something very bad happened this weekend....
- Thread starter bullseye13
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Erick
Addicted to ArboristSite
Had a good one happen today myself. I spent most of the day cleaning up some of the storm damage around my property and in the process came upon a dead standing pine about 16" DBH. The way it was leaning if the wind took it down it probably would have torn up four or five 8 to 10 inch oaks on the way down, so I did the natural thing and decided to go ahead and drop it now before it could tear anything up. I needed to fell it about 75 degrees from the natural lean in order to miss the good trees. Now the tree was really swollen and rotten at the base so I decided a bore cut was the way to go, so I made a nice 80* open face notch and started making my bore. I made a nice 2" hinge and proceeded to make the cut out the back to form my "tab" everything’s going according to plan so far, well just when I started to let off the trigger and pull the saw out of the back cut the "tab" (about 3 to 4 inches wide mind you) collapsed in that rotten wood and the tree sat back on the saw. This is my favorite little MS260 you've all heard me talk about that’s now stuck in this tree. Now I had a couple of small wedges with me and my ax as well so should be an easy fix right??? Noooo the wood around the tree was so rotten that the wedges just drove in like they were being hammered into pudding. They did start to tighten up toward the end of the wedge but by the time I got any real leverage I was out of wedge. It did however manage to give me enough lift that with some real heavy pushing and a whole lot of grunting I did manage to free the saw (wheew) Now the trouble is I got a dead standing pine complete with a face cut and a back cut with 2 wedges pounded in to the hilt and the tree just sat there, mocking me. I hadn’t planed on felling any trees today so I didn't bring the usual assortment of sawing paraphernalia so I used the ax as a wedge hammered into the back cut with a log to (hopefully) hold the tree while I made the walk up to the shop to get the real wedges. I just knew every little breeze that picked up on that walk blew that tree over and into those little oaks and tore every one of them up. As you can tell by my posting it here instead of starting my own "man I screwed up" thread that the tree was still standing when I got back and everything worked out fine. A little persuasion from the big wedges and she fell right where I wanted her to and only broke two 2" limbs out of the tops of nearby trees. But man let that be a lesson to ya, don't wait pound your wedges in as soon as you can and never think any tree is gonna be easy, be ready for whatever may come before you start cutting. 
SWE#Kipp
Addicted to ArboristSite
http://www.skogforsk.se/KunskapDirekt/default.aspx?p=11244&bmp=11727
click on "film for bredband" then "avverkning med motorsag (10 min) "
You got some useful tips in that movie, one part of it is how to get down "hangers" safe ,,,,,,
Personally I got to small balls to do it the Gypo way
click on "film for bredband" then "avverkning med motorsag (10 min) "
You got some useful tips in that movie, one part of it is how to get down "hangers" safe ,,,,,,
Personally I got to small balls to do it the Gypo way
I tried picturing how far he would fly when the top departed.
Harry K
Or when that limb under tension is freed?
we missed a few pics between where your cutting and the log lying prostrate across the stump
SawTroll
Information Collector
....
Personally I got to small balls to do it the Gypo way
He is not stupid enough to do what the picture indicates, just posing to pull someones chain, as others have indicated.........:biggrinbounce2: :biggrinbounce2:
SawTroll
Information Collector
...... But man let that be a lesson to ya, don't wait pound your wedges in as soon as you can and never think any tree is gonna be easy, be ready for whatever may come before you start cutting.
So true, but I hate to fell rotten trees anyway - you never now what is going to happen........
umpkin2:
begleytree
H. sapiens moderatus
OK, for the guys too new here to be used to Gypo. don't look at what you see in John's pics, but look for what you don't see. like the skidder just outside the pic. or the total lack of falling sawdust.
his pics are fun tho. and sized so you can see them.
-Ralph
his pics are fun tho. and sized so you can see them.
-Ralph
ents
ArboristSite Guru
ehgauss
ArboristSite Operative
Leaner
I've used a Come-Along and chain to pull steeply angled leaners off the stump, and then drag the butt until it falls, or until the angle is such that I'm more comfortable cutting sections off the bottom of the butt. What happened to you when you cut sections from the bottom of a steeply angled leaner is more likely than when it's closer to horizontal, maybe 45 degrees or less. Gene Gauss
I've used a Come-Along and chain to pull steeply angled leaners off the stump, and then drag the butt until it falls, or until the angle is such that I'm more comfortable cutting sections off the bottom of the butt. What happened to you when you cut sections from the bottom of a steeply angled leaner is more likely than when it's closer to horizontal, maybe 45 degrees or less. Gene Gauss
59Billy
ArboristSite Operative
Those leaners can be a real PITA.
John
Oh, so that's how the pros do it!
Man, I wasted so much time on the last leaner I dealt with... comealong, chains, and the old "pretend the truck is a tractor" trick.
Ya learn something every day...
Sprig
Addicted to ArboristSite
LOL................. (or killed, that really messes up a person's day)yeah well, at least you didnt get married.....or engaged............or circumsized...........or snipped............
basically all the same thing really...
-Ralph
I too hate dealing with hung trees, blocking it down/up is my last option usually. Alot to be said about pre-rigging lines as others have mentioned, nice to have a come-along handy (though cheap ones can be more of a detriment imo), sometimes, if you can't pull backwards to get the hanger on the ground, you can toss a long rope as high as you can into the offender and tug it off sideways. I have in the (foggy) past rigged a spanish windlass with doubled 5/8ths rope and a 4-5ft piece of 2x4, they will work very well, are a no-brainer to rig, and you can keep yourself out of the bite.
And work safely! :rockn: :rockn: Serge
ben14826
ArboristSite Operative
yeah well, at least you didnt get married.....or engaged............or circumsized...........or snipped............
basically all the same thing really...
-Ralph
If I didn't know better I would say you have an issue with this sort of thing? I'll take it as face value, and not take it personally. It wasn't meant to be taken personally was it?
Treeman587
ArboristSite Operative
Back to the original question. Felling. I usually make a face cut. Then I cut the ears on each side real deep. Then make a normal backcut. That way when the tree is falling It will roll through the other trees around. Not that you still dont get stuck however.
I have been known to hook a line on it. Then rig to the winch, cut it, and just pull it down through the other trees also.
Either way when it starts to go, Run Like Hell
I have been known to hook a line on it. Then rig to the winch, cut it, and just pull it down through the other trees also.
Either way when it starts to go, Run Like Hell
Treeman587
ArboristSite Operative
He isn't wearing chaps
begleytree
H. sapiens moderatus
Personal to what? you? who are you? you just get castrated or something and we didnt get the memo?
learn to distinguish humor for personal attacks. ie, "at least you didnt get snipped" would be humor, but, "at least you didnt get snipped like ben" would be sarcasm, and personal. oh yeah, funny too.
gheez. :newbie:
-Ralph
edit: oh yeah, I guess I do have an issue with castration. Odd that you don't though.
ben14826
ArboristSite Operative
I was referring to this, must have been coincidental timing. No harm done. http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=46859
See now why I though it might be personal?
