Need advice from lumberjacks/lumberjills

[Runs With Scissors]

I have a 100% perfect felling record.

(I did one tree and it landed exactly where the you tube video said it would )

I called a company and they wanted 2.5 K for the 70 footer at the cottage.

Since I am "gravitationally challenged" , there is now way I could/should be in a tree especially with a chain saw. LOL

So I made sure my home owners policy was up to date.

Next step was to watch about 200 hours of "You Tube" videos, then a visit to my local Stihl dealer.

Man cutting that thing was fun as hell, and I got a new Stihl Chainsaw, out of the deal.

 

[BX'r]

It should fall to the South as the majority of weight is on the South side.
Could use a picture of the East and West side of the lower trunk where the roots flare.
Back the felling cut up with wedges as you advance the back cut and keep the hinge the same thickness on both sides as the tree appears balanced East to West.
Bonus would be pulling it with a line up high, won't steer it but will prompt it over and you'll see if it moves and your wedges loosen.
Do you have a large saw with a long bar?

 

[Motion]

I'd have someone come in with a large excavator with a thumb, dig around and push it over stump and all. While you cut up the tree, let him take down the chicken house and dig you a pit, shove everything in the hole and burn it all. When you bring a dozer to remove the topsoil (save for later) and prepare the shop pad, he can cap the pit. Easy-Peasy

 

[Trapper Bob]

It should fall to the South as the majority of weight is on the South side.
Could use a picture of the East and West side of the lower trunk where the roots flare.
Back the felling cut up with wedges as you advance the back cut and keep the hinge the same thickness on both sides as the tree appears balanced East to West.
Bonus would be pulling it with a line up high, won't steer it but will prompt it over and you'll see if it moves and your wedges loosen.
Do you have a large saw with a long bar?

I have a Stihl 311 with a 20” bar. I’ll have to cut from both sides. I’ve done that before. This tree had a twin. It was an obvious leaner & I cut it down already. This is part of the trunk.

 

[BX'r]

You'll want to look at the root flare to see if there are roots inline with the hinge, if there are , bore into the trunk well below the hinge to sever any root wood .
What happens is the roots can hold the tree to the stump well into the ground with hardwood causing the tree to pull to one side.
Use a good open face notch to keep the tree on the stump longer.

 

[Bearcatrp]

I have a Stihl 311 with a 20” bar. I’ll have to cut from both sides. I’ve done that before. This tree had a twin. It was an obvious leaner & I cut it down already. This is part of the trunk. View attachment 116090

Cut in in half and let your tractor do the rest.

 

[Poohbear]

Do it the easy way. Get 200 lbs of tannerite. That should knock it down easy peasy.

This way would make a great Utube video
Since this is the area for the new shop why not hire a good size dozer to push it over and make your pad site ?

 

[NCL4701]

If you think it’s hollow, I wouldn’t mess with it. Have cut a bunch of hollow trees. They can be unpredictable depending on how much solid is left in the area of the base. Sometimes even a large hollow tree doesn’t have enough to make a decent hinge. They also tend to fracture vertically unpredictably. There are a variety of methods to getting a hollow tree down. In order of safest to least safe: 1) hire it out; 2) chain the base with heavy chain and load binders to keep it from fracturing vertically, take it down piece by piece from the top down accessing with a spider lift if you can rent one big enough; 3) chain the base, fell it to the south (where the weight is) in one piece and hood there’s enough hinge wood you don’t end up running for your life (literally); 4) fell it in one piece and pray constantly through the process that God has mercy on you and you survive.

 

[Trapper Bob]

I took the Elm tree down today. It fell SSE (notched that way). My saw was barely long enough to meet in the middle of the tree. I was off a little, but the weight of the tree (& a nice N wind) brought it down. Had to whittle on it to get it completely on the ground.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I took the Elm tree down today. It fell SSE (notched that way). My saw was barely long enough to meet in the middle of the tree. I was off a little, but the weight of the tree (& a nice N wind) brought it down. Had to whittle on it to get it completely on the ground. View attachment 117761
View attachment 117762
View attachment 117763
View attachment 117764

That was fun I bet!

Nice job!

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Great job. At a glance, does it not look like the trunk grew in the 3rd pic?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

NICE, and still have 10 finger and toes ,where they belong and NO bandaids !!!
Looks like a LOT of firewood to be cut.
Wonder if you can cut a branch off close to the ground, then use tractor to rotate the tree to get the high branches closer to ground ? Some way to keep your two feet planted on the ground ?
Love the 3rd picture...colours in the sky ,far,far away.....

 

[nbking]

Now next question. How to get rid of this monster tree trunk, where my new shop is going? I second the tannerite

 

[Trapper Bob]

NICE, and still have 10 finger and toes ,where they belong and NO bandaids !!!
Looks like a LOT of firewood to be cut.
Wonder if you can cut a branch off close to the ground, then use tractor to rotate the tree to get the high branches closer to ground ? Some way to keep your two feet planted on the ground ?
Love the 3rd picture...colours in the sky ,far,far away.....

Yup, all appendages right when they belong & in working order. The tree made a very satisfying “thump” when it hit the ground. I did cut the branches I could reach from the ground, moved them with the tractor (love that grapple), then rolled the tree with the tractor & chains. This exposed more limbs I could access from the ground. I left a stump because the dozer operator will need something to push against when removing it. He will prepare a pad for a shop on this site.

 

[Snowman7]

That is a lot of btu’s!

 

[Snowman7]

That saw looks really tiny sitting on that stump.

 

[jaxs]

I'd like to know what the dozer operator says about it. I he might rather have taller stump for leverage if not all the top to help pull it over. I would still send him pictures or have him come by in advance. He might say you can save him time by using a hoe to pull soil away and cutting some roots. That or he can have a ripper on rear to cut roots before pushing stump. If you let us know how the dozer handles it we might learn something.

 

[Trapper Bob]

I'd like to know what the dozer operator says about it. I he might rather have taller stump for leverage if not all the top to help pull it over. I would still send him pictures or have him come by in advance. He might say you can save him time by using a hoe to pull soil away and cutting some roots. That or he can have a ripper on rear to cut roots before pushing stump. If you let us know how the dozer handles it we might learn something.

The dozer operator was there when I cut the stump. He is a neighbor & leases my ground. He has a big dozer & a track hoe as well. He will prepare the ground for a building which includes removing the stump.

 

[skeets]

Good job! And anyone that turns down free fire wood is foolish,, Me if it burns it goes in the stove,, well not pine but you know

 

[Trapper Bob]

I cut up the large Elm today. The solid logs went to the wood pile & the rest to the burn pile. I still have a sizable stump to deal with. The tractor would not pick it up. I’ll have to split it or whittle it down some more.