Sudden death of White Oak?

B737

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no good things are happening in this thread, i would like to visit the trailer thread to get good feelings back :ROFLMAO: LOL

 
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B737

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When we bought our house we had an oak that was 42" at the base that was less then 1ft from the corner if our garage. They had to take it down in sections with a crane

Tree service had to take down 3 other trees just to get to it with the bucket truck. All three sections of the tree had to be lifted over the house. Then the mess from them took months to clean up.

It would have been $8,000 to get the trees dropped and hauled off. Or $1,600 to have them dropped and I take care of the mess.
That must have been very unnerving to watch, i know it was for me. I dont understand how people let these things happen, you have a tree that could kill you, 1 foot away from where you're sleeping. It's crazy. The shade is nice to an extent, but I don't miss the trees I took down that were close to the house, there are a few left that are closer than their own height. I will work on those over time.

We aren't allowed to burn here, but the township will do 3 annual curb side pickups within reason and I know ive pushed the limits. I used to do it with a gator for 4 years until the light bulb went on to get the tractor. But this service is better fitted for brush and 'nuisance' trees.
 

Daren Todd

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That must have been very unnerving to watch, i know it was for me. I dont understand how people let these things happen, you have a tree that could kill you, 1 foot away from where you're sleeping. It's crazy. The shade is nice to an extent, but I don't miss the trees I took down that were close to the house, there are a few left that are closer than their own height. I will work on those over time.

We aren't allowed to burn here, but the township will do 3 annual curb side pickups within reason and I know ive pushed the limits. I used to do it with a gator for 4 years until the light bulb went on to get the tractor. But this service is better fitted for brush and 'nuisance' trees.
The tree was on the opposite side of the house from the bedrooms. But massive. The nice thing about those large live oaks is the branches that were snaking over the house and close to the roof line.

Even though it was around 80ft tall or so, it would have gone over slowly with the branches reducing the force.

Pine trees are actually the most destructive on homes and fall the hardest.

I actually didn't see them take them down. I got them started then went back to work. They called me an hour before they finished to give me time to get back, and pay them.

Neighbor gave me a play by play of it. They brought out a couple chairs and sat in the shade in their yard and watched the show.

I had already verified that they were licensed, bonded, and insured before they came out. And was short staffed at work that day so I couldn't hang out.
 

B737

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You guys are far braver than I am! My tiny sthil w 18" bar is enough for me, if I need a bigger saw I shouldn't be cutting it down myself :ROFLMAO: but ive dropped a lot of trees with that little guy
 
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B737

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This was one of my favorites from years ago. It was prob 20 feet from the house. I am eager to see what the inside of the white oak will look like once they cut it down.

 

Daren Todd

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This was one of my favorites from years ago. It was prob 20 feet from the house. I am eager to see what the inside of the white oak will look like once they cut it down.

My father in law had one topped below the power lines that was like that. For the next couple weeks there were two squirrels up on top of it that kept looking down into the tree. He figures that they had a home in it and were discussing the loss of their roof.
 
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SidecarFlip

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That 075 Stihl has a few years on it. They were first manufactured in 1974. ;)

I know, they haven't been in production for years. Bought the powerhead new many years ago. Still have the original bill of sale, paid 535 bucks for it. I run a Stihl greaseable / replaceable roller nose bar and .404 skip tooth square cutter chain. Takes a lot of power to run 404 square tooth.

I always wanted (but never bought) a Stihl 090 G. Basically a 075 with gear reduction. They could easily handle a 6 foot buddy bar.

Still, just like new (075). I never used it much, it's very heavy.

I also have an 028 that I bought new. Stihl only made the 028 for 3 years. it's a high rpm saw and basically no muffler but it cuts nice. .325 chipper on a 24" bar. All magnesium, no plastic except the top shroud and I got it with the heated stirrup too. I use it all the time. I love the sound of that saw, screaming banshee. On my second jug and piston.

Have a newer MS. Don't like it. New Stihl saws don't impress me at all. The noise police got to Stihl. Even though I took the Dremel to the muffler, it's still pretty wimpy and it's all plastic too.
 

