Solo winch drop

[AT sawyer]

This is sort of a piggyback on an earlier thread, but I didn't have any help on this one and was wondering how else I might've done this tree. Going in:

Tree was an old poplar with back lean toward a neighbor's cabin and an adjacent power line. Top of tree was unhealthy and had a widowmaker on the power line side. Bottom was partially rotten with loose bark the first two feet up.

First, I rapped the trunk with an axe poll above the rotten part and determined (correctly) that the wood was sound; then put a sling on the trunk about 15 feet up and ran a winch (TU-17) wire back to my direction of fall and put slight tension on the wire. Made a shallow face cut standing on the opposite side of widowmaker and confirmed good wood on the face.

Began my back cut slowly sighting toward the winch, watching the chips for any sign of dark or rotten wood (there was none), and while I still had a lot of holding wood, put just enough tension on the winch to pull the tree slightly forward.

Continued the back cut until the tree again moved slightly and was now past vertical and leaning just a bit toward my intended lay. I still had a couple inches of good holding wood at this point. Started winching slowly and the tree came right over and dropped on a dime.

Other than strapping the trunk above the cut to lessen the chance of a barber chair, how else might I have done this safely by myself?

 

[newb]

"Safely by myself"... NEVER! Never work alone. Pete

 

[AT sawyer]

Yeah, that's always a good rule to live by. In my case, I had some family at the cabin who were best kept at a distance, but could have provided help if I'd boogered something up. Fortunately that didn't happen. Because I did all the work myself, I considered it a solo drop.

 

[randyg]

I know that mechanical advantage is best when made to be in your favor. For this reason, I feel 15 feet is a bit low to hook winch line. With a throw bag you can get line in way up there and then pull rope goes in with running bowline. Pulling against lean, the higher you get your rope, the better. You have pressure straight down at the hinge, much less chance for failure of hinge. Hope I said this right.

 

[AT sawyer]

I would have liked to have put the sling higher, but the top was a bit funky and with my luck, I'd have bagged the power line. This was also a family job, so it was kind of expected that I would drop and buck it up. There were about sixteen things wrong with the whole shebang, but it ended well. Angel on my shoulder I guess.

 

[oscar4883]

You weren't really alone. Nobody got hurt. No damage. Tree went were you wanted it to go. Other than probably not getting paid, I would call it a success. I am a fan of MA systems for stuff like this. Makes me feel good to be able to feel the tension being applied.

 

[Shiftypop]

I am a fan of MA systems for stuff like this. Makes me feel good to be able to feel the tension being applied.

MA systems? I'm new to this site and tree care in general once it goes over about 12'. I grew up and continue to do Christmas trees so I know more about disease, pests and such. There's a lot of jargon I'm working on figuring out. Another thing I didnt get was the referral to potentially getting a "barber chair" on the cut. :newbie:

 

[AT sawyer]

Barber chair

I don't know how to import these, but open this file for a grainy, but classic example of a barber chair. Sawyers cut into the tension side of a leaner and it split on them. These splits can be quick and violent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucjWV3p-jpQ

 

[oscar4883]

MA systems? I'm new to this site and tree care in general once it goes over about 12'. I grew up and continue to do Christmas trees so I know more about disease, pests and such. There's a lot of jargon I'm working on figuring out. Another thing I didnt get was the referral to potentially getting a "barber chair" on the cut. :newbie:

Mechanical advantage systems. Basically a series of pulleys, set-up in order to increase the amount of pull/lift on something.

 

[flushcut]

poplar

I think I would have run the winch line form the tree to a block and then back to you at the stump so you can cut and winch almost at the same time and not having to walk out in the lay. If I have read your post and pics right. But all in all tree down and nobody hurt sounds like a good day.

 

[clearance]

You weren't really alone. Nobody got hurt. No damage. Tree went were you wanted it to go. Other than probably not getting paid, I would call it a success.

Me too. A TU 17 isn't a winch, it is a Tirfor. A winch winds cable around a drum. Just saying.

 

[AT sawyer]

Me too. A TU 17 isn't a winch, it is a Tirfor. A winch winds cable around a drum. Just saying.

I suppose it's more of a come-a-long, but my experience with crummy ratchet and bail come-a-longs puts the Tirfor in a class by itself. Best money I ever spent on a tool.

Put a Tirfor on a dyno and it'll give you its rated pulling power and then some.

 

[eljefe]

Hi AT,

Your method worked so it's OK.
Not having been there, I can't say I would have used this method, but I might have: Winch line as you described. Put in the back cut first far enough to be able to put felling wedges in the back cut and still leave room to get the saw back in the cut. There is less chance of set back if there is no face cut first. Now put in face cut in the usual manner, at the 80% of maximum diameter. A good solid open face cut for steerage and control. Now go back to the back cut and finish it. You can pound in the wedges, tighten the winch, pound in the wedges alternating between the two. I would agree it would be nice to have the winch somewhere that I did not have to walk the lay and back again. The back cut first, wedges, then face cut comes from D Douglas Dent's book on timber falling. It is important to bear in mind that once the winch line goes slack it is no longer able to control the direction of fall. I would also have used something to minimize the possibility of a barber chair. Even several wraps of heavy rigging line above the cut would pretty much remove that possibility.
I hope I have made sense on how this is done.
Eljefe

 

[AT sawyer]

Hadn't thought of a back cut first. Too used to always making the face cut my first one. Situation dependent.