The working man, and chainsaw thread!!!!!!!!!

[Denis Gionet]

So now it's morning.... how's the shoulder !?!? Prolly a little stiff today, good thing you weren't rammed back harder than that and injured. Just goes to show that we gotta be paying attention all the time when dropping 'em.

 

[carym2a]

And even after the tree is down and settled in its bed stuff can still get you .

 

[NHlocal]

Thanks me too! Hoping for more big wood soon, this winter. Say 4 foot!

Seriously Norm? Do you really have wood that big to cut?!? I would LOVE to see pics of that!!! (of course I'd love to put my saw in it even more!) :hmm3grin2orange:

I imagine it'd start getting easier with some maneuvering room now that some of the trees are gone ? Now you've got some room to play, felling trees into open spaces. Can you drop one full length now , or still need to limb & trim all the way down ?

Nope, believe it or not there probably still won't be enough room even after they all come down. It's a combination of pretty tall trees and a lot of "stuff" that seems to have been purposely placed around the yard so trees can't be dropped without first being topped. :bang:

Today was a tough one and a another lesson learned:msp_ohmy:

I got a call a couple of days ago and a guy said they were going to cut five pine trees down (church)that were dying. There is something going around in our area (not sure is same thing out in the black hills) that is killing our pine trees. Anyways after a short disscusion with the guy (they wanted the stumps ground out afterwards) I asked him if they wanted to have some help with just paying me to drop the trees and the church members go ahead as planned to remove all the trees and such with thier equipment.

They had a large cat articulating big boy of a loader and a straight truck with a dump bed. One guy is in the construction buisness.

I showed up this morning at 8 as planned and the largest saw they had only had a 20" bar. Three of the trees are close to 40" diameter. I alloted a dollar amount that I told him for three hours but they soon realized it was going to be much more than that in time and they all agreed to having me cut everything as they loaded and to charge accordingly. Everything went well except on the last big tree I notched and dropped where it and that went well but like a fool I stood behind the tree and watched it fall and the tree sprang back and nailed me in the shoulder in a ram rod effect. I wasn't hurt but this was the first time I have seen/experienced one spring back that far (and thankfully nobody saw me get hit) so lesson learned. I felt like get hitting by a truck

So Monday I will go and grind the stumps out. They are paying for just grinding only but my very good friend and neighbor goes to this church and actually many people I know in my town as well do. SO my neighbor will come down with his loader small utility tractor and will load the grindings with that into my trailer and I will dump the stuff for them of no charge. Since it is for a church and some many ties to it. They will have to source the dirt on there own though. One of the guys that was helping I dropped a large ash tree for him this spring so seeing these jobs tie together with previous customers is satisfying that I am getting called for more work.

As we were doing this work a truck pulls up and just sits there watching what was going on. I walked by and the kind started asking questions like what outfit are you from etc. Clearly fishing for info. Come to find out he is a trees service guy kind of in our area. I know his buisness name as I have seen him list flyers around but nothing beyond that. It kind of made me a little uncomfortable but everything was on the up and up with me so I will not fret it. I think he does a lot of firewood sales in our area. I have no interest in that. I enjoy heating my own home and told him that. It sjust seemed a little strange. He was nice and polite though to me.

Sorry long story to a kind of long day but it was all good in the end

Shane, very glad to hear that you're still with us. That could have easily turned out a WHOLE lot worse.:msp_scared: As you said, lesson learned. I can't remember exactly where or when I heard it but I always make a habit of checking my "escape route" right before I drop the tree so it's fresh in my mind, at about a 30-45 degree angle away/back from the stump. As I said, I don't remember where/when I heard/read that's the "safest" direction to go. Maybe someone can jump in and give a reference on that.....:help:

So now it's morning.... how's the shoulder !?!? Prolly a little stiff today, good thing you weren't rammed back harder than that and injured. Just goes to show that we gotta be paying attention all the time when dropping 'em.

You're absolutely right on that one Denis. Never give yourself the option to relax, it's VERY dangerous work.

