# Not gonna touch this



## slowp (May 6, 2009)

I'm clearing out the same road I spent many hours clearing out last year. But I won't touch this one. I didn't take a picture of the spring loaded trees it is hung up in. This week, instead of a nice pleasant drizzle, we've had November like heavy rains. Not good for picture taking. But I'm bored so here's a picture.






I will drive quickly underneath it. Looks like another cluster to take apart beyond it, then if like last year, the rest of the road shouldn't be too bad.


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## Cletuspsc (May 6, 2009)

Yea that one could get ya pritty easy like. . . . I would prolly cut it up and wad it with another and if that dosent work then get a peice of equipment.


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## stihlloggin (May 6, 2009)

ahh just chunk it down!! no big deal.


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## Cletuspsc (May 6, 2009)

stihlloggin said:


> ahh just chunk it down!! no big deal.



I was never a big fan of chunking any thing too big. had a buddys dad get kill chunking one out. but yea prolly could on that one


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## stihlloggin (May 6, 2009)

Cletuspsc said:


> I was never a big fan of chunking any thing too big. had a buddys dad get kill chunking one out. but yea prolly could on that one



well i was kind of being a smart arse. It wouldn't bother me , but people should use common sense and if their not sure about something dont do it.


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## clearance (May 6, 2009)

Fencepost it!


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## mile9socounty (May 7, 2009)

Chunk it, [email protected] cut it, picket fence. All the same to me. I would tackle it without thinking twice.


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## slowp (May 7, 2009)

My solution will be to drive quickly underneath it and go do the stuff I know how to do. I'll mention it to the experts though. They might want some practice.

More hard rain this morning.


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## Gologit (May 7, 2009)

mile9socounty said:


> Chunk it, [email protected] cut it, picket fence. All the same to me. I would tackle it without thinking twice.



Probably you would...but did you notice the phrase "spring loaded trees it's hung up in" ? Might be a bear trap there.

It's a good picture but it doesn't tell us everything. It's really hard to make an objective decision about a tree from just one picture. If Slowp gave it a good leaving alone there might be more here than meets the eye.

More pictures, please. And more description. opcorn:


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## smokechase II (May 7, 2009)

*code of the rock*

On the district (Bend/Ft Rock RD), I worked on before retiring we had standards.

One was that we never ever cut a down Lodgepole that we could drive around, over, under or through.

===========

A road that was overgrown was known has a Ft Rock car wash.

===========

What was annoying was when mini trucks came through and observed the 6" maximum cut out rule. (Never cut a road 7"+ wider than your vehicle.)
We'd have to get out and cut 4-8" long sections out of everything.


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## slowp (May 7, 2009)

OK, I'll get my camera wet again. Yup, across the road are one or two bent over loaded trees in the same size range, holding it up. If I were a faller, my solution would be to try to knock it out with another tree. I think that's what our two guys did with a similar situation on a busy road--and prior to cutting cleared out two nice escape routes. Then the one guy cut, I stood traffic detail, and the other guy watched his partner and began yelling for him to get out of there. They've worked together 25 years.

Reality? The wind will bring it down one of these days, or the logger, if the market improves so he can finish the unit up the road.


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## slowp (May 7, 2009)

smokechase II said:


> On the district (Bend/Ft Rock RD), I worked on before retiring we had standards.
> 
> One was that we never ever cut a down Lodgepole that we could drive around, over, under or through.
> 
> ...



Kind of that way here, except then I get chewed out for scratching the rig up.
And, the new CB antenna gets knocked off and then dangles annoyingly banging into the rear window. 

This road already has 3 extra large speed bumps on it. Some people call them slides. I'm curious if the repaired culvert stayed in place. 

I told the fire guy that I'm opening it up so the people can drive up farther to dump their garbage. The tree picture was taken only 5 miles from "downtown".


