# Trees hung up in other trees....



## IllinoisJim (Jan 5, 2010)

Looking for advice to deal with falling trees that get hung up in tops of other trees. Selectively cutting in a fairly thick forest so hard to avoid once in while. Mostly cutting dead or wind falls for firewood. Climbing is not an option. On one that hung up I resorted to putting a line on it about 6 feet up and pulling opposite the lean. Then cut a few feet off the bottom end and repeated until it was down. Probably not the best way but it worked...


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## outdoorlivin247 (Jan 5, 2010)

You mean like these...


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## IllinoisJim (Jan 5, 2010)

Yep. Like those.


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## gwiley (Jan 5, 2010)

If the hinge is broken those look like candidates for rolling with a cant hook or peavey. I found that the cant hook works like magic to unhang trees that have a modest canopy.


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## treeslayer (Jan 5, 2010)

jerk em off with a chain.


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## clutch25 (Jan 5, 2010)

treeslayer said:


> jerk em off with a chain.



Yep!


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## outdoorlivin247 (Jan 5, 2010)

I stole that picture from this thread...It has lots of suggestions...

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=116653


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## IllinoisJim (Jan 5, 2010)

*Hung up trees*

Thanks for the replies. It gives me some ideas. I like the cant hook suggestion - if it looks safe to be that close. That might do the trick in most cases.

As for "jerk em off with a chain" I can't get any serious equipment in most of the woods due to very steep hills. Maybe a portable winch or something similar... Or a LONG cable and several anchored blocks. But once its off the stump the end will dig in and take a LOT to pull it further.


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## Bermie (Jan 5, 2010)

FIRST determine which way it will want to roll when the hinge is severed...work at severing the hinge from the side OPPOSITE the way it might roll. Leave a bit of the hinge intact on the roll side to act as a pivot and to help control the descent...

BEWARE this is a dangerous operation and you should get someone to show you how to do it first if possible.

If it is well and truly stuck like in a fork you are going to have to winch the butt backwards after severing the hinge..make the anchor for whatever winch system you use up high to prevent the butt digging in the ground as you pull the tree back...

Removing hung ups can be tricky and dangerous.

NEVER: 
Walk under a hung up tree
Fell the tree the hungup is stuck in
fell another tree onto the hungup in the hope of dislodging it

Cutting pieces off the bottom is also dangerous because it is very hard to predict which way it will go as it gets more vertical...but experienced operators will attempt it, relying on their foundation of knowledge to keep them ahead of dangerous events...proceed with EXTREME CAUTION if you choose this route.


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## treejock1 (Jan 9, 2010)

NEVER: 
Walk under a hung up tree
Fell the tree the hungup is stuck in
fell another tree onto the hungup in the hope of dislodging it


ok folks how many of us have broken these rules-BE HONEST


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## Walt41 (Jan 9, 2010)

Be safe, throw a line over the highest point possible and attach a bull rope, find a safe anchor tree and use a come-along to pull them down, it might take a while but it beats a ride in an ambulance or a wheelchair or worse!


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## Bermie (Jan 9, 2010)

treejock1 said:


> NEVER:
> Walk under a hung up tree
> Fell the tree the hungup is stuck in
> fell another tree onto the hungup in the hope of dislodging it
> ...



Ok so someone with years of commercial experience might take the odd shortcut, but this is sound advice for a novice or a weekend warrior...
So much can go wrong with the complex forces hidden in the tangle...play it safe


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## treejock1 (Jan 9, 2010)

sorry,I was not insinuating that you should do these things, just wondering how many would if they had to.


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## Bermie (Jan 9, 2010)

treejock1 said:


> sorry,I was not insinuating that you should do these things, just wondering how many would if they had to.



S'ok...peace


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## Burvol (Jan 9, 2010)

*What the Heck?*



outdoorlivin247 said:


> You mean like these...



Notice the right tree is faced out, then raised to fall in. Notice the two large holes for both trees to left and the right of the stand. I cannot see any stakes, markers, buildings, fence, ect. in the way. If they figured they could throw it out, then realized the lean was worse than they thought, they should have been able to calculate it the other way. A tree will generally fall in three directions with a little or minimal wedging. Obviously in hardwoods there is tremendous crown weight and structure to hang up in, but these two lays appear to be open. If you know you have to do some wedging, set up your cuts and everything to do so right away. A lot of times your way ahead of the game by taking a few extra steps or some time to look at the lean and the lay.


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## clearance (Jan 9, 2010)

Fencepost them.


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## Bermie (Jan 10, 2010)

clearance said:


> Fencepost them.



Ummmmm??


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## canopyboy (Jan 10, 2010)

Maybe cutting off fencepost long pieces working up from the butt?


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## A. Stanton (Jan 10, 2010)

Jim,
you can always join the hang em high club with guys like me.


