Ideas for felling this tree

[Sawdustsmb]

I've cut a few big hemlocks that were tipped and laying on the ground. Depending on how big that root ball is it is going to go back down hard even if it has dirt behind it. I think the hinge will need to be on the bottom depending on how well it is hung up. Watch that saw cut - cut slow and watch for it to start closing - if you are lucky you won't pinch the saw.

 

[soulasphil]

I would advise you to be very cautious, cutting anything will probably cause what is left to swing wildly.
I had an average cypress felled by a storm The root ball had been pulled out of the ground and as it lay there, it looked pretty harmless. When I cut the trunk some distance from the roots as a precaution, the root ball fell back into place with tremendous weight and the limbs lashed viciously. Nothing serious, but a frightening experience nonetheless.

 

[Sawdustsmb]

Sorry, I was called away. Get someone to help who can run a saw and think clearly or wait for mother nature. Crushed body parts are hard to fix.

 

[Tollster]

Thanks ya'll, I was thinking what I would do if I pinched the pole saw, as I would really hate to get around that thing with another saw or wedges.

I guess I am having a really hard time telling where the forces are, I would love to just cut that bottom one from the bottom, as I think the tree is resting on the hemlock, but worry the root ball to lift the load and pinch my saw.

Ya'll are right about not having much saw experience,most of its been clean up after storms atmy place and various neighbors house's. Never felt real comfortable taking down big trees, its always been trialand erro for me throughout life,mostly error though, I just pulled my stiches (10) from wacking my knee two weeks ago with my saw, funny thing though is I married a logger's daughter,he made his own company over 40 years, but really is not in the best health anymore to really give me any ideas on this one.

I have a pretty good come along,and would be able to throw ablanket or two on the cable to lessen the chance of a decapataion if it over loaded the cable.
I thought about just trying to cut some of those hemlock branches in an effort to free up the load,it may just come down then,using the pole saw of course, I may be able to reach them from the uper point where I took the picture.

I really don;t have any doubt the root ball will come back down once its unloaded. One of the problem is the location of the stump,it limits my areas of escape since its on a ledge, and even then I have to hop of the small ledge onto another cliff edge to get away,its really only one direction I could jump if I had too.

I wonder what would happen if i laid another across it,or if I would have a bigger mess then?

 

[sixdogs]

Cleaning up after a storm is a lot different that dealing with opposing and unintended forces that could shove a running saw back at your chest at full RPM. Chain saw cuts are nasty, dirty and difficult to clean. Lots of unintended consequences come from exceeding our grasp. Even cables go the wrong way and can cut people in half.
My vote is to leave the tree alone and either pay a pro or let nature bring it down in a few years or whenever it gets around to it.

 

[MasseyWV]

Never felt real comfortable taking down big trees

This can get you killed in a heartbeat, especially without any experience.

Trees like this are highly dangerous, even for the professionals. If it were me, and I have experience cutting large trees, I would hire a seasoned professional. Note that I said a seasoned professional, and not some joe off the street, because a pro will not only know what they arer doing, but will also have liability insurance.

Think smart, stay safe.

 

[rekees4300]

I thought about just trying to cut some of those hemlock branches in an effort to free up the load,it may just come down then,using the pole saw of course, I may be able to reach them from the uper point where I took the picture.

Be very careful if you decide to cut the Hemlock branches. Even a small falling branch (aka "widow-maker") can cause a serious injury or death. Also the leaner could come down in seconds. Needless to say you wouldn't want to be under it when it falls.

 

[MuleMn]

It looks as though you may be able to take a cable hooked to the base of the tree through a block (sheave) attached to another tree and pull (roll) the root wad up. If you had enough cable you could use two pulleys, one at the base of the downed tree and the other sheave affixed to a stationary object. This would double your pull, and would be reasonably safe. That is if you can get your tractor within 100 feet of the tree, as we cannot tell how the terrain is in the area. Just an idea.

 

[cqaigy2]

From the pictures, it looks like a relatively simple job of cutting but it might also be much harder then it looks. Cutting stumps off isn't usually too complicated, they either want to settle back down, tip forward or not tip at all. They rarely roll perpendicular to the tree unless there is sufficient gravity or leverage on the tree where it it hung up. I wouldn't cut limbs off the tree though until you separate it from the stump. I've cut some larger trees back from the stump just so that the remainder would tip backup when enough weight was taken off the root ball. I did it on purpose so it wasn't any surprise but it you start taking limbs off and unload the stump enough so that it would tip backup, you might be in a compromised position when this happens and could get hurt.

If your not comfortable doing this and or don't understand the forces involved, you might think about just leaving it alone or getting someone with more experience to do it.

Good luck and be safe.

 

[wcampbell47]

If it's hung up solidly, I would use a cable to pull it free from the other trees (working from a safe distance of course, and use a pulley block to change direction if you can). You really don't want to get near the tree with a saw if it is hung up on another tree like that, except in a few cases (which I can't evaluate from here).

If it's not hung up, but rather, just dangling cantilevered from the root ball, then I would use a Coos Bay cut to bring it down gently and let the rootball ride back down the other way. If you use a traditional cut, it's going to barber-chair on you and all sorts of bad things could happen.

Proper evaluation is hard to do over the internet, so maybe ask for someone who can give you an opinion on the ground. Really, you need to figure out how the tree is supported and loaded before deciding what to do.

I think S219 is spot on. I would not put a saw to that tree until it was pulled out of the hemlock and down on the ground.

