s219
Super Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2011
- Messages
- 8,608
- Location
- Virginia USA
- Tractor
- Kubota L3200, Deere X380, Kubota RTV-X
I don't see how you would get a predictable notch and back cut in the rotten section. Is the tree sound up above that? Occasionally I have to place cuts higher off the ground to get into sound wood (sometimes because a tree is bent for example). It's dicier when doing that to avoid rotten wood below. The trick is to make sure the base will hold steady while cutting above and not collapse before the hinge does its thing. I'd need to closely examine the tree to really say for sure.
I am sure it's tempting to back cut the good wood and think about pushing or pulling the tree in the direction of the rotten wood. But you really have no way to control the fall at that point, even with a cable on the tree. The tree could twist or turn on the stump and go in a totally different direction. When it does that, it could also yank your cable (and whatever's on the end of it) in a dangerous way.
We recently took down a tree with a rotten bottom. Sent a climber up a nearby tree, then he hopped over to the rotten tree and took it apart piece by piece from the top down. Only when the remaining tree was about 20' tall did we cut the bottom and let it fall over with a rope to guide it. Here are a couple photos from that job:
That was a $400 job, by the way.
I am sure it's tempting to back cut the good wood and think about pushing or pulling the tree in the direction of the rotten wood. But you really have no way to control the fall at that point, even with a cable on the tree. The tree could twist or turn on the stump and go in a totally different direction. When it does that, it could also yank your cable (and whatever's on the end of it) in a dangerous way.
We recently took down a tree with a rotten bottom. Sent a climber up a nearby tree, then he hopped over to the rotten tree and took it apart piece by piece from the top down. Only when the remaining tree was about 20' tall did we cut the bottom and let it fall over with a rope to guide it. Here are a couple photos from that job:
That was a $400 job, by the way.