skidding a REALLY big log

[dfkrug]

This douglas fir tree fell last Sunday, due to wind, and a weakened root
system. It was lying across my private road, very close to my neighbor's
house. The tree was 41" in diameter at chest height, and about 110 feet
long. The slope is about 90%, and our county road is downhill, about
100 feet away.

So, how do I get this big tree out of there? The second photo shows my
approach. I will cut thru the log very close to where it touches the
ground, then use my tractor and logging cable to pull on the log at the
cut.

Why not cut sections off from above, near the root ball? First, the biggest
saw available has a 24" bar, which can not get thru anything bigger than
a little less than 48". Second, cutting sections of the log on a 90% slope
(even if I could) could allow these sections to roll downhill, towards the
county road below. Since each section cut would be pressing on each
subsequent section, I would need to pull them off to relieve pressure.
Dangerous.

It turns out, the pressure of the log trying to slide downhill was very strong.
Once it was cut thru, the pressure was so great that I could not move
the tree, pulling with my 5500# tractor and logging cable. Traction on my
road was excellent.

So the next thing I did was cut a foot-long section out. I was hoping to
relieve some of the pressure here, or be able to pull out the section with
the tractor, or with my 20T jack. The diameter is 30" at the cut.

At last, a section was removed, and I was able to pull the log end about
15 feet along the road. I could not pull any further because the end of
the log was digging into the road, and was just too heavy. It is
43' long, and about 9 tons, according to my calculation.

Finally, I attached my cable to the root ball end and, using a snatch block
to redirect the forces, pulled it off the hillside.

This is the biggest log I have ever moved!

 

[wedge40]

You could build a house from the lumber of just that one tree.

Wedge

 

[dfkrug]

You could build a house from the lumber of just that one tree.

No wood structures for me....I believe in concrete and steel!

I don't even want it for firewood, as I burn only hardwoods and have
piles of logs to cut/split/burn.

If someone wanted that log, they can have it for "free".

 

[BruceWard]

Wow, that is quite a log. I am impressed that you were able to move it.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I bet that your Kioti had fun moving that huge log.

 

[TBDonnelly]

If someone wanted that log, they can have it for "free".

Shipping would be a killer though..........

Glad nobody was in the way when it fell and glad the newly rebuilt, nearly finished John Deere did not get squashed.

Don

 

[JB4310]

Looks like a baby Sequoia! Man, That things huge, alot of 2x4's.
Any idea how old a softwood that size would be?

 

[dfkrug]

Any idea how old a softwood that size would be?

The end cut is not clean enough to make a good count, but a somewhat
bigger tree was removed for my house construction, and it was 103 yo.
I expect this one to be in the 75-90 yo range.

 

[rdbrumfield]

Would I love to put that through my log splitter. you tube plumbstriaight, watch that spelling. I have since change the engine, it slows for nothing.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Nice work! When I saw the first pictures of that angle I knew that thing would be like a rocket down the hill if you weren't careful. There is a lot of internal stress on them when they are supported like that. I don't think you have a big enough Log arch laying around to move that beast. Get a log skidder in there to drag it out if you really wanted. It would be a shame just to turn that into firewood rounds.
If there wasn't the risk of nitwits coming up there and damaging things you could sell truck loads of firewood on Craigslist.

 

[dangerdoc]

Congrats on getting it moved with nobody injured or killed. When I see a tree hung up like that, it scares me bad. There's more than one way to kill yourself getting a tree like that to the ground.

 

[theboman]

Amazing.

 

[Deano]

I could not even imagine dealing with a fallen tree that big!!

Deano

 

[MotorSeven]

Just looking at that(and any "hung-up" tree) give me the willies. Good job cutting and moving it safely.
A sawmiller would like to have that lumber. You may try the Forestryforum dot com & post it in the "sawmills & milling" section. There are a lot of "us" millers on that site, & one may be close.

RD

 

[Carykong]

beast of a tree you conquered. congrats. its time for a portable bandsaw logmill so you can build a beautiful barn

 

[dave1949]

That's a big tree for sure. You could maybe slice some of it up in round slabs that rustic furniture crafters would use for tables, chair seats, etc. Maybe run an add that reads, 'whole tree wood slabs cut to order?'
Dave.

 

[jimmyj]

Yes yes sawmill it up. I bet there is amazing lumber in that tree!

 

[dfkrug]

On the whole subject of milling douglas fir.....

I have considered building a bandsaw mill from plans, but it is on the
"B" list of projects. I have other, smaller DF logs just lying around, as well
as several huge piles of oak/maple/laurel logs that will eventually be
split and burnt.

Unfortunately this particular tree is pretty large and heavy for many of
those trailer-mounted mills. Even if I cut it into 12-ft lengths, they would
weigh over 2t each, even after a year or 2 of drying time. I would love
to have a Wood-Mizer LT40, or a FarmBoss 36....

When I had my house site logged professionally 12 y ago, 18 of these
large DFs were removed and taken to a mill. I got nothing for the trees,
which were sold for something like $425/Kbf....I traded the work for the
logs. In my area (Santa Cruz Mtns), only DF and redwood have any
sales value to a mill or logging outfit, and RW is 50% higher. I have no
idea how low the prices have gone in the current building recession. Getting
the timber harvest permit here in CA is a nightmare, BTW. BTDT.

 

[jcaron2]

Well done. I would have been scared to death to saw that thing up. I think I would have tried boring a whole bunch of holes, dumping in some saltpeter to supply oxygen, and lighting it on fire. It would probabably burn through in a day or two.

 

[jinman]

It's funny, but even with your description and dimensions, it did not dawn on me how big that tree is until I saw you (I'm guessing it's you) standing beside it. That tree is huge and you did some nice work to move it in a controlled and safe manner. Nice job!