Old red oak on the ground

[Al Smith]

In June,I made a post,concerning a large,damaged red oak,that had to be removed.I had planed to take it down,in mid Nov.,but as it worked out,today was the time.It went off,without a problem,except the usual old equipment malfunctions.My buddy Tom brought his crew,which,I had not planed on,but it worked out great.We "jumped" the top 50 ft out.with my old Oliver crwler,as power,and then dropped about 45 ft of spar.My McCulloch sp 125,took a fit,so I had to put the 48"bar on the Homey 2100s,ole z4 out to lunch is going to love this,the dang Homey pulled that big bar,better than the Mac .,must be the red paint.The first pic,shows how far the crack in trunk extended,from about 45 ft up,wher the ax is

 

[Al Smith]

more

This is a picture of Tom,rigging for the pull.

 

[Al Smith]

some more

This is a pic,rigging the dozer.

 

[Al Smith]

and some more

Bucking the top,me fueling the one sp 125,that decided to run,which happened to be the one that I turned a liner for last winter.It actually runs well,if I do say so,myself.Must have done something right

 

[Al Smith]

more of the same

Here is the last of it,on the ground.I don't think my 1950 feugeson,will budge it.The old tree,was solid,at the base,but by the looks of it,the crack had been ther a while.After cutting the crotchs out,and trimming the saw logs,it scales out,at just short of 2000 bd ft.[ Doyle]

 

[glens]

Dang!  I was hoping to get word and be there for that!

A buddy and me put a bunch of wood on the ground today too, but it was in 9 black locusts...

Glen

 

[Mange]

So you had some fun with the old ones. Nice to hear.

Mange

 

[Al Smith]

More pictures

Before we get off the subject,in another thread,I have more pics,of the big tree.This shows the damage to the bark,in the second log up.

 

[Al Smith]

more

This shows the crack,about 6 ft down from the crotch of the first limb.

 

[BlackSmith]

Al, what was wrong with the tree, lightning...moths..?

 

[Al Smith]

Side hauling or loading

The majority of the members of this site,are not pro arborist,or lumbermen,but a mixture of collectors,occasional saw users,and hobbiests.This process is"old hat" to the pros,but seldom seen by the rest.This is a method of moving a big log,with not much power available.My wife,a city girl,asked how on earth I was going to move those heavy logs.I replied,the same way my granddaddy did in 1940,but he used a pair of Belgian geldings.

 

[Dadatwins]

Sweet work Mr. Smith, sometimes you have to use the tools and methods available to get the job done. When I worked in NY in postage stamp backyards we use all sorts of tricks to move large wood around since we could not get equipment to it. Loved the look on customers face when we would roll a 10' x 30" diameter log onto a pivot to spin it and roll it out the driveway.

 

[Al Smith]

One more

Hey BlackSmith.The tree was subjected to 80,to 90 Mph winds,from the southeast,side winds from a tornado,about 2 yrs ago.Too much damage to save I had advice from this site,as well as 2 local arborists,and an Ohio state forester.A little over 100 ft,but 75 ft from my house,which left no other option,that removal.Pic,is of the bottom log,after the side haul,put the old tractor to the test,should have used the dozer.

 

[BlackSmith]

good Gawd what a hunk-0-wood...

 

[NeTree]

Poor truck...

 

[Al Smith]

poor truck,aye

That's what is was telling ole Rock,in another thread,old Fords are tough,but a tad ugly.They kind of resemble me.

 

[NeTree]

I would know... got a few of my own...

'75 F350
'70 C600
'90 F150
etc. etc. etc...

 

[glens]

And showing such good mechanical taste, Erik, I find it surprising you like Elux saws, HAHAHA!

 

[NeTree]

Sure beats a Still...

as in stihl overpriced... stihl not as good as a Husky.

 

[Jwoods]

So where did you take the log?