Felling a Windblown Hung up tree

[Woody912]

Looking for advice on taking this ash down as I do not have a ton of experience with leaners or trees under tension. You can see the crack up the middle so a barber chair is my main concern. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have a red oak about 6x that big, same lean with a crack. Unless I can get my hands on some dynamite or c4 that sumbitch is going to have to fall down by itself. I have enough ash to cut for now. If somebody held a gun on me to cut your tree I would wrap it with everything I could find and then bore cut it. But listen to the pros, I ain't one

 

[jetsam]

You can burn them down too, especially if they're already a split up barberchair-in-progress . Advantage is that you can stand further away than the tree is tall. Disadvantages are that it isn't fast, not guaranteed to even work, and you have to put the fire out.

Knew a guy who said he did it with black powder. He said it worked great but it sounds expensive to me!

I've also shot a tree down with a .22, but that took multiple years and several kids shooting at it.... that stump is probably still there because it's made of lead now.

 

[Tyler Vosters]

Finally took down this ash tree! Got greedy cutting the wedge and pinched the saw twice but all in all it fell perfectly! I thought for sure it was not going to release from the trees it was hung up in but it dropped right out.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jGFwWyNegz3JZhPw6

 

[Brufab]

Finally took down this ash tree! Got greedy cutting the wedge and pinched the saw twice but all in all it fell perfectly! I thought for sure it was not going to release from the trees it was hung up in but it dropped right out.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jGFwWyNegz3JZhPw6

Nice work, every tree felled is one more bit of knowledge learned. I personally wouldn't bore cut a dead ash, the trees have a mind of there own sometimes and pounding a wedge to hard can cause branches to fall and hit the feller. Usually I reserve the bore cut for veneer quality trees or to test really bignpopple trees for center rot.

 

[Tyler Vosters]

Yeah I didn’t bore cut. Essentially just cut it like a standard tree but had a solid escape route/strategy.

 

[kevcam.111]

** disregard... i should have read the rest of the thread before asking an already answered quiestion...

60° off the lean to the pond side.
Should spin and flop out of the trees..
This way you have mitigated the lean/crack opposed to falling with the lean.

what do you mean by 60 degree off the lean? if the stump is bisected we are looking at 360 degrees, so 60 degrees towards the pond from the lean is where the notch should be made/aimed,or am i misunderstanding?

new member to the forum some knowledge but still much to learn so i am just asking because im not confident in my interpretation. thanks

 

[catbuster]

Alright, armchair quarterbacks, how do you propose taking this down? It is a wind blown hung up tree. It’s about two miles, two steep draws and a big pile or giant rocks from a road, so a machine isn’t getting near it.

I can come up with two options, and lobbing another tree isn’t one of them. It’s just not going to work with the canopy, nor is there a good tree behind me to smash it with-you’ll have to trust me on that part.

 

[uniballer]

How big is that thing? The classic (and relatively safe) move is to cut it loose from the stump and pull it back off the tree it is hung up in. But without a machine to pull it you are left with using a come-along or other winch (slow and tedious).

If there is no crisis of time or safety then maybe just let it fall on its own.

 

[arathol]

View attachment 998910

Alright, armchair quarterbacks, how do you propose taking this down? It is a wind blown hung up tree. It’s about two miles, two steep draws and a big pile or giant rocks from a road, so a machine isn’t getting near it.

I can come up with two options, and lobbing another tree isn’t one of them. It’s just not going to work with the canopy, nor is there a good tree behind me to smash it with-you’ll have to trust me on that part.

Two miles from the middle of nowhere......whats the worry? Leave it, it will fall soon enough.

 

[northmanlogging]

I'm guessing a trail, or some other recreational purpose, which doesn't matter. If its gotta come down then...
I see 4 options, chunk it from the stump up until it drops free, which is the easy option, but not necessarily the safest.
cut the tree its hung in, called a bear trap for a reason, be ready to run fast, probably the least safe option.
The safe option would be to climb the healthy stem, and cut the branch thats holding everything up, being very very careful in the order of your cuts, and making damned sure that the root structure of the live tree isn't compromised. still not very safe
the last and least practical would be to cut the stump free and come-a-long until it drops free, the hazard being back slip etc and also a **** load of work while 2 miles from transportation.

 

[dboyd351]

put up a sign "see the tree? - follow the trail at your own risk"

 

[catbuster]

How big is that thing? The classic (and relatively safe) move is to cut it loose from the stump and pull it back off the tree it is hung up in. But without a machine to pull it you are left with using a come-along or other winch (slow and tedious).

If there is no crisis of time or safety then maybe just let it fall on its own.

I’d venture to say it’s ~24” at the base and 85-90’ long. The hickory holding it up is a noodle. That hunk is rotted and really nasty. Unfortunately it’s in shadow and hard to tell from the image.

The two options I could come up with didn’t involve a chainsaw. I was thinking either leave it be, or blast it if it absolutely has to come down. Of course, there’s licensing & stuff involved that I possess that most people don’t, so I look at things from a little different lens. However, in the words of Red Adair, “explosives are nothing but an expedient tool.”

Also, remember here we’re two miles from a road and it’s not a fun hike out. It’s going to take a long time to get out in case of injury. The closest trauma center is 60 miles away and the closest “I really messed myself up and I’ll wake up in two weeks” place is 80.

My point here was to reinforce that walking away is sometimes the best option.

 

[Woodslasher]

View attachment 998910

Alright, armchair quarterbacks, how do you propose taking this down? It is a wind blown hung up tree. It’s about two miles, two steep draws and a big pile or giant rocks from a road, so a machine isn’t getting near it.

I can come up with two options, and lobbing another tree isn’t one of them. It’s just not going to work with the canopy, nor is there a good tree behind me to smash it with-you’ll have to trust me on that part.

Det cord, or shoot the small limb fork with a big gun until the tree just falls off to the other side.

 

[oldbuzzard]

Doubt that Red Adair ever had the choice of walking away. If it is that far in and inaccessible I would leave it.

 

[rwoods]

View attachment 998910

Alright, armchair quarterbacks, how do you propose taking this down? It is a wind blown hung up tree. It’s about two miles, two steep draws and a big pile or giant rocks from a road, so a machine isn’t getting near it.

I can come up with two options, and lobbing another tree isn’t one of them. It’s just not going to work with the canopy, nor is there a good tree behind me to smash it with-you’ll have to trust me on that part.

I'm guessing a trail, or some other recreational purpose, which doesn't matter. If its gotta come down then...
I see 4 options, chunk it from the stump up until it drops free, which is the easy option, but not necessarily the safest.
cut the tree its hung in, called a bear trap for a reason, be ready to run fast, probably the least safe option.
The safe option would be to climb the healthy stem, and cut the branch thats holding everything up, being very very careful in the order of your cuts, and making damned sure that the root structure of the live tree isn't compromised. still not very safe
the last and least practical would be to cut the stump free and come-a-long until it drops free, the hazard being back slip etc and also a **** load of work while 2 miles from transportation.

CB, my suggestion is a twist on NM's option #3 - convince NM to walk up the leaner (with sharp caulks it should be a cake walk for him). Once to the top, he can bear hug the hickory with one arm, cut off the leaner's branch using his other arm, kick the leaner to the side, if necessary, with one or both of his free feet, then scamper down the hickory after the leaner falls. Or as big and strong as he is, you could just ask him to put his shoulder to the butt and walk it uphill.

Ron

PS to you and NM, I bought a midget dozer. I will report to you later.