I just pushed over 6 trees bigger than that with an excavator - kx080. Went over easy peasy. Know anyobdy with one close by?
Gee.....I wonder if this is going to 'Barber-Chair' ???
- Thread starter Flintknapper
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Neighbor about 3 miles down the road has one....but it isn't a real large one. Not a mini....but not a big wrecking type track-hoe either. I'll have the tree down tomorrow though. I'll just wrap the trunk, score it a bit more and pull it down with the tractor. Cable is already in place.
This tree is just a safety issue....not a technical difficulty. The part about a barber chair is pure sarcasm....as clearly it has already started spitting out (as I half expected it would). Also to see if any here have enough experience to recognize what it is....and the hazard it presents.
Runs With Scissors
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L2501 TLB , Grappel, Brush Hog, Box Blade, Ballast box, Forks, Tiller, PH digger
Yea I know, right.......What is it with chicks and the whole "no shooting from inside the house" thing?Well....that would certainly be more fun and I could stay back 150 yds. or so with my 7mm-08 or .338 WinMag to set it off. But I don't think Mrs. Flintkknapper would appreciate me ratting all the windows of the house.
She already put the 'nix' on my Daughter shooting deer from Her bedroom window (a different subject and story). Nothing like being startled awake early one Sunday morning.
Well… I think it’s a good rule …ever since I once came home early from a trip late at night and thought I’d surprise the wife on her birthday….and sneaking quietly down the hall toward the bedroom so as not to prematurely awaken her….. I found her sitting up in bed with a .357 pointed at me.
I’ll never try THAT again!
S-G-R
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Well, good thing she identified the target instead of shooting first and asking questions laterWell… I think it’s a good rule …ever since I once came home early from a trip late at night and thought I’d surprise the wife on her birthday….and sneaking quietly down the hall toward the bedroom so as not to prematurely awaken her….. I found her sitting up in bed with a .357 pointed at me.
I’ll never try THAT again!
^^^^^Well… I think it’s a good rule …ever since I once came home early from a trip late at night and thought I’d surprise the wife on her birthday….and sneaking quietly down the hall toward the bedroom so as not to prematurely awaken her….. I found her sitting up in bed with a .357 pointed at me.
Atta Girl.......!
We have a couple of Dachshunds....so that would never happen in my house (sneaking up on anything).
I swear they can hear a mouse fart.....100 yds away in the pasture.
I guess I’m missing something obvious, but if you never intended to drop that piece of tree, why did you cut it to begin with? (As shown in the third picture)
Yes, you are missing something (my terminology). Drop: to completely dislodge the trunk from the stump as in a normal 'felling' technique. Instead of 'felling' this leaner with saw only....I wanted to score the trunk such that I could PULL the tree down owing to safety concerns being too close to a tree that wants to split out uncontrollably.
Geo...to expand on the technique used to take this leaner down (counter to normal felling techniques).
1. The fork in the tree was rotted and separated from the main trunk. So no integrity there, else the cut would have been made lower.
2. This was an extremely limb heavy section of the tree (lots of weight and about 35' of trunk and limbs).
3. The purpose all along was NOT to have the trunk suddenly separate from the 'stump' for two reasons. First I am back there cutting on the trunk (albeit with a pole-saw) and I can't predict which side of the remaining tree the cut one will fall to. Second with a leaner you can't make the trunk "jump the stump" so when the limbs hit the ground first....the trunk WILL come backwards.
So....for safety sake, I wanted to score the back of the trunk (under tension) and leave ALL the front for holding wood and to act as the hinge.
As it turns out....the trunk was wanting to split prematurely and perhaps 'barberchair' ( a very bad thing) so I had to wrap the trunk.
After that an additional 5" scoring cut and a very light pull on the cable brought the tree down as desired. The holding wood (left at the front) worked as a hinge and allowed the tree to be pulled over in a controlled fashion. No need for anyone to be close to the trunk and something possibly go wrong. Believe me....you can't move out of the way fast enough....so caution is your friend.
So I hope you don't think I was arguing or challenging your post (to first make a face cut) its just that it doesn't apply to all situations and this was one of those 'you had to be there' things to appreciate the totality of the task at hand.
Anyway, tree is safely down and I will top it out back to the main trunk and move on to the next one.
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Reduced to where I only need to cut it back toward the main trunk. Just about home free.
The only “yellow” chain ….(such as the one being used to wrap the trunk) …I’ve ever seen was made of PLASTIC !! Imagine my first-impression of that pic…
Well.....I'd be the first to say you can certainly get yourself into trouble with 'problem' trees if you don't take the time to carefully assess the situation and possibilities.
'Misjudging' the dynamics involved can result in anything from just getting your saw 'pinched' to severe injury or death.
Even with the tree on the ground....you can have limbs under a lot of tension. Depending on how they are situated....understanding how to cut those is important as well. So many variables.
Some cuts are made for safety's sake....others just for convenience. For instance (below), I could continue to make one more cut on the limb jammed in the ground, but it is under the most pressure and not easy to reach anyway.
So easier (and safer) to just go up to the trunk (which is where we are headed anyway).
Make an Open Face Cut on the top (tension side) and then come up from underneath to finish the cut.
As the Open Face Cut closes....the bottom kerf will open up.....avoiding saw pinch and giving more room to remove the saw as the two sections separate and fall.
Two or three other ways to do it as well, some faster than others. So depending on your skill level and how much time you have to devote to it.....choose the technique best suited to the situation.
Yeah.....like you see used to cordon off foot traffic into an area.The only “yellow” chain ….(such as the one being used to wrap the trunk) …I’ve ever seen was made of PLASTIC !! Imagine my first-impression of that pic…
Haha.No, its actually 5/16" proof chain, just powder coated.