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## mile9socounty (May 7, 2009)

Gologit said:


> Probably you would...but did you notice the phrase "spring loaded trees it's hung up in" ? Might be a bear trap there.
> 
> It's a good picture but it doesn't tell us everything. It's really hard to make an objective decision about a tree from just one picture. If Slowp gave it a good leaving alone there might be more here than meets the eye.
> 
> More pictures, please. And more description. opcorn:



Very true Gologit. I do recall Slowp saying the tree was hung up in a spring loaded tree. More pictures would be nice, but I'm only working with what I can see.


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## Philbert (May 7, 2009)

Can you get a long rope or chain around it and pull it down?

Philbert


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## RPM (May 7, 2009)

slowp said:


> My solution will be to drive quickly underneath it and go do the stuff I know how to do. I'll mention it to the experts though. They might want some practice.
> 
> More hard rain this morning.



And no one is going fault you for doing so. Knowing your limitations is what helps you from being part of some 'statistic' !


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## mercer_me (May 7, 2009)

Philbert said:


> Can you get a long rope or chain around it and pull it down?



Ya, pulling it down with a long rope or chain would be the safest and easiest. If you can't just keep taking 4 foot chunks off the bottom until it falls down.


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## IndyIan (May 7, 2009)

mercer_me said:


> Ya, pulling it down with a long rope or chain would be the safest and easiest. If you can't just keep taking 4 foot chunks off the bottom until it falls down.



Whats the best way to chunk something like this down? I've done a couple smaller (40' tall softwood) trees by cutting a notch on the compressed side to make a hinge and do the back cut to have it fold towards the tree its hung up on. 
Seemed to work ok but trees that size are pretty forgiving compared to something big.


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## Philbert (May 7, 2009)

IndyIan said:


> Whats the best way to chunk something like this down? I've done a couple smaller (40' tall softwood) trees by cutting a notch on the compressed side to make a hinge and do the back cut to have it fold towards the tree its hung up on. Seemed to work ok but trees that size are pretty forgiving compared to something big.



On smaller trees you can cut straight upward (would be at an angle, relative to the tree trunk) from the tension side to the compression side, allowing the cut to open up. Then the tree drops, which may be in an unpredictable manner.

If a larger tree drops like that, it could get exciting (or deadly). In this case, he said that it is lying on a spring pole tree, which could pitch the leaning tree when it is cut loose. That is why I suggested using a rope or chain to drag the leaning tree off of the spring pole, hopefully to the ground, where it can be cut up, and the spring pole can be released.

I suppose that with the right rigging, skill, and an approriate anchor tree, the leaning tree might also be lifted off of the spring pole?

Philbert


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## wood4heat (May 7, 2009)

Dynamite and a looooong fuse. :bringit:


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## Philbert (May 7, 2009)

wood4heat said:


> Dynamite and a looooong fuse.



(Extreme beavers)

Philbert


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## wood4heat (May 7, 2009)

Philbert said:


> (Extreme beavers)
> 
> Philbert



I hope this isn't considered a :arg: but anyone remember the machine canon (just can't see calling it a minigun) Jessie Ventura carried in Predator? The one they used to mow down the jungle after he was killed? Take one O them up there and make sawdust out of it! :hmm3grin2orange:


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## Metals406 (May 7, 2009)

I vote for knocking it out with another tree... Just because you get to cut another tree down.


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## Philbert (May 7, 2009)

*I saw this in Texas . .*

I think that I posted this somewhere else on A.S., but seems appropriate here. Saw it in Texas being used to cut back right-of-way trees along state highways. 

Pretty simple hybrid of a Sherman tank, utility bucket boom arm, and buzz saw. There is a seat, but I seem to recall seeing one operated with a remote control box so that the operator can walk behind at a safe distance.

Might be worth purchasing for this one tree?

Philbert


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## HorseShoeInFork (May 7, 2009)

Snatch block it to a tree back off in the woods and pull the bottom back till it falls.....or call one of these guys.....

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7NLHt4zgvrg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7NLHt4zgvrg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oceC9DzDLlE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oceC9DzDLlE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>


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## Philbert (May 7, 2009)

I want to see more of the saw and less of the helicopter. Is this in use or just something someone was trying?

