Cracked oak

[pantheraba]

I noticed an oak (32 inch DBH) at my folk's house a few weeks ago that had a crack running diagonal from the base to about 6 feet high. I could get the 3 inch blade of my knife in only one area at that time. I checked it again yesterday and the crack had spread up another few feet and opened so that there are lots of places where the knife can be inserted. It also has a pretty good hollow sound when thunked. We think lightning may have started this problem.

I bound it with 3 chains today (used "dogs" to tighten the chains) and a big strap...went up and took off some pretty hefty limbs, 15-25 feet long, 6-8 inch diameter, to reduce the load on the spar. My son and I will go back in the AM to finish dropping the tops and drop the spar.

I have never seen a tree cracked like this and wanted to post it to get y'all's feedback.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Dang, that was weird! I guess it suffered from some crazy torsion twisting from some strange wind event? Odd!

Ya'll slayed it!

 

[NeTree]

Spiral fractures, in my experience, have always been lightening-related. Wind-caused fractures are much straighter, and with the grain.

 

[pantheraba]

You both might be right. There have been several lightning strikes there over the years and some intense wind activity over the last several months...microbursts, I guess...the folks report seeing the trees back there doing the Watusi during some big storms. I'll see if dissecting the spar once it is down can help give a definitive answer.

 

[Al Smith]

My guess is lighting also .The damned stuff turns the moisture under the bark to steam instantly .

 

[Bodean]

Snap, Crackle, Pop.

 

[PCTREE]

I looked at the first couple of pics of the crack and was going to recomend you take it down

Guess you had that figured

good job, how hollow was it???

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Nice work Gary

 

[pantheraba]

Thanks, Stephen...I'll know hollowness soon, hope to get enough time to drop the rest tomorrow. Alex has noon appt. so we'll see.

It's gonna be interesting deciding where to make a hinge and backcut. The plane of the fracture is parallel to the house...I need to face it perpendicular to the fracture. Hope I can get a good hinge out of it.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I'd chunk the spar down as opposed to felling it Gary.. Just me...

 

[sotc]

Those binders don't look very tight, i'd snug em up and flop it

 

[sotc]

I'd do it for you if I had the right program

 

[pantheraba]

Good point...may be the safest way. But I sure would love to dump it rather than chunk it in 95 degree heat. May chunk it in 10 foot pieces down to the point where if it goes wrong it won't matter. It is about 20 feet from the nearest real target...good suggestion.

 

[pantheraba]

Willie, you are right about that one middle chain...I dogged it but it looks loose...will check that tomorrow. The other 2 chains and the strap were mighty tighty.

I tied the dog handles to the chain lest an errant rope sprung them loose.

 

[NeTree]

Thanks, Stephen...I'll know hollowness soon, hope to get enough time to drop the rest tomorrow. Alex has noon appt. so we'll see.

It's gonna be interesting deciding where to make a hinge and backcut. The plane of the fracture is parallel to the house...I need to face it perpendicular to the fracture. Hope I can get a good hinge out of it.

Follow the spiral up to where the cracking is 90 degrees from the direction of intended lay. The cracks usually run straight-in.

 

[pantheraba]

10-4 on straight-in...it seems to be straight through. Thanks for the input.

 

[stig]

Spiral fractures, in my experience, have always been lightening-related. Wind-caused fractures are much straighter, and with the grain.

Not necessarily.
Remember this one?

https://www.masterblasterhome.com/showthread.php?12105-Twister

 

[sotc]

I agree Stig, we see tortional fractures hereand rarely from lightening. Ususally from a leaning tree catching wind from a non prevalent direction

 

[stig]

Also on surface cracks made by lightening, there will usually be bark blown off along the ridges from the steam pressure.

 

[sotc]

Or even half the tree

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Oi!

 

[stig]

Heck of a surface crack, that one

 

[woodworkingboy]

Basically all the tree. Wood blown all over the place, and bits up in other trees. Oddly, no graves were damaged. The guy told me it blew him out of bed.

 

[stig]

Now we need that picture Jerry B. posted a while back of a 180 foot long pile of redwood splinters.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Where IS Jerry???