it is...just had to try.
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Backstage
ArboristSite Operative
Besides using a winch or some other kind of pull line, that’s about the sum of what you can do. Dead ash is about 95% of what I’ve taken from vertical. Misreading the lean is by far the biggest preventable danger.
I've taken down at least 100 to date and had issues with 2 of them. One was pretty big, about 30" at the base and leaning some. So leaning and "punky", which is a very dangerous combination. It "barber chaired" and sent us running for our lives! The other simply didn't have adequate hold wood being rotten close to the bottom and got away from me. It ended up hanging up in another tree and I ended up winching it back till it fell to the ground. Oh, forgot to mention the limbs, pay careful attention to them and NEVER walk forward right after you fell one until you look up to see if any limbs got hung up in another tree and haven't made it to the ground yet. I was cutting one about a year ago, all went well, I stopped before moving forward to pick up my wedges and hatchet a good size limb came crashing down right where I was fixing to step! The delay was about 10 seconds, so I'm guessing it got hung up in something.
We're down to a handful left on my properties and I wished I would have taken them out before they got so "punky" and started dropping dead limbs. Several times we've made rounds thru the woods and found limbs across the same paths we drive on frequently. At this point you never know when one is coming down so be careful when venturing thru the woods especially if it's windy outside.
The pic below shows my grand daughter right after we finished building a bridge across a small creek. We worked on it for several hours that day. The very next day we went back and right where she is standing was a HUGE dead Ash limb clear across the trail. It was a scary reminder how dangerous those rotting Ash trees can be......
We're down to a handful left on my properties and I wished I would have taken them out before they got so "punky" and started dropping dead limbs. Several times we've made rounds thru the woods and found limbs across the same paths we drive on frequently. At this point you never know when one is coming down so be careful when venturing thru the woods especially if it's windy outside.
The pic below shows my grand daughter right after we finished building a bridge across a small creek. We worked on it for several hours that day. The very next day we went back and right where she is standing was a HUGE dead Ash limb clear across the trail. It was a scary reminder how dangerous those rotting Ash trees can be......
I have also let one tree hit another to get the limbs to drop, when I could do it safely.
Like dominos.
Like dominos.
Been dealing with loads of dead ash the last three years ... first two years, Identified the trees with high grade logs, cut them, saw'd 'em, kiln dried 'em. Now I'm working with the non-sawmill-worthy trees, and it's been long enough that the tops are very very brittle. If there's a clear path for the top to travel down, I've been dropping them. If they have to fight their way through other tree tops, I leave 'em be - IMO just way to high of a chance for nasty chunks raining down. And I leave any leaning hard the wrong way ... pounding hard on a wedge is another way to break a branch loose at the top.
I also identify a nearby tree I can "hide" behind, make sure the path to that tree is absolutely clear, and head for that spot the second the tree starts to go. Years ago, Irwin post wrote one of the best articles in Sawmill and Woodlot magazine I've read on dropping trees ... and one thing in particular stuck with me. His comment was that when the tree starts to go, move quickly to the spot you chose to "hide", and *only* look up. There's an almost magnetic field that forces you to watch the tree go to the ground, but you got to resist it and look up and watch for shrapnel. The tree is gonna go where it's gonna go, and you watching it go to the ground ain't gonna change anything. It took me a while to make it a habit, but it's one of my good ones now. And as mentioned by others, it ain't over when the tree hits the ground ... *keep looking up* ... until you're sure everything coming down is down.
That article also got me dialed in on bore cutting, leaving a small chunk of holding wood, and clipping the holding wood to get the tree going. IMO, bore cutting gives me a second or two head start to my "hiding" spot - and those couple of seconds are invaluable regarding safety. Bore cutting also virtually eliminates the chance of barber chairing, and IMO is the best way to drop heavy leaners.
A hard hat, of course, is a must, and when working solo, I keep a two way radio with me - just before I drop a tree, I call in to the house with the expectation I'll be calling back in again in less then five minutes. Hope I never miss that second call in
Be careful out there, folks, and be safe ....
