Trees you refused to climb and why.

[pantheraba]

I'd take the time to get my polesaw and cut that back strap at a distance. Like the old saying "wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole"

That's exactly what I was wondering about as Stig described the situation. I recently got a Stihl polesaw and wondered if it wouldn't be good for tripping hazard hung up trees.

Here is one I have been watching near my house...watching it in case I get tapped to fell it. I figured a pole saw would be the way to make a final cut on the supporting tree.

Any folks do that?

Thought about dropping down beside the dead hung up tree to take the top out of it to take some of the pressure off the holding tree.

 

[pantheraba]

I went back and added a third picture.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yes... Just remember that the pole saw is probably going to take the hit for you eventually and it is gonna cost some repair time. Better than you beyond repair though. I use the pole saw all the time on some dead alders we do from time to time in creeks. No good footing... shoot a rope in it and trip the sucker and run. At least you have a 12 foot head start if it all goes bad

 

[pantheraba]

Good info, Stephen...thanks.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Could you release the supporting tree like a spring pole using your pole saw?

 

[Jomo]

Thought about dropping down beside the dead hung up tree to take the top out of it to take some of the pressure off the holding tree.

End quote:

That's what it looks like to me, but not with a pole chainsaw. 200T for me.

Jomo

 

[pantheraba]

Yes...I would do the top with a 200T...pole saw for the ground tripping cut.

 

[RegC]

Reg, on the coast what direction is the natural lean for your conifer tree tops on level ground?

South east natural lean in conifers here in flat ground Manitoba is what we have. When I clear cut logged in the winter we have good felling procedure with the dominant wind from the N.W. working in unison with the trees S.E. lean. When I open up my strip the first tree I fell is in the S.E. corner.
Doing arb work topping a conifer on spurs I most times get my orientation for S.E. direction before I gun sight my facecut.

Well, most of our work is on the sannich peninsular, which has the ocean on 3 sides with pretty rugged terrain throughout. I have never observed an obvious pattern of head-leans in any significant numbers. Although never really thought about it too much either, before your mention. A greater portion of limbs on one side of the tree is generally your best hope here....trees trying to grow away from each other etc. Although often is the case of were fences, boundaries and powerlines can scupper that plan pretty quick. I generally like to cut them bigger than have to climb higher if I can get away with it, but thats not always an option.

 

[Mick!]

I can't think of any drug that has a more immediate effect, and still allow you to move at warp speeds, with super human strength, than a good shot of adrenaline does.

A goodly dose of it can keep you jittery till hours afterwards!

Some poor blokes get addicted to it, like heroin!



Amyl nitrate can do that. just saying like.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

I've heard of amyl nitrate/ "poppers". It it recreationally used much over there, La Bec?

 

[HolmenTree]

I'd take the time to get my polesaw and cut that back strap at a distance. Like the old saying "wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole"

I should have added a little more info here guys. My pole saw is a Silky saw blade on the end of Jameson fiberglass 8 ft pole extensions.
On tree removals my Jameson pole with a Big Shot slingshot is always on hand, with extra 8 ft extension poles along with the Silky saw head.
Cutting a back strap on a danger tree with 16 feet of pole and the Silky is a lot safer then putting myself in danger at the stump with a chainsaw. The worse case scenario is a pole might get smashed but Jameson 8 ft fiberglass poles are cheap .

I do have a Stihl HT75 polesaw which I retired about 7 years ago. It's now converted to a hedge trimmer with the extension poles removed with a 45 degree hedge trimmer head mounted on it.

 

[FireFighterZero]

I asked Gary about the spring pole idea. I am wondering where you guys would cut the support tree. We were taught that we could make two different kinds of cuts, dish out the bottom or compression wood or make a bunch or little cross wise cuts on the top or tension side. What do you guys think?

 

[Mick!]

I've heard of amyl nitrate/ "poppers". It it recreationally used much over there, La Bec?

When I was young It was about a lot, not really for me as it gave me a terrible headache. I understand that ketamine is the de rigeur drug of choice now, less of a come down than ecstasy I'm informed by my younger friends.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Ketamin is much more a hallucinogen than ecstasy
Amyl nitrate is banned now, but poppers are Isopropyl Nitrate these days. Legal.

 

[Mick!]

Cheers ed! either way I'd refuse to climb any trees whilst on those!

 

[stig]

I should have added a little more info here guys. My pole saw is a Silky saw blade on the end of Jameson fiberglass 8 ft pole extensions.
On tree removals my Jameson pole with a Big Shot slingshot is always on hand, with extra 8 ft extension poles along with the Silky saw head.
Cutting a back strap on a danger tree with 16 feet of pole and the Silky is a lot safer then putting myself in danger at the stump with a chainsaw. The worse case scenario is a pole might get smashed but Jameson 8 ft fiberglass poles are cheap .

