FARM JACK FOR TREE PUSHER

[escavader]

My neighbor has a nice tree pusher he built from a long bottle jack and a long pipe with a heavy rod in the middle of it .It works great to make trees go where you want when felling.He told me a friend made one from a farm jack.Iwant to make one out of mine .Does any one have any pics /plans for making one?
ALAN

 

[Mattlt]

To each his own, but this just sounds deadly.

Personally, I'd invest in a long cable that could be used to PULL the tree in the direction you want it to go.

 

[wedge40]

take some photos of your neighbors.. I'm curious.

Wedge

 

[RonMar]

I had a large fir tree put down that was close alongside the house. The first thing the feller did was to cut out a large notch in the back side about 10" high, by about 10" into the tree. He then carefully cut the "V" notch on the front side of the tree. He used a large carpenters square to set the angle of the "V" notch, which is the hinge point of a falling tree and mainly determines where it will fall. Into the large square notch on the back side, he placed a hydraulic bottle jack. When we were ready, and people were watching the road(wern't quite sure if the tip would make the road), he jacked the tree over with the jack. This allowed him to easilly look up and judge the movement of the tree and where he might have to move, without a screaming chainsaw in his hands. Having put quite a few trees on the ground, I would call this method much safer

 

[washita]

that definately seems safer than what I seen a week ago, full size bobcat with bucket in air about 6 ft or so maybe higher with front wheels off the ground and a fellow with chainsaw under the bucket cutting on a 18+" diameter tree nothing in the local paper so I guess no one was hurt, but it sure looked like a good way to get permanetly hurt

 

[irwin]

that definately seems safer than what I seen a week ago, full size bobcat with bucket in air about 6 ft or so maybe higher with front wheels off the ground and a fellow with chainsaw under the bucket cutting on a 18+" diameter tree nothing in the local paper so I guess no one was hurt, but it sure looked like a good way to get permanetly hurt

We can only hope he wasn't teaching his kid "the right way to do it".

 

[escavader]

I had a large fir tree put down that was close alongside the house. The first thing the feller did was to cut out a large notch in the back side about 10" high, by about 10" into the tree. He then carefully cut the "V" notch on the front side of the tree. He used a large carpenters square to set the angle of the "V" notch, which is the hinge point of a falling tree and mainly determines where it will fall. Into the large square notch on the back side, he placed a hydraulic bottle jack. When we were ready, and people were watching the road(wern't quite sure if the tip would make the road), he jacked the tree over with the jack. This allowed him to easilly look up and judge the movement of the tree and where he might have to move, without a screaming chainsaw in his hands. Having put quite a few trees on the ground, I would call this method much safer

YES,This sounds just like the one my neighbor had.Iwas really impressed with it.Im pretty good at falling trees,having done it all my life ,but it seems like a nice tool to have to aid in the troubled ones .Idont always have someone around in my wood lot [please no safety cops],i think it would be a great aid in cutting ,and getting a pinched saw out :
WEDGE my camera crapped out on me ,hope to get one soon. His had a hollow pipe ,with a solid shaft[the pusher] that slides through it.
Im thinking on making a bracket that attaches to the top of my farm jack track,to hold a 4 ft peice of heavy pipe.iwill get a large1 inch solid shaft and
attach it to my lifter on the jack,and run it through the pipe .His had a sharp point on it to dig into the tree.Igoggled tree pusher ,then tree jack and found some discriptions,but no pics.One description said it was nessasary to have the shaft be able to turn ,while your jacking so it dont slip loose.Ill try to incorporate that in,got some thoughts on that brewing too.
ALAN

 

[RonMar]

The tree I had put down, was about 30+ inches at the base, and too big for my saw. It also had a very limited area where I could fall it without hitting house, drain field or other trees or road. I have been dropping trees all my life, but getting it exactly on the mark is a definite skill that must be practiced regularly. The gentelman who did this one(wifes second cousin, owns a tree service) put the tip of this tree within a foot of the spot where I told him I wanted it(right down the driveway).

 

[wrangler6831]

Check out this site. I seen them being used on the History channels AX MEN or One of the other shows American Logger or Heli Loggers.

Silvey Tree Jacks

 

[tatra805]

The design mentioned by the OP is a dead trap.

the jack will only put tension as long as the tree is standing. If the tree moves half an inch the tension is off and the tree is free.
Opposite to pulling over a tree where you keep the tension for a much longer time and angle. So less chance of the three to come back.

With the OP design a breeze can break the grab of the jack on the tree or ground with all possible results as trees coming over backwards.


A tree jack as the Silveys are completely something different. If you lift inside the tree the 1 inch movement of the jack makes a hughe sweep at the top of the tree giving enough overweight to top it over. (the pumps in the jacks are really low volume so you lift only a fraction of an inch with every pump and so giving you a more steady controlled push on the tree)



edit:

my 2cents: buy 3 wedges and wedge them over. if you go steady you'll find you can direct the tree by playing with the 2 outer wedges.

