Felling dead tree

[JerryK]

With live trees, you can hook a cable/come along on them and bend them or make them tend to fall in just about any direction if you do it right. With a dead tree using the same method... at some point the tree will just crack and fall just about anyway it wants. Dead trees and dead tops are real dangerous.

 

[square1]

I'm going to go against the tide here. Why are you roping dead trees in the forest? Are there overhead utility lines in play? A property line or wetland in range to avoid?

There's a lot of ways to get a tree to the ground. I can count on one finger the number of trees I've put a rope in over the past 7 years of cutting 12~13 cord a year of dead ash.

I'd rather deal with a hang-up any day of the week than the unpredictable affect an introduced force is going to have on felling a tree. Glad this incident ended safely.

 

[check]

Actually you should be more worried about the poplars than you are. They are very split-prone. I had a friend helping on my property have a close call with a barber chair on one that was perfectly healthy. And is is VERY experienced in logging. A lot of times they are not as they rot easily and not always visibly from the outside. You can start cutting into one you think is perfectly fine, and partway in - zip! the saw moves fast all of a sudden as there is no wood in there. Poplars I watch like a hawk when felling. They make me very nervous. If I can, and especially if they are in a bad place, I will take them out when they are small and the risks are lower. No sense letting them get big as they just rot and snap or fall over early. Poplars are forest weeds. They grow fast and early in a forest and then die off when the slower growing stuff takes over (Oak, maple, cherry, etc)

Yes, Poplars are NASTY things, and I exterminate them. whenever I can. Unfortunately, the beavers love them, so I had to be Rattek this fall whereby they started cutting down every popular they found near my boat house. Now I am faced with the task of finishing off about three or four monsters that were partially cut, and will fall on my boat house if they come down without my direction.

 

[Cord]

Poplars are forest weeds. They grow fast and early in a forest and then die off when the slower growing stuff takes over (Oak, maple, cherry, etc)

The forest is actually regrowth from the Peshtigo fire that occurred in the 1880's. The trees seem to have hit maturity and are now dying off. Most are in the 85' height range and are 18-24" at the base. While I won't miss the Poplars, I will miss the Birch trees. I don't see any new ones coming up to replace the mature trees that are dying off.

 

[newbury]

Unfortunately I lost a friend 2 weeks ago to something like this. He was removing a tree that fell on the house. No one witnessed how it happened, but the tree fell on him an broke his neck. This is something that we all do all the time w/o thinking a lot about it, but probably one of the more dangerous things we do.

I had a "small" tree grab on to it's friends, spin around and fall on my back 2 years ago. Aggravated an already bad back and took a year for me to fully recover.

I'm going to go against the tide here. Why are you roping dead trees in the forest? Are there overhead utility lines in play? A property line or wetland in range to avoid?
<snip>

Yup, let them rot in place.

I should noted that this area is deep in the forest and inaccessible to tractor or bucket truck. I've taken trees down with lifts before and feel that is by far the best way to take one down.

The way the winch loaded the last tree I believe is the reason why the crown fell out of it. If we hadn't put strain on the trunk it probably would have broken on the way down and fell away from me.

The forest is actually regrowth from the Peshtigo fire that occurred in the 1880's. The trees seem to have hit maturity and are now dying off. Most are in the 85' height range and are 18-24" at the base. While I won't miss the Poplars, I will miss the Birch trees. I don't see any new ones coming up to replace the mature trees that are dying off.

Let them rot and go back to the soil. Was the ATV winch connected to an ATV? If you can't get a tractor or something to pull with to them what do you do after you cut them? Haul them out by hand?

 

[check]

These things are called widow makers for a reason. My dad was almost killed by a dead pine tree. The ones with the dead limbs aka flying missiles are the worst.

Yup. I always start by tying a rope as high as I can and yank it back and forth as violently as I can BEFORE beginning the cut.

 

[check]

Unfortunately I lost a friend 2 weeks ago to something like this. He was removing a tree that fell on the house. No one witnessed how it happened, but the tree fell on him an broke his neck. This is something that we all do all the time w/o thinking a lot about it, but probably one of the more dangerous things we do.