Philbert


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## HorseShoeInFork (May 7, 2009)

Believe it or not these are all over the country. I see them trim a major HV transmission line every couple of years. It's kinda freaky weird when you first see it. Google it or youtube it. There are alot of them.


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## Cletuspsc (May 7, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQgt5YiD0w&feature=related

kinda off topic but heres one I found a while back. . . . pritty cool i think


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## Cletuspsc (May 7, 2009)

LOL looks like i wasentfast enough


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## slowp (May 7, 2009)

No pictures of it for a while. I have to hang a lot of blue flagging in another area of the woods. And tear it down, wander about muttering to myself, and rehang it. Did I mention there's still snow? And it snowed and rained and sunned and rained and ....today?
But, when I can, if it hasn't blown down, I'll try for a picture.

Maybe draw it from memory?


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## hammerlogging (May 7, 2009)

slowp, if you give it a look up top, see if you think if it will roll out maybe. If so, cut it from the top, watch the bind, and as it starts the roll just trim what wood is left with your tip till it falls, trimming out the non binding sideof the cut. If it don't look like its going to roll out, cut down from the top till its gonna bind, then undercut a good 4-6 inches out from your downcut for a sort-of-locking bypass. When it pops, it shouldn't move too much. hook chain and pull butt out down the road.

Yes, there's tension, but not tension like a dozer crammed it all up in there. Pretty simple tension.

Be careful, have someone with you. Way to go do it yourself! Or, have one of them logger types do it and be sure to pint fingers and laugh when they get hung.


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## Ed*L (May 8, 2009)

Philbert said:


> I think that I posted this somewhere else on A.S., but seems appropriate here. Saw it in Texas being used to cut back right-of-way trees along state highways.
> 
> Pretty simple hybrid of a Sherman tank, utility bucket boom arm, and buzz saw. There is a seat, but I seem to recall seeing one operated with a remote control box so that the operator can walk behind at a safe distance.
> 
> ...



Probably made by theese guys: http://www.jarraff.com/models.html


There was a wheeled one working the powerline right-of-ways in my area this spring. It was teamed up with a Cat tracked skidsteer that had a bull-hog on it.
The Jarraff dropped the limbs & the Cat ground it all up.

It was interesting when the operator got the saw blade stuck, the skidsteer operator would put on climbing gear, grab a chainsaw and climb up the tree to cut it loose.
Ed


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## slowp (May 8, 2009)

hammerlogging said:


> slowp, if you give it a look up top, see if you think if it will roll out maybe. If so, cut it from the top, watch the bind, and as it starts the roll just trim what wood is left with your tip till it falls, trimming out the non binding sideof the cut. If it don't look like its going to roll out, cut down from the top till its gonna bind, then undercut a good 4-6 inches out from your downcut for a sort-of-locking bypass. When it pops, it shouldn't move too much. hook chain and pull butt out down the road.
> 
> Yes, there's tension, but not tension like a dozer crammed it all up in there. Pretty simple tension.
> 
> Be careful, have someone with you. Way to go do it yourself! Or, have one of them logger types do it and be sure to pint fingers and laugh when they get hung.




It'll have to be somebody else. That tree is too scary for me plus, I only have a card good for bucking. If it were on its side it would be OK. I can count on my fingers all the merch size standing trees I've fallen with a normal saw. That isn't very many, and certainly not enough to cut that thing down. The willow of doom was cut on my own time. But, thanks for the advice. 

Nope, I'm heading back up to do the walk on top of the snow most of the time with an occasional sudden breaking through the snow and muttering inefficient language, hanging up flagging, then more inefficient language, and tearing down flagging...we call it unit layout.


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## Metals406 (May 8, 2009)

slowp said:


> It'll have to be somebody else. That tree is too scary for me plus, I only have a card good for bucking. If it were on its side it would be OK. I can count on my fingers all the merch size standing trees I've fallen with a normal saw. That isn't very many, and certainly not enough to cut that thing down. The willow of doom was cut on my own time. But, thanks for the advice.
> 
> Nope, I'm heading back up to do the walk on top of the snow most of the time with an occasional sudden breaking through the snow and muttering inefficient language, hanging up flagging, then more inefficient language, and tearing down flagging...we call it unit layout.



