Taking down a 65 foot tuliptree

[Cheesecutter]

A buddy and I undertook a fairly straight forward tree job. Owners wanted it down ASAP due to stump rot and proximity to the house. A 65 foot tuliptree, 24"DBH, and it had to come down in sections due to the property line. We used a Homelite XL2 on the lower 35 feet, then an electric polesaw up to 45 feet, and finally a Jameson 18 foot polesaw up to 55 feet. We dropped the top 25 foot section in one piece using a 100' rope as a persuader with no problems. The rest came down fairly quickly using a 353 Husky, a 2171 Jonny, and the rope to guide the 8-10' sections into our drop zone. 8 hours @ $400= not bad for a tree I usually would have done free for the wood. There just wasn't enough wood (1/2 cord) to justify the risk of doing a freebie.

 

[Cheesecutter]

Here's a couple more pics.

 

[unclemoustache]

You need to get yourself some climbing gear. Ladders can be dangerous, but I see you already know that and tied yourself off. :msp_thumbsup: Looks like a good job.

 

[Cheesecutter]

The guy in the tree is gathering gear as fast as $$$ allow. He's got the harness, ropes, assender/desender, boots, chaps, helmet, and other stuff. His next items are climbing spikes and another top handle saw. I hate ladders myself, but he was pretty confident with the harness and being double tied off. The ladder was also tied off and top rung was resting on a stub. Also any equipment he was using had it's own lifeline. But, It still could have been better I agree.

 

[zogger]

lotta work, but cash talks!

 

[mark360T]

Man oh man was that fun up in that tree today legs sure are feeling it tho

 

[7sleeper]

Very nice!

7

 

[Nosmo]

Good Job

You guys did a good job on that one for sure. You know what -- this is the first Tuliptree I ever heard of and seen pictures of .

Somewhat resembles the flowers of a magnolia but not the leaves.

Good Job.
Nosmo

 

[zogger]

You guys did a good job on that one for sure. You know what -- this is the first Tuliptree I ever heard of and seen pictures of .

Somewhat resembles the flowers of a magnolia but not the leaves.

Good Job.
Nosmo

Quite common this side of the big ditch I guess. I think of them and use them as "ash lite". Cut clean, split real clean and easy, burn moderate. Bark even looks similar. Nice fall/spring/morning firewood.

 

[imagineero]

I admire your spirit for sure, but you're heading for an injury. Get some spikes, and get some training. I know it sucks making minimal wage working for someone else, but you learn a lot in a few months. If you keep going the way you are, you're very quickly going to hit a ceiling both in terms of your skills, and your earning potential. You can keep using those same techniques to do bigger trees, but you're rolling the dice every time, no joke.

I never thought I'd see the day where I would post a video done by murph, but here we are;

[video=youtube;oxst-7MmUfM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxst-7MmUfM[/video]

Using pole saws, and jameson poles to reach way beyond where you are, while on a ladder, is a sure fire recipe for a hospital visit or worse if you keep at it. You've got no control of shaping hingewood, and not enough speed in executing the backcut to guarantee your safety. Your safety needs to be guaranteed. Four hundred dollars doesn't compensate you for the loss of your life by a long shot. Get yourself a rope and prussik, and some spurs, learn how to use the lot. Don't keep cutting above yourself as you are, I can't emphasize enough how dangerous that is.

Unless you're 10 feet tall, that tree is nowhere near 65 feet.

Shaun

 

[TheJollyLogger]

+1 Scary stuff, and no backup plan. Branch hits the ladder, you're hanging from a lanyard, and then what? No way down that I could see.

 

[Cheesecutter]

Imagineero, We quickly found out the polesaw and the Jameson were not the right or safest tools for the job. They proved quite unwieldy and hard to control from his position. He removed some smaller branches with them before deciding to use a 100 foot rope to pull the top 25 feet to the ground after notching and back cutting until we could "snap" it off safely with both of us on the ground. I know he plans on getting climbing spurs along with training from his tree-pro friend soon, and I plan on keeping my feet on the ground.

