Glad I tied & pulled on this one.

[bogydave]

I've been removing some older birch trees this winter.
Most are simple falls but this is the biggest so far. It has allot of dead top & leaning the wrong way (toward the road & power lines).
I tied it off, notched with just a little Dutchman to pull it more toward the middle of the yard & away from other trees.
I noticed it cut fast but didn't look at the wedge (not that at that point in time it would have mattered)
I started the back cut & it starts moving right away. I left a good 2" hinge but the middle was rotten & hollow.
Having a good stretch in the nylon rope helped but the hinge broke in the middle (rotten) & dutchman side.
The other side held just enough to fall toward the pull rope with out jumping off the stump.
I'll remember to tie off & pull any with dead tops next time. (especially the bigger ones)
Not notch as deep, smaller back cut then go & pull it over

I won't get as much good wood out of it, but I'm glad it's down & when I decided where it fell.
One of the reasons you have to split birch, it rots form the inside out.
Was raining a little today, 37 degF, but the middle may still have been frozen.

 

[zzr7ky]

Dave -

I also had a tree near water that I tied off this past summer. Leaned 3' in the wrong dirrection, it was a 24" Ash tree. I left the hing nearly 3" and started punding wedges in. 2 wedges in all the way... Quickly cut a third "Fat" wedge and hammer in with sledge. Tree finally fell the way I wanted. I'm a believer in putting a line on them to prevent mishaps. I also worry about the hinge breaking, especially in cold weather and causing the tree to 'jump' when I have wedged pounded in with a sledge. So far so good.

Thanks fo rthe picks. I get up to the Kenia area every couple years & really enjoy it.

ATB,
Mike P

 

[Wood Duck]

I enjoyed the pictures. I tend to forget that a tree might be partially hollow when I am planning to fell it, so this is a good reminder.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Nice!- peel some bark off and set it aside. It's like cardboard soaked in wax as a firestarter.

 

[bogydave]

Nice!- peel some bark off and set it aside. It's like cardboard soaked in wax as a firestarter.

Roger that.
In Alaska survival school, they teach "Birch bark" best for starting fires, even when it's wet it burns.
I does make adding wood to a hot stove a challenge, gotta do it fast cause the bark ignites in seconds & rolls black smoke.
But, I have a good hot fire quickly too.

MikeP. I bet you enjoy the salmon fishing when in Kenai

Typical of almost all the large birch trees here to start rotting in the middle.
When you see the top dying, it's a good sign it's rotten in the middle.

 

[CrawfordCentury]

Nice!- peel some bark off and set it aside. It's like cardboard soaked in wax as a firestarter.

Roger that.
In Alaska survival school, they teach "Birch bark" best for starting fires, even when it's wet it burns.
I does make adding wood to a hot stove a challenge, gotta do it fast cause the bark ignites in seconds & rolls black smoke.
But, I have a good hot fire quickly too.

MikeP. I bet you enjoy the salmon fishing when in Kenai

Typical of almost all the large birch trees here to start rotting in the middle.
When you see the top dying, it's a good sign it's rotten in the middle.

Yup. While never in a life/death situation, having some birch bark has come in handy in the woods after a soaking rain.

 

[SmokinPiney]

Heck that aint hollow. lol

This is Hollow!! Cut this 26" oak last weekend

But glad to hear ya got it down safe. Hollow trees tend to have a mind of their own sometimes. No matter whatcha do they wanna do the opposite.

 

[bogydave]

Heck that aint hollow. lol

This is Hollow!! Cut this 26" oak last weekend

But glad to hear ya got it down safe. Hollow trees tend to have a mind of their own sometimes. No matter whatcha do they wanna do the opposite.

WOW!
Kindling?? Pipe? Should season quick.
Hard to believe it was still standing, but oak is tougher than birch. No 26" birch here either.

 

[SmokinPiney]

Hmmm, make a stove pipe out of a hollow tree?? Might get a long burn outta that lol.

We dont have alot of birch around here but im sure any birch that's even a bit hollow can get scary..

 

[CrawfordCentury]

Heck that aint hollow. lol

This is Hollow!! Cut this 26" oak last weekend

But glad to hear ya got it down safe. Hollow trees tend to have a mind of their own sometimes. No matter whatcha do they wanna do the opposite.

Seems like something that would happen to me. Try as I might to thwart the woodthieves, they're always a step ahead.

Boring out the heartwood of a pre-felled tree to pull of a sureptitious theft from within would be a new one, but I put nothing past 'em.

 

[PapaDave]

Heck that aint hollow. lol

This is Hollow!! Cut this 26" oak last weekend

But glad to hear ya got it down safe. Hollow trees tend to have a mind of their own sometimes. No matter whatcha do they wanna do the opposite.

Oughta' make it a little easier to split.

 

[Ductape]

I'd buck it up and fill the voids with concrete.............................. just think how long THAT would burn !