I am so sorry to hear about your friend, TexasDawg. Cutting trees can be so dangerous, and yet so many do it with very little training or knowledge about the dangers. It is too bad some sort of education campaign couldn't be mounted and e.g. heavily advertised ar chinsaw sales locations.

 

[Cord]

If you can't get a tractor or something to pull with to them what do you do after you cut them? Haul them out by hand?

We split the wood in place so the trash stays in the forest and haul the wood using atv trailers.

 

[Deere Dude]

I recently cut several trees that were leaning some in the wrong direction. As suggested I tied a rope as high as I could reach and wrapped it around the base of another tree or stump that was in the direction I wanted it to fall. Then I pulled at 90 degrees with the tractor. I had one that tried to go wrong and pinched the saw. I was far enough toward the hinge cut that I just turned off the saw and mounted the tractor to put more pressure on it. The tree succumbed and fell in the direction I wanted and the saw fell to the ground. These were all living trees so they weren't quite as dangerous.
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Quite a few years ago I was trying to bend a leaning 70' 15"dia, elm tree backwards away from the house. I used two cables and come-a-longs and really torqued it backwards. As I was cutting I don't remember if it was the back or side of the tree or what but I heard the tree crack a little and start to move on it's own. Just then my 55cc. John Deere saw got stuck so I gave it a jerk or two but to no avail. I left it and backed away. The saw fell out, the tree fell down and then commenced to roll right over my nice saw. Smashed it to smithereens. But over a few years time I was able to find an old chain saw with most of the parts needed to get it going again..

 

[Ed of all trades]

If you are positive you need them to come down, wait until you are going to have a wind storm and go out before the wend starts and weaken them with your saw but let the wend take them down. Just make sure no one will be there when they fall. Ed

 

[ovrszd]

In my 60 acres of timber I harvest all dead trees for firewood. Most can be fell with minimal risk. When I get to a hard one I have the neighbor go with me. While I'm cutting he's watching the tree. All I want him to do is holler at me while pointing at the danger. Gives me enough edge to get out of the way of falling debris. Seems the most dangerous is the dead pieces that are flung by the live tree limbs it's falling thru. The majority of mine are large oak trees up to 3' diameter. The local power company brush crew has taught me a lot about falling leaning trees and the various cuts to use depending on what reaction you want.

 

[SPYDERLK]

A couple of months ago I was cutting a dead tree that had a significant lean to it. I was pulling the tree in the direction that I wanted it to fall as I cut it. Over the chain saw I heard a loud crack overhead. I immediately let go of the saw and turned to my left. Didn't even make a full step when the top 6' of the tree fell right where I had been standing. Of course by now the tree was falling and my unattended saw was doing a really nice pirouette through the air. This fell could have gone so wrong that now it's got me a little hesitant to drop some more dead trees. This weekend I'd like to fell 8 popular trees that died over the last couple of years. Some died just this past year and still have all their branches. I think these trees are pretty safe. There are a couple that have been dead for a few years and have lost their branches. These are the ones I'm worried about. Is there a safer way to drop the trees that are loaded with widow makers? The pop'ls like to form trunk rot that's concealed by the bark so I've learned to not climb them.

I see youve had some time to think about it. -- Sounds like there was a jerk. ...How hard were you pulling? - What direction wrt lean? - Did you cut to form a compatible hinge to guide the direction? Was the hinge still intact when the fall began?

 

[Terry1040]

I just posted a video in the chainsaw forum here on TBN. It shows how to avoid 'barber chair' effects and how the hinge is designed to work if done properly. It also shows plunge cuts, etc. It is VERY worthwhile to watch and learn from this certified Husky pro instructor. Before you attempt any more seriously dangerous cutting of dead trees or even live ones I strongly urge you, and anyone else reading this thread to watch the video.

Here's the link: Note it is somewhat long and tedious at times, but entirely worthwhile if you value living over the alternative.

https://youtu.be/Teb2bQsqx44

Great video. Thanks for posting the link. I have cut lots of trees, but I have had lots of close calls also !

