Morning Mike, the one we took down was a Red. I think the Oak Wilt got it. I have 3 farms I can cut firewood on and it's killing off all the Reds faster that we can take them down. It's a shame, he has a giant Red not far from the dead one, probably within drip line, so it may get infected too. The big one is 40" at chest height. I have 6 30"+ Red Oak logs, 4 smaller Cherries, and 2 Black walnut in my yard that need to be milled, so every thing else is going to firewood, unless it's something special.
Good advice for Jim. I make most of my felling cuts from the left side facing the direction of fall. As soon as the back cut starts to open I take 3 steps back and look up. Always looking up anyway. Once the saw is started in the back cut, you don't have to stare at it, it's going to cut level to the hinge. Glance at the right side, look up, glance at the left side look up. I almost always put a tag line high in the tree. One reason I like the tag line is, I like to break about 2" of hinge, so the fall stays true to the hinge. If it's a nice straight log, or maybe a little back lean, I have the guys on the tag line keep just enough tension on the line to keep it from setting back. When I'm ready, and have stepped back, I have them pull. If it has front lean it will start to hinge over on it's own, but still like to have the tag line in, if I want I can have the guys pull and get it moving before it wants to. It's very hilly around here, and it's not uncommon to have butt ends jump 8-10 feet in the air, I guess if you are used to it, it's just business as usual, if your not used to, and prepared for it, it can scare the daylights out of you, or worse. Can't imagine having a stump weighing several thousand pounds hitting you in the chin or chest. Would be like the fly and fly swatter.
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