Cutting trees after Isabel

[lippy]

here in florida,some homeowners insurance cover this problem with trees,have you checked into this. paying a deductable is cheaper and safer than a hospital bill.

 

[MossRoad]

Leaners are sooo dangerous. The safest way is to use heavy equipment to pull it down then cut it up on the ground. I've pulled a few leaners and hangers down with my 4wd pickup. I have a 100' length of 5/8 inch cable that I got from a wrecker company fairly cheap. I use twine on a ball to throw it up and over, then use the twine to pull up a rope. Then I use the rope to pull up a noose made of chain attached to the end of the cable. It cinches around the trunk. The higher up the tree the better the lever you create to pry the tree out. I hook it to the trailer hitch of my truck and pull it down. If anything, it usually clears it from any snags and comes down by its own weight. The long cable keeps me away from the tree, no matter which way it ends up falling. With a cable, you have to be aware of possible snaps that could send the cable back at you, so follow the same practice that you would use if using a winch. I've found that if I go more perpendicular to the tree, it tends to work better than being in a straight line with it. If it is too big, you may have to get a larger vehicle like a dozer to pull it down.

 

[elmerinva]

All,
Thanks for all the advice and experience. After helping a neighbor cut off an oak resting on his transformer box, I gained new respect for the action a root ball will take after release.

I took another look at the trees: all poplars except one oak, each about 15 to 25 inches in diameter, about 50-60 ft high with the first branches starting at about 40 feet. Each has its top hung up in another one or two trees. Attaching a line/cable seems the safest way to control the fall using my 4x4 pickup and a tackle to move the tree away from the septic leach field. Problem will be to attach the line/chain at a point sufficiently high to get the leverage to pull the tree free. MossRoad, you may have to help me figure out how a noose chain can hold up high enough without slipping on a nearly vertical tree.

GregJ, I can't submit an image since I have no way to scan it.

WCarlson, I will do a search on the Humboldt notch (didn't know it had a name). If I can't find it, I may have to ask for your help. By the way, my wife grew up in the Finger Lakes region near Elmira, a little town called Odessa. Beautiful country, but the winters are fierce.

Again, thanks to all for the help.

 

[ScottAR]

www.abortistsite.com

Ask the ones who do it for a living. Couple of noodlheads but mostly straight shooters.

 

[GregJ]

Elmer,
For what it's worth, I have thought of a couple of things. First of all, HD sells a 3/4 poly line on a 200ft spool for about $30 and it is really quite good line. For poly line, it's very soft, lightweight and doesn't tangle. I want at least a 200 ft line when I pull trees over. I remember one time in my "youth" I pulled over a tree that I estimated to be 70ft. with a 100ft. line. I didn't estimate too good and it turned out my line was about 8 feet short. I drove around in a pickup truck with a nice v-shaped dent in the top of the cab for many years after that. I'll never forget the feeling of looking back in my rear view mirror and realizing that I was a little short on rope and I wasn't going to be able to outrun that tree. Since then, I like to watch the trees drop from a long, long ways away.
Secondly, I just dropped a tree a few weekends ago that snagged in another tree. The lowest limb was way up there. However there was a knot on the side of the tree and it was leaning at just enough angle I was able to throw the light line over the knot. I lowered the weight to the ground, then tied a large, loose bowline with the 3/4 poly around the tree and tied the light line to the bowline. I walked as far from the tree as I could, gently keeping the light line snug to get as big of an angle as possible. Then gingerly pulled the bowline up the tree about 30feet. Then I put tension on the 3/4 line and was able to pull the tree out of the snag. With a little patience, you really don't need a limb if there's a burl or knot on the high side of the lean. Just thought I'd share. Good luck and make sure your cable or rope is longer than the drop zone....... A lot longer.....Words of experience.

Greg

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blueclass=small">( www.abortistsite.com

Ask the ones who do it for a living. Couple of noodlheads but mostly straight shooters. )</font>

try this link.....it works

This story is enough encouragement for me to think twice before tackling those trees.....

read the details here.......

 

[Egon]

would you be able to use a fishing rod with a heavy sinker and throw the line thru branches higher up and then pull a heavier line through and so on till you get to the chain or cable?

Egon

 

[elmerinva]

GregJ, Thanks for the technique and poly rope tips on getting a line on the tree. The more I read about how professionals get hurt doing this kind of thing, I may hold off and see how it looks after the leaves are down and can see more clearly what's going on.

Egon, Good idea about the fishing line and weight. Might be pretty tricky though with my spin rod--too light--6 lb line though.

Junkman,The Aborist site is great. Good info and provides a view from guys who do this for a living. They show a lot of respect for the hurt a tree can do you.

My wife continues to tell I'm crazy to even consider doing this. But I've done dumber things.

Thanks again to all.

 

[GaryM]

Amateur Radio operators, like me, use a bow and fisihing arrow to get lines through trees to string antennas. Would work for getting a line over a branch in order to haul up a rope or chain.

 

[GregJ]

Gary,
That's a great idea. Even if the fising line is too small to pull up the 3/4 poly or chain, you could at least pull up some 1/4 poly and then pull the 3/4 with the 1/4. I'll remember that one.

Thanks,
Greg