 

[Coyote machine]

Great video. Thanks for posting the link. I have cut lots of trees, but I have had lots of close calls also !

Thanks Terry 1040. I've been using chainsaws as my first real job as a ground crew guy for a huge tree surgeon company starting when I was around 13. I learned a lot, was taught to climb and eventually was out on my own clearing dead wood from huge trees at remote office complexes and similar large lots of land. there was little safety instruction except for basic saw skills. No safety helmets, chaps, ear plugs, NOTHING! No chain brakes, no safety chain....
I nearly got caught in the old style wood chippers a number of times, when large branches would try to pull me into the chute along with the wood. Scarry chit for sure. I even know a pro, about ten years or more my senior, who just recently died from his own chipper while working alone. One mistake and you're dead.

Hope others benefit from the video. One can never be too safe.:thumbsup:

BTW, check my new avatar- it's me and my Kioti and grapple loading my burn pile back up after two solid days of burning junk Poplar and other stuff to re-pasteurize some land near my barn.

 

[rekees4300]

One mistake and you're dead.

It's like terrorism, you have to win everyday but the tree only has to win once. :tree: A rotten tree almost got me a couple weeks ago. The day before I planned cutting it, the top half fell for no reason. For sure that would have fallen on me if I had cut it! Dodged a bullet!!! That's why I posted before just to do nothing with these types of trees. They are unpredictable.

 

[k0ua]

It's like terrorism, you have to win everyday but the tree only has to win once. :tree: A rotten tree almost got me a couple weeks ago. The day before I planned cutting it, the top half fell for no reason. For sure that would have fallen on me if I had cut it! Dodged a bullet!!! That's why I posted before just to do nothing with these types of trees. They are unpredictable.

I make it a point to never go for a walk in our woods when it is windy..I have seen so many pieces fall out of trees after a windy day.

 

[rekees4300]

Here there are still big limbs caught/dangling in trees from Hurricane Ike in 2008. :hurricane:

 

[zmansmac]

When I moved to my current property a year and a half ago there were many dead and broken birch trees from insects and a the previous icy, windy winter. I originally cut many down with a chain saw and then dug out the stump with my backhoe. A few months later when I had time to take more of them down I had a better idea. I would take my first length of chain up a ladder and fasten around the tree, usually about 12-13 feet up. Then I used my saws-all with a carbide tipped blade to go around the trunk and cut as many of the major roots as I could. Then finish attaching the necessary length of chain and tow strap and pull with the tractor in the direction you wanted the tree to fall. Cut tree into manageable pieces, poke the root ball with an ice spud or whatever to get off as much soil as possible and haul everything away with my fork attachment. The largest tree I pulled was about 18 inches in diameter. This method was probably a little easier than some other type trees since birches don't have a tap root. But then, I don't have a very big tractor either. Took 5 trees down, including cleanup, this way for my much younger neighbor in 3 hours. But the sawing method was too slow for him and he used an ax to cut the roots. Pics show me taking one down in my yard.

 

[Cord]

We were up north last weekend and I could hear a Pilated wood pecker wacking away on a tree. We tried to sneak up on him but he flew off. He was working on one of the Popular trees that I was wanting to take down. Had chewed a pretty good chunk of the trunk way and got in a good 4" before we scared him off. I examined the wood scraps and they were all punky and soft. There's no way I'm trying to cut those trees down. Just too dangerous. I'll cut down the couple that died this past summer and still have all their branches. The others will have to come down on their own.

Yes, I've found that if you can push the tree over and then dig it out, it is by far the fastest way to remove a tree and stump. If you have a nice fire going I've actually fed whole trees right into the fire to burn them. Best way out there to dispose of Box Elders.

 

[dstig1]

They are called Poplars, not Populars (I'll be the grammar police tonight ) And, yes, I warned you that they can rot standing up... If you need them down, this is the time to get a rope up in the tree and something pulling on it, but you need to be careful doing this. Too much pressure and you can break them off or barber chair. Experience helps here, but there are no guarantees when felling trees...especially rotted ones. If it is really important to get them down, then perhaps hire it out and watch and learn.