Hagman
I also identify a nearby tree I can "hide" behind, make sure the path to that tree is absolutely clear, and head for that spot the second the tree starts to go. Years ago, Irwin post wrote one of the best articles in Sawmill and Woodlot magazine I've read on dropping trees ... and one thing in particular stuck with me. His comment was that when the tree starts to go, move quickly to the spot you chose to "hide", and *only* look up. There's an almost magnetic field that forces you to watch the tree go to the ground, but you got to resist it and look up and watch for shrapnel. The tree is gonna go where it's gonna go, and you watching it go to the ground ain't gonna change anything. It took me a while to make it a habit, but it's one of my good ones now. And as mentioned by others, it ain't over when the tree hits the ground ... *keep looking up* ... until you're sure everything coming down is down.
That article also got me dialed in on bore cutting, leaving a small chunk of holding wood, and clipping the holding wood to get the tree going. IMO, bore cutting gives me a second or two head start to my "hiding" spot - and those couple of seconds are invaluable regarding safety. Bore cutting also virtually eliminates the chance of barber chairing, and IMO is the best way to drop heavy leaners.
A hard hat, of course, is a must, and when working solo, I keep a two way radio with me - just before I drop a tree, I call in to the house with the expectation I'll be calling back in again in less then five minutes. Hope I never miss that second call in
Be careful out there, folks, and be safe ....
Hagman
Very good chance an ash tree with a heavy lean will barber chair.
Wait until it's froze up solid to get tractor in there.
We had heavy rains this summer, in a field I'd mowed for years I got the tractor and rotary cutter stuck good. I was lucky I have a neighbor w/tractor and long logging chains to get it out.
thenne1713
ArboristSite Operative
YUP, WINTER FREEZE can be your friend in swampy/wet areas
Dangerous
ArboristSite Lurker
Amateur here; I favor plunge Cuts to prevent Barber chairing
Amateur Here , my first tree was a maple that I thought was sound when the sawdust turner brown I first though the saw was burning the wood I stopped closely examined the brown sawdust and realized it was rot.Been dealing with loads of dead ash the last three years ... first two years, Identified the trees with high grade logs, cut them, saw'd 'em, kiln dried 'em. Now I'm working with the non-sawmill-worthy trees, and it's been long enough that the tops are very very brittle. If there's a clear path for the top to travel down, I've been dropping them. If they have to fight their way through other tree tops, I leave 'em be - IMO just way to high of a chance for nasty chunks raining down. And I leave any leaning hard the wrong way ... pounding hard on a wedge is another way to break a branch loose at the top.
I also identify a nearby tree I can "hide" behind, make sure the path to that tree is absolutely clear, and head for that spot the second the tree starts to go. Years ago, Irwin post wrote one of the best articles in Sawmill and Woodlot magazine I've read on dropping trees ... and one thing in particular stuck with me. His comment was that when the tree starts to go, move quickly to the spot you chose to "hide", and *only* look up. There's an almost magnetic field that forces you to watch the tree go to the ground, but you got to resist it and look up and watch for shrapnel. The tree is gonna go where it's gonna go, and you watching it go to the ground ain't gonna change anything. It took me a while to make it a habit, but it's one of my good ones now. And as mentioned by others, it ain't over when the tree hits the ground ... *keep looking up* ... until you're sure everything coming down is down.
That article also got me dialed in on bore cutting, leaving a small chunk of holding wood, and clipping the holding wood to get the tree going. IMO, bore cutting gives me a second or two head start to my "hiding" spot - and those couple of seconds are invaluable regarding safety. Bore cutting also virtually eliminates the chance of barber chairing, and IMO is the best way to drop heavy leaners.
A hard hat, of course, is a must, and when working solo, I keep a two way radio with me - just before I drop a tree, I call in to the house with the expectation I'll be calling back in again in less then five minutes. Hope I never miss that second call in
Be careful out there, folks, and be safe ....
Hagman
Read up on what could happen barberchair and complete trunk collapse studies how to do a plunge cut or bore cut reduced the tension on the directional line to a minimum .
Banged on the trunk to determine how bad the rot was . Generally sound used a bore cut to prevent BC and removed the holding wood .Dropped where expected.
Later I dropped a double trunked ash on a hill with a lean using the bore cut and Patience . Once you get into bore cutting it solves serious problems . I use wedges at the back end of the bore cut to prevent binding the blade if my back cut runs into the plastic wedges I consider it a cost of felling safety they are expendable; I’m not expendable.
