Practice Tree - How would you drop / dismantle?

[LFEngineering]

So here's the deal: This tree has been on my hit list since I moved to my house a few years back. As you can see from the pictures the power & cable lines are going right thru it. Let me say right from the beginning THE POWER & CABLE LINES WILL BE DISCONNECTED AND MOVED OUT OF THE WAY BY A PROFESSIONAL PRIOR TO CUTTING.

Setting the scene:
1.) Tree is on my property, but the bushes behind are on my neighbors land. He's already said there would be no problem if I hit the bushes, but I would like to do as little damage as possible.
2.) My wife would like me to do as little damage to the bushes on our property as well.
3.) The only other obstacle is the well head which is hidden under that (unfinished) concrete rock-like formation in the yard.
4.) The tree is weighted towards the property line / the bushes.

I would like to take this opportunity to try dismantling the tree in place using the bushes as soft obstacles, strictly for practice. If an unsafe situation were develop the tree would be dropped traditionally and whatever happens happens.

That being said I'd like to hear everyone opinions on how they would tackle this project. I have an 8" pole saw, 14" top handle and 16-20" rear handles for cutting equipment.

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[LFEngineering]

I should also mention: Although it's hard to see from the camera angles, but there is a good 3-4 feet between each of the bushes.

 

[hour18]

what gear do you have to help drop it?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

So when you say practice, you mean climbing practice? What gear do you have?

 

[LFEngineering]

Well it was suppose to be climbing practice, but I can't for the life of me find my gear. It's been years since I've done any climbing and now that I'm thinking about it I'm pretty sure I sold my gear to a friend, all I found was my OSHA fall protection / harness & lanyard. So it looks like I'll be dropping it from the ground.

 

[Tree&Stump]

There are power lines all over that tree, so ya, you could think about dropping it. If you kind of drop it a little bit, you could see about missing the lines suppose, but you're going to need a total pro. Not you though unless you're not scared, but if you are, make sure you have someone video taping the drop, and make sure it goes on youtube. You'll be famous. :msp_w00t:


Good luck, and check twice before you roll the dice! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Gologit]

There are power lines all over that tree, so ya, you could think about dropping it. If you kind of drop it a little bit, you could see about missing the lines suppose, but you're going to need a total pro. Not you though unless you're not scared, but if you are, make sure you have someone video taping the drop, and make sure it goes on youtube. You'll be famous. :msp_w00t:


Good luck, and check twice before you roll the dice! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Didn't you say, in another thread, that you were leaving here?

 

[LFEngineering]

There are power lines all over that tree, so ya, you could think about dropping it. If you kind of drop it a little bit, you could see about missing the lines suppose, but you're going to need a total pro. Not you though unless you're not scared, but if you are, make sure you have someone video taping the drop, and make sure it goes on youtube. You'll be famous. :msp_w00t:


Good luck, and check twice before you roll the dice! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So I guess the big bold red letters in my post weren't big enough.... the lines will be moved by linesman before I go doing anything with the tree.

As for the actual drop, I think I'll just clean up some of the lower stuff with the polesaw just to play with it then drop it towards the weighted side. Worst case I buy my neighbor some new bushes & a 12pack.

 

[HuskStihl]

Looks like fun, unless you hit the wellhead, then it will still be fun, but considerably more expensive fun. If it were me, I'd probably limb it with one foot in my tractor bucket, the other on the 12' ladder. I'd be using a way too big saw, have no PPE, and prolly be wearing crocs. If you don't have a lot of practice with this falling style, I probably wouldn't try it:biggrin:

 

[Tree&Stump]

Haha, I think you know what to do. It's an average to less than average tree, so no need for smecial pics and so forth.

