Wood Felling Predicament

[MJFlores]

I would feel safe about making another felling cut three feet up from the base of the trunk now. I deal with this sort of thing all the time as I said in my earlier post....most of my trees end up this way because it's so heavily wooded where I cut. Juts take it slow, pick your direction and make the tree go. Putting a rope and come along on and pulling tension before hand will help persuade it to go. It wont stand up like that forever. Many times I have a tree come down like that, and I end up cutting out 3 or 4 three foot sections before the tree is down. I envy people who cut and drop their trees into an opening or field. Hang ups stink but it's all part of cutting down trees, at least around here. Good luck, and be safe.

 

[maple1]

I would not cut that again. Its already free at the bottom & stuck at the top. Pull the bottom away from the lean - you'll be out from under it to start with & moving further away from the fall zone as you go.

 

[jaoneill]

I think not stacking wedges was my big mistake. I think it's past the point of being able to stack any wedges as the fell cut has closed somewhat, due to the tree settling straight down on the stump.

I would feel safe about making another felling cut three feet up from the base of the trunk now. I deal with this sort of thing all the time as I said in my earlier post....most of my trees end up this way because it's so heavily wooded where I cut. Juts take it slow, pick your direction and make the tree go. Putting a rope and come along on and pulling tension before hand will help persuade it to go. It wont stand up like that forever. Many times I have a tree come down like that, and I end up cutting out 3 or 4 three foot sections before the tree is down. I envy people who cut and drop their trees into an opening or field. Hang ups stink but it's all part of cutting down trees, at least around here. Good luck, and be safe.

Elm has to be the trickiest breed to fell, bar none. Most of them seem to be almost perfectly balanced.
I have the advantage of a large woodlot, half mile off any road, and no nearby neighbors that might wander through, so usually when I get a "hanger" I walk away and revisit it next time I happen into that section of the woods; unless it is seriously hung the wind will often take care of it with no efort on my part. If after a while it hasn't come down, or is hung in a crotch or some such, I bring as big a tractor as I think I will need, and as much chain or cable as it will take, and just pull it down.
Be cautious, no tree is worth getting hurt for, MJFlores has the right idea above………...

 

[Nelson]

Well, made a small bit of progress. I used the come-along to pull the base southward about 4-5 inches. Problem now is that the base is starting to snowplow into the dirt so i'm not sure how much more I can move it that. Plus, I damn near uprooted a cherry tree that I was using as the anchor!

Also used the come-along to pull northward (direction I want it to go). Several of the smaller braches released but there is still one larger branch that is hung up on the oak branches. At this poing, I think I need to do away with the rope and go straight cable. I think the rope has enough give in it so it's stretching when I put tension on it with the come-along - this is causing me to run out of cable in the come-along before I can pull it far enough to fall.

I don't think I feel comfortable enough to go at it with a saw at this point so I'm just going to keep going at it with the come-along. I think if I go with all cable, and no rope, I can pull it far enough for it to release where I want it to go.

Thanks again for all the replies. I really appreciate the info!

Andy

 

[Nelson]

I would feel safe about making another felling cut three feet up from the base of the trunk now. I deal with this sort of thing all the time as I said in my earlier post....most of my trees end up this way because it's so heavily wooded where I cut. Juts take it slow, pick your direction and make the tree go. Putting a rope and come along on and pulling tension before hand will help persuade it to go. It wont stand up like that forever. Many times I have a tree come down like that, and I end up cutting out 3 or 4 three foot sections before the tree is down. I envy people who cut and drop their trees into an opening or field. Hang ups stink but it's all part of cutting down trees, at least around here. Good luck, and be safe.

Thanks MJ. LIke I said, I just dont' feel comfortable enough taking the saw to it at this point.

You mentioned taking 3 foot sections out at a time. Can you explain that a little more? How are you getting 3-4 foot sections from the bottom of the tree?

I have a healthy respect for these trees so I'm being really cautious with each move I take. You're right, hang ups suck but that's part of the gig. I'm have a similar setup to you with a pretty heavily wooded lot so this won't be the last one I have to deal with. If it wasn't so close to where I proces wood, I would just leave it and let mother nature take care of it.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Nelson]

Elm has to be the trickiest breed to fell, bar none. Most of them seem to be almost perfectly balanced.
I have the advantage of a large woodlot, half mile off any road, and no nearby neighbors that might wander through, so usually when I get a "hanger" I walk away and revisit it next time I happen into that section of the woods; unless it is seriously hung the wind will often take care of it with no efort on my part. If after a while it hasn't come down, or is hung in a crotch or some such, I bring as big a tractor as I think I will need, and as much chain or cable as it will take, and just pull it down.
Be cautious, no tree is worth getting hurt for, MJFlores has the right idea above………...

No doubt! I couldn't believe it when it just sat down after making my final cut. Never had that happen before. Unfortunately, most of what I want to take down is Elm. I have some nice young oaks that I am trying to release and, as luck would have it, they are all surrounded by Elm! Of course, the fun has only begun with felling Elm. It's a bear to split as well!

I wish I had a tractor as I think I could pull it down with that, though there isn't a ton of space to move around in there. Like I said, I think if I just keep going at with the come-along, she'll come done eventually!

 

[Nelson]

I would not cut that again. Its already free at the bottom & stuck at the top. Pull the bottom away from the lean - you'll be out from under it to start with & moving further away from the fall zone as you go.

I agree. I'm going to keep alternating between the bottom and top, with the come-along and I think that will do the trick eventually.

