tree removal

[Paddy]

I need to pull a few trees over and can't cut them down because of reasons...
Any body try this? and what would be the optimal height? Too low, no leverage. Too high and the top breaks off. I figure if the wind can blow over a tree..

I did this years ago with a 10 " dia oak but, cut the roots. I was removing the oak near a garden and didn't want a stump.

In this case these are populars. The wood is weak compared to oak. The vary from 18" dia to 12".

If I can't pull them over, I'll kill them some how not to leave any marks of destruction...Like find the major root/s 2-3 feet away from trunk and cut them.

Thoughts?

 

[dave1949]

I tried this with a spruce that was maybe 10" dbh. Put a chain around it about 10' off the ground and pulled on it with the tractor drawbar. I expected it would tear roots and take a lean in a direction I could cut it with a saw.

It just flexed a whole lot and I made no change to it's lean. I could have pulled harder but I could see it would probably just shatter in some unpredictable way and do me or the tractor in.

Poplar may be more prone to breaking than spruce.

YMMV
Dave.

 

[jimmyj]

I have pulled over large poplars before. Here is what I did, but basically it's pulling the notched tree down using a snatch block and long cable so you are not pulling towards your tractor or yourself.

1 Put a heavy cable or chain around the tree as high as you can get it. For an 18" tree I'd put it at least 15 to 20 feet high.

2 You need an anchor object such as another large tree at least 50 or more feet away from the tree in the direction you want the tree to fall. Attach a snatch block to the anchor and run the cable through it and then off in another direction towards the tractor.

3 Attach the cable to the drawbar on the tractor.

4 Make a back cut about 1/3 of the way through the trunk about 2 feet off the ground. The cut is on the side that faces the direction you DO NOT want the tree to fall. There is no cut on the side of the tree in the direction you want the tree to fall.

5 Drive the tractor ahead. With a weak wooded tree like a poplar it should bend and break off right at the notch. Very easy to do.

Of course this all depends on if the tree is leaning and if it's damaged etc. Those things all change the dynamic.

 

[jonyyuma]

I don't kow if you can drag it down, but at least influence the direction it falls. I pulled a 75 ft pine at about 20 foot off the ground. I fired an arrow over the limb and pulled the rope up.I worried about mis-estimate on getting the truck, because I did not use the snatch block idea. I do like it just don't own one? Beware rope breakage could cause a back-fire...Oooppss.Jy.

 

[Paddy]

I can't use a saw to "help" drop it. If the tree is found on the ground, root ball and all, it was caused by wind? We are in the middle of no where so I can use the tractor and cable but a cut stump will be an obvious man made cut.

When I have droped big boys in the past, I would use a potato gun to lanch a 2 oz lead weight. Then pull up a pc of light cord and then finaly pull up a cable. My cable is 250' long so not to worried about getting hit by the tree.

 

[MossRoad]

I can't use a saw to "help" drop it. If the tree is found on the ground, root ball and all, it was caused by wind? We are in the middle of no where so I can use the tractor and cable but a cut stump will be an obvious man made cut.

Sounds like a government job or insurance fraud. :laughing:

 

[jimmyj]

I can't use a saw to "help" drop it. If the tree is found on the ground, root ball and all, it was caused by wind? We are in the middle of no where so I can use the tractor and cable but a cut stump will be an obvious man made cut.

When I have droped big boys in the past, I would use a potato gun to lanch a 2 oz lead weight. Then pull up a pc of light cord and then finaly pull up a cable. My cable is 250' long so not to worried about getting hit by the tree.

Then I guess get it as high up as you can to increase the leverage. But no so high as to get to the weak part of the tree. I'd guess just over half way up the trunk.

 

[Richard]

I'm guessing my recent method wouldn't work?

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/196257-how-big-might-hickory-tree.html

You could say the tree fell and the dig marks around it are there because you needed to fully extract the rootball.

Pay no attention to the long scratch marks on the tree... if that happens, you could say that a very large cat climged up there.

 

[20 20]

Many years of cutting trees down and I have to say I don't feel this is a safe idea. No one tree is going to act as a human wants it to. It may fall perfect or it may stay tough and cause something to break{cable, chain, hook, etc..}. It could also snap somewhere in the middle flinging debrey in all kinds of directions.
I have taken trees down without chainsaws using an excavator, dig around the bottom wrecking the root system on the opposite side it's going to fall, then raise and push with the bucket. This works very good but with any type of tree felling there is still risk.
You can do as you please but just try to be as safe as possible........is getting the tree down worth a life?

 

[magicheater]

I need to pull a few trees over and can't cut them down because of reasons...
Any body try this? and what would be the optimal height? Too low, no leverage. Too high and the top breaks off. I figure if the wind can blow over a tree..

I did this years ago with a 10 " dia oak but, cut the roots. I was removing the oak near a garden and didn't want a stump.

In this case these are populars. The wood is weak compared to oak. The vary from 18" dia to 12".

If I can't pull them over, I'll kill them some how not to leave any marks of destruction...Like find the major root/s 2-3 feet away from trunk and cut them.

Thoughts?

After reading the thread I would have to say a lot of info is lacking, I.E. what you are not saying. Poplar is a relatively short lived tree and is harvested regularly when 12"-15" at the stump. Are they your trees? :confused2: