Willow Tree Fell !!

   / Willow Tree Fell !! #1  

Doc_Bob

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
3,059
Location
Wisconsin
Tractor
2003 NH TN70A
No wind, bright sunny day and this old rotten willow just fell without warning. My NH TN70A was parked right where it fell 2 hours earlier! Had the tractor been there, serious damage would have occurred. Instead, my Bush Hog, Tiller were covered but no damage. Missed everything by inches. Now, how do I get this thing cut a part and keep everything safe? I have an 18 inch chain saw.

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Bob
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #2  
Move the implements and hook that bad boy 70 to the tree and drag it to a cut/burn pile. :)
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #3  
Holey Moley, that was close!!!!!!!!!

Don't know about the tree, but the pucker factor alone is enough to keep this interesting.

Eddie
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #4  
Your 18" chainsaw should be plenty to cut up this tree. On the thickest parts, the technique is to cut from both sides.

Here's how I would tackle the task, apart from Randy's good idea. The biggest problem you face is how to get it all on the ground with no air space underneath any sections. It would be exceedingly dangerous to just start cutting. There is tremendous energy stored in that prone old willow. Without taking other steps, you would just be asking for a pinched bar and potential mayhem if you were to actually cut through a section, mainly from twisting forces.

I would use your tractor's fel. Hopefully you have hooks on your bucket. I would start by lifting the base of the tree, say 8' in from the end, by wrapping chain around the trunk and back to your bucket hooks. The tighter and closer to the hooks the better. The idea is to prevent the portion that you haven't cut from spinning/twisting off your bucket when you relieve the uncut portion of the weight of the piece you do cut off. You don't have to lift it high at all, just enough so the base end is off the ground.

Now you can proceed to make a top cut. Given that it's an old rotten willow, it is doubtful that you will have to make a cut all the way through, it will start cracking. Once it does that lower the bucket and it will probably break off. An alternative to this is to make an undercut, not very deep, maybe 1/4 or less, to establish a break point and lower the tree ubruptly to the ground. I consider this somewhat more dangerous since the trunk is likely to be hollow or rotten in the middle.

Regards the biggest branch in pic 1 and 2, I would place my bucket under the tops of that branch and see if you can't break or crack them enough to take the tension off. Once you have accomplished that you can cut that branch from the trunk. Make it easy on yourself, cut from what ever angle is most comfortable for you. Again, to take the pucker factor out of the operation, as Eddie put it, you can support the branch with chains/bucket, but don't lift it, you want gravity in your favor.

Repeat the above as appropriate. The main idea is to have a section hanging in the air when you cut it off. Once everything is on the ground, it's just cutting up firewood.

That's how I'd do it. Good luck.

Mike
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #5  
I would remove any small branches around the tops, cut loose, then take away, do not leave any slash under feet. best working with 2nd person diong this. start out near the tips, sutting the small stuff, untill you an get close to the main parts of the tree & to get the equipment out of harms way.

using tractor to assist you in cutting is probably not a great idea in my opinion, sure to support the main part of truck, or to prevent it from twisting back at you but lifting something that size with anything ligher than a 50+ hp tractor is asking for some problems if it lifts it at all...

limbs that are UP off hte ground can be cut small sections at a time let drop down and clean out away from tree. just like smaller sections, working way down to trunk. Leave larger branches in place that are contacting the ground to support the tree as it sets. After you have the slash and most any and all self supported limbs gone take on the main trunk areas and any limbs that are supporting the trunk half as it is setting.

rember that you CAN use the tractor to help you in moving the thing if it is setting lop sided then by all means chain & pull it around and or over so that the branches and more limbs can be cut back as before.

Durring all steps be sure to keep tractor out of way incase the thing wants to twist & roll over. (AS WELL AS YOU'RE SELF ;) ) DON'T cut to much off one part of the tree move around the crown taking out parts evenly so as to maintain ballance of the load on the branches that it is resting on.

Make sure you have extra bar & chain handy, so you can/could remove the bar if you get pinched any and put on 2nd bar. if the weight is suspended Up (base holding end high in air) then cut down from the top, if the limb end is laying on the ground and weight pushing down then cutting UP from bottom at angle so when weight comes down the cut opens UP freeing the bar to finish cutting up from bottom.

mark M
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #6  
Something else that hasn't been mentioned is that you should take down the other 1/2 of that willow before it comes down.

Greg
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #7  
Mornin Doc,
Glad to hear you didnt damage anything with that tree coming down ! As some one else stated get yourself an extra bar and chain in case you get yours pinched in the cutup process :) BTW a 18" bar will cut a 36" tree, it just takes a little manuevering, spelled PITA. Good Luck !:)
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #8  
Spiker, I rather agree with you about lifting tree trunk this size with a less than 50 hp tractor, but Doc said his tractor is a NH TN70A. The source I checked said his tractor has 66 hp or thereabouts. Otherwise I wouldn't have recommended this method. I also assumed that Doc would know to add rear counterweight (heaviest implement, etc.) to his tractor for heavy fel lifting.

I know a lot of folks approach the task much like you have described, but my personal experience is that cutting out tops when a heavy trunk is up in the air tends to result in a progessive degree of precariousness of a lot of mass and weight which will likely eventually want to topple. Just my opinion.

I agree with Greg that the other half of the tree should come down. I didn't approach that because it looks like a dangerous tree to take down, given the amount of lean and the probability of it being somewhat rotten also. All I can say is I would approach that task very cautiously.

Mike
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #9  
do you have any felling wedges? They can be used to prevent the tree trunk from pinching the bar while cutting. You can also used regular splitting wedges, but that's not the best thing, they are heavy, made of metal and be very damaging if they get ejected or dropped suddenly.

Work slowly, calculate the cuts, releasing energy in the tree as you go... Others gave good advice already.

Oh yea, dont forget: head protection, ear, eye, gloves, chaps
 
   / Willow Tree Fell !! #10  
Start from the top down. That releases the various tensions a bit at a time instead of one sudden shift. While cutting, stand so that the remaining part of the tree will miss your body if it does shift. I remove top branches and trash back to the log and then cut on the log until I reach the next branch, remove that branch (note there is nothing left of the log above the branch left to hit me if the log shifts) and repeat as necessary. I have cut up many a tree just like that one over the past 40 years, never did need to chain a tractor to it but it may be a good idea.

If you do have a helper, make absolutely sure you know where he is and what he is doing before you make each cut.

Harry K
 
 
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