Workerbee

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Got to like those big Stihls. Heres an 880 with a 59” stinger. Not mine, a guy in GA sent me the photo. Biggest I have is an 041 but have a few others down to an 009.
Flip, Id bet you could get more for your 075 than you paid back then, so that might make saws better investments than tractors! lol
 

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Magicman

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I also have an 028 that I bought new. Stihl only made the 028 for 3 years.
I also have a Stihl 028 AV that has and still serves me well. My go-to "big" saw is a Stihl MS362 and I alternate between a 22" and a 25" bar e/w a skip tooth chain depending upon what I am sawing.
 

SidecarFlip

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Got to like those big Stihls. Heres an 880 with a 59” stinger. Not mine, a guy in GA sent me the photo. Biggest I have is an 041 but have a few others down to an 009.
Flip, Id bet you could get more for your 075 than you paid back then, so that might make saws better investments than tractors! lol
Maybe, but it's not for sale...lol My regimen for saws is when I don't use them, to drain all the gas and run them dry. I might run the big one one a year. Only one I use regularly is the 028
 

B737

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I hate paying these guys, but I am in total awe of how technical their work is, they get all my respect. It's almost worth the price of admission just to watch them work.

I thought when they did the bottom cut on the dead oak we would see something interesting but nothing out of the ordinary (to me).

The tractor got some love too, there was 1 oak bent over its shed entirely, and two giant ones a few feet away that I felt were too close to the house. So those got taken down as well. Now I have room next to the shed for a trailer, and the shed will be running about 10° hotter :)









 
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RCW

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Obviously not their first rodeo.

It sucks you had to go through that, but at least it’s done, and you got a couple other problematic ones also.
 
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B737

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Of course I couldn't stop talking to the foreman about their equipment. Stump grinder? 50 grand, the blades are $600. The chipper was nearly brand new, $80,000 machine. He said the prices of the machine have gone up nearly $10,000 in the last 2 years because they keep adding emission systems to chippers! He said when the DEF runs out, the machine just stops, the entire crew is shut down until its refilled. They also had an oversized looking dingo that had tracks on it with a grapple, it was moving around all the trunks, and limb piles, was a really cool machine too.

I think I picked the wrong line of work. No shortage of dying trees for a lifetime of business and get to own really cool heavy equipment.
 
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SidecarFlip

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Insulate the shed, issue solved. I sharpen chipper knives for tree companies. Some of the bigger Morbark chippers cost upwards of 350 grand. One of the outfits I sharpen knives for has a chipper that will take an entire tree with a 36" diameter lower in one shot. No trimming branches, nothing, just stuff in the butt end and the machine gobbles it up, big Caterpillar engine.

No matter how big they are or small. they all have one thing in common, they all dull knives and then I get to resharpen them. Nice steady business too. I prefer commercial tree companies over individuals. One, they actually change out knives regularly whereas individuals run them to the bitter end and two, they have multiple sets so usually, there is no rush. Individuals have one set and want them tomorrow. Typical tree company has 3 complete sets and a pair of anvils so one set is in the machine, one set is standby and I have the third set and they drop them off here at the shop.

One of my customers has a 20 ton mobile crane with a 100 foot reach. They can take down a medium sized tree in one shot. Pretty quick and painless too.
 

B737

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One of the outfits I sharpen knives for has a chipper that will take an entire tree with a 36" diameter lower in one shot. No trimming branches, nothing, just stuff in the butt end and the machine gobbles it up, big Caterpillar engine
wow! i will have to search youtube to see if i can find a video of this, must be wild to see that thing in action
 

SidecarFlip

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Go to the Morbark website. They have them on there
 
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Palmettokat

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No idea if same kind of chipper but in my area we grow a lot of trees, hardwood and pine. A lot is chipped and blow into covered trailer. Was surprise to learn a good bit of that is used as fuel by the plants. Thought it was being chipped for paper as we have paper plants around with the saw mills.
 

dvcochran

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More common in red oaks than in white oaks, but if you can find no signs or symptoms you may consider Oak Wilt disease: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/oak_wilt_disease_1

Oak wilt is transmitted by Beatles.
I had a large white oak that I think go infected by a nearby red oak that had the disease. Both died quickly and had similar signs on the bark. The big difference was when I cut them down the read oak was still mostly intact and strong through and through and the white oak looked like tar on the inside from about 6" in. Made one helluva mess cutting it up. Never seen anything like it before or since.