Terrible tree felling accident
- Thread starter tcartwri
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trailbuilder
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Logging is very dangerous....and storm damage "salvage logging" is even more dangerous. Trees erect are much more predictable. Leaned over trees with stress on the root ball and barber chairing is very dangerous. Please be careful.
chopped
Veteran Member
I encountered a site where they got mad because i hadnt gotten there to cut in time the huge beautiful oaks laid horizontal out of the bank. after the dozer did its work .What a chore to climb up there and carefully cut them with out getting killed.
I agree you have to be careful. Expecially when these trees and limbs are put into some tension .Just yeaterday I had a scare as I pulled a small tree with the tractor. and when i cut the limb , the saw took a ride as the tension of the limb let go..
yikes.. even when i think im careful..
I agree you have to be careful. Expecially when these trees and limbs are put into some tension .Just yeaterday I had a scare as I pulled a small tree with the tractor. and when i cut the limb , the saw took a ride as the tension of the limb let go..
yikes.. even when i think im careful..
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Cutting up downed trees is dangerous. I have had small trees 3-4 inches in diameter that have kicked backwards over the stump. Another tree had been bent while on the ground. Just before I cut it, I noticed it was curved and I was on the outside of the curve. 
I stepped inside and cut the tree. When I did so, the tree swung pretty quickly to the outside. Looked some some sort of trap in a Tarzan movie. If I had cut on the outside, and had not jumped up in time, I think both ankles would have been broken.
I had one 16-20 inch tree bent over in a wind storm. I topped it off as best I could but then I had to cut the trunk. I did not want to cut low to the ground because I was afraid the tree might kick back so I cut at waist level. This was right at the bend in the tree so you knew it was going to split. Which it did. I was waiting for it but it is interesting to watch a slab of a tree 16-20 inch wide and a couple of inches thing spring out from the tree very quickly.:laughing:
The most interesting one was a tree still attached to the stump but the stump was no longer attached to the ground. I started topping off and working my way back to the stump. At one point I could feel the balance of the tree shifting. The tree was going to fall UP as I cut sections of the trunk. Eventually I cut off enough trunk/weight and that tree rolled back UP. Dangtest thing.
Gots to be careful out there....
Later,
Dan
I stepped inside and cut the tree. When I did so, the tree swung pretty quickly to the outside. Looked some some sort of trap in a Tarzan movie. If I had cut on the outside, and had not jumped up in time, I think both ankles would have been broken.I had one 16-20 inch tree bent over in a wind storm. I topped it off as best I could but then I had to cut the trunk. I did not want to cut low to the ground because I was afraid the tree might kick back so I cut at waist level. This was right at the bend in the tree so you knew it was going to split. Which it did. I was waiting for it but it is interesting to watch a slab of a tree 16-20 inch wide and a couple of inches thing spring out from the tree very quickly.
:laughing:The most interesting one was a tree still attached to the stump but the stump was no longer attached to the ground. I started topping off and working my way back to the stump. At one point I could feel the balance of the tree shifting. The tree was going to fall UP as I cut sections of the trunk. Eventually I cut off enough trunk/weight and that tree rolled back UP. Dangtest thing.
Gots to be careful out there....
Later,
Dan
The Haymaker
Veteran Member
Police warn of downed trees after boy's death | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Happened here less than a year ago. Very sad. Why can't people pay attention to where their kids are?
Happened here less than a year ago. Very sad. Why can't people pay attention to where their kids are?
Western
Super Member
Got that right, I've had friends laugh at me at times, saying I was a paranoid "dad", may be true, but when my kids where little, I would almost always look under my truck or tractor even if I knew they hadn't followed me outside. If I didnt see them in the yard I verified where they where.
I have seen so many freak accidents when I was in LE. I remember a 9 year old that I knew from "t-ball" that was killed when he stopped at a stop sign and he and the bike he was riding fell over, hit his head and it killed him.
One of the hardest things is going to see "mom and Dad" and give them the news, I can promise you that.
Mudfarmer
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Thought of just that scenario last fall when I was cutting up a big spruce that had been down for about 3 yrears. Started at the tip and worked down the trunk. I was pretty surprised when I got to about 10 feet left on the trunk when it uprighted itself (visualize roots thirty feet in the air going back in place). I really thought out the little kid scenario and was glad none were around. The space under the rootball is pretty kid-atractive. I am super cautious in that situation now, even to the point of watching out for a quick rebounding upright, although my tree did it in slow motion so to speak (but not slow enough to fectch a kid out form under).
Mf
Mf
trailbuilder
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Cutting up downed trees is dangerous. I have had small trees 3-4 inches in diameter that have kicked backwards over the stump. Another tree had been bent while on the ground. Just before I cut it, I noticed it was curved and I was on the outside of the curve.
I had one 16-20 inch tree bent over in a wind storm. I topped it off as best I could but then I had to cut the trunk. I did not want to cut low to the ground because I was afraid the tree might kick back so I cut at waist level. This was right at the bend in the tree so you knew it was going to split. Which it did. I was waiting for it but it is interesting to watch a slab of a tree 16-20 inch wide and a couple of inches thing spring out from the tree very quickly.
The most interesting one was a tree still attached to the stump but the stump was no longer attached to the ground. I started topping off and working my way back to the stump. At one point I could feel the balance of the tree shifting. The tree was going to fall UP as I cut sections of the trunk. Eventually I cut off enough trunk/weight and that tree rolled back UP. Dangtest thing.
Gots to be careful out there....
Later,
Dan
That is called "Barber chairing" and is very dangerous. There are techniques to help prevent it. Please do not use the icons "LOL and laughing" to end the story. I would use the one for "Lucky"! Sorry I am just trying to encourage safety.
jimmyj
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Terrible story. NO kids or pets around when cutting wood is the best rule. In fact no one other than those people working on the cutting is our rule.
I had a HUGE oak down once and I was cutting the trunk off as in this accident. The stump (which was huge with several tons of soil attached) instantly plunked back into the hole when I cut the trunk off. I was not sufficiently expreinced to anticipate it and thankfully no one was hurt. Scared the dickens out of me though. Lesson learned. Too bad the child was there, I feel for the family.
I had a HUGE oak down once and I was cutting the trunk off as in this accident. The stump (which was huge with several tons of soil attached) instantly plunked back into the hole when I cut the trunk off. I was not sufficiently expreinced to anticipate it and thankfully no one was hurt. Scared the dickens out of me though. Lesson learned. Too bad the child was there, I feel for the family.