Gee.....I wonder if this is going to 'Barber-Chair' ???
- Thread starter Flintknapper
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fried1765
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Made that small cut with a pole-saw.....and I have a cable attached high up on a strong limb...meaning to just pull it down. Its a 'hackberry' to make matters worse (very unpredictable wood).
I'm going to have to 'wrap' the trunk now to keep it from splitting out...but even with a pole-saw, I don't like being close to it. I'm going to add my 3' extension to the saw before going back to it. That will make the saw 15' long and 'me' twelve feet away instead of 8-9'.
I just don't want to have a situation where the trunk 'pops' suddenly. Up above it....it is very limb heavy and when those hit the ground...the butt of the trunk will come shooting back.
If it were any other kind of wood....I wouldn't be so worried about it. I have about 50 years experience dealing with these da&n hackberries.... and they will hurt you if you aren't extra careful.
North Idaho Wolfman
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To bad you can't get a stick of TNT anymore, this makes a good case for just blasting it off!
North Idaho Wolfman
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Already have a cable attached up high, that has been the plan all along (see reference in my second post)
Great. Stop cutting and start pulling then. I thought you were trying to hold this infirm piece of trunk to the remainder of the more solid tree with the cable you mentioned.Already have a cable attached up high, that has been the plan all along (see reference in my second post)
Yes, legal here.
A lot of noise and flying debris with that, but yes....it could work. Or....I have a 458 SOCOM (for feral hogs) that I could shoot it apart with (eventually). But I think I'll just pull it down.
No. Its too precarious a situation to do anything but score it and pull it down, or top it out first, but I don't have a way to reach that high.
If it weren't a hackberry (and a rotten one at that) I could make a shallow face cut, then plunge cut to the rear leaving a 'trigger' and drop it that way....without fear of it splitting out and getting all over me.
But the wood is very unpredictable. So extra caution and other techniques are required (if you want to go home afterward).
I had a similar situation and was concerned with the barber chair. Without x-ray vision there was no telling what might happen, so I waited for mother nature to bring it down. Well that didn't work out well, she placed that tree in a crotch of another way up high. I cut away at the bottom till it stood straight up but it stayed locked. Then I had the brilliant idea to twist it with a log jack till it came free. I pulled as hard as I could on that jack and then the jack suddenly broke free and I landed flat on my back with a concussion. Tannerite next time, lots of it.
RCW
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Thankfully you recognize the problems with that.
Many don’t, and the consequences are not good….
Got a couple big black cherry trees in the woods with similar issues.
30 years ago I would say what cherry trees, as I would have charged into them. Now I’ll let Mother Nature take them down.
With age, I’ve learned that sometimes discretion is better than valor.
Many don’t, and the consequences are not good….
Got a couple big black cherry trees in the woods with similar issues.
30 years ago I would say what cherry trees, as I would have charged into them. Now I’ll let Mother Nature take them down.
With age, I’ve learned that sometimes discretion is better than valor.
The FIrst cut should not have been on the tension-side (upper side) of the leaning branch.. The First cut should have been the lower side…. then a top-cut would have dropped it in a predictable fashion.
GreensvilleJay
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yeah, 1st cut low, about where the twig meets the red line....wood have been my 2nd choice.
first wood have been 3 wraps of primacord and a cap.
saw a guy drill some 1" holes deep into a tree like that, doused them with diesel and gas, lit on fire, walked away.... 2 hours later it was on the ground. his pappy did them like that as it allowed him to do other chores while the tree burned itself down, safely.
first wood have been 3 wraps of primacord and a cap.
saw a guy drill some 1" holes deep into a tree like that, doused them with diesel and gas, lit on fire, walked away.... 2 hours later it was on the ground. his pappy did them like that as it allowed him to do other chores while the tree burned itself down, safely.
Respectfully....no Sir.
The plan is to pull this half of the hackberry down. If I had pictures of the entire tree....you would see why.
The top is very limb heavy.....you don't want to 'drop' a leaner like that because when the limbs hit the ground the entire trunk will come shooting back. Also Hackberry (especially rotten) is very unpredictable, it 'might' sag somewhat under control (with the holding wood), or it might pop off (more likely).
I am well aware the dynamics of tension/compression as it relates to tree felling. Been doing it for 50 years. With problem trees you need to carefully study them and come up with the safest way to drop them (not the most traditional method).
It was never my intent to 'drop' this leaner....only a fool would attempt that in the confines present. It needs to be scored and pulled down. And I am doing that at a 'distance' with a pole saw.
I'll try to get some pics tomorrow. The trunk and branches continue up and out about another 25' to a point where they are actually horizontal to the ground. Lots of weight out on the end and gravity working on the horizontal mass. Essentially this trunk is going to either split out or pop off with just a 'little' cutting.
I actually want the wood in compression (where your face cut would normally be) to be the holding wood as I attempt to slowly pull the tree down where I can top it out when that part reaches the ground.
IF all of it were more vertical and the wood type more stable....I would simply plunge/bore cut it to the backside (after making a shallow face cut and leaving a hinge) and then just release the trigger.
But this one is a major accident waiting to happen for anyone foolish enough to try and drop it with a handheld saw right at the tree base.
Well....that would certainly be more fun and I could stay back 150 yds. or so with my 7mm-08 or .338 WinMag to set it off. But I don't think Mrs. Flintkknapper would appreciate me ratting all the windows of the house.
She already put the 'nix' on my Daughter shooting deer from Her bedroom window (a different subject and story). Nothing like being startled awake early one Sunday morning.
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