first palm take down

[imagineero]

Did my first palm take down last week, it doesnt get hot enough for them to grow where I live but I was up north visiting friends and had my saws and gear, friend said he had a friend who needed a palm removed. Guys seem to complain a lot about palms, so I quoted a bit high, tree was just over 30' and 20", HO to dispose of all the timber, all I had to do was get it on the ground and buck it up. I quoted $300.

I'd read a lot about how crappy palms are to work with, burn your skin, make you itchy, wreck your saw etc, I've got to say it was by far the easiest take down I did this year. Nice clear felling path and didn't have to climb it, had it on the ground in a few minutes. No limbing to be done, just all trunk and i bucked up beautifully and much faster than I expected. Had the whole job done in about 20 minutes, packed up my gear and was on my way feeling guilty about how much I'd charged for the job. Made sure to clean my saw down real good.

Did I get lucky or are palm guys soft? I don't know enough about palms to say what species it was.

Shaun

 

[ozzy42]

Did my first palm take down last week, it doesnt get hot enough for them to grow where I live but I was up north visiting friends and had my saws and gear, friend said he had a friend who needed a palm removed. Guys seem to complain a lot about palms, so I quoted a bit high, tree was just over 30' and 20", HO to dispose of all the timber, all I had to do was get it on the ground and buck it up. I quoted $300.

I'd read a lot about how crappy palms are to work with, burn your skin, make you itchy, wreck your saw etc, I've got to say it was by far the easiest take down I did this year. Nice clear felling path and didn't have to climb it, had it on the ground in a few minutes. No limbing to be done, just all trunk and i bucked up beautifully and much faster than I expected. Had the whole job done in about 20 minutes, packed up my gear and was on my way feeling guilty about how much I'd charged for the job. Made sure to clean my saw down real good.

Did I get lucky or are palm guys soft? I don't know enough about palms to say what species it was.

Shaun

You answered your own question about getting lucky.You didn't have to climb it.

They aren't hard to climb,but cutting the wood while climbing can be a P.I.T.A. on some species. I find the head [or crown as some say] to really suck when chunking down. Queens and royals seem to be harder than cocos and cabbage IMO.Even a pretty small palm can have a head that is reall fat,and really heavy,and when over a target can be a bit challenging.Then when you start chunkin logs down you have to deal with having the fibers seemingly close back up after you get the bar in far enough. Often times I will start the cut just enough til it starts to bog down from being pinched,then pull out and start cutting 1/8 inch higher .WOT after that .

These are some of the pleasures of removing a live palm in sections.
Dead ones aren't any funner .Added to the things I described above there is a gross foul smell that emits from them and holding wood that is very inconsistant.

They aren't all that bad after you figure them out ,but I'd rather do real trees.

 

[Koa Man]

Did I get lucky or are palm guys soft? I don't know enough about palms to say what species it was.

Shaun

Palm guys are a bunch of wimps who complain about everything.