I do have a Stihl HT75 polesaw which I retired about 7 years ago. It's now converted to a hedge trimmer with the extension poles removed with a 45 degree hedge trimmer head mounted on it.

Willard, I had a backstrap holding this sucker that was maybe 2 square foot thick.
There was soo much pressure on it from the leaner that even when I'd managed to ream the slanted cut out of my face, it still pinched the bar on the horizontal cut, so I had to spend 5 minutes reaming that as well.

The point where my pulse started racing was when I bored in behind the hinge and cut back towards the backstrap on the side of the tree where I had no escape route.
If it had popped then, that would have been all she wrote.

Sharp 441 and running backwards 45 degrees towards the root end of the hanger was the way to dela with this one.

 

[HolmenTree]

Could you release the supporting tree like a spring pole using your pole saw?

I asked Gary about the spring pole idea. I am wondering where you guys would cut the support tree. We were taught that we could make two different kinds of cuts, dish out the bottom or compression wood or make a bunch or little cross wise cuts on the top or tension side. What do you guys think?

Jim, from what I can see in Gary's photo I wouldn't even attempt to cut the smaller spring poled tree. I'd winch the big tree off the little one by the butt end, better yet use my truck with a redirect bull rope if needed.

A spring pole tree with it's top pinned to the ground or bent laying on the ground should never be cut with cuts into the topside tension wood side.
It can be cut with 3 types of cuts :
~Accordion Cut which is multiple shallow kerf cuts into the underside compression side at the point of greatest pressure in the larger diameter wood of the tree. The more cuts the more stored force will be released. Main problem with this method is risk of pinching b/c.

~Shave Plane Cut is gradually shaving or planing the underside compression wood removing a small amount of wood with each pass with a sideways movement of the b/c until all stored force is released.

~Shave Notch Cut works best on larger diameter spring poles where there is enough room to slowly create an open face notch by shaving multiple notches into the compression side wood like is done with the shave plane cut method.

With these methods its very important to cut , retreat , let the tree release its stored force, return to cut more if needed.

 

[HolmenTree]

Willard, I had a backstrap holding this sucker that was maybe 2 square foot thick.
There was soo much pressure on it from the leaner that even when I'd managed to ream the slanted cut out of my face, it still pinched the bar on the horizontal cut, so I had to spend 5 minutes reaming that as well.

The point where my pulse started racing was when I bored in behind the hinge and cut back towards the backstrap on the side of the tree where I had no escape route.
If it had popped then, that would have been all she wrote.

Sharp 441 and running backwards 45 degrees towards the root end of the hanger was the way to dela with this one.

Stig, I agree a 2 square foot of backstrap on a 60" tree would be too much for a pole saw of any kind.

Only thing I can think of is make a back cut into the tree a foot or so below the back strap if there is room . Cut up "almost" to the line of fibers where the back strap starts behind the hinge. With a non tensioned pull rope already set with a shot bag and line, I'd then from a distance winch the tree down releasing the back strap.
All theory though ................. I would have to be there hands on .

 

[FireFighterZero]

Thanks for explaining that Willard. I think I follow you.

Would the re direct line come down from another tree?

 

[HolmenTree]

Would the re direct line come down from another tree?

Yes a picture says a thousand words.
From looking at Gary's photo if the bigger tree was to be pulled off the smaller one with a truck . There might not be enough room to get the truck inside the fence, so I would attach a block or pulley to the base of a tree a treelength away from the tree to be pulled.
Just run the pull rope under the fence through the block back to the tree. Pull with the truck on the driveway.

 

[HolmenTree]

I removed two 75 ft tall white spruce for a customers today that were leaning over his cabin, not safe to climb due to a pesky wood pecker hollowing out the bases of them.
So I had to fell them with the aid of a guy line.

 

[Mick!]

Good work Willard, this whole guy line thing is interesting, someone should do some kind of instruction video.
Ps still cold there in late March? I saw on sky news it will be -13 in Winnipeg today.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Never seen a hole so low before. Dumb woodpecker!

 

[Grendel]

Speaking of it still being cold, I've got three big dead maples lined up for this weekend which are being removed for firewood. . . people are running out fast.

Tough to spike, but two of them need to be climbed. One might get dropped.

Have a good weekend guys!

~Sam

 

[Grendel]

Speaking of it still being cold, I've got three big dead maples lined up for this weekend which are being removed for firewood. . . people are running out fast.

Tough to spike, but two of them need to be climbed. One might get dropped.

Have a good weekend guys!

~Sam