Tree Felling

[flaming-ace]

We do a lot of tree felling around our area. Not very often large scale logging, we'll thin woods and even clear fall the odd area, but mostly just falling the odd tree for farmers.

Going back a few months we fell this big Oak tree, it was rotten on the one side and leaning over a lane, so due to health and saftey it had to come down (if it had fallen on a car or someone the farmer would have been liable)

We used an AEC Militant and an AEC Matador to pull the tree over, also used one of our fordson majors to help clear it up.

We are cutting most of the tree up for firewood but some of it we have stored in next summer probably we will be cutting it in to planks with our band saw.

3 part video of the operation
Cutting Down A Huge Oak Tree
My granddad and I helped in the whole thing, but we needed to get some friends who have insurance to fall trees next to roads and what not.
First we got the AEC Matador and Militant into position, climbed the tree and attached the wire ropes around the upper part of the tree (this is not shown in the video)
Then using many stihl chainsaws (we had like 6 there in total) a chunk was taken out of the tree.
Finally the best bit, the two AEC trucks pulled and down came the tree.

Clearing Up The Oak Tree
Heres a video of us clearing up the oak tree, seen being cut down in the previous video.
The AEC Militant and its timber crane and the fordson major were used to clear it up.

The Huge Stihl Chainsaw!
This is our ******* huge sthil chainsaw, i think its like a 4.5ft bar not sure.
Well here it is in action cutting up that oak tree.


Take a look at those video and i would love to here what you think

Thanks for reading/watching!

 

[Shmudda]

I personally would have left the tree there. That poor old tree was older then all the men put together working to take it down.

I cut a lot of trees, but big ones like that seem to hold a special place in my heart........

Craig

 

[EddieWalker]

Great vids. Too bad it had to come down. I have two like that on my place, and they are slowly falling apart. After every storm, I fing large branches on the ground that are too heavey to pick up. One day, I'm worried some body is going to get hurt from those branches. It's on my list to take them down, but I'm stalling and hoping for Mother Nature to help out.

I really like that log handler that you have. Don't know if it's the Matador or the Militant, since I never heard of either of them.

Do you cut it up into firewood and sell it? I just burn mine when I take them down, unless I can get somebody to show up who wants it for free. Most of the time the person who said they wanted some oak firewood never shows up for one reason or another. I have a few waiting on a guy right now, but so for, he's a no show.

Eddie

 

[funny farmer]

Don't think I've ever even seen a tree that big let alone cut it down.We still have a few virgin white pine around here. The rest they clear cut 120 years ago.

 

[flaming-ace]

I personally would have left the tree there. That poor old tree was older then all the men put together working to take it down.

I cut a lot of trees, but big ones like that seem to hold a special place in my heart........

Craig

Yeah same was a shame to see it fall, but it was a health and saftey hazard like i said so it needed to come down.

Great vids. Too bad it had to come down. I have two like that on my place, and they are slowly falling apart. After every storm, I fing large branches on the ground that are too heavey to pick up. One day, I'm worried some body is going to get hurt from those branches. It's on my list to take them down, but I'm stalling and hoping for Mother Nature to help out.

I really like that log handler that you have. Don't know if it's the Matador or the Militant, since I never heard of either of them.

Do you cut it up into firewood and sell it? I just burn mine when I take them down, unless I can get somebody to show up who wants it for free. Most of the time the person who said they wanted some oak firewood never shows up for one reason or another. I have a few waiting on a guy right now, but so for, he's a no show.

Eddie

Its the millitant with the log handler.

Yeah we sell a lot of firewood to people, we split it up and deliver it. Not a bad little weekend business, and it gets rid of all the un wanted limbs from the timber.

 

[RobJ]

I would have let that tree live out as long as it could have. To heck with humans, cars, tractors. That tree was there before all of them!

 

[flaming-ace]

I would have let that tree live out as long as it could have. To heck with humans, cars, tractors. That tree was there before all of them!

ha sooo true but if it kills someone the health and saftey guy ent gunna see it that way and the farmer would have been liable

 

[czechsonofagun]

Nice videos. We have a maple just a touch smaller in front of our house right next to the road - and it is rotten and generally worries me a lot. Last summer one of the branches went down and it took me 4 hours and 6 full trailers to move that one branch to the burn pile.

I tried to sell it to the electrical company, but they said it is too far. Still if it goes down in wrong direction, it will smite the electrical service to dark ages.

 

[jimmyj]

Like some of you I just HATE seeing an old grandfather tree coming down. But sometimes I understand why and safety is a big one. The worst is when they cut down a beaut for a stupid reason like a parking lot or something like that.

Interesting vid.

 

[flaming-ace]

Like some of you I just HATE seeing an old grandfather tree coming down. But sometimes I understand why and safety is a big one. The worst is when they cut down a beaut for a stupid reason like a parking lot or something like that.

