Boss wants this out of creek...safest way advice please

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Just keep cutting blocks. You are going to get your feet wet but you'll dry. Looks pretty simple from here.

yeah, that is good advice. hay farm manager?? you got plenty of 'rural' type experience... so call on it, and use it to guide you... if it was mine, and I had the gap to the water... to deal with etc... I would cut it into chunks... 1/4 down for each cut... use other woods to support it or wedges... take wedges out, be careful... its heavy and will 'splash' big as hits water... be sure no brookies in there... lol... of course... could let it sit there in the interest of time and safety... see if the water can move it next rains... work on the one on gound first...

bottom line is whatever... just don't get hurt... it is a precariously set trunk... not an easy bucking job... Think Safety At All Times....

keep us posted...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

100' of 3/8" cable is cheap, and shouldn't break right away. Others wise chunk it and toss it, try to work form the up creek side if possible, and start from the side closest to the the ground, being more and more careful the closer to the high bank you get. but also around here cutting in the creeks and swamps is a no no.

>100' of 3/8" cable is cheap,

hadn't thot of 'dragging' it down first... and had thot cable mite be a smart way to deal with it... come-a-long it via another tree for example. once off back and out of water and on dry portion of river's bed the elements of danger get significantly reduced...

 

[Philbert]

I shall help 2dogs.

Nice to see you 'back' Patti!

Philbert

 

[rwoods]

slowp, good to see you are still around. Ron

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

The best way to handle that is bore through 2/3 to the top side and cut down and out the bottom. Start at the lowest spot where you can bore through without hitting anything. You will have to do it from a knee position to start then they will get easier. If you don't start from the bottom,it will keep getting closer to the rocks as each cut will open up from the weight creating sage. Once you have all your blocks 2/3 cut into what will be manageable pieces. then start back at the low end and underbuck off your blocks. When you get about 7 ft left underbuck in half and flip the big end down. If it hasn't fallen, now line it up to Finnish underbucks. Don't be cutting on the same side that it keeps moving to as it gets shorter and steeper.

respectfully, I do not think this is the best way to do it. I think the best way to do it is to drag it off the bank, out of the water... and cut it with you 100% in control. cutting is where it is now is not you in 100% control...

as is, can you say: DANGER!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

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I shall help 2dogs. First, is it a fish bearing stream (does it have fish in it?) Looks like it might be a perennial stream (dries up part of the year) which would not be a fish bearing stream. But there are other considerations to take into account.

Next, google Oregon Forest Practices act. It'll basically say to leave down trees in creeks. If your boss is into "Chi" she or he ought to be in touch with goodness for the fish and the land. Educate yourself and then educate your boss.

Note the erosion of the stream bank. It's going to go erode faster with that tree gone. Trees in streams slow water down, make pools for critters and are not a bad thing to have there. Too late now. It used to be the thing to clean every little piece of wood out of the creeks. Now we're putting wood back in streams and rivers--even using helicopters to place logs in rivers.

Read people. Learn about real forestry and land stewardship. It's more than moving equipment in and cutting things up. Another shot at another angle, like up or down the creek would help even more.

so many thots and offers of advice. certainly learning more about stewardship of woodlots and streams a good idea. to me, it looks as if the tree fell R to L. consequently, don't think it will affect that bank. if so, not materially. looking into the pix, does appear stream upstream is dry currently. these types of streams we call down here 'seasonal creeks'. all things considered... if it was my place and my stream... I would like to clean it up. haul it out and onto dry land... and buck it.

good thread, imo.... very interesting!

 

[LittleLebowski]

It looks like a cake walk from here, but have been doing tree removal for at least 40 years. You are wise to act cautiously. I have seen many beginners break a foot ankle or even a leg. Start with a chain rope or what ever you have to secure the log in place so when you are cutting it it does not roll onto you. You will need to make several cuts under the log to keep from pinching your saw. So if you are more comfortable in cutting from the top then you will need a few wedges preferably not steel. If you have some hardwood available cut several narrow wedges with your saw out of some good size limbs. If you use limbs that are attached to something then you will not have to have them secured while cutting them. So cut haft way through your log then drive your wedges from the top to keep your saw from pinching. you can then cut all the way through the log before it drops. Pick a point in the middle so you do not have to repeat the process for every cut. Take it slowly and be safe. Cuts and scraps heal, but other injuries may not ever heal. Thanks

Posts like this are why I love this place.

I hope that the landowner does what she wants with the tree.

 

[madhatte]

I can't imagine wanting to get rid of such a nice bridge. Boggles me mind.

 

[rwoods]

I can't imagine wanting to get rid of such a nice bridge. Boggles me mind.

Same here. And shave a flat across the top for us shod without corks. Ron

 

[2dogs]

Hi Patti. It is nice to see you here again. We have some nice redwood logs in the river that fell last fall. 4' dbh and 3 more a little smaller. I would really like to get those trophies down to the Lucas mill but the law is the law. Oh well, the fish are happy.

Is Bob sending you any frozen fish?

 

[HumboldtGilles]

Thank you for all the advice. SlowP, I'm actually a fisheries tech by profession, but have taken this farm job as it was convenient for the last year (fisheries work had me traveling a lot, wife and dogs sad). So yes, I divulged all the ecological impacts of removing that log and the benefits of leaving it, as she is old school and doesn't understand biological processes, she demands it gone. It is indeed a perennial stream and as far as I can tell no fish use it, electro-fishing it might be more conclusive hahaha. Ted Jenkins, I will go with your advice as we have plenty of chain rope laying around the barn, but as of now I won't ask her about the log cause she is slowly getting cenile and will hopefully just forget about it.

 

[Westboastfaller]

respectfully, I do not think this is the best way to do it. I think the best way to do it is to drag it off the bank, out of the water... and cut it with you 100% in control. cutting is where it is now is not you in 100% control...


as is, can you say: DANGER!

Well that's good, like I said, we look at everything. Control our environment, recognize our limits,
and exercise our right to refuse unsafe work. If that's the best way for you and some others to be 100% safe then that's where you need to be. Saftey is everyone's responsibility. If what's pictured was the limit of difficulty to my job I would say my job wasn't very dangerous. A new bucker with a basic course on binds, bucking sequences and working from the 'highside' (safe side) would be competent at this level or maybe it's not for them?