Slowp... Do you use a little hand held GPS to mark unit boundaries?


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## Raymond (May 8, 2009)

Just undercut it through at the bottom, one cut, no notch.
It'll drop down and stay hung up in the trees above, guarantee ya.
Then with a chain, Ford Tough it down in the road.

Hell even a Chevy or Dodge might do it.


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## Raymond (May 8, 2009)

OVER KILL!





Just cut it like I said, you'll be fine.
You want me to do it?


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## Philbert (May 8, 2009)

Of course it is 'Over Kill' for this single tree. 

But it's still a very cool idea, and looks pretty practical for its intended purpose.

Thanks Ed*L for the link - turns out they are close to 'home'. Will have to swing by there sometime when I am in that part of the start.

Philbert


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## Philbert (May 8, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Just undercut it through at the bottom, one cut, no notch. It'll drop down and stay hung up in the trees above, guarantee ya.
> Then with a chain, Ford Tough it down in the road.



I was thinking of trying to pull it off of the spring tree _before_ cutting - would be concerned about the cut tree getting 'launched' in an unpredictable direction once it got cut loose at the base.

Ford, Chevy, Dodge, International, Case, Cat, Deere, hand winch,. . . no preference.

Philbert


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## Raymond (May 8, 2009)

*See ya tonight....rain has stopped and I surely have something to do.*



Philbert said:


> I was thinking of trying to pull it off of the spring tree _before_ cutting - would be concerned about the cut tree getting 'launched' in an unpredictable direction once it got cut loose at the base.
> 
> Ford, Chevy, Dodge, International, Case, Cat, Deere, hand winch,. . . no preference.
> 
> Philbert


Nah Philbert I've done many of these.
It WILL drop down two feet closer to the upright pines, staying put, like it is. Their is enough lean it wont fall. Just have to watch your toes is all. Just lean forward with the longest bar (don't even have to be long really) and go slow at the end, she'll fold, drop and stay put.

I hear ya though. When you have something with another tree involved something could go wrong. But in this case the other trees will help.


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## Raymond (May 8, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Nah Philbert I've done many of these.
> It WILL drop down two feet closer to the upright pines, staying put, like it is. Their is enough lean it wont fall. Just have to watch your toes is all. Just lean forward with the longest bar (don't even have to be long really) and go slow at the end, she'll fold, drop and stay put.
> 
> I hear ya though. When you have something with another tree involved something could go wrong. But in this case the other trees will help.


And yeah undercut, no notch. Hell you could probably do it a couple more times but no need to.


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## TreEmergencyB (May 8, 2009)

Raymond said:


> And yeah undercut, no notch. Hell you could probably do it a couple more times but no need to.



i know one guy who use to undercut em till they stood straight, fell, or flopped over the other way lol, we somtimes he'd put a rope in it after a couple cuts to pull it our way

o course that tree has to much lean to ever come back but i thought i would share that


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## Raymond (May 8, 2009)

TreEmergencyB said:


> i know one guy who use to undercut em till they stood straight, fell, or flopped over the other way lol, we somtimes he'd put a rope in it after a couple cuts to pull it our way
> 
> o course that tree has to much lean to ever come back but i thought i would share that


Yeah when we show up on storm jobs and a lead or tree is like that.
The first thing my help wants to do is pull it to the ground.

I'm like, dude leave it alone. You pull it down now I'll have to bend over. 
Just leave it alone I'll bring it down in pieces.

But yeah when it's going straight up it could go bad.


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## treeclimber101 (May 8, 2009)

Why don't you just leave it there ,whats the odds at the precise time when passing under it , it falls an crushes something , pretty unlikely right, why do today what will sure as hell wait til tommorow .. And guess what else when it does fall you may not even here it if no one is there... trees just like that stand for yrs. somtimes continually growing, so do the " green thing " and use your time more wisely and get hammer drunk ...


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## Rftreeman (May 8, 2009)

Just under cut the thing and be ready to run if needed, there's no need to worry about loaded trees unless you need to cut one of them, it should roll or fall off the trees holding it up.