 

[maple1]

Might try getting the end of a wide board under it, for it to ride up on & slide on, if it's digging into the gound too bad.

 

[mustash29]

I like Maple1's idea.

Dig the ground away a bit, enough to make a dirt ramp. Put a wide plank like a 2x12 down. Mount a step or backstop on the plank first, so the tree stump has something to push against instead of just sliding off. Winch away.

 

[EncoreInMass]

You need one of these for those pesky high branches at this point...

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[Bspring]

Come along is the best method that you have. If it gets to a point that you can't make any more progress place the rope for the come along about 4 to 5 feet up the trunk pulling the opposite direction that you want to tree to fall. Make your wedge cut facing the direction you want to tree to fall about a foot down from the come along rope. I would tie a safety line at a 90 degree angle to the come along going the opposite direction from the side you are cutting on to keep the trunk from swinging out toward you. You can tie a loop in your safety rope several feet from the tree you are going to, go around the trunk and back through the loop then pull tight and tie off. That will give you a bit more tension but not too much to pull the trunk too far that direction.

 

[jaoneill]

I think if I just keep going at with the come-along, she'll come done eventually!

That she will

I end up cutting a fair amount of elm mostly because it's standing dry. Around here they generally don't get more than 20"-24" before they die; many of them only reach a 12" diameter. The bark falls off after about year 2 and by year 5 (after they have breathed their last) the smaller branches are gone and usually most of the tree, other than maybe 8'-10' at the base is down to 12%-15% moisture. It is well seasoned, high octane, standing firewood that splits like ash and I hate to see it go to waste. Rounds of limb wood from these babies sound like bowling pins when thrown in the wood trailer.

Live elm trees on the other hand are stringy, nasty buggers to split, take just short of forever to dry out and, even after two years seasoning time don't seem to have much in the way of BTU's.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

Many times I have a tree come down like that, and I end up cutting out 3 or 4 three foot sections before the tree is down.

I had quite a few of them this year where i had to cut the whole damn tree down in 3 ft chunks. Cut it almost all the way thru, kick it and RUN only to see it drop 3 feet and remain perfectly upright. Very stressful way to cut down a tree but it does get the adrenaline pumping.

 

[Soundchasm]

Please take this question as coming from a guitar player, but could you send a monkey up the tree it's hung on to cut that branch? All the knowledge I have is for me to farm this job out every time.

 

[SawdustSA]

I saw a youtube video where they used a 4x4 to create an upward angle while pulling with the winch. This might help to keep the end of the tree from digging into the ground while pulling. I cannot find a photo of the setup, but here is the link to the video.

PS: I would just set the winch up on the other end to keep away from the moving stump in this case,
.

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[mustash29]

Pretty slick idea there.

 

[EncoreInMass]

Love that he isn't even wearing eye protection...or long pants...

 

[Nelson]

Please take this question as coming from a guitar player, but could you send a monkey up the tree it's hung on to cut that branch? All the knowledge I have is for me to farm this job out every time.

If I only had a monkey...

 

[Nelson]

Thanks for all the additional suggestions.

I've got the tree damn near at 45 degree angle but it's still hung up at the top. The top branches are busted up where they meet the main truck but there is just enough there to keep it hanging on. At this point, I have it tied off, with the come-along and tension. However, the come-along is pretty much toast at this point (spindle bolt is bent and the lower catch flipped over and is no longer catching the teeth). So...... I'm leaving it where it is for a few days and hoping that gravity will eventually take it's course and it will come down. I have it tied off in the direction I want it to fall so I'm no longer worried about it falling in the wrong direction.

If gravity doesn't do the job, I'm going to try another come-along and see if I can pull it from a slightly different direction. Either that, or I'm going to try and pull the base out some more. We are getting some rain tonight so I'm hoping that maybe that will loosen up the soil enough that it will give some. It's so damn close to coming down!

 

[maple1]

You're pulling the top down? That's the problem with doing that - it can pull the branches further into what it's leaning on and tangle it up worse. Hopfully it didn't tangle them up so bad that pulling from the bottom won't work now either. But with the tree leaning more, it should make pulling the bottom a bit easier, at least as far as the digging in part goes. I would still try to get something under it for it to slide on - hopefully it's not tied in a knot up there.

 

[gzecc]

CYA and rope off the area with orange tape. Last thing you need are the neighbor kids getting crushed.

 

[BIGDADDY]

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Did you notch that tree before you tried dropping it? I couldn't see on the pictures any notch.

 

[BoiledOver]

Thanks for all the additional suggestions.


If gravity doesn't do the job, I'm going to try another come-along and see if I can pull it from a slightly different direction. Either that, or I'm going to try and pull the base out some more. We are getting some rain tonight so I'm hoping that maybe that will loosen up the soil enough that it will give some. It's so damn close to coming down!

One good swirling windy day might just do the rest for ya, good luck and be safe.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I am lucky enough to have a bobcat, I had several do that and would hook a chain to base, lift a couple of inches and pull it backwards. Without such equipment you can only use a come-along or wait for the wind. I would not get in there and cut it again.

 

[maple1]

If it's really at a 45° angle now, I would reconsider cutting it again. Much safer than if it were still straight up. But it might not help if the top is really hung up. After multiple re-cuts, you could end up with some big rounds and the rest of the tree being straight up again.

I would really do all I could to pull the bottom out away from the way it's leaning - but not stand right at the tree when doing that. The bottom could move away from the way it's leaning a bunch all at once if something lets go up top and the stop slides down rather than falls over.