Honnestly: If you are in the size of wood where the jacks come in handy you would not post here but have the skills and training to wedge or jack trees that big. The jacks had succes in replacing labour (not having to pound on a dozen of wedges for 1 hour, 5 times per day)

If you have kids, buy a rope 4 times the length of your highest tree and have them pull over the tree. That way you always know where they are while you are cutting AND know for sure they are out of the danger zone. Make them feel involved and important and tell them the truth when they are 20, it will make for a big laugh. (thats what my father did).

 

[have_blue]

Check out this site. I seen them being used on the History channels AX MEN or One of the other shows American Logger or Heli Loggers.

Silvey Tree Jacks

*That's* the way to do it!

If you have a porta power, they work pretty nice too.

 

[Renze]

If you have kids, buy a rope 4 times the length of your highest tree and have them pull over the tree. That way you always know where they are while you are cutting AND know for sure they are out of the danger zone. Make them feel involved and important and tell them the truth when they are 20, it will make for a big laugh. (thats what my father did).

I'll remember that one, my 3 year old nephew is just big enough to escape from parental observation, and to check out on grandpa or uncle in the shop....




By they way, i've also seen professional landscape loggers fell trees with a sort of crowbar that fitted precisely into the chainsaw cut, while sawing the other guy held pressure with one arm: When he felt the tree was releasing, he would tap the other man holding the chainsaw, on the shoulder to warn him, and then tumble the tree with both arms on the crowbar.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

If you do build a jack always always watch for rotten spots in the wood. If you cut a notch for you jack and start lifting on the wood if the tree is rotten you could have the jack pop out at you. Or the tree could rock backwards and fall the wrong way.
I use plenty of plastic wedges to force the tree over. When they get to be large and weighted with branches in the wrong direction is a good time for the tree jack.

 

[jimmyj]

Here is another tree jack.

Portable sawmills, forestry equipment and ATV attachments

 

[pat32rf]

I think I'll stick with a cable/rope and snatch block to pull the tree where I want it. That is if I can't get the bucket up against it to push.....

 

[tatra805]

One remark on snatch blocks, winches and pulleys to pull over trees..

Too much tension will stimulate barberchair and or other surprises.
Point of pulling a tree over is to guide it, not to force it. Your notch and backcut are there to give the direction.

Stay safe.


Oh and about the bucket,... i always put one of my pallet forks on the bucket to push, so i am at safe distance from the tree....

 

[workinallthetime]

I am not a logger and dont live in an area of to much big timber but i have had to clean up after a few storms including a few ice storms. One thing I think people do not realize is the amount of weight your are dealing with when cutting trees. I fell a couple trees in a tight spot next to a house last weekend, my buddy was just dying to use a newly bought rope and his "massive 700cc 4 wheeler". I explained the weight issue to him but he still wanted to use it to pull over the tree as I cut. I had the tree chained to the base of another tree 60' away and used a come-a-long to pull the slack out of the chain and get the tree pointed in the right direction. He tied the rope off in the tree and tied it to the 4wheeler's rack on the back. Well the tree fell twords my chain as desined but he was pulling at about 45 degrees and was amazed at how it jerked him back, bent the rack, and snaped the rope. I just laughed and said "told ya so city boy".

be careful!!! I thought I was "the man" when cutting trees until I had a limb barber chair and catch my mouth, took about 15 stiches and a couple hours in the er to get over that.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Good point workingallthetime. The guy is lucky the rope didn't snap him alongside the head.. Sorry about the branch whacking you. That had to hurt.. I've had enough near misses with branches and tree's that I try to respect them all. I do use ropes to pull but they are set well above the 50% height of the tree to take advantage of leverage. If my ropes are in doubt I toss them.

 

[20 20]

I have to agree with others a cable is MUCH{MUCH} safer!!! When pushing on a tree with a jack there is no real way to make sure the jack stays in place. What happens if the trees starts to go where you want then comes a gust of wind, the jack won't help{wind happens} cable would stay in place if done proper. I have been cutting down trees for 30+ yrs and have used cables to other trees to large trucks and other large machinery never had a problem. I have also had the perfect tree going exactly where it was suppose to only to have a freak gust of wind come up and spin it like a top, destroying a chain saw. I also believe there is no such thing as a professional tree cutter only those that are willing to learn each day they big up a saw.

 

[Keeptryn]

I welded up a treepusher this winter(I call it a TimberJackit) .
I haven't tried it out yet, but hope to this weekend .
Basically it is a steel rectangular tubing(Jacket) that slips over a 48" Jackall Jack(that most half ton trucks in this area carry).
If anyone is interested I'll see if I can download a picture this weekend .
I am cutting a shooting lane about 300 yds long through my son's heavy timber(poplar,Jack Pine, Spruce) and some of the trees are not co-operating ....I'm trying to drop them on the trail behind me as I go along .
Wedges work fairly well, but gotta keep an eye on the dead limbs high up in those old Poplars, when pounding in the wedges .
I think that the TimberJackit will be safer in that regard .