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## arbadacarba (May 9, 2009)

Doesn't look like too tough a proposition. Cable it up about three feet up to pull from the far side and do a vertical notch square to the base on the foreground side. tighten up on the cable and do your back cut on the background side. Do a regular undercut rather than a humbolt so the tree has a sliding face and can't dig in as far if it goes straight down. This puts less strain on your equipment. 

It looks like you have plenty of places to run a snatch block from on the left hand side. This will keep you quite safe, and reduce the load on whatever is doing the pulling quite nicely. It also looks like you have plenty of places on the right hand side to hide behind a standing tree once the tree begins to go. Having a clear escape route is an imperative whenever you fall a tree, so brush out your route to the base of whichever trunk is in the best position to protect you from any potential movement (including straight back! - happens more times than people expect. ) Think of well anchored standing trees as your allies and you are halfway there in situations like this.

Think it through, look at the tree carefully, and it will come down more easily than you might think.


One thing I disagree on is the use of a pusher tree in this instance. First of all the picture says that a pusher is not needed and secondly, the canopy is too dense to allow any of the potential pushers on the right hand side to get through. You'll end up with one more tree hung up and more of a problem.

Blocking it down is a possibility, but would be far more dangerous to you and would be a waste of good millable wood. Better to sharpen up your felling skills!

Good luck!


( And I fully sympathise on the amount of work you have to do on the road. Every time we get a Northerly in the winter down come the powerlines and out come the chainsaws :bang


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## slowp (May 9, 2009)

Metals406 said:


> Slowp... Do you use a little hand held GPS to mark unit boundaries?



Nope. This place has always been behind the times. I was wishing for a Trimble Geo Explorer. You can load photos in them, if somebody knows how, then it'll put your position on the photo. Nope, it is map, photo, compass and muttering. Yesterday, was on a bearing, flagging away, then ran into the spur location too early. Unoriginal language, then some recon, flagging and then tearing down of wrong line. Meanwhile, The Used Dog was swimming in an icy pond, pushing old chunks of wood around like a tug boat. 

The one side was easy, follow the old fireline. I've worked here long enough to remember how the broadcast burning went. Firelines were put around the clearcuts to keep the hose from burning up. Every unit had a hose lay around it before the burning. 

Oops I have strayed. Nope, I won't cut that tree. But the discussions are interesting.


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## Metals406 (May 9, 2009)

slowp said:


> Nope. This place has always been behind the times. I was wishing for a Trimble Geo Explorer. You can load photos in them, if somebody knows how, then it'll put your position on the photo. Nope, it is map, photo, compass and muttering. Yesterday, was on a bearing, flagging away, then ran into the spur location too early. Unoriginal language, then some recon, flagging and then tearing down of wrong line. Meanwhile, The Used Dog was swimming in an icy pond, pushing old chunks of wood around like a tug boat.
> 
> The one side was easy, follow the old fireline. I've worked here long enough to remember how the broadcast burning went. Firelines were put around the clearcuts to keep the hose from burning up. Every unit had a hose lay around it before the burning.
> 
> Oops I have strayed. Nope, I won't cut that tree. But the discussions are interesting.



So should we have a "Get slowp a GPS--Arboristsite fund raiser?"... Hmmm, it would make your life easier... But we wouldn't get good stories of compasses, swearing, the Used Dog, and flagging tape.


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## madhatte (May 9, 2009)

I'm with the Snatch-Block contingency. I'd want to get as much tension off before cutting as possible. 

Also: Trimble GeoExplorer GPS units rule. I use 'em every day. If you can afford it, get ArcPad. You can do layers and edit projects in the field. Oh, and the USFS is developing a great little cruise package called TwoTrails. I'm currently beta-testing it. I hope a stable version is released soon. It integrates FSCruiser, CruiseProcessing, and that timber theft program into a GIS. Best of all, you can dump the raw data as .SHP and open it in ArcPad right in the field!


