All bad idea on tree removal

[N80]

I do not mess with standing dead trees if they have any size to them. I have knocked over and dug up hundreds of young pine trees most of them small enough that if they fell on me it might hurt but probably not kill or injure me. The closest calls I have had was when pushing them into big piles sometimes one would bend into a bow then ride over the bucket and snap back towards me. Fortunately it missed me. But I'm pretty sure it would have hurt me bad if it had hit me. I'm very careful about that now.

 

[jenkinsph]

I do not do tree cutting anymore, I have other wood cutters do this. They need the money more than I do and I am glad to help them out. All I ask is for a copy of their insurance from their agent.

 

[Thall303]

Some of these videos are very instructive........for what not to do!

 

[boggen]

*cringes* darn lucky! i thought for sure was going to see tree on top of him on the ground.

 

[Rara Avis]

Ouch

LiveLeak.com - Man tries to fell tree with tractor. Tree wins.

Personally, I like this one, though no tractors are involved...

 

[RSKY]

Personally, I like this one, though no tractors are involved...

View attachment 512020

I hate to admit it but I've done this before except it was a large limb sticking straight out on an oak tree in my neighbors yard. He was holding the ladder, looking up at the bottom of my shoes, when the limb hit the ladder. I was on the east side of the tree when it struck, landed on the west side on my back. Still gives me a twinge ever now and then and that was fifteen years ago.

RSKY

 

[sandman2234]

I am curious why digging at the tree roots with a backhoe and then pushing the tree over with the hoe is a bad idea? Realizing trees have a direction that they prefer to fall, and with nothing around to "be in the way" that might change the direction of fall, what could go wrong? I would assume that the digging only happens on one side of the tree, thereby allowing the roots on the other side to help prevent the tree from coming back towards the tractor. (Probably something in this I am missing). Doing it with a dead tree would not be considered, and doing it from a ladder is (sorry RSKY) just stupid!!
David from jax

 

[Gary Fowler]

I am curious why digging at the tree roots with a backhoe and then pushing the tree over with the hoe is a bad idea? Realizing trees have a direction that they prefer to fall, and with nothing around to "be in the way" that might change the direction of fall, what could go wrong? I would assume that the digging only happens on one side of the tree, thereby allowing the roots on the other side to help prevent the tree from coming back towards the tractor. (Probably something in this I am missing). Doing it with a dead tree would not be considered, and doing it from a ladder is (sorry RSKY) just stupid!!
David from jax

I don't consider my self an idiot and I have dug up some pretty large pines with my B26. I start digging on the side that the tree is leaning then work the sides. Lastly I dig out the opposite side of the lean. If it doesn't fall then, a slight push with the backhoe gets it going. I have never had one fall in an opposite direction from what I was digging for. A little observation and planning prior to digging works for me. A few times I wanted a tree to fall opposite its lean so it wouldn't take out the fence. Me and my brother in law worked in tandem on them. I put a chain around the tree as high as I could get working of a 24 foot ladder. We put together enough 20ft chains to get outside the reach of the tree, then on the last piece we used a nylon tow strap so we had a little stretch on it. BIL tightened up the chains and strap and I started digging out on the felling side. Got the felling side, then each side and lastly the far side from the fell and it started going a bit, BIL kept tightening up on the line and it finally came down just where we wanted it. We have done the same thing but using a chain saw to fell larger trees also so that they went the right direction. I always got to saw the tree since BIL has a bad leg from a Vietnam War injury.

 

[ray66v]

Hey, anyone notice that had he stayed on the tractor it wouldn't have hit him? Also, his ROPS was down. And he wasn't wearing a seat belt. And..... yikes!

Yep. Why bother to protect yourself?

Hope it knocked some sense into him.

 

[sandman2234]

Yep. Why bother to protect yourself?

Hope it knocked some sense into him.

HA HA HA, that usually doesn't happen, lol... usually it turns out to be "the tree's fault" or "the tractor's fault" or the guy with the camera's fault.... NEVER the guy with the steering wheel in his hand, lol!
David from jax