BTW wacking the tree with a hammer to determine its soundness is a habit I learned the hard way . Hiding behind another tree I have discovered works .
Absolutely having and clearing at least two paths away from the falling tree are a must . Plunge cuts provide good outcomes sharp chains required.
Good timing on this thread! Thanks for all the insight. I've dropped about 8 ash, with a couple heavy leaners, with my first bore cuts that went well. As mentioned the wood is "brittle" had one I wanted to wedge back against a slight lean but the hinge snapped early. Got many more to go and the info here may have saved me injury. I have one in the woods that's huge, over 30" with a fair amount of dead up high. Will look at that with more caution now. Also going to push me to get others on the ground soon rather than waiting.
Certain species with a side lean can be favourable to fall with less top weight when the tree is still in good structural shape. The stump may still be green as in many hardwoods or fast seasoned as in pine that feels much stronger plus as I mentioned the reduced top weight.
I'm sure we can all agree that not many things appy all of the time in this buisness
For Ash that are likely going to go off 30%
( 12:05 on the clock) and you don't have the room then it may work to exaggerate the aim direction the other way knowing you will lose a certain degree.
Not an exact Science but can be helpful for mild ones and achieved with regular felling cuts.
You could try a block face undercut. (channel cut) It's a big improvement on other species over reg undercut.
I suspect some improvement.I fell some ash in the UK and had a few ash that I could have tried it on in the first day of felling them but didn't know the wood and they snapped off at 60%.
( 12:05 on the clock) and you don't have the room then it may work to exaggerate the aim direction the other way knowing you will lose a certain degree.
Not an exact Science but can be helpful for mild ones and achieved with regular felling cuts.
You could try a block face undercut. (channel cut) It's a big improvement on other species over reg undercut.
I suspect some improvement.I fell some ash in the UK and had a few ash that I could have tried it on in the first day of felling them but didn't know the wood and they snapped off at 60%.
Can explain more tomorrow unless someone else wants to.
If you have good wedges and some good skills then you may be able to stand the tree up straight and then go about 14" higher and close to 90° from the first cut to your intended felling direction. Called a re-direct
If you have good wedges and some good skills then you may be able to stand the tree up straight and then go about 14" higher and close to 90° from the first cut to your intended felling direction. Called a re-direct
A few wind blown bad boys 
Wcf, you are correct. Absolutes are almost nonexistent with tree falling except gravity. Debated back and forth about saying “all”, but I didn’t know an exception for those of us that cut seasonally. Typically if I don’t cut it now a year goes by before I get to it.
Over lunch I scouted out tomorrow’s project. Found it would included half dozen or more 24” to 30”+ dead ash. Also found more than that that I will let nature fall. Road is too steep and wet to use equipment so I doubt I will set any records tomorrow.
Tell us more about your two stage falling. Doesn’t sound like something to do on a dead ash - maybe a dying ash. I have done the 90 degree second cut many times when I misread a lean and stuck my saw.
As to a block face, when I think the wood is still strong and flexible enough, I have used a trapezoid face sometimes coupled with a vertical cut behind the hinge, all to define a taller hinge either to slow the fall or keep the hinge intact as long as possible. It doesn’t always work .
Ron
Over lunch I scouted out tomorrow’s project. Found it would included half dozen or more 24” to 30”+ dead ash. Also found more than that that I will let nature fall. Road is too steep and wet to use equipment so I doubt I will set any records tomorrow.
Tell us more about your two stage falling. Doesn’t sound like something to do on a dead ash - maybe a dying ash. I have done the 90 degree second cut many times when I misread a lean and stuck my saw.
As to a block face, when I think the wood is still strong and flexible enough, I have used a trapezoid face sometimes coupled with a vertical cut behind the hinge, all to define a taller hinge either to slow the fall or keep the hinge intact as long as possible. It doesn’t always work .
Ron
RichMidd
New Member
While I was figuring what to do with this monster, utility trucks working on the lines in the background of this pic, created such ground vibration it came down on its own. The house shook- sounded like a nuke going off. I cut giant burls from the base of the trunk. I do a lot of bowl turning and one bowl measured 18” across.
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Sweet pic and that's some scary business that vibration brought it down. 
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