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## treesquirrel (Jan 10, 2010)

I usually find a way to strap or chain the base and drag them out by the base until they fall. Winch, 4x4, tractor, or whatever you can find.

I try to avoid cutting hung trees at all costs.


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## clearance (Jan 10, 2010)

Bermie said:


> Ummmmm??



Basically reaching up with the saw and cutting fenceposts. Not allowed, but it works great.


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## Bermie (Jan 10, 2010)

clearance said:


> Basically reaching up with the saw and cutting fenceposts. Not allowed, but it works great.



I wouldn't say 'not allowed'...more like don't do it unless you have LOTS of experience...and can run like helll


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## gwiley (Jan 11, 2010)

Bermie said:


> I wouldn't say 'not allowed'...more like don't do it unless you have LOTS of experience...and can run like helll



When he says lots of experience, he is thinking of a specific kind of experience. That is being able to identify the forces acting on the trees in this state and to be able to predict how those forces will release once a cut is made. Torsion (twisting) and compression/tension can be loaded on a hung tree in ways that you don't expect. The best way to be able to identify how these combined forces will move a tree is by having watched it before, actively predicted where the load is based on the tree structure and position and predicted how it will release, then understanding where your predictions were wrong and learning to improve those skills by watching another sawyer get tossed like a rag doll by a violent and unpredicted effect.


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## danieltree (Jan 11, 2010)

I only thought I knew how to cut trees till I worked a few hurricanes. I generaly do the fence post thing. When I cut I pay attention to what my kerf is doing and what the hung top is doing. Slow slow slow. cut a little and stop, you will get to a point that the kerf starts to open if you get it cut enough and stop at the right moment it will peal down slowly as you walk away to safety. I take small blocks usually no more than about 3 feet. As you cut the tree begins to straiten up this is were it gets dangerous. If the tree is not to big you can cut a lever and place it under the butt of the log and inch it back just pay attention because when they let go it happens quick sometime. I have put some large trees on the ground this way. If the angle is right and you can safely do it make a top cut then undercut so as to make the butt drop hard a few feet. this will knock the top loose sometimes. There are a lot of ways to skin this cat as each hung tree is different. My best answer for how to do this would have to be slow, study every cut and play it out in your head .​


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## Bermie (Jan 11, 2010)

gwiley said:


> When he says lots of experience, he is thinking of a specific kind of experience. That is being able to identify the forces acting on the trees in this state and to be able to predict how those forces will release once a cut is made. Torsion (twisting) and compression/tension can be loaded on a hung tree in ways that you don't expect. The best way to be able to identify how these combined forces will move a tree is by having watched it before, actively predicted where the load is based on the tree structure and position and predicted how it will release, then understanding where your predictions were wrong and learning to improve those skills by watching another sawyer get tossed like a rag doll by a violent and unpredicted effect.



THAT's what I mean...!

And the next fella who said 'go slow'...he's right too, because if you are going slow you can see when you got your prediction wrong (that WILL happen at some point) and have time to either correct or run!


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## treeslayer (Jan 11, 2010)

too slow can hurt ya though, sometimes. you gotta read the wood. barberchairs?

run like hell is the key thing sometimes.


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## canopyboy (Jan 11, 2010)

treesquirrel said:


> I usually find a way to strap or chain the base and drag them out by the base until they fall. Winch, 4x4, tractor, or whatever you can find.
> 
> I try to avoid cutting hung trees at all costs.



I had a dead pine get hung up once. Ok, more than once. But this one I wrapped a chain around the butt and figured I'd drag it out with the truck.

Ooops.












The other tree didn't want to let go and came with it. 

The truck was still relatively new to me, and I was feeling kind of cool about having ripped out an extra tree with it. Til I realized I had a lot more cleanup to do.

Dang it.


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## treeclimbertree (Jan 18, 2010)

Bermie said:


> I wouldn't say 'not allowed'...more like don't do it unless you have LOTS of experience...and can run like helll



Why cant you just spear cut and once the curf starts to close pull the saw out and bore cut through just under the first cut and drop them in?


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## foursaps (Jan 18, 2010)

guess i'm a member of this club too. selective cutting a small tract of land and had 2 hangups out of 18 trees last weekend. i hooked up the choker to the base (as low as i could), then hooked it to the atv. gave em a couple jerks and down they came. has worked multiple times, just keep an eye behind you to make sure nothing is going wrong.


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## Bermie (Jan 18, 2010)

treeclimbertree said:


> Why cant you just spear cut and once the curf starts to close pull the saw out and bore cut through just under the first cut and drop them in?



why can't you? I don't know because I can't quite picture what you are suggesting, and what if your tree is not thick enough for a bore?
The main thing when dealing with hungups is CONTROL...the straighter up and down the hungup is, the less predictable it becomes...and you end up working right underneath it...


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