+1 Scary stuff, and no backup plan. Branch hits the ladder, you're hanging from a lanyard, and then what? No way down that I could see.

Point well taken. We actually did have a white rope from the base of the tree up over a branch stub and connected to the back of his harness as a back up measure. It's hard to see in the pics. Far from ideal we realize, but in place non the less.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Just be safe and learn all ya can guys.

I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Ronin, but Robert DeNiro had two great lines in that movie that I take up with me in every tree.

"When there is doubt, there is no doubt." and. "Lady, I never walk into a place I don't know how to get out of."

Honestly, the more I think about it those two quotes could be the golden rules of climbing. The las t thing you want to hear a climber say is "well, let's se how this works out" , and I never climb a tree unless I have a quick, preferrably one handed way to the ground.

Be safe, Jeff

 

[Jeffsaw]

I used to use a ladder and a pole saw for some takedowns but once I got comfortable with spurs, they were a lot faster and easier. One of the professional tree workers on this site said that you just have to trust your equipment, which meant your spurs will hold you to the tree and you can lean back on your flipline. All the guys say to practise near the ground and start slowly, which is good advice.

 

[kaneabel]

My very first tree I climbed was a 60' poplar (tuliptree) a couple months ago. It was fun.

 

[rarefish383]

In another post I mention one of my Dads old sayings. Accidents don't just happen, they are caused. You are pushing the limits. There was also a study, many years ago, in on of the tree care magazines. They called it a factor of 3. My Dad used that one too. If any accident is analyzed there can usually be found 3 points of human failure. If something had of happened to you I can see 3 points of human failure. 1) Improper use of a ladder. 2) Improper use of a pole or extension saw. 3) Improper use of safety equipment. Usually, if you remove one of the failures, the accident will not play out. Doing what you are doing at the heights you are at is another failure. We used to have a little chart that showed the statistical out come of falls. As far as insurance companies are concerned, 100% of falls from 30 feet or higher are fatal. I'm not trying to belittle you. This web site is like a neighborhood, and many here are like family, I don't want to see you in the "accidents and fatalities forum". I got tired of people telling me "Don't do it unless you are 99% sure you can do it", and came up with my own saying. "What if I'm 99% sure I can do it, and I'm 85% wrong?". Please be careful, Joe.

 

[Toronado3800]

You guys did a good job on that one for sure. You know what -- this is the first Tuliptree I ever heard of and seen pictures of .

Somewhat resembles the flowers of a magnolia but not the leaves.

Good Job.
Nosmo

Liriodendron tulipifera

Liriodendron tulipifera, may as well just use the scientific name as it has many slang names. They grow tall, thick and fast around here. I really like them and think more should be planted where there is appropriate room to let the lower branches hang to head height or so where them large flowers are visible not 40 foot up a trunk.

Here's a couple more pics.

I was wondering if you had any pictures of the trunk and bark on the outside of that rot. As a homeowner I only get a chance to see a few and try to get a picture of what's going on inside a tree from the outside. It amazes me sometimes how far water and rot does or does not go from an entry point or seam.

 

[treecutterjr]

tulip poplar. they do resemble ash trees alot in the bark though. I was telling my self the same thing a few days ago. Ladders DO suck.

 

[Cheesecutter]

Sorry but I don't have any pics of the trunk. It had a 6 inch and 9 inch hole at ground level and the rot was only in the bottom 2-3 feet. Otherwise it looked healthy.

 

[zogger]

tulip poplar. they do resemble ash trees alot in the bark though. I was telling my self the same thing a few days ago. Ladders DO suck.

It's my favorite mild weather wood. I just wait a week or so after bucking to split them, fresh green a little rubbery. Once it checks a little, pretty easy to split. We burn a lot of it.