Interesting vid.

ye i totally agree with you there, there is no point what so ever if its somthing like that. I heard a story of a tree being cut down because it was getting leaves all over their drive how stupid is that!

ha thanks

 

[Treemonkey1000]

The only way the owner would be responsible is if he was notified in writing it was a hazard. At least that is what I have been told here in Washington. Is big and solid as that thing was at the base it wasn't going anywhere soon. Incredible how big and heavy those oaks are. I spent 3 weeks in Mississippi helping clean up after Katrina hit. I was amazed at how much they let the oak grow out over streets. Around here Fir and Maples aren't strong enough to grow like that without breaking and taking down wires. Great videos though. I was surprised you cut so low next to the bulb part of the tree or didn't take one of the larger knobs off the sides. That was a huge face cut which would be needed to offset the lean..It is kind of fun running those big saws though.
Something that big if at all possible I like let them stay..Still if someone were to get hurt would be the greater consideration always..

 

[flaming-ace]

over here its a bit different, it someone gets hurt on your property, like if a branch falls out of a tree, 90% of the time your to blame, so stupid.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

over here its a bit different, it someone gets hurt on your property, like if a branch falls out of a tree, 90% of the time your to blame, so stupid.

Hey maybe that would be a good excuse to keep the in-laws away! Tell them sorry there are too many hazards here you can't come to visit.
I should clarify my comment about the owner needs to be notified in writing about a hazardous tree. Then that owner or his insurance would have to pay for the damages to someone elses property. Other wise it is called an "act of nature" and the victims home owners insurance would be covering it.

 

[Botabill]

I too hate to see an old tree go down but I have to admire the men that can do the job right when it has to be done. Most men wouldn't have had a clue how to get er done like these guys did.

 

[Farmerford]

The tree was interesting, but not nearly as much as the machinery.

Tell us about the trucks. Particularly the green one; it sounded like it had only one or two cylinders.

That ancient Stihl really cut through the oak. Must be 150cc or so. Do you sharpen the chain by hand or machine?

From a distance it looked like the tractor was going to try to pull the limbs with the wheels. I thought: No way! Then I saw the winch and tail. It must have also been pulling one side of the tree when it fell.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[shane]

Is big and solid as that thing was at the base it wasn't going anywhere soon. ..

That's what I was thinking and am struggling with. Maybe there more to it than I saw in the videos. Maybe just the limbs that posed a danger could have been taken off. I'm not a tree/dirt worshipper, but it broke my heart to see that one going down. However, I truly enjoyed watching the skill of those guys at work, especially the white headed man with the 4' saw.

 

[flaming-ace]

The tree was interesting, but not nearly as much as the machinery.

Tell us about the trucks. Particularly the green one; it sounded like it had only one or two cylinders.

That ancient Stihl really cut through the oak. Must be 150cc or so. Do you sharpen the chain by hand or machine?

From a distance it looked like the tractor was going to try to pull the limbs with the wheels. I thought: No way! Then I saw the winch and tail. It must have also been pulling one side of the tree when it fell.

Thanks for sharing.

sorry mate i dont know much about the trucks, they are a friends all i know is that the red one is an AEC Militant and the green one is an AEC Matador, its got somthing like a 7.6 litre engine, thats all i know.

Not sure what the cc of the saw is probably 140, and yep i had to sharpen that by hand, fun fun fun.

What do you mean by the trator must have been pulling one side of the tree when it fell?

That's what I was thinking and am struggling with. Maybe there more to it than I saw in the videos. Maybe just the limbs that posed a danger could have been taken off. I'm not a tree/dirt worshipper, but it broke my heart to see that one going down. However, I truly enjoyed watching the skill of those guys at work, especially the white headed man with the 4' saw.

The tree was rotten down the one side, it had been struck by lightning 20 or so years ago, and was coming to the end of its life span, once we had cut it down, you could see on the rings when it got struck by lightning and the years after that it was not grown well at all. Rot was begining to get into the tree more and more, which made it start to lean more. Thre was also a very large amount of dead limb.

Ha the "white headed man" is my granddad, and is 73 and still working, 6 days a week

 

[JHTFarmer]

What a shame to see that tree felled. Didn't look diseased in the slightest. Six chainsaws and two trucks to pull it down. Jeez, that tree was in its prime

 

[flaming-ace]

What a shame to see that tree felled. Didn't look diseased in the slightest. Six chainsaws and two trucks to pull it down. Jeez, that tree was in its prime

i didnt say it was diseased? i said it was coming to the end of its lifespan... mainly due to the fact it was struck by lightning which removed the bark and had let rot in. That whole area used to be park land, there is loads of oak trees scatered around, they are all coming to the end of their life, most of them have blown over or just died. This one was a health and saftey hazard, people do not give a **** if its 100's of years old, if its likely to cause harm, then its got to come down.

 

[stonecastle]

What's done is done. It looked like one of the guys ripped a big rotten chunk out of the tree with his bare hands.

Plant a new tree in it's place and watch it grow.