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## Humptulips (May 10, 2009)

Slowp,
I agree with you. Leave it where it is. What would be the point in making some scary cut or some kind of off the wall holt with a buch of rigging you probably don't have. You can get to work with it where it is so get to work.
And yea you're going to pull that with a pickup. Some people don't have a clue.


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## Raymond (May 10, 2009)

*LOL Check it out...*

Send me two round trip plane tickets to Washington and back to KC.
Have a 12 pack of Miller Lites on ice, a grill ready with some good steaks, 
not some cheap crap and a couple good side dishes. 
And My wife and I will make the trip. And I'll drop that pine for ya.


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## slowp (May 10, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Send me two round trip plane tickets to Washington and back to KC.
> Have a 12 pack of Miller Lites on ice, a grill ready with some good steaks,
> not some cheap crap and a couple good side dishes.
> And My wife and I will make the trip. And I'll drop that pine for ya.



The tree is not a pine. It is a Western Hemlock. Hemlocks are heavy things.
Very heavy. Firewood cutters do not like them. I do not like them. They are simply heavy. 

The wind will take care of it, --eventually. The wind is free.


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## Raymond (May 10, 2009)

slowp said:


> The tree is not a pine. It is a Western Hemlock. Hemlocks are heavy things.
> Very heavy. Firewood cutters do not like them. I do not like them. They are simply heavy.
> 
> The wind will take care of it, --eventually. The wind is free.


Let Wendell get it, I hear ya.


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## Philbert (May 10, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Send me two round trip plane tickets to Washington and back to KC.
> Have a 12 pack of Miller Lites on ice, a grill ready with some good steaks,
> not some cheap crap and a couple good side dishes.
> And My wife and I will make the trip. And I'll drop that pine for ya.



Raymond,

You are starting to sound like some of those CraigsList offers. BTW, that was first class airfare, right? How about the hotel accommodations, car, and the rental saws?

Philbert


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## treeclimber101 (May 10, 2009)

How about my great idea and say :censored: that tree ,ignore it and one day it will be on the ground , drink some beer and enjoy your free time I think it makes a good deterent nobody will want to come your driveway ...


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## slowp (May 11, 2009)

I returned. And, much to my embarassment, it is not a hemlock but a Doug fir.
My Bad. Here's some pictures. To get good pictures, some trees around it should be dumped. 





Here's the bowed over tree. Perhaps our windy night last week unbowed it a bit?


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## Junior (May 11, 2009)

Looks a little spooky to me...


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## Raymond (May 11, 2009)

The magic word here is "Undercut" 
It wont go wrong... just sayin'


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## Rickytree (May 11, 2009)

I know that from the pic's you can't see or tell exactly how big the tree is or the situation but what if you were to cut the bottom free then attach a rope and pull the bottom out, or down the laneway?


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## Cletuspsc (May 11, 2009)

Cut it up and wad it with another. . .. .safest (not really) and the most fun to do. Heck who dosent like smackin a tree over with another.


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## windthrown (May 11, 2009)

If it were on my property I would cut, drag and drop it. Looks more dangerous to leave it like that than the effort and risk of cutting and dragging it to the ground. I have done that to several Douggies and grand firs. Cut the base, and then wrap and drag out the base with long chains or tow straps with a tractor.


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## Raymond (May 11, 2009)

Cutting it at the base is what bothers him.

He's cool with ripping it down the road, he just don't wanna cut it.


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## Metals406 (May 11, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Cutting it at the base is what bothers him.
> 
> He's cool with ripping it down the road, he just don't wanna cut it.



Ummmm, slowp is a woman. Paula I believe?


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## Raymond (May 11, 2009)

Metals406 said:


> Ummmm, slowp is a woman. Paula I believe?


 Really? Well I'll be damn. My Bad!


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## Metals406 (May 11, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Really? Well I'll be damn. My Bad!



