Taking Down A Tree

[Curlycherry]

jamesglenn said:

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[blockquote]Curlycherry said:

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Baah, I've cleaned up over a thousand blow downs and they are nasty, dangerous and can kill, but that just makes them exciting.
Me, I would tie it off chains of cable about 2-3' from where I will be making my cut and I would tie it off to the tree shown in the background which is about 20-30' away. Chains would work but in my case I had a winch on my tractor that made it real simple. You want to tie it so there is less to no chance of it kicking towards you.

Once tied I would cut 1/3 down from the top, and then up from the bottom. I would be sure to put some wedges in on the bottom cut to make sure the root ball does not have enough pull to close the bottom cut and pinch the blade. Cut as close to the ball and ground as possible so when the cut is through, the log only has a few inches to drop (watch those toes!).

Once cut off I would drag it with a 4WD or use a come-a-long to pull the trunk sideways and away from the trees it is hung on. I will drop to the ground pretty easily. The problem is going to be the amount the tree weighs. At the size it appears it is going to take some oomph to move it.

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I'm with you Curly, but I don't want to tell someone I do not know to take those chances.

When I have this happen, it's in the woods and I don't have room to hook on and pull it, so I either cut the tree it's hung up on and run fast. Or like you stated, cut a third thru the top then up from the bottom. But I know my ability with a saw, and how stupid I can be and usually survive!

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I grew up around chainsaws and did a ton of logging and even worked as a feller for a decent amount of time. I bet about 1/4 of the full time loggers/fellers I used know were hurt or maimed by trees just like that one. I know of one guy that is dead from one. They are dangerous.

They can be handled if one is careful and has the right equipment. I personally used a come-a long for moving many of my hangups because I wanted to hear the tree start to move and give me plenty of time to GTFOOD. Yanking on them with a short chain from a tractor or truck can be dangerous because the butt can often go flying. I would never work with less than 20' of chain on one that size.

[Bob10]

Can you start a fire under the root ball and make smores?

[srv52761]

JosephP said:

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NO!

Like Mark said...you can get your saw pinched ( and bar bent) cutting from either side.

That log WILL move when you get the top off...it is best you are not on it when it does.

A few good options:
Hire it. With no clean-up that is probably cheaper than renting a lift.
Leave it alone. A few more storms and it will be down/a lot safer to deal with.

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As Joseph and Mark said, a lot of forces in various directions. leaving it to a pro is an excellent suggestion.

Another option is to blast it. Similar to Joseph's cutting technique with no middle bore and instead, first drill a hole, make your cuts top and bottom but only about 1/4 way and load the hole with dynamite. It has been a long time since I was in that part of the country (Virginia) but I remember the regulations for dynamite were pretty farmer friendly.

Those kind of trees scare me. Besides, what can be more fun than dynamite???

[JosephP]

Dynamite and/or a bulldozer are certainly the most attractive options if you have the ability!

Bob's idea of burning it out isn't too far behind...just a lot less dramatic.

I'd honestly put "leave it alone" on the list. I tell people all the time: there is nothing in the woods worth dying over. If you can't do it safe, don't.

[Bob10]

If it were me I would chain it and pull the root ball so the top could fall or just burn the root ball taking some of the unknown force out of the equation. I am betting with land like that you could create a good burn pile if legal in that area

[crokett™]

dragging the root ball isn't a bad idea. My dad owns two tractors. I'm thinking if one can't do it, get 2 in there pulling on the root ball.

[daddo]

If you had two good sized tractors with front end loaders, you could attack the ball from each side of it, dig in good and try and lift it breaking the rest of the roots loose, then chain it and drag it away. If it is rotten it may it may break loose and not drag the other tree with it.

You could build a nice big bonfire under the trunk and sit, relax and have a beer and watch it break itself loose when it burns through.


You could run a wire under the tree and to the house and call the elect co-op to cut it loose from your wire.

[Bob10]

I was about 20 working at a hotel by SFO and the gardener came in and asked it I would be interested in pulling out root balls with my truck. So being young and dumb I said sure he provided chains and I hooked up the truck pulled out the smaller ones without much issue and then there was the "big" one I dug all around it cut as many roots as I could see and still nothing. Then a big rig showed up to make deliveries and the guy driving it let me hook the chain to his truck a couple tugs on the chain and the thing popped out with a good portion of the irrigation system. I got paid and got to keep the chains

[JosephP]

I wouldn't be surprised if it took more than 150 ponies in the tractor to pull the rest of those roots out...

[EatenByLimestone]

This might be a great use for tannerite. Just sayin....