loud cracking sound chuncking down spar

[(WLL)]

in the past month I've removed many trees and some have made a cracking sound when chunking down wood(2-3ft sections). it seems to be separating but has no visual signs. the first was an old locast spar with small lean. the tree would pop at mid cut and pinch my saw. i assumed lightning but saw no apparent signs. i was nervous. next time was a maple good healthy strait tree in poor spot. the popping was the same but no pinch this has happened on ash and oak. please help!

i have ben climbing for a long time now but i dont chunk down many in small pieces. has this happend to any 1 else?

 

[Ekka]

Probably tension/compression build in remaining spar.

Have had it occasionally on some gums, mainly ironbark.

My theory is it's fibres moving in the vertical plain like a barber chair does.

When the saw cut goes in they can move slightly up or down etc releasing energy similar to the techtonic plates of rock that make the earhquake sound.

 

[kkottemann]

You might have hit a patch of trees that at some point in time have had some serious storm damage like wind or ice. A tree will counter stresses by growing compression wood in a manner that will cause the wood to do crazy things. My throry is that you encountered some trees that were damaged some time ago and have had some time to pack on a good bit of compression wood and as a result you now are dealing with tension wood. Be damm careful. Since katrina I have had several pine trees splinter on me. When that happens, we call the crane. Saw mills are catching hell on logs that literally crumble when the saw hits them.

 

[coydog]

Thats a fairly normally occuring phenomenon when chunking down spars, it's characteristic of some woods especially, such as maple. locusts frequently have internal splits that spiral down the grain of the tree and are released when a short chunk is cut off them. It's very characteristic of Big Leaf Maple in the PNW.

 

[rbtree]

It's very characteristic of Big Leaf Maple in the PNW.

Yup, that it be, Mr Dog!!

 

[Davey Dog]

I have had this same thing happen in some maples and also in some eucs... The trees that I have had pop or clunk havent done anything else strange. I have had pines splinter and try and come apart on me with no warnings at all...?

 

[newguy18]

i've had it happen on the few sound oaks that i've removed but not on pine or maples.

 

[rbtree]

I've had maple split open a couple inches....definitely spooky.

Also heard about the time a maple split so far open that it sucked the climber into the trunk. His old flip line broke at the swaging, saving him a possible broken back. He fell back-into the other trunk...that and the crotch just below held him from falling. Don't know for sure if this is what really happened. Heard this a long time ago..coulda been a barger chair.....

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Happens with some poplar here, and other species that I cant quite think of. Still freaks me a little.