You should give her 'false male appendage rep'! Hahahaha


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## madhatte (May 12, 2009)

Meanwhilst: 

Had one of those moments today. Cutting a blowdown out of a road, could see the tension on the log from where it skinned a neighboring tree on the way down, cut it close to the butt to keep well clear of the log when it swung clear. Oddly tough cut. Ran out of gas with about 1/2" of holding wood in the center. Filled 'er up... barely touched chain to wood before the log dropped straight down, and the bastid rootwad sat up in its hole. Now, it's not like I'd never seen that happen before, and it's not like I wasn't outta the way, but the lesson here is that you have to be careful. Tension on several axes is unpredictable -- a vector sum -- and is not to be trifled with. 

Slowp's leaner could go several ways. Just undercutting it could result in the rootwad sitting up or the stem barberchairing, or it could drop free and swing back, or it could just fall cleanly bit by bit. None of us are there to size it up, so none of us can judge it. I maintain that the safest course of action would be to either let gravity take its course (I have made that decision more than once) or to lever the butt away from a safe distance. I would be WAY less than enthusiastic about any solution that involved putting saw to leaner.


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## Raymond (May 12, 2009)

*LOL I give up*

Bring in a helicopter, hell bring in two.
Bring in a crane to spot the helicopters 
and a bigger crane to spot the other crane.


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## Rickytree (May 12, 2009)

Raymond said:


> Bring in a helicopter, hell bring in two.
> Bring in a crane to spot the helicopters
> and a bigger crane to spot the other crane.



Hell the first Copter will blow the thing down!! Problem Solved!


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## bullbuck (May 13, 2009)

good call slowp,id just wait for the next guy that bumps down the road that cannot stand having a hanger there and let him sweat it out!


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## slowp (May 13, 2009)

bullbuck said:


> good call slowp,id just wait for the next guy that bumps down the road that cannot stand having a hanger there and let him sweat it out!




The wind can be our friend.


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## slowp (May 13, 2009)

Today, the Scary Tree was visited by an independent professional West Coast
timber faller, who pronounced it as a scary tree. Nope, you couldn't whack it from the bottom up, and you'd better have a couple of good escape routes to go to, and you'd better look at what it is hung up in. There's a lot of energy stored up. Nope, I told him not to cut it as it would involve too much paperwork.

Here is Gologit sizing up the Scary Tree. 




Note the new Toyota Tacoma in the background. It was initiated as a woods pickup on the nasty road to the scary tree. Some rubbing on brush and one thunk of the undercarriage while negotiating a slide.


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## Gologit (May 13, 2009)

slowp said:


> Today, the Scary Tree was visited by an independent professional West Coast
> timber faller, who pronounced it as a scary tree. Nope, you couldn't whack it from the bottom up, and you'd better have a couple of good escape routes to go to, and you'd better look at what it is hung up in. There's a lot of energy stored up. Nope, I told him not to cut it as it would involve too much paperwork.
> 
> Here is Gologit sizing up the Scary Tree.
> ...



That's quite a tree and there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. It's growing from below the road so there's heavy stress on the point where it rests on the road edge. It then bows out in the opposite direction in a long curve to where it's hung up in several trees up the hill on the other side of the road. Two serious tension areas in two different directions and the only one you can reach with a saw is the one coming up from the downhill side of the road. Even that is limited...the downhill side is clear but you wouldn't want to stand there...the uphill side is under about three feet of brush and slash, real foot grabbers.

I had my saws and tools but Slowp wouldn't let me cut it...and it's her wood. I'm not on the paperwork for that area and if anything bad would have happened Slowp would be retiring early.

I think the only smart thing to do is wait for the wind to do it's job. It's not a heavily traveled road this time of the year. If it had to be cut I think a series of small relieving cuts starting from the butt might be a good way to start. If you could get enough stress off that way you could think about bucking some of it and skidding the rest out at an angle. But...you'd want to stay light on your feet and be ready to fly.

And the Tacoma in the picture is _mine._ LOL...I still haven't figured out how we wound up using _my_ pickup but it's definitely got it's first brush scratches and slide bumps now.


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## bullbuck (May 13, 2009)

hey well if the tree can survive its own load it can be a good reference point as in go just past the green tree,or turn right at the big stump by the rock,this will be next turn after the ####in scary ass hanger!


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