Tough cutting, the maple lost, my chain dealer won

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Butch(OH)

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Well, we cut up the big ol maple today measured 60" first cut at the butt end and 50" on the third on the fith I could reach through it cutting from both sides. Daggon battery was dead in the digital camera so no pics, soory.Had to cut from the side and then a rip cut down the end then cut the heart to get it cut up. You tree pros forgot to warn me about all the nails and junk people in town pound in trees, LOL. This one was like pin cushen. Took two new rapid super chains with me and had a good one on the saw. Hit nails every cut until was probaly 10 foot from the ground. Bout wore my arm out filing at least once every cut, and realy wacked two of the chains, one on a 1/4" bolt that had been pounded in the tree, geez. My Stihl dealer will be smiling on Monday when I buy more chain. The 036 didn't seem to mind the full bar cuts at all but Im thinken you guys should talk me into a 46-66 just in case I have to do this again.
 
Ok Butch,
Let me be the first to twist your arm. If your going to get a bigger saw go whole hog, or none. MS880 "twist, twist". Just get it over with, you know you'll eventually want one. No need spending money on the saws in between.
:blob5:
 
Let me guess,soft maple,in town,about 60 ft.Am I warm ?My largest,was a 54",last spring.They planted a lot of them,about 100 years ago.
 
Learn this lesson!!! Once the tree is down; START cutting from the other end so you don't hit the nails till last. By then you have at least one chain that already needs a touch up and you won't feel so bad about loosing it. You'll still lose the others but you'll be able to tell the home owner you have to leave early today because you just rocked your last good chain.
 
Yep! Start at the top working down to the bottom.

Just as you would a girl friend, mistress, wife, mother-in-law. :dizzy:
 
Well,that would be the logical rotation,so to speak,or so i've been told,so to speak. :rolleyes:
 
rhyme & reason

Around here, most trees over 100 years, in residential or farm, lose first 10', nails. Fences were 6'+ high. Trees under 100 yrs. but over 50 yrs., lose 6', fences were down to 4 1/2' feet high. Trees less than 50 yrs old, most farms gone, nails are cheap and lots of kids had tree houses, nails could be anywhere up to 25'. This is why you work from the top down. Along any state road over 50 yrs old the curves were layed out by surveyors and the surveyors shot their lines off a nail in the trees to make the curve.Large nails. DOT has maps that have the trees marked, ask DOT for map if cutting near state road about 50-75 yrs old that hasn't been widened to four lanes. Cut tree from top down. RR was good enough to use stakes in ground to survey layout, trees along RR okay to cut. If you're cutting timber in the forest not many nails found. Near a farm or a residence nails, old trees square cut nails harder than your chain, younger trees round nails with ceramic insulators. Insulaters are harder than square cut nails. Residential, all trees are suspect. Learn one lesson and learn it well, once the tree is down start from the top down unless you're a logger. I had to say it again. Oh, one more thing the more expensive the bar and chain the better it finds nails and bolts and horse shoes. Start from the top down. Through the years the fences went from high as a horses head to high as a cow and fron barbed wire to copper clad steel for electric. As technology went from horse to car the fences got lower but ceramic was added. When nails were square and expensive kids didn't have a lot of treehouses. Nails got cheap and round, treehouses appear and nails moved back up the trees. If you work the top down you'll get a lot more of the tree cut up before that expensive chain finds the nails like it has a built in sonar. :) Wear your PPE, there's nails out there waiting for ya.
 
I've got a tree like this to take down maybe later this coming week. When the person called for estimate said it was a 30 to 40 ft tree, thinking to myself gravy job, yeah it was 30 to 40 ft, only it was a topped off Maple like this that someone else started and could not finish.

I get to look forward to sand being encrusted in the bark from the excavation that was piled around it, fun fun, cleaning around the bottom with an axe and wire brush, I also have to get it down kinda low to grind this big old stump out. It really galls me big time to use our big saws to cut through stuff like this, especially for an old worthless Maple like this. Kind of like adding injury to insult.

One good thing is I don't have to haul this one off site, just cut it up enough so some relative can handle it so he can finish it with his chain saw, right :rolleyes: I'll probaly be getting a call in about a month to come back and haul it off. Some people have all the best intentions but don't realize what they are getting into with a big tree and the amount of effort it takes to get a job done.

Congrats Butch, at least you got the job done, most would have just quit and given up.
 
Butch-FYI-It's less expensive to buy your chains thru Bailey's than your dealer. If your gonna try a bigger saw, try a husky 372 or 385. An 044 or 046 are good saws also. Don't forget about Jonsered and Dolmars too.
 
Butch, don't listen to these guys.  The perfect saw to complement your 036 is the 066.
 
Nails in trees

From my experience in the last 20 years logging, even the trees in the bush have hardware. Deer stands being the worst offenders. The old ones used spikes to nail on wood for a ladder, the newer ones use the type that climbs the tree ,but can't resist driving a nail to hang their coat & gear on. this day and age any tree can have hardware. :Eye: :Eye:



ps. Congrats Butch on helping the elderly neighbours...your a good man :)
 
Yes indeed butch congrats ! :cool:

Helping man kind by helping the elderly is deffinitely worth 100 browny points minimum ! :)
 
Hi Butch,
That's cool you were able to help out the old guy.Most of the wood I get is residential wood with lots of metal surprises inside.
Sorry not to mention working the trees from top to the bottom. The bottom 10' or 12' of the tree holds the most surprises.
Ray
 
My sawyer hit some nails in a bitternut hickory,I sent him,14 ft from the bottom.Most likely a tree strand.
 

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