And even after the tree is down and settled in its bed stuff can still get you .

Ayuh, always pay attention and be aware/understand the work you're doing. Yes, a tree on the ground can absolutely still put you under the dirt blanket.

 

[NORMZILLA44]

Man Shane glad you are ok my friend. That could have ended badly, glad you faired well and learned, as we all do. We all still have close calls at times, sure wakes us up. Randy yes indeed, 2-3 summers in a row seemed the average was 4-5 foot. It was all 2101-660 summers! Don't believe what you hear about west coast, wrap handles and long bars, ain't all for show LOL!:msp_biggrin:

 

[NORMZILLA44]

More.

 

[WidowMaker1]

cools pics bro,

 

[NHlocal]

Man Shane glad you are ok my friend. That could have ended badly, glad you faired well and learned, as we all do. We all still have close calls at times, sure wakes us up. Randy yes indeed, 2-3 summers in a row seemed the average was 4-5 foot. It was all 2101-660 summers! Don't believe what you hear about west coast, wrap handles and long bars, ain't all for show LOL!:msp_biggrin:

No doubt Norm, you certainly do grow 'em big out there.

 

[Brian13]

Norm, great pics!! You guys have some awesome timber and land in general. Really hope to make it all the way out there one day. So far only have made it as far as Colorado and Jackson Hole Wyoming. I am sure pictures just dont do the trees out there justice. Shane glad to hear you didnt get seriously hurt. Its easy to forget just how dangerous tree work is. Glad to see the rest of the job went well. Randy this job you have been working on looks like a fun job. Looks like some real nice trees your working in. Glad to see they are going well, really looking forward to the video.

 

[NHlocal]

Norm, great pics!! You guys have some awesome timber and land in general. Really hope to make it all the way out there one day. So far only have made it as far as Colorado and Jackson Hole Wyoming. I am sure pictures just dont do the trees out there justice. Shane glad to hear you didnt get seriously hurt. Its easy to forget just how dangerous tree work is. Glad to see the rest of the job went well. Randy this job you have been working on looks like a fun job. Looks like some real nice trees your working in. Glad to see they are going well, really looking forward to the video.

Good to hear from you Brian,
after yesterday I now have 3 videos "cookin", should be able to get them all done soon. I can't tell you how much I've learned, there is no replacement for practical experience. I'm workin' the Oaks right now, I've got some time off this week and I might take down a couple of White Birch. Ayuh, real nice trees to work with, very challenging.
How's work been for you lately? Any pics of what you've been doing? Always remember.....
Work safe. :msp_thumbsup:

 

[Brian13]

No pics, been pretty busy though. Got to see a transplant of a large royal palm. They had a bobcat with and trencher to cut the root ball. That was pretty neat until it started to rain half way through the process. Nothing real exciting though, clearing swamp land and some tree maintenance and thats about it. One thing nice about those trees your working on is the ability to improve. I find that when I get to do a removal I always find something that I wish I cold do over again and do different. Would love to have a series of trees like that. Hope they continue to go well.

 

[NHlocal]

No pics, been pretty busy though. Got to see a transplant of a large royal palm. They had a bobcat with and trencher to cut the root ball. That was pretty neat until it started to rain half way through the process. Nothing real exciting though, clearing swamp land and some tree maintenance and thats about it. One thing nice about those trees your working on is the ability to improve. I find that when I get to do a removal I always find something that I wish I cold do over again and do different. Would love to have a series of trees like that. Hope they continue to go well.

