Large Limb(?) Removal - How Would You Handle It?

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  • #26
You don't have to convince me Sean. I wonder how it works on people that are afraid of trees? My right hand neighbor cut down almost every tree on his property, and he was eying the poor Japanese maple suspiciously :^D He said one of the branches didn't look right, and was worried the tree was dying. I didn't look at it, but the tree looks the same to me as it did two years ago when he raised his concerns :^D
 
So you want to turn a 20 minute removal into a two hour pruning/cabling operation, against the client's wishes? Good luck selling that. Just send it!
Hell, I don’t care. I would put it out there as an option because such a large cut will be the demise of the tree in the future. My job as a tree guy is to think of the tree not so much the current owner of said tree. I have been in the game long enough to see different owners of the same property but the trees are still the same trees. I have changed three customers opinions about trees and topping them this week alone and ended up selling more work than they asked for originally. Also I have talked myself out of jobs because potential customers are idiots and have no clue about caring for trees. Now I am not saying I know everything tree but I know more than 99% of my customer base. Plus if it’s work I disagree with I just walk and they can find some hack to do the work.
 
Another one in the reduce and brace camp.

Although the customer has already made up their mind imo. Therefore I would remain in the brace and reduce camp but I would have one foot in the area immediately next to the "fire up the 661 and get your bore and release cut ready" camp
 
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  • #31
It's always gonna be a removal later, right? Rot sets in, the interior column hollows, and 50 years later it blows down in a storm. Not touching the tree would likely make it last longer, but it'll still end in removal.
 
If you're convinced he's going to remove the limb with or without you, and you're confident your final cut is going to be better than the next guy's final cut, then I would probably do the job. If he's worried about his dog, the tree won't matter. Dog people don't think like normal people.😉😁
 
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  • #33
I don't know the guy, but it sounded to me like he really wants it gone. The other two tasks he wants are sidelines to the main event. This thread was useful in deciding a course of action. I feel better about just "felling" the limb. Facecut, bore, release. I was worried about screwing it up, and getting a tearout or something that went to the main stem, but odds aren't good of that happening. I don't underestimate my ability of screwing shit up, but I think the numbers favor success. I may mention a different course that saves the limb, and see if there's any interest. I suspect not, but you don't get anything unless you ask.
 
If you're convinced he's going to remove the limb with or without you, and you're confident your final cut is going to be better than the next guy's final cut, then I would probably do the job. If he's worried about his dog, the tree won't matter. Dog people don't think like normal people.😉😁
Unless the dog people are tree people and that’s really not normal thinking,
 
Hey Sean, why aim the face at 5:00 or 7:00? I’d say aim it where the weight is. Could be 5:00 or 7:00, but more likely to be 6:00. Anyhow, just curious? Thanks
-Brock
 
To my understanding, aiming somewhat away from the lean allows gravity to tip the tree with reduced barberchair risk.

If you're falling 90⁰ to the heavy lean, there isn't a risk of barberchair, but you need to pull it. Higher likelihood of hinge failure.

If you're falling directly with the lean, you have the most likelihood of barberchair... no need to pull. Hinge shouldn't fail.

If you face the tree between the two, you lessen the barberchair risk, and won't need to pull.
 
Whatever happened to this much talked about Limb?

Did you pop it, lop it, chop it and collect the check before hopping it all the way to the bank?

Or did you convince him otherwise and you’re still up there pruning with secateurs and wrapping yourself up in all manner of bracing systems?

FTR if he wanted it dropped and no on in it otherwise. The three cuts would have taken less time than he replies took to write in this thread. My version was of the coos bayor trangle cut.

So what was it?
 
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  • #39
Heh... I kinda flaked out on the job. Between work, heat, soft ground, and just plain not wanting to do it, I haven't gotten back to him. After all these months, I have crafted an advocacy for the tree that perhaps stretches the truth, but doesn't get into pure BS. I want to talk to him, and explain that removing that limb will work at cross purposes to his goal. That it'll more than likely create more deadwood and hazards in the canopy, and end of the day, there's other trees around the property. A wind event can bring them into the yard to hit his dog, so regardless of what gets done with this particular tree, the danger will still exist.

Sound good? I guess if he still wants it gone, it'll be a small face and bore cut.
 
Am with Sean.
Leveraged weight force potential X straight down 6o'clock cut is feeding into 100% of downward force X, cosine=1.0 multiplier times potential X.
But path to side 45degrees 4:30/7:30 gives only 70.7% of X force down.
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Sometimes enough relief to go faceless
>>adds support from below now to the 29.3% already relieved force, and work to keep it confidently/smoothly moving/rolling across.
No impact from stuttering, just smooth motion.
>>This gives a Tapered Hinge type of architecture to the hinge
>>45degrees gives .707vert , .707horiz ,as unique cross axis equals/balance point, so that gives a more certain, steady, stable 'squared movement' try to extrude.
Always branch as weightless rigid, CoG as power source, down cut access power, across down bargains power to have sidewards byproduct.
Calc softer, downward concussion to soil, so even in easy fall forward i tried to make a side lean to a different facing, to practice Tapered and softer ground hit.
>>model: harsh raindrops can damage delicate mycorrhizal fungi ..
.
I see no potential target risk? Only healthy green?
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Just as pure horiz fired bullet; the dynamic path horiz force part rules over the static vert organic force downwards pull.
>>but eventually the greater horiz dynamic path exhausts, and bullet falls to ground per organic static vert force.
Rock dropped from same height as horiz fired bullet,
>>if dropped as bullet leaves support of muzzle
>>both hit ground at same time.
Each force of gravity and path are 90 degrees to each other, at the Achilles Heel of each other's force of cosine 0
>>so dynamic path force has 0 effect on bullet static force fall
The bullet falls at same vert distance and speed, now just over a longer, not pinpoint horiz distance.
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Cosine is not just numbers,
but rather organic pattern to everything;
the language of numbers 'simply' reveals what we see all the time.
 
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