How would you fall this?

[Jchonline]

This is why this is so scary to me. The branch on the first picture was barely 6 feet over the ground on the far end, bowed down, and maybe 12 - 15 feet high by the trunk and about 4 inches thick . So I was going to cut the branch off with my gas pole saw from my 8 foot ladder, my belly was not sticking much above the top of the ladder and the pole saw was probably at about 45 degrees up cutting on the tree to the right of the first picture. I started to make the cut until I heard the "crack, crack" , I backed the saw away and the far end of the branch was already on the ground. So, I finished the cut when the branch instead of falling down, it went sideways across where the ladder was and the next thing I felt was the ladder falling forwards while I was holding to the pole saw in the middle like the balance rod of tightrope walker. When finally all the action was over, I found myself still holding the saw (engine running) but now sitting on the ladder steps with my feet on both side of the ladder as shown in the first picture. I felt no pain discomfort or anything and everything felt fine. So I my initial thought was that the ladder had gotten closed and I fell. But when I turned over the ladder that was not the case. In the second picture is easy to see that the branch came across and broke both front legs of the ladder, destroying them. So I was fortunate that I was not hurt on the fall but also I was not impaled by the broken and jagged aluminum pieces below.

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If that is an 8 ft ladder it probably has a 150 lb weight limit lol.

glad you are safe and lesson learned. The only way I will get on a ladder to cut a branch is if I can use the entire tree trunk for protection. That usually isnt the case so I dont do it much at all.

 

[Dieseldonato]

^^^^^^
One of the most common mistakes I see. First working off of a ladder but second, when the limb does not detach and fall straight down as the person cutting assumes it will.

Instead it swings down (far end contacts the ground) then tears loose or person cutting continues to cut. Not realizing the limb (now at an angle) HAS to fall with the butt coming back in the direction of the person cutting. Invariably it takes out the ladder or the person on it.

Second most common occurrence is when a person fails to make an undercut FIRST on the limb. Instead makes the cut from the top nearly all the way through until the weight of the limb takes the limb down but the remaining 'hinge' (wood or bark) lets the limb swing back into the cutter.

Usually these are homeowners with little to no experience and they just don't think about the dynamics.

Other times....it is just the tree itself or the type of wood. Even

A - I'm strapped to it - so it's a ride and then the loader gets me off - no biggie - and the sections I'm dropping are so short now it wouldn't be a catapult event anyhow.
B - @Flintknapper 's first point below also true - so at this point in the project I don't think I'm riding much more than a foot or so. Honestly - when the tree was a lot longer it was a bit exciting, when a section would drop it was like sitting on a diving board
(and before people worry - no - I never wrap your legs around the trunk - incase the trunk side splinters when the section you are dropping pops off - even with an undercut kerf - I "squeeze" the tree between my thighs - learned that from a guy who cut tree limbs away from powerlines for a living)


C - throwing or abandoning equipment in favor of not needing to visit an urgent care is looked at more as an opportunity to buy new equipment more than anything else I have lost a chainsaw to drop because things were not right... and a pole saw that was caught in a limb (still don't know how) that popped off a tree and went down a ravine... I opted to not try an "hang on" and watched it go.
D - If I'm not engaging in a cut - I flip the bar stop forward - so if I do have bad trigger control (or a stick or anything else does) - the saw just makes the angry bogged motor sound anyhow.

If more people used the chain brake like that there would be a lot less accidents.

 

[Flintknapper]

Biggest thing you having going for you is that you are astute.

That goes a long way toward staying out of possible trouble.

Good job Sir!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

don't know if it's been mentioned but sometimes it's better to take smaller sections off, say 2' long not 3-4' pieces. yes, more cuts but possibly safer as less mass being removed
I know everyone expects the tree 'down and gone in an hour'...but safety needs to come first.

 

[fishpick]

And we are done.

The last 16’ or so of the trunk to the rootball can sit where it is forever as part of the backstop.

This has now officially stopped being a cleanup project and become a range backstop improvement project as the next steps are gonna be piling the trunk sections on and infront of the berm adding height and depth.
last few chunks were a lot bigger diameter than my bar length - so I undercut up about 1/4. Then cut in from the side close to me. Then cut down from the top until the kerf opened up. Pulled my saw and then used the loader to push it (not a lot of force needed) and snap it off letting 4’ or longer sections fall off.
when the very last section came off the trunk gently came up about 4”. And then, Ohh so slowly another 2-3” while I was putting tools away.
So - safe, slow and controlled -only one moment of a “humm”. So - all in all - very successful and my last update on this thread in terms of status. Cause status is “done”!

 

[Flintknapper]

Well Done........!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Ta-Da !!!!!
All down AND you still have 10 finger and toes where they belong and NO bandaids !!!

 

[Flintknapper]

Ta-Da !!!!!
All down AND you still have 10 finger and toes where they belong and NO bandaids !!!

It never would have been Bandaids (with a chainsaw cut).

But we get your sentiment.

 

[fishpick]

Not to bring up this old thread... but - just for reference for other folks in the future who are dealing with cottonwood or other wildly unpredictable trees...

When last we spoke there was still maybe 15' or so of trunk left on the root ball. Seeing the whole thing had settled down after sitting there for months, this last weekend I decided to cut another 8' section off the trunk for the shooting berm. It's probably 28" in diameter where I was cutting through and my bar is nowhere near that size...

Anyhow - because it was resting on the ground i couldn't undercut it... but not a big deal... When I got to the very end there's a loud pop... like really loud. Log moves an inch opening the cut - that's it.

Ok - grab the 8' section with the grapple and... the entire underside of the log has split the full 8' and down into the remaining buried trunk - it's looked almost like a perfect 2x8 board had cleaved off the trunk of the tree. And this was in a situation where the rootball didn't have any torque pushing back - that's just from the weight of the log I cut on a small section of remaining uncut wood. THAT would have been one glorious barber chair experience if I had not followed some good advice on here and taken this thing apart top down.

Unfortunately I don't have a good pic - I yelled to my helper to take a picture of it but he thought I just said to look at it... So - no proof of the fracture - but man - it was impressive.

That's it tho - project 100% completed and with the new grapple it made for some great material to add to the shooting range backstop!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

nice to hear it's all done AND everyone still has 10 fingers and 10 toes where they belong !!!

 

[skeets]

Ya done good !