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Today I felled another hazard tree while at the range. This dead ash didn't even wait for the back cut. It cracked just as I started a bore to set the hinge. About 6" deep with the tip and the tree let go. I will be glad when I am done. Every trip there I spot at least two more. My backlog keeps growing; currently it is more than a dozen.

No back cut, just the beginnning of a bore.
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Bore
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Possibly some firewood up from the stump.
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Cleared area will soon be open to public. Thus this tree had to go.
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Be safe,
Ron
Your Ash looks very similar to our black cotton wood.👍 Sounds like decomposition is similar also.
 
I am only familiar with cottonwood through AS postings so I may be wrong - contrary to cottonwood, ash is a strong hard hardwood used for baseball bats and handles among other things. Heat-wise it makes good firewood.

The decomposition may be similar, I don’t know. It reminds me of poplar. Most poplar seems to rot quickly but every now and then you’ll find a downed bark less stem that is hard as a rock. I have heard some who equate cottonwood with poplar, but there seems to be an overlap in terminology. Our clear poplar is used for furniture and trim.

Ron
 
Another Spruce stick. 👍 Tipped fir toasty house heat high and dry! 😉IMG_20221216_150215360.jpgIMG_20221216_150254755_HDR.jpg

Many would argue that I'm a lousy shot fir hitting stumps and breaking wood. Actually, quite the contrary. When it comes to firewood snags. I tip them across stumps on purpose to keep them out of the grass and dirt. They stay dryer if it rains before I get all the wood hauled out and it makes bucking much easier and faster! 👍IMG_20221216_151643899_HDR.jpg

This snag brushed by a rotten stob on its way down. Leaving a small branch hanging in the stob as a reminder to always wear a hard hat when cut'n timber! Though this hanger is somewhat light and small. (I emfasise "somewhat") Even at this hight. It can easily injure you. With or without a brain bucket! Another 80' or 100' foot higher hanging in a taller tree? It would then be a potential widow maker and possibly break your neck if it hit you just right! An object coming down on you from 100 foot or higher?
DOESN'T NEED MUCH WEIGHT BEHIND IT TO BREAK A NECK!
You must keep your head up not only when tipping, but when working next to and under other timber as well! This stob should have been tipped before the snag. However, I decided to leave it for wildlife after bore testing it. Then fell the snag. Honestly, it might not have been a good call on my behalf. Decomp stages are uncertain higher up the trunk, and the trunks integrity may have been compromised even more after being brushed by the tipped snag. Possibly to the edge of "The Breaking Point"
You must never assume anything when dealing with and working around snaggs and rotten stobs. I made the wrong decision and it could have had high costs. Lucky it didn't.
Lucky! IMG_20221216_151404145_HDR.jpg
Many Cutters take more risks than others! The ones that do have a higher risk at getting themselves seriously injured or perhaps killed!

WE ALL MUST!!!
Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!👍
 
I am only familiar with cottonwood through AS postings so I may be wrong - contrary to cottonwood, ash is a strong hard hardwood used for baseball bats and handles among other things. Heat-wise it makes good firewood.

The decomposition may be similar, I don’t know. It reminds me of poplar. Most poplar seems to rot quickly but every now and then you’ll find a downed bark less stem that is hard as a rock. I have heard some who equate cottonwood with poplar, but there seems to be an overlap in terminology. Our clear poplar is used for furniture and trim.

Ron
Poplar used as trim needs to be paint grade. It will not stain well at all. Cottonwood will never finish well and is crate/pallet lumber. Ash is hard and works well when cut and dried right. It will get "punky" like any other
 
👋Somewhat! The gravy is never creamed 100% when tipping Snags. I don't care what anyone says, and Snags are one thing I don't joke about! 👎😉
Dead wood is tough to read. I have quite a few marked here in various stages of decay that I was looking at Friday night. They will not be simple drops. I wonder how some folks think you wedge a 56"dbh that is hollow as hell.
 
Dead wood is tough to read. I have quite a few marked here in various stages of decay that I was looking at Friday night. They will not be simple drops. I wonder how some folks think you wedge a 56"dbh that is hollow as hell.

Poplar used as trim needs to be paint grade. It will not stain well at all. Cottonwood will never finish well and is crate/pallet lumber. Ash is hard and works well when cut and dried right. It will get "punky" like any other

Poplar that is sold in hardware stores is tulip poplar, not the same genus as cottonwood, quaking Aspen, or big tooth aspen
 
Poplar that is sold in hardware stores is tulip poplar, not the same genus as cottonwood, quaking Aspen, or big tooth aspen
Well I never said Poplar was the same as Cottonwood. There is no real relation between the two. I have never bought lumber at a hardware store so I cannot speak to that. We bought it by the 1000' bd/ft lot
 
Back in 2013. Should've used a proper saw for the job but the lean was favorable. Used my Echo 450P (since upgraded to a Stihl 441 C-M) with 20" bar.

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Nice work considering the shorter bar. Plenty of wood left for a strong hinge. A lot of folks that have at least a fair amount of basic felling experience. Don't have the type of felling fundamentals I see in your stump. Many get intimated by bigger diameters against shorter bars.
Good on ya!👍
 
Nice work considering the shorter bar. Plenty of wood left for a strong hinge. A lot of folks that have at least a fair amount of basic felling experience. Don't have the type of felling fundamentals I see in your stump. Many get intimated by bigger diameters against shorter bars.
Good on ya!👍

Thanks.

It took me from March to the end of October to get that tree bucked and split (wedge and sledge first and then Fiskars). I could only work on it on the weekends but it kept my weekends busy. The biggest saw a local rental place had was a Stihl 391 and that also only had a 20" bar.

If I had a milling set up, I would've gotten some nice slabs out of it.
 
Old willow we took down and chopped up for firewood today. Measured 60cm across (about 24") which is considered quite large around here. Used my Solo 656 with 18" bar for the job.
The hinge got a bit thin in the middle, should have paid more attention. But it went right as planned anyway so no problem. All those cracks that look black are actually filled with ice 🥶

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