Ever tried this?

[SPYDERLK]

I have trimmed limbs before off a ladder (not one inside a FEL bucket) but gave that up when one twisted around and hit me and the ladder and down we came with running chain saw in one hand. I was lucky that I just slide down with the ladder and landed on my feet but I was only about 8 feet up, not 30 feet like in your photo. No more trimming from a ladder for me. Now my trimming is done from the bed of my Kubota RTV with my brother in law driving me around. I can reach just about any limb needing trimmed with my saw. If I need to go higher we break out the pole saw. Most of my trees seem to grow limbs toward the ground so about every 2 years, we have another go around with them so they stay up off the ground with enough clearance to drive any of our tractors under them. I also think trees look better when trimmed up about 10-12 feet off the ground. I really don't need to trim any up as high as you were trimming. If limbs are hanging low from attachment point that high, I just cut off the end of the limb at some point about 10-12 feet in the air.

This! I have done it and my fear is mainly having the ladder swept away by the falling limb. The illustrated condition is extremely dangerous. ... I made a pallet platform with rails that goes to 14'. I use a pole saw from it. Safer but no picnic. Takes 2 to be convenient.

 

[rswyan]

How wrong can it go ?

Hired a local kid who had his own climbing gear and who was supposed to know how to do tree work to trim a few limbs here. Set it up so that he was not supposed to start cutting until I was out there to serve as his ground man. The morning of the appointed day I was woken up by the sound of chainsaw ... shortly followed by screams of "Help! ... Help! ..."

Kid was up in a tree trying to take down a 30' long limb that he'd tied off to a branch above. The limb was probably 10" diameter at it's base ... and had swung back when he cut thru it, pinning his leg to the trunk.

No way he was getting it off by himself, and it was a stretch for me to pull it back enough to free his leg ... because of where he had chosen to tie it off (balance)

Idiot ...

 

[NoTrespassing]

Looks pretty sketchy to me but hey, it's a free country. As long as I don't have to pay to support someone's dependents with my taxes I'm not going to tell them not to hurt themselves. Having said that, I bought a cheap Harbor Freight pole saw last year that might have taken that limb down.

Kevin

 

[teg]

I've got a few photos (that I'm not going to post)... 1996, Hurricane Fran, 27" Popular slammed into the house. Had a 24 foot ladder on top of the roof to cut branches off. I had to strap the ladder to the tree since every cut, the ladder would raise up. die:

One time I screwed up, was cutting down a dozen trees... last one to top was next to the house. Spiked up, dropping lower limbs, got to where I wanted to top it, notched it, started the back cut... the chainsaw ran out of gas when the top started to move. Knew I couldn't restart and finish the cut in time so I just prepared and waited... hook the climbing saw back on to the belt, had my arms ready to grab the tree truck.

Top of the tree didn't snap off until it pull the trunk over 2-3 feet. Top fell fine but when it snapped off... I spun around trunk a few times. Held on until I could re-spike in. Stupid for not refueling before heading up.

 

[the old grind]

Keep seeing a vid of a guy lopping a long and heavy limb. His ladder reaches only 6" or so above the limb and he's several feet from the trunk.

Soon as the heavy end drops off the rest springs up above the ladder's top and you can imagine what's next.

Of course this appears on 'funny' shows or YouTube but forgive me for not ever laughing when someone takes a fall.
(btw, no polite words for those who do ..)

 

[Paul Thornton]

I know better than to climb a ladder with a chainsaw. I talked my wife into driving the tractor and raising the bucket with me and my chainsaw so I could cut off a 6' branch which had lost the end due to ice. The branch was a good 6" in diameter. Because we were in the woods I had a hard time getting the tractor in a good position but figured I could stretch enough to cut it and stay out of the way when it dropped.
When it dropped it bounced on the bucket and rolled down the FEL arms heading toward my wife who was sitting in the operator seat. She managed to curl into a ball as the limb bounced off the dash and steering wheel and fly over her head nearly missing her by inched. The branch came to rest against the seat back after bouncing off the roll bar. She was off the tractor like a shot and left me in the bucket for a while to think about what I just put her through.
This happened almost two years ago and for some reason I now can't get her on the tractor anymore.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I know better than to climb a ladder with a chainsaw. I talked my wife into driving the tractor and raising the bucket with me and my chainsaw so I could cut off a 6' branch which had lost the end due to ice. The branch was a good 6" in diameter. Because we were in the woods I had a hard time getting the tractor in a good position but figured I could stretch enough to cut it and stay out of the way when it dropped.
When it dropped it bounced on the bucket and rolled down the FEL arms heading toward my wife who was sitting in the operator seat. She managed to curl into a ball as the limb bounced off the dash and steering wheel and fly over her head nearly missing her by inched. The branch came to rest against the seat back after bouncing off the roll bar. She was off the tractor like a shot and left me in the bucket for a while to think about what I just put her through.
This happened almost two years ago and for some reason I now can't get her on the tractor anymore.

