How would you fall this?

[fishpick]

UPDATE : I aint doing NUTHIN for a bit - took a walk last night and that end of the field is standing water - no way am I hooking a chain on that monster and trying to pull it from the upper reaches sideways... I'd then be posting "can i use a winch to the partially down tree to pull my tractor out of the mud" threads...

It's a mess down there now - also - a top of a dead tree came down where I need to pull from as well - so - FIRST I need to clean that up... after things dry out. I will update this thread - but it won't be for a bit - as more rain expected tomorrow and Sunday.

 

[2manyrocks]

I just scanned this entire thread. Is there a particular reason for wanting to cut this instead of letting nature, time and gravity take care of it?

 

[Little Red Tractor]

This is actually about the only practical use I'd have for tannerite.

 

[Diggin It]

I just scanned this entire thread. Is there a particular reason for wanting to cut this instead of letting nature, time and gravity take care of it?

Dunno .... vvvvvv

So why is it necessary to do anything? Nip off that one limb and be happy you have a custom sample of Nature's art.

Mow around it as needed.

 

[fishpick]

…about 12’ from that it’s resting (left side of pic) on a berm built as a range backstop.

Literally in my first post first paragraph.

Highly used part of the property.

 

[fishpick]

Dunno why the forum turns this picture on its side. But ain’t no way I can do anything to pull on it for a while. This was a close call for sinking the tractor to its frame that I avoided because of experience!!!

Still raining today too.

As for pics of the base and the berm. I had work boots on. Not waders and there was maybe 4” standing water there.

Maybe I can get to this in July… (sigh)

 

[fishpick]

Current Status of the tree.

The L4760 did good. Even with the R1s tho - the ground is still soft. Not like the other picture in this thread but soft enough that I could pull but never bog the motor. She started digging into the too moist soil well before we would know if she could move the tree.
That said - I don’t think we were moving it off the berm fully even if the ground was perfect traction dryness... That base and rootball still attached to the earth is massive!

So what I did was go at the berm with the loader right next to where the tree was laying on it. Then used a shovel to undercut the berm some where the tree was resting. And then pulled some more.
Tree came down quite a bit. Repeated a few times.
I was then able to get under the thing with the chain saw and cut some of the limbs off that were making ground contact. Then pull some more.
did this 3-4 times. The tree is now more than 1/2 way lower than it was.

Now I think it’s positioned that it’s reasonable to get up there and cut from top down in 3-4 foot sections letting each drop and the trunk settle.
I can tell you I have done the plunge cut technique 1 other time. Much smaller tree. Not a cottonwood- which as I and other have said can be unpredictable as hell. I was NOT looking forward to this tree / this situation to plunge cut at the berm.
Well - cutting a maybe 4” limb off the trunk with very little pressure on the ground (not enough to bind the bar) - it split in the same manner as a barber chair would. So - yeah. Thrilled it’s in a much more manageable position. Even with that said - I’m taking my time and being super careful!

 

[fishpick]

After less than an hour with my new Harbor Freight electric pole saw (Atlas thing really is impressive for the cost!) All the branches with leaves are off and most branches are back to the trunk. The only limitation really is the short 10” bar on a tree this big.

After topping out the canopy branches I hooked it onto the tractor again and actually got about 2’ of lateral movement before the ground just let loose and traction was lost.
A lot lower to the ground now.
Next step is to start cutting 4’ sections back from the top and see what happens.

 

[2manyrocks]

After less than an hour with my new Harbor Freight electric pole saw (Atlas thing really is impressive for the cost!) All the branches with leaves are off and most branches are back to the trunk. The only limitation really is the short 10” bar on a tree this big.

Did you buy this Atlas 40v pole saw? 40V Cordless 10 in. Pole Saw - Tool Only. Your thoughts on the saw?

 

[Buckeye Guy]

Been following this thread; finally found some pictures of a similar situation I had 5 years ago, maybe not as big as yours. I began by cutting off all the branches, working from small to big, eventually working down the trunk a small section at a time. There was obviously some stored energy there, but it was very anti-climatic, it eventually creaped up (very slowly) after each section i cut off, until the dirt ball settled back on the ground. Even then I was very leery, but by cutting off small chunks at a time, it turned out to be very easy cut it all up and haul it off with the fel. Hated losing my canoe, though.

 

[fishpick]

Did you buy this Atlas 40v pole saw? 40V Cordless 10 in. Pole Saw - Tool Only. Your thoughts on the saw?

Yes - I bought one of the 80V batteries too with charger because the 80V work in 80V and 40V... and I'm hoping they come up with a snow blower like a "Snow Joe" I can use on my deck in the winter.

As for the saw - I'm impressed with the Harbor Freight Atlas 40V Pole Saw - as a $95 tool (not including the battery) - it's really good. The saw part of the pole is seeming well built, got a lot of torque and very controllable. It didn't leak bar oil all over everything after filling... unlike my Husky chainsaw that seems to leak even when there's nothing in it to leak... Chain needed tensioning after about 15 minutes... and was easy to tension and holds as set. The pole is "not" telescoping. I suppose someone might be annoyed to add another 3' you need to detach the handle pole from the saw pole and put a 3rd pole in there... but the plastic connectors and threaded tighteners work really well and the poles are indexed to line up real simple too.

My wife thougth I bought a "toy" - after watching me cutting for 15 minutes she was really impressed with how well it worked... so when a tool gets her 2 thumbs up - it's a good tool!

 

[fishpick]

Here’s where we got today before the storms hit.

Not a whole lot left. Used the bucket to lift me up to the trunk. I’d make a nice undercut and a side cut that lined up with it for reference while secured to the bucket with a harness and strap. Then I’d climb up on the trunk, have the loader back off, and finish the top cut down - just falls right it the ground.
working in 3’ sections give or take. Small enough that nothing crazy should happen. Big enough there’s an end to the project in sight.
probably 5 or 6 more cuts and I’m done. The rootball and base will stay right where they are and just add to the shooting berm backstop mass as they sit.
Heat index was 103 today when doing this so I actually stopped because I was hot. Wife said I was done anyhow look up. We raced the storm back to the barn!

 

[fishpick]

And we are done.

The last 16’ or so of the trunk to the rootball can sit where it is forever as part of the backstop.

This has now officially stopped being a cleanup project and become a range backstop improvement project as the next steps are gonna be piling the trunk sections on and infront of the berm adding height and depth.
last few chunks were a lot bigger diameter than my bar length - so I undercut up about 1/4. Then cut in from the side close to me. Then cut down from the top until the kerf opened up. Pulled my saw and then used the loader to push it (not a lot of force needed) and snap it off letting 4’ or longer sections fall off.
when the very last section came off the trunk gently came up about 4”. And then, Ohh so slowly another 2-3” while I was putting tools away.
So - safe, slow and controlled -only one moment of a “humm”. So - all in all - very successful and my last update on this thread in terms of status. Cause status is “done”!