Good to hear you've been busy, being busy is a good thing. If the weather holds I'm planning to take the White Birch this week.
You nailed it, being able to do take downs one after the other is awesome for "fine tuning" technique. Thanks Brian.:msp_thumbup:

 

[carym2a]

Man Shane glad you are ok my friend. That could have ended badly, glad you faired well and learned, as we all do. We all still have close calls at times, sure wakes us up. Randy yes indeed, 2-3 summers in a row seemed the average was 4-5 foot. It was all 2101-660 summers! Don't believe what you hear about west coast, wrap handles and long bars, ain't all for show LOL!:msp_biggrin:

Yep Norm, I dont think I can run a big saw without full wrap handles or a long bar, just dont seem right

 

[NORMZILLA44]

Kain, Randy, Brian. Thank you. One of the things as you know I truely love of this area, big timber. The big huskies, and the 660 come out very often. One summer I cut Eaucalyptus, that was 3-4.5 feet or so, well 4 cords of it anyway. That one of the tree I was standing on, and yes I was wearing glasses LOL! It was a fir that fell in a storm, uphill, well over 200 feet in length. Measured it it was just shy of 6 feet through. Parmeter and I had to cut about 30 feet of it to clear a road, taht summer we fell two Tan oaks, the one in the pic I stood next too, or may have been the next one, it was 5' 7in at the stump. The we have a video we pulled over a 6 footer. Those died of sudden oak death, which has swept through here killing many oaks, mostly tan oak. I enjoy big trees, not just cutting them, but admiring them too.

 

[NORMZILLA44]

Yep Cary, I agree. All I own, used to laugh when some of the 20in ported saw crowds, who claimed to out cut the big saws. Always asked us if it was a macho thing?? I pack what I can carry, bar and saw wise, that will cut the most. And yep Wrap mandatory for me, then I heard well can't flush cut stumps, well i get those low too. They want em lower, we use a stump grinder:msp_w00t:

 

[carym2a]

Tanoaks and alders can get spooky on steep ground, they just suck , we've had alot of SOD around here too, not sure what can be done to stop it.

 

[NORMZILLA44]

Yeah, dam shame. I mean I love to cut big trees, but these old growth Tan oaks we fell, watched my friends wife cry, choked me up. We had no choice, they were dead, as you know the results of SOD. We were running out of time, before they went across there vineyard. Jeannies dad just retired, he was a foreman for L.P, then when retired Mendocino forest products. We both agreed it seemed fishy, could be man made. Many used to talk of ways to kill all the Tan oaks off. But its probably mother natures way, of thinning them. Used to grow like weeds around here, sad now all the big ones here are gone.

 

[carym2a]

Yep Cary, I agree. All I own, used to laugh when some of the 20in ported saw crowds, who claimed to out cut the big saws. Always asked us if it was a macho thing?? I pack what I can carry, bar and saw wise, that will cut the most. And yep Wrap mandatory for me, then I heard well can't flush cut stumps, well i get those low too. They want em lower, we use a stump grinder:msp_w00t:

The same guys that can flush cut, call the chipflap a mudflap:msp_razz: I like to cut a little off the ground too, but my work isnt going to the mill for scale or USFS jobs.

 

[Eccentric]

Awesome Aaron, on the GTG. Im cutting in the am, westdsied where we went before. Was going to try for saturday, but want to run my dogs, and hunt. So think cut tommorow. Wish you were off.

Wish I could've gone with ya Norm. Had to work...

 

[carym2a]

Yeah, dam shame. I mean I love to cut big trees, but these old growth Tan oaks we fell, watched my friends wife cry, choked me up. We had no choice, they were dead, as you know the results of SOD. We were running out of time, before they went across there vineyard. Jeannies dad just retired, he was a foreman for L.P, then when retired Mendocino forest products. We both agreed it seemed fishy, could be man made. Many used to talk of ways to kill all the Tan oaks off. But its probably mother natures way, of thinning them. Used to grow like weeds around here, sad now all the big ones here are gone.

It does seem weird that the first place's to have SOD were the same place's the USFS were trying to close roads then later used SOD as the reason to do so. And it seems the more we burn the brush from cutting it the more we have case's of SOD. not sure just sayn.

 

[NHlocal]

This was the video that was taking me so long. Came out OK, take a look and tell me what you see. I appreciate all comments/criticism. Hope you enjoy it.....
Work safe. :msp_thumbsup:

Take Down of Tree #4 and #5 of 20+ - YouTube