THAT is a good story. (one you will never be allowed to forget- probably justifiably)

 

[tman1020]

I know better than to climb a ladder with a chainsaw. I talked my wife into driving the tractor and raising the bucket with me and my chainsaw so I could cut off a 6' branch which had lost the end due to ice. The branch was a good 6" in diameter. Because we were in the woods I had a hard time getting the tractor in a good position but figured I could stretch enough to cut it and stay out of the way when it dropped. When it dropped it bounced on the bucket and rolled down the FEL arms heading toward my wife who was sitting in the operator seat. She managed to curl into a ball as the limb bounced off the dash and steering wheel and fly over her head nearly missing her by inched. The branch came to rest against the seat back after bouncing off the roll bar. She was off the tractor like a shot and left me in the bucket for a while to think about what I just put her through. This happened almost two years ago and for some reason I now can't get her on the tractor anymore.

You might be the bravest guy on here letting your wife drive while you are in the bucket!!! Glad you both are ok that's a little to close for comfort.

 

[Howling]

Drive by guy today standing on top of ~3ft stepladder holding chainsaw looking at 4-5" limb above his head. Not a good thing

 

[check]

A much better idea is to tie a rope first, cut through the tree/limb nowhere near enough, then climb down the ladder, and then yank on the rope as hard as you can three or four times, and then if you hear no crack then back up the tree cut a little bit more and keep doing this so that when you finally pull it down and you are not on the latter.

 

[crazyal]

One thing I will say is that having the ladder in the bucket actually was a smart move. A ladder on the ground can have the feet kicked out pretty easily. But the back of the bucket would prevent that. Kind of like having a guy stand on the feet of the ladder while you climb it but much better. As for cutting off a ladder, it's not just the branch swinging around that can get you. If the tree sways at all once the branch is cut and you don't have a good grip (which is hard to do while cutting with a chainsaw) you could be racing that branch to the ground.

 

[Paul Thornton]

Tman, in hindsight "brave" is not the word I would choose today.

 

[teg]

One thing I will say is that having the ladder in the bucket actually was a smart move...

Yea, instead of hitting the soft ground... you'll cut the top of your head off with the bucket's edges... :shocked:


Actually, my wife's family had to take away their grandmother's ladder because she was still getting on the roof to clean gutters... when she was 90 y.o.!

 

[don white]

I have done this and I like using the tractor for a base. It is a solid platform that won't fall over I kinda like that.
However everything about your setup is wrong. The ladder is on the wrong side of the tree and should be tied to the tree and to the loader bucket. I use ratchet straps. You clearly did not make a back cut and did not have the limb tied off with a ground man on the other end of the tag line.
When you are on the other side of the tree from the branch and reach around the tree you can use both hands and hug against the tree. Also you must have a very light/small chain saw. The ground man is critical. Even if the branch does not swing back it can hit the ground and act like a spring and spring back to hit the ladder. If you can get a line over a higher branch all the better. Bow and arrow works nicely.

 

[Deere Dude]

I would have cut the whole tree down before I would have done that. You needed the firewood anyway. I like the pole saw idea others mentioned if the tree was a favorite tree and wanted to keep it at all costs. But, it looks like it was in the middle of a woods.

 

[Al Mac]

As this thread is under Kubota Owning/Operating. I have looked in the owners manual and could not find this procedure. What page is it on?
On a more serious note I think your son was doing the right thing but should have taken it to the next step and stopped you at the time (if you would listen) and not send the red head after you.
Your son and the red head care about you. Now it is time to step up to the plate and think before doing unsafe things.

Someone coined your years as the golden years. Enjoy them and play smart.

Stepping of the soapbox now.

Al

 

[bcp]

For those who insist on using a ladder, this may help on the bottom end. Then have a ladder-to-tree tie, and a fall safety system for the saw operator, plus other suggestions mentioned in the thread.

Monkey Rack Ladder Stabilizer

Personally, I wouldn't cut from a ladder for large limb cutting due to all the unpredictable behavior of falling limbs.

Bruce

 

[tjkubota93]

I'm not trying to plug the company, but I bought a 33' pole saw from ATSS. It works great. It's as good as their website says and better!

I cut similar branches on the same tree - one with 28' ladder and chainsaw belting off to tree with climbing harness, one with this pole saw. Using the pole saw was significantly less effort, and A LOT safer.

 

[Paul Thornton]

How do I find ATSS?

 

[Creamer]

When I was in high school we needed to paint the barn. It was one of those old barns with the peak on the end at about 40'. The way we got to it was to put an extension ladder in the bucket of the old Farmhand F-10 Loader that would lift close to 20' off the ground. Then we used another extension ladder to get up to the bucket. I had seen my mother do it before but by then she was in her mid-50s and I wasn't going to let her do it again. After I did it I didn't want to do it again but there was the other end so I did.

BTW - I had to paint fast as the loader did sink very slowly.