Trees all falling the wrong direction

[miltrade]

These are all good, thanks. Yes, I have been putting the wedge cut on the side I want the tree to fall toward, and the "felling cut" on the opposite side.

I thought about the rope thing, but was hesitant to use my tractor as if the tree commits to the wrong direction, either the rope is snapping or the tractor is going with.

However, there are plenty of other trees to tie off on. What type of rope should be used for this?

 

[riptides]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( However, there are plenty of other trees to tie off on. What type of rope should be used for this? )</font>

NOT nylon.

-Mike Z.

 

[Ryno1]

The ropes and wedges work sometimesm maybe most times, if you know what your doing but there are times (like others said) that you can NOT force a tree to go a certain direction. As much as possible drop the tree in the direction it naturally wants to go. Do as little forcing as possible. Experts (I'm not one) have the knowledge, tools and SKILL that you and I don't. That's why I say don't force the tree, it may work 90% of the time (99% for experts) but it's that 10% that would get you or I seriously injured. Much cheaper and easier on the nerves to rebuild the fence Good Luck Terry

 

[MMM]

Pretty risky buisness trying to get a tree to fall opposite it's weight. They will slab or twist on the stump and just fall the way they want to anyhow, except catch you offguard. It would be safer to drop the fence wire and rehang it when done.

 

[1948berg]

Some scary reading.
When you fell a tree you must decide where it will fall!
Always bring a felling jack, once the felling cut it large enough you insert the felling jack, then it wont start to lean back.
Rope is for extremly leaning trees.
http://www.logosol.no/media/sawmill/accessories/felling_lever/xHighRes/felling_lever.jpg

 

[miltrade]

Just for clarification, the fence is oak board. Best I can do is dismantle it if I know a tree is going to fall that way and pray it doesn't take out any posts.

 

[gsganzer]

You're probably trying to get them to fall too far opposite from the natural lean. You can only get a tree to fall a maximum of 90 degrees in either direction of the natural lean, without the use of wedges, ropes etc. The other trick is to NOT cut through the hinge during your back cut. Once you cut through the hinge, you've lost all control of which direction the tree will fall, and you've created a dangerous situation. When you make your back cut, watch the top of the tree, once it starts to move and the tree begins falling, stop cutting. Let gravity finish the job and let the hinge stay intact. If you've made the notch properly, the notch will be closed just prior to the tree making final contact with the ground and cause the hinge to break loose. That way you avoid having to go in and cut the felled tree, which will have some stress in it, loose from the stump (which is also a dangerous situation, as you're likely to have something under load suddenly fly in an unintended direction, or at a minimum it'll bind on your saw).

 

[turnkey4099]

I have been heating almost 100% with wood for 30 years falling and working up my own. Fell a lot of trees in that time and still hate having to do it as I do NOT consider myself experienced.

12" trees leaning one way cannot be made to fall much off the lean of the tree without pulling and wedging. Wedging is pretty much out of the question due to the small diameter. I figure that, with luck, I can pull a leaning tree about 30 degress at most off the lean direction. The worse the lean, the less pull I can get.

What to use? Not nylon, not your run of the mill rope you find in the local stores. This calls for professional quality stuff. Not wanting to put out the money for the pro quality I go with wire cable, surprisingly affordable. Rarely cable one though as other than around my own place I will pass up any tree that could possibly fall and damage something.

Leaners. I use a heavy log chain above my falling cuts wrapped as tightly as I can. Thus if one tries to barber chair it can only do so until the chain comes fully tight. Scary? Very, but it is safe.

For your project. Get a throwing bag and some light line. Get the line over your tree as high up as you can, use it to pull your cable up, run cable back to a sturdy anchor and attach to a block/tackle or quality comealong (I broke a cheap come-along at a -very- bad moment).

Harry K

 

[Renze]

roping the tree to another one might also help. It will disallow the tree to fall in, at least one, direction.

With most trees i just push them into the fencerow with the frontloader untill they have enough overhang to the other direction, then saw them off. With bigger trees, i prefer to keep myself and my tractor on the safe end, so i'll use a long rope.

..Oh and make sure the rope is longer than the tree is tall... I've once had a good laugh about some inexperienced people in a nearby town, who underestimated the height of the tree... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Farwell]

I had trouble with the throwing weight so I switched to a sturdy fishing pole to get the weight where I needed it. Guess my throwing arm isn't what it once was.
Farwell