Tree problem

   / Tree problem #21  
turnkey4099 said:
A-frame of heavy poles leaning over fence from neighbor side and well braced to keep the bottom from skidding. Legs placed a even with or even a foot or so back from the tree (pasture side of the tree). Then cut from the top back toward the A frame contact point. Once there, over into the pasture: cable to the snag portion up near the break to tractor, undercut, backcut, pull and the overhanging potion will swing right over the fence - no damage there.

Yep, lots of rigging and the a-frame will need to be (6x6 at a guess) fairly substantantial. Were I doing ti, I would have the cable/tractor all hooked up before doing much cutting on the top. Dunno what size your tractor is but I would want a fairly good sized one. With the set-up as described, the force on the tractor will not be overly great. I'd do it on my own place but for someone else, I would do the 'cut fence' way.

Harry K

<CORRECTION>

The A frame legs need to be set at least a bit away from the butt of the tree _toward the fence_.

Harry K
 
   / Tree problem #22  
Tie the bull to the end of the tree that is in the pasture. Get in there with him and piss him off really good (a smack in the nuts works quite well). Make sure you are running away from the fence when he comes after you. If you make it out of the pasture alive, return later when he is tired from dragging the hickory trunk around and you should be able to cut it up and get it out of there.

Oh yeah, video tape the whole thing and you will be very likely to win $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos!
 
   / Tree problem #23  
I may have missed something in the comments above but from looking at the photo it looks like the problem is the responsibility of the neighbour as the tree fell from his side. That's the way the law works in my area. Of course it is neighbourly to offer to help but not do the whole job of fixing the problem.
 
   / Tree problem
  • Thread Starter
#24  
There's no issue about whose problem it is. I just was looking for ideas to get the thing down without damaging the fence. I even get all that nice hickory firewood to heat my house next year! :) I don't mind cutting up the tree at all, and the neighbor's hired hand doesn't mind the work of getting it down. We just don't want to cut or smash the fence.
 
   / Tree problem #25  
I would put the top in the bucket and drop it back over the fence. Once on the otherside you can pull it 180 degrees from where you found it, and then just cut down the tree.

jmf
 
   / Tree problem #26  
For those of you interested I've attached page 49 from the Sherril Arborist catalog showing the weight of a 1 ft length of tree for a variety of species by diameter.

This might help you figure how much weight you're really dealing with.
 

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   / Tree problem
  • Thread Starter
#27  
Great information! Thanks!

Based on that chart, averaging the diameter of what's hanging there, I have a section about 30 feet long weighing in at somewhere around 900 lb. with one end still attached 14 feet or so above the ground and 5 or 6 feet on the other side of the fence we don't want to harm.

My 54 inch wide tractor will lift about 1200 at most, and to get hold of this thing at the balance point I would need to raise my bucket to nearly the full height. Factor in the uneven ground and I think trying to pick it up with my tractor and set it back over the fence is a recipe for a rollover, even if there was room to swing it, which nearby trees prevent.

I think I'll just wait for the big front loader to get it cut from the other side.
 
   / Tree problem #28  
DT - you're welcome for the chart. Of course we all know trees are heavy but the chart brings some real numbers to the table. I'm glad the data helped you decide to wait for a bigger/safer machine.
 
   / Tree problem #29  
You're going to have a deep freeze this weekend that will last several days. The mud will be gone and you should be able to get it done then.
 
   / Tree problem
  • Thread Starter
#30  
That's my hope.

The chart is interesting. I printed it and it came out small. I went looking for a bigger version and it seems there is not much information that people are willing to put into tables like that. Too many variables from tree to tree, I guess. There is a site where you put in the species and mid-log diameter and it will spit back the approximate weight.

It seems people in some areas market or estimate the board footage of their timber by weight so no one is quite willing to put numbers out there. I never thought logging was so complex.
 
 
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