Another tree to take down.

[DCJL]

How would you go about taking down this tree? My first thought is to go in and take down the maple it is leaning on. I'd make a small cut underneath it and then cut from the top. You can get a good idea of the maple I'm talking about in shot #7. I'd cut the vertical part of the maple first and then the part under pressure. Hopefully that would be enough to release the problem tree to the ground.

[kolmstead]

A tricky problem! I'm thinking that the biggest hazard (other than the obvious one of having the bigger tree fall on you) is that the maple may split when you begin cutting it. I'd be tempted to wrap multiple turns of nylon strap around the trunk just above and below where I was going to cut. If it splits, it is going to spring up and slap you unless you restrain it. Tremendous amount of energy stored in the bent trunk.

I'd also want an observer off to the side to yell if anything began to move while I was cutting!

-Karl

[Treemonkey1000]

First warning that Maple is under huge tension. If you touch the back side of that maple with a saw it is going to release violently!. Once is down that may help the fir drop more. It sort of looks like more of the fir is hung up further out there? Plus all of the branches are going to support it.
If it were me that tree is leaned over far enough that I would just walk up the trunk and see if it will fall the rest of the way. That's me though because I have been working on trees for 20 years or so. To cut that Maple is going to be tricky. That thing is going to snap up and barber chair VERY VERY quickly if you touch it with a saw. Be careful walking under any of that area. Other branches and the trees are likely to snap and fall without much warning. Plan B might be to throw a rope over it bring that down to the ground to a pulley. Redirect the rope at an angle out to a tractor or vehicle and see if you can pull it down.

[DCJL]

OK guys so the first thing is don't cut the maple.

I like the idea of pulling sideways. Maybe I should try to pull the maple out of the way first and then hook a come-along to the the pine and pull it in the opposite direction. If the pine comes down far enough I can start lopping off the top sections. Once the maple is released I'll probably just cut it anyway as I doubt it will stand up after the past 5 months bent like that.

[DCJL]

Done...

I pulled the maple out from under the pine tree first, then cut that down. It was still bent over after being freed from the pine so I figured it was just under it's own pressure. I then cut it off lower than the bend as I figured that had less pressure. I then moved the pine a bit with my tractor, enough to see that it was no longer very hung up on top. I then looped a chain on the trunk, higher than where I planned to cut and hooked the chain over a nearby stump on the opposite side I was going to stand on, ensuring the tree did not come my way when being separated from its trunk and roots. Did a small cut on the bottom and then cut through from the top. As it started cracking I got as far away as I could while still being able to cut. Sure enough, both the roots and the rest of the tree go down to the ground exactly as and where I expected. I can now get a cold beer to calm my nerves and wait for my grapple to get delivered before I tackle the job of getting rid of the tree.

thanks for the help.

[Charlesaf3]

Huh. Thanks for letting us know how you did it, glad you're safe.

I think I would have tried dragging the fir first with the tractor. If no luck, I would have tried cutting with the saw perpendicular to the stresses on the tree - ie the sides, to the point I could snap it with the tractor.

Freeing the maple was a good idea. Not sure that would have occurred to me. My little b3030 is too small to move trees that are still attached to the ground generally.

[DCJL]

Yea I was glad to get the maple out of there. Never thought about cutting the fir on the side. Not sure if I would have liked being near it cutting that way, but it probably was not under much stress sideways.

My TC34 would only pull a little bit harder than your 3030 but I have turf tires and did not feel like putting the chains back on so it's pulling power in the mud was kinda limited. It's great having this forum to bounce ideas off of other people who have more experience.