Redwood Fall 10-30-11

  • Thread starter Thread starter gf beranek
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What was the dbh? How old was it? How long did the process take start to finish? What company felled/bucked it? Any interesting/new school techniques used?

Why did they do it on a Saturday? Why was it left by the old loggers?
 
Even if just isolated to the task of reporting on the event, the photo documentation does add a bit of saving grace to what might be considered the loss of something magnificent. Something of it does get kept. The ethic of the working class through certain eras, as mentioned, it does have it's place in not being forgotten through history. It's like the whalers that went out in their long boats to harpoon the huge creatures....we can remorse the killing of the great things in nature, but the courage and duty to accomplish the feats, it's a remarkable thing too. No denying the service that you and your camera provide.
 
Well as far as old growth goes everything on this earth has a time and a season .

As far as the lumber with the advent of aluminum and vinal siding in addition to manufactured planking for outside usage red wood is a niche market .That 30,000 BDft will go a long way .

I remember as a teenager working on a framing crew building houses using red wood trim boards for eaves etc .To tell the truth it was miserable stuff to work with but it or cedar would nearly last forever as opposed to pine or fir .It doesn't take much of a drop to break a red wood board to kingdom come .I can well imagine the whole tree would be just as big a pain in the butt only much larger .
 
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Pull tree. That pretty much says it all. No lay for the tree,, except to pull it to one. The old timers left them. Still a lot around actually, scattered here and there in all the second growth. The land that job is on has 30 or 40 over about 300 acres. Mostly smaller, but a few bigger. Most down near the river and rail road and not likely to ever be felled.
 
Jerry, is the procedure for pulling the big trees say the same as with smaller, where cut and pull alternately would bring it up gradually then get it committed to the lay? Just out of bizarre curiosity, have you ever known someone to tightline a tree such as that?
 
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  • #34
On a real pull tree you always set tension in the line to hold the weight of the lean. After sawing the face it's normal to tighten up on the tree prior to starting the back cut. Not a lot though.

Some people tend to over tighten the rigging. Sure clue of that is having the tree set down on the undercut. No reason to have to tighten the line anymore than to hold the lean. But some people get a little carried away with that part. Makes for some interesting moments.

I can honestly say I've seen more problems come from over tensioning the rigging than under tensioning it.
 
Thanks. It would sure seem to require some experience with big trees to know what would be the required amount of pull. Most of us will never get the chance to learn.
 
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  • #36
They rigged that tree a little over 100 feet with a inch and quarter choker, shackled it to a bull line of the same. With the tail hold block up the hill even with the rigging point. Pretty positive pull. Not much stretch with that heavy wire rope. They took the slack out of the rigging and then moved the tree ahead, the top, about 10 feet.

The fellow who set up the rigging for the tree was the same guy I worked with 27 years ago in Big River. Joe Cooke. In the high climbers book you can see Joe in the group shot of the last tree John Ciro felled that day.

In fact I'm going out to see Joe this morning. As I just got a call they are going to skid the logs out. It's official 36 thousand. Should be some good pics to follow.
 
Wow, who is the manly man that drug that up the tree?! Or did they hang a block and haywire it up there?
 
One thing is for sure, if you hung that wire off your belt you would surely lose your pants.....probably even with suspenders.
 
Last time I handled cable, rigging for pulling trees, it was much smaller...9/16" I think. That was rough enough. We were setting 2:1 ma pull systems, with a block hung on a choker in the tree. So you hauled 2x the height of the block...150+ feet of 9/16" was PLENTY heavy to manipulate. It would sure set your gaffs deep :).
 
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  • #43
It does a take a team to pull up the rigging.

I just came home from the skidding. Push/pull with two cats to get the first three cuts to the landing. I'll post pics in a little while. In the morning the low bed is coming to get loaded. I hope I can make it for that. But tomorrow is going to be busy. Cross my fingers.

We're leaving for TCI tomorrow. It will be tight.
 
Thanks very much Jer. All of us who take a keen interest in this sort of work owe you so much for the documentation you've done over the years.

It's a funny thing about cutting trees that size. One hates to see those old monsters go, and we all pray to God that there'll be some left for our grandkids to see, and yet...
Praise God in heaven for the mere smell of the saw-chips and the heavenly glory of the sound and shake of the thump when that monster hits the floor.:P
 
Stellar work by the crew, and great images, Jer.

Did the 090 get a piece of the action, or was it just a backup to the 3120?

Love the sweet gunning sticks!
 
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  • #48
The 90 blubbered and smoked. Ugh... It worked but....

Here's the push/pull images of getting the second and third cuts to the landing.
 

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