Removing trees

[rem40x]

Hey Folks,
I read months worth of post and it was a great help in sizing my tractor. Now a L4400 is on the way w/ a Long Grapple. Thank you!
(Many thanks also for suggesting Brady, he has been great and where I purchased the tractor)

My first project is to turn an acre of woods into a food plot. Some of the trees are 18-30". I plan to cut the trees and leave enough stump for a hired dozer, then burn the stumps.

A couple lean toward a river or my shop. Was thinking of a cable/pulley to ensure they fall the right way. I've read the safety forum and understand the dangers, my question is on how big a cable? 200 feet of 7x19 1/2" and a block&tackle?

Also, how big a tree/stump should I attempt to remove w/ chain/cable/pulley with a 44hp and filled tires?
Thanks,
Greg
Siler NC

 

[J_J]

1/2 or 3/4 in should work. Do you have a way to get the rope high up on the tree? Do you have something to hook the block and tackle to.

A rope and pulley around a tree in the direction you want it to fall, and the rope at right angle to the direction hooked to the back of a truck will work.

 

[rem40x]

Hey J.J.
I have a 16' extension ladder and was going to use 4" nylon straps on the trees. Does it make any difference what type of cable? I was thinking anything above 4,000 min breaking strength should do it. The worst one might be leaning at 70 degrees.
Thanks

 

[brin]

Why don't you have a tree man climb the tree and take it down from the top..I am in Georgia and that is not expensive here at all...I just had a 36 dia. Oak and a large cedar tree that were both very tall and growing in a bad situation for me to try and cut..I paid $200.00 and he climbed both trees and took them down from the top - down..and now I have the firewood..Buying that long a cable won't be cheap..Just a thought.

 

[Reg]

It is VERY EASY to underestimate the weight of a tree and miscalculate the forces that it could exert on whatever cables, chains, etc you use and what you tie those to.

It would be TRAGIC indeed to see you post here that the cable was fine, the tractor was fine, but the falling tree dragged it into the river, or even just dragged it a little way and then it tipped over.

How BIG of a tree stump you can reasonably remove with a 44HP tractor depends on the species more than almost anything else.
Willows are shallow rooted and easy, but anything with a deep tap root is probably best left to the guy with the excavator.

 

[Renze]

I'd cut down some branches on one end to throw it off balance. Then start yanking so the remaining crown will wave. When it waves towards you, continue pulling so the swinging mass helps you, it gives just that little extra momentum.

When you cut the crown on one end, it wont swing that way when the rope breaks.

Off course when you've cut the stump at ground level, hire an excavator or backhoe, theres no way you're going to pop any reasonably sized rootball when you dont have the leverage of a long stump.

 

[inmaestro]

Whatever you do, check and double check for safety. Check out safety section on this site where the "pros" cut down a large section of tree while attached to a 175 ton crane. Managed to tip the crane over onto a house when they took to big a section of tree. The "experts" estimated the tree section weighed 6000 lbs...it actually weighed 12000lbs.

That said, consider the tree climber noted above. A trained tree man can drop surprisingly large trees a bit at a time very cost effectively. If you really want to DIY, get skilled folks to help. Without seeing the exact pulley set up you propose, it is impossible to say if it is safe or not.

As for the stumps, if you can get a backhoe, with patience you can remove surprisingly large root balls. Course a big dozer works, too.

Stay safe and take er slow.

 

[scgargoyle]

When I had some clearing done, I had a guy come in with an excavator, and push the whole tree over. They're much easier (and safer) to deal with on the ground. BTW- He wanted more money to dig the stumps out then he did to push the trees over. What surprised me was that the oaks were actually easier to push over than the pines!

 

[schmism]

Also, how big a tree/stump should I attempt to remove w/ chain/cable/pulley with a 44hp and filled tires?

with the right ground conditions i can snatch a 1-2" sapling out of the ground with a cable and the FEL on my 33hp tractor.

3" takes some pre work with a shovel and axe but not to much

4-5" is about as big as i go before all the time put into the hand work you could have just saved up and borrowed a bigger tractor or rented something.

I have hand dug stumps as big as 20" before and used a truck/tractor to snatch the wood out after hrs of chopping and digging.

but even a 12" stump is just a few min of time on a small (rear mounted tractor) backhoe.

 

[kthompson]

Depending on the type of trees and the number you may find a pro who will take them out for the lumber.

I have hooked an oak that was no bigger than 20 inches on stump and not a large tree at all (one of the oaks that did not grow that tall or big limbs) to small pickup once and only needed to help pull the tree a few degrees. As the tree pulled the pickup rather than the other way around it only busted one window on my mothers house. No other damage than pride.

Since then have pulled many of bigger size with 6 to 8,000 pound tractor and long cable. I happened to be given the cable sufficient for the job. Did hitch cable at least 20 feet in air for leverage and then pulled with tractor the direction I wanted it to go. If the tractor did not or could not cause it to bend that direction I would not cut it. Now if a real large tree that was with the wedge being cut.

The warning about the crane is a little different than what I think you are after as they were planning on holding the load up and the crane in my opinion was not set up as it should have been but hey I only ran them on a test site for the manufacturer with tip and not tip lifts required. Low angle booms get you in trouble.

However the advice even the pros can miss it is true. But they are insured or don't let them on your site.