Found a Widow Maker

Xfaxman · Jan 13, 2015

This is how I deal with big dead trees using the V417 and the stump bucket.

Slowly extend the boom.

Top of the tree is on the ground, drive around and pop the roots out.

Got the roots out and several months later, moved it to a brush pile.

It showed on the satellite before I moved it.

buckeyefarmer · Jan 13, 2015

My dad and I used to cut a lot of timber. Once I went way out around a tree my dad was cutting, only didn't go far enough and got hit with the very top branches as the tree feel, that stung like whips. Course my dad really got on me about that. Then there was the time I about rolled the dozer...

FTG-05 · Jan 14, 2015

Xfaxman said:
This is how I deal with big dead trees using the V417 and the stump bucket.

[snip]

It showed on the satellite before I moved it.

I do that with my tractor as well, but only if I know the tree isn't going to lean or fall back towards me. If I can't get behind it or know that it won't fall back, then I'll attach a cable and pull the bottom out towards me from a long way away.

Oh, and another thing I always do: Make this the first job of the day so I'm not tired, in a hurry or not looking at all the options/angles and/or all three. Like that hickory tree above: I had already spent a good part of the day out in the woods, was a bit tired and just didn't feel like messing with it at the time. Thought about it over night (and listened to the suggestions here) and took it down - safely - in about one minute.

FTG-05 · Jan 14, 2015

Finally had a barber chair today (at least that's what I think it's called. Another hickory leaning over one end of my pole barn field with dead branches. Started the back cut and heard a big "crack" and decided to stop the cut and move behind a double tree a few feet away. When the tree popped, the bottom snapped out about 3' before falling over. Good thing I moved out of the way.

View from behind the tree that I was behind when it snapped:

You can see how far the tree split before falling in this pic:

If you can look at these pics and figure out why it barber chaired on me, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Xfaxman · Jan 14, 2015

FTG-05 said:
Finally had a barber chair today (at least that's what I think it's called. Another hickory leaning over one end of my pole barn field with dead branches. Started the back cut and heard a big "crack" and decided to stop the cut and move behind a double tree a few feet away. When the tree popped, the bottom snapped out about 3' before falling over. Good thing I moved out of the way.

View from behind the tree that I was behind when it snapped:

You can see how far the tree split before falling in this pic:

If you can look at these pics and figure out why it barber chaired on me, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

It looks more like it twisted, than barber chaired. I think the trunk was not perfectly straight and had weight off center at the top.

donk2014 · Jan 14, 2015

On the West coast red alder would get rather large, 2 to 3 feet. They also had a tendency to split or barber chair. As a safety feature we would go a couple of feet up from the cut and wrap a chain around it and tighten with a binder.

Pilot · Jan 14, 2015

FTG-05, I'm glad you got your tree down safely. BUT, what you did seems unsafe to me, although I will readily admit I am no expert. I have felled about 50 + trees and in my stand about half the trees hang up because the the density of the stand.

1. Looking at the Stihl MS290 manual, where they say how to fall a tree, they say the felling cut should be 1-2 inches above the center of the notch--same as what I was taught. Yours looks quite a bit higher and I suspect doing so could result in a barber chair.
2. Cutting a partially cut tree in a second location looks pretty unstable and unpredictable.

I hope an expert will reply and tell me if I'm wrong.

Again, I'm glad you go it down with no injury.

oosik · Jan 15, 2015

A ways back - post #37 - Walking Horse asked if anybody had fallen a tree on the power lines. Well, long ago I had a huge P. pine get caught up in the winds and it fell exactly backwards. Scared the B-Jesus out of me - flailing lines and sparks everywhere but it didn't cause an outage or bring the lines down. Fortunately, it was just the very top that hit the lines. And they were major transmission lines to boot. I did call the power company and they determined - no damage done.

Walkin Horse · Jan 15, 2015

Ok that's what I was waiting on. 3 years ago when I was clearing out front I took out a big pine. No cable pulling and it fell perfect. My confidence was up then and I backed up to the next one. I didn't take into consideration all the limbs were 90 degrees to my cut. When I cut thru the back it spun 90 degrees. I got the saw out and it was like sloooow motion watch that tree fall. After it spun that put the weight 180 degrees to where I started. It fell completely opposite of where I started. It took out one panel of my roundpen. Then the top came to rest on the powerline. Every time it bounced sparks would fly til a fuse blew up the road. I just stood there wondering what happened.

Then the neighbors showed up. I had called my wife to tell her to call the power co. When one guy showed up he was pissed. Messed his supper up. He told me to get the top off the line before the power co got there to speed them up. Then he left. I was wondering about getting electrocuted but he said you knocked out the power what's the danger. I later found out that's Wrong.

I picked a spot to cut the trunk from the top. When I cut thru the weight of the trunk relieved the lines. The lines sprung back up and tittleywinked the top over my head and bending up another round pen panel. Somehow I lived thru this and learned several lessons that day. Any trees that need to come out near the lines I now cable them to the hoe or dig them up and push them.

Maybe not the widow maker this thread is about but sure could have been a widow maker.

And I did not fire my gun on New Years.

Parkanzky · Jan 15, 2015

Walkin Horse said:
Ok that's what I was waiting on. 3 years ago when I was clearing out front I took out a big pine. No cable pulling and it fell perfect. My confidence was up then and I backed up to the next one. I didn't take into consideration all the limbs were 90 degrees to my cut. When I cut thru the back it spun 90 degrees. I got the saw out and it was like sloooow motion watch that tree fall. After it spun that put the weight 180 degrees to where I started. It fell completely opposite of where I started. It took out one panel of my roundpen. Then the top came to rest on the powerline. Every time it bounced sparks would fly til a fuse blew up the road. I just stood there wondering what happened.

Then the neighbors showed up. I had called my wife to tell her to call the power co. When one guy showed up he was pissed. Messed his supper up. He told me to get the top off the line before the power co got there to speed them up. Then he left. I was wondering about getting electrocuted but he said you knocked out the power what's the danger. I later found out that's Wrong.

I picked a spot to cut the trunk from the top. When I cut thru the weight of the trunk relieved the lines. The lines sprung back up and tittleywinked the top over my head and bending up another round pen panel. Somehow I lived thru this and learned several lessons that day. Any trees that need to come out near the lines I now cable them to the hoe or dig them up and push them.

Maybe not the widow maker this thread is about but sure could have been a widow maker.

And I did not fire my gun on New Years.

Out of curiosity, did the power company charge you to repair the damage?

Our property has an easement down one side that allows a couple of neighbors to have a shared drive to their properties behind ours. Our drive runs parallel to theirs and there is a strip of lawn between them with power poles running all the way back to their homes. There are trees on the outside of both of our drives. Some of them are dead. One fell across our drive in a storm a couple months ago, but it wasn't nearly tall enough to reach the lines. However, there are a few that look like they could get there. Since my new hobby is cleaning up the downed trees/limbs and the snags, I'm going to want to cut a few of them down. Maybe it's time that I try using the "stick method" to measure their heights and see if there's any real danger.