 

[20 20]

<<<DANGER DANGER DANGER>>>

Thanks ya'll, I was thinking what I would do if I pinched the pole saw, as I would really hate to get around that thing with another saw or wedges.

I guess I am having a really hard time telling where the forces are, I would love to just cut that bottom one from the bottom, as I think the tree is resting on the hemlock, but worry the root ball to lift the load and pinch my saw.

Ya'll are right about not having much saw experience,most of its been clean up after storms atmy place and various neighbors house's. Never felt real comfortable taking down big trees, its always been trialand erro for me throughout life,mostly error though, I just pulled my stiches (10) from wacking my knee two weeks ago with my saw, funny thing though is I married a logger's daughter,he made his own company over 40 years, but really is not in the best health anymore to really give me any ideas on this one.

I have a pretty good come along,and would be able to throw ablanket or two on the cable to lessen the chance of a decapataion if it over loaded the cable.
I thought about just trying to cut some of those hemlock branches in an effort to free up the load,it may just come down then,using the pole saw of course, I may be able to reach them from the uper point where I took the picture.

I really don;t have any doubt the root ball will come back down once its unloaded. One of the problem is the location of the stump,it limits my areas of escape since its on a ledge, and even then I have to hop of the small ledge onto another cliff edge to get away,its really only one direction I could jump if I had too.

I wonder what would happen if i laid another across it,or if I would have a bigger mess then?

<<<DANGER DANGER DANGER>>>

Again Tollster, I have to write, your own posts read in volumes, LEAVE IT ALONE !!!! I would hate to read how you have cut yourself or worse. If I were closer I'd be more then happy to help or even show what cuts to make. Isn't there someone that can give a hand for a few minutes? IMHO from what you're writting your playing with fire.

 

[sixdogs]

<<<DANGER DANGER DANGER>>>



<<<DANGER DANGER DANGER>>>

Times two.
Hate to see this sordid episode played out on "1000 Ways to Die" or in one of those "Darwin" emails.

 

[blucoondawg]

I have cut many hanging trees, its hard to tell in pictures but it doesn't look like a really bad one, its already leaning far enough that it's easy enough to tell which way it wants to go, however actually cutting it is hard to explain on here, but I can tell you one thing, I would not mess with a pole saw at all, don't worry about cutting branches off and I would not be standing under the leaner to cut the branches off, it isn't the safest spot to be. If it were me I would probably cut them off separately starting with the bottom one as it looks like that will fall easily, I would notch them in the direction the will most easily fall then take my time on the back cut, going slowly so you can take notice of what the tree is doing, and make sure you have good footing and a clear path so you can run or jump outta the way if something goes bad. But if you aren't comfortable falling larger trees then you should definitely not deal with something like this, and don't do it alone.

 

[SandburRanch]

The picture I'm seeing is that of limb size on the Hemlock and the Hemlock has very little to do with this hanger but the root ball is what is supporting this cantilever.

If the tree isn't causing a danger to human or animal life I wouldn't touch it and let nature take its course. How many owls would we suspect may perch on that snag watching for rodents before it finally gives way sometime in our life.

And before we know it a seed will lodge in the root ball void to be nourished by leaf litter and another species will emerge to prevent erosion on that steep hill side just as the fallen tree did for years.

 

[powerpace]

How long have these trees been this way? There is not many roots holding anything from my view.

The trees look to be about 8-10" thick. That's a weed tree, around here takes about 5 minutes to fell and buck even with a root ball. You have to be careful with any tree but it will be easier than you think once you get into it. Several ideas posted will work for you. If I were you and your're not sure of the stresses involved. Compression or tension. If it is hung up in the trees the compression will be on the top, tension on the bottom. If the root ball is holding it up the tension will be on the top and compression on the bottom. In my opinion the root ball is holding this up with weight of the trees cantilevered out. Tension on top compression on bottom.

First, cut 3 or 4 shallow cuts on the underside of the bottom trunk. Second, cut on the top side of the bottom trunk nearer to the root ball but still above the bottom cuts. This will give you a hinge. You will be able to gauge the speed of cut and springyness as you cut. Do the same for the top trunk. I'm guessing the rootball is not going anywhere if it has been there awhile.

It's expected to rain about 2" inches here today and 6" in the mountains. Everyone with a chainsaw will be busy with problems like yours. Land slides and blocked roads will be the rule. With brush trees and four foot thick Douglas Fir down. Carrying a axe, shovel and chainsaw in the pickup is not unusual.

 

[1bush2hog]

The only way I would saw that tree is if I was able to get it on the ground first with a comealong. There is no safe escape route that I can see, and unless you have experience making the cuts that some of the pro's can it's not worth risking your health and possibly even your life.

That tree might fall on it's own in time after some wet weather and heavy wind.

 

[deezler]

Some good advice in this thread, including the words of caution.

But it seems like no one has asked: WHY EVEN CUT THEM DOWN? Those trees are in the middle of the woods. You have no visible trails, structures, storage, or anything of the like in the area. Just forget about them and stick to the easy stuff.

 

[SandburRanch]

Some good advice in this thread, including the words of caution.

But it seems like no one has asked: WHY EVEN CUT THEM DOWN? Those trees are in the middle of the woods. You have no visible trails, structures, storage, or anything of the like in the area. Just forget about them and stick to the easy stuff.

QUOTE: If the tree isn't causing a danger to human or animal life I wouldn't touch it and let nature take its course.