Bottle jack method of tree felling (plus rope?)

[Jonsdeere]

When you use a line on a tree...... wire rope or manila or poly.... take a ladder and place it around the tree as high as you dare. The higher up you go the better leverage you will have. TENSION is the theory. Not pulling it over with your pickup or tractor. First you face it up. Then you create tension with your line. Being able to read the tension is an art in itself. Too much, the tree will barberchair and split like crazy even if you bore it.

Make the face, tighten up the rope a bunch. You test it like splaying a banjo or guitar. You want it TIGHT but not too tight. Again, Tension is the key.

Remember that the tension goes away as soon as the tree moves just a small amount in the direction the tension is applied from. Felling trees can be part smarts, part luck!

 

[Mudfarmer]

I fell some cottonwood trees about the size you describe by putting on a chain at about twenty feet up (as far as I could climb up an extension ladder). I hooked that to a cable leading to an anchored come-along. Notably the come-along did not have to be out from under the reach of the top of the tree -it would take a pretty unlucky direct hit to damage one. Cranking the come-along brought the top of the tree over about twenty feet. I made a simple shallow undercut (I did this while the tension was on so was careful not to go too deep all at once and get the saw pinched) and then a back cut. On a different species I might have chained to prevent a barber chair. I didn't need a wedge or a jack. Cottonwoods are heavy - they come down with a real thump you feel deep in your gullet.

 

[Surshot]

You might try a plum-bob and surveyors string with enough loose string on the ground to go up and down to the ground on the other side of a tree. A plumb-bob is one of the first things a surveyor learns to throw with accuracy and distance.

 

[Going4it]

I've tried the bottle jack method on a wrong way leaner last fall. Apparently my jack was too light/small. The 20 inch tree had only about an inch left for the hinge, as it wouldn't move from jacking, so I kept picking at the hinge until it fell over opposite the direction I intend.
Needless to say that bottle jack is no more. The jack was crushed, fluid and the metal plate all flew out. Luckily I was not injured and the tree fell into the neighbors woods. Lesson learned for me!
I once had a coffee cup with the saying
"Learn from the mistakes of others because you won't live long enough to make them all yourself "

 

[BradB]

Given the quantity and location of the trees this sounds like a job for insured professionals. All the discussion of cables/ropes tied to vehicles and jacks should raise a red flag. Good luck and be safe.

 

[hslogger]

I have a few more thoughts to share, aside from falling and bucking timber, I also did extensive urban removals with a local arborist. PROFESSIONAL Arborists use a throw ball to get a line high up into a tree. Basically it is a big bean bag with shot gun shot in it. The bag is nylon or kelvar and has ring on it. The ring gets attached to very light but strong line that is a hundred or so feet long. Often it is thrown up there by hand, other times with a giant, pole mounted sling shot. It's called a Big Shot. Anyway lots of ways to get the line up in the tree, . As the bag goes over a major limb, the thrower works the line so the bag drops. The other end of the line is attached to a stronger rope, ie a Bull Line, or Climbing Line.

You pull the weighted end until the working line goes over the limb and comes down. Then you can proceed to use that line in the way you want. If it is a climbing line, you attach your apparatus, Prusik, or belt. If it is a bull line, you put a loop in it, run the other end through it, tighten up and you have your pulling line.

Jacks are sketchy in small diameter tree felling. I wouldn't use a jack under anything under two feet. yah you can do it, but larger diameter trees gie more working space for the jack AND wedges to use to back up your jack. Cutting a small wedge shaped shelf for your jack is the safe way to do it and you have room to put in your wedges to stay up with the jack in case it fails.

Some people cut the whole back side out and stick the jack in there. They presume the jack won't ever fail and put all their eggs in one basket. It aint the smart thang to do. Even with big double pumper old growth jacks, we cut two wedges out instead of involving the whole back.

A shortee bottle jack is better to use than a tall one in my experience. As the jacking process goes, you need a thick steel plate to go over the jack head. As you jack, you will notice that the angle of the plate riding on the jack head changes and "might slip" the higher you go.
It's best if you are using some doofer jack to have a circle welded on the plate that slips over the jack head. That way as the jack goes up, the head stays secure in the confines of the circle.
Having an under performing jack is risky at best. We never used anything less than twenty ton shortee Duff Norton railroad jacks until Silvey began building a line of aluminum jacks. "just my two cents" for what it's worth https://www.bartlettman.com/collect...MIoeGWhsCo-AIVIRh9Ch07KAoPEAAYASAAEgIH_fD_BwE

 

[Fxfymn413]

A more red-neck version is an air powered tennis ball launcher made with a lawn sprinkler valve. Plans here: http://www.antennalaunchers.com/TBLa1.pdf

 

[mapper]

Tried jacking a 20-24" maple years ago with my FIL. Had a 16 ton bottle jack, blew the seals in the jack. Tree didn't move. I don't remember how we got the tree down, it was 40 years ago.

 

[s219]

If you just want the tree to come down slow and controlled, there are face cuts that will slow down the action. Basically you want a block notch or wide angle notch that will give the hinge fibers more time to bend before the face closes and causes the fibers to fracture. Some species of wood are more amenable to this.

The use of a jack doesn't factor in to speed and control for the actual fall. It just gives you some time/control at the beginning, but you could use wedges for that. If I am understanding what you're asking about, it means you want to slow down and control the fall after the tree is going over. For that, the face cut and hinge are the bag of tricks.

 

[ray66v]

Reading the tree and understanding where the center of gravity is, based on where the mass is, is critical in getting the tree to fall where you want it.

The bottle jack method is a great way to move the top of the tree, shifting the weight to the direction you want it to fall, when your talking about a substantial lean.

I have seen some amazing work done that way, on YouTube.