Anyway, sorry about missing the red lettering. I had just woke up and it was a little bit after 4am here. :msp_rolleyes: I'll be extra helpful to make it up to you. You know you can access the crotch at 6'. Get in there, and clear out all of the sticks so you can work around in there without getting poked in the eye. Use a light rope. For stuff like this I would be throwing my rope over branches with a large steel clip on the end....throwing that like a baseball, or I would hook that clip on my pole saw to poke that clip over a branch on those leaders. Just stick the clip over a stick up there on one of those leaders, and pull the clip back down with your pole saw. Clip the clip off back onto the line itself to create a choke around the branch. Now you can pull the branch in the right direction. If you can't just pull down those leaders, you can place a sling and pulley on an appropriate leader to hold the weight of the branch you are taking down. Right? Just lower it down. If you don't have a sling and pulley, try to find a natural crotch that is actually capable of holding the branch you're cutting off. If you don't have a ground guy to help, wrap your rope around a stub until your cut is made. Once it's cut, unwrap and lower.

If you do any of this, DON'T GET PINCHED BY THE BUTTS OF THOSE BRANCHES. Doing what I just described get's quirky in trees like that especially since you don't have spikes to climb up the leaders to place your ropes exactly where they should be instead of just where you can kind of place them from the crotch.

If you had all of the gear, you would not need the lines down, but you don't. Oh well. Good luck. :msp_razz:

 

[Tree&Stump]

Didn't you say, in another thread, that you were leaving here?

z

 

[LFEngineering]

Good ideas. Admittedly the tree is a target of opportunity normally I'd just have a pro come in an trim around the lines, but the lines are coming down to be relocated after siding the house so I figured why not.

 

[Tree&Stump]

Can you tie it to the truck without smashing the truck? If you do, put your ropes on the tree, and be sure the are equally proportioned. No too much rope no one side, and not enough on the other side. No room for errors, eh. If the rope is not going to pull one side more than the other, then go from there and cut out your notch. Now pull the rope and put some strong tension on the rope. Go back and do some back cut, but you may or may not want to go all they way with that back cut. If I were working alone on this one, I would put in some back cut, but not enough to fall the tree. I would then go back to the truck, and break off the hinge with the power of the truck to be sure I'm pulling the damn thing straight onto the landing zone. No room for error.

And don't go out there drinking beer doing this thing. You need your brain cells to do all of the heavy thinking especially if this isn't something you do all the time. Drink a coffee. :msp_thumbup:

Oh, and if you don't have room to fit the truck in, maybe you can tie a pulley block to a tree as a pull rope redirect. Then you run the rope from the redirect to your truck somewhere.

What kind of ropes do you have? I'd be inclined to say you need a bull rope if you are going to pull it over with a truck to prevent losing it over the neighbor's side because of the over weighted side.

 

[LFEngineering]

I have 75' 5/8 bull rope. As for the no beer I couldn't agree more, save them till the days over and the tree's on the ground. I may not be a pro, but if I'm going to attempt something like this I better damn well act like one. Not to mean attempting things that are out of my comfort zone, but taking a logical approach to every step through the process.

I like the idea of hinge cutting & breaking off with the truck / tractor. I'd say w/o a better harness setup I wouldn't venture more then 10-12' up the tree provided there's solid footing. As you mentioned using the pole to get the rope up there I could probably take the top 10-15' with out any problems then just take 2' sections at a time till I'm down.

 

[stltreedr]

Put a rope in that sumbich and pull it over. I don't think they get much easier than that.

 

[Zale]

[
That being said I'd like to hear everyone opinions on how they would tackle this project. I have an 8" pole saw, 14" top handle and 16-20" rear handles for cutting equipment.

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A 8" pole saw is going to be way too short. You will need more sections.

 

[B Harrison]

I would start with the out of balanced limbs from in the tree, tied off, and then with a rope pretty high, and a face and backcut; pull it down with a mountain bike! Or a rope and come along or a block and tackle, or a tractor, or a truck, or the beered up neighbor and a crotch rocket (rope around waist of coarse)
However you do it make a vid, we want to see.

 

[Trx250r180]

in a man lift you can just hoist yourself up and start with limbing then take down in sections till it's below the power lines(power turned off of course ) ,then fall it once its short

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[TheJollyLogger]

Zale, what else do you have as far as rigging gear, and prior experience? Don't expect a full answer if you don't give enough info.

 

[HuskStihl]

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That's how you do it:msp_biggrin: