Found a Widow Maker

[farmer2009]

Out of curiosity, did the power company charge you to repair the damage? Our property has an easement down one side that allows a couple of neighbors to have a shared drive to their properties behind ours. Our drive runs parallel to theirs and there is a strip of lawn between them with power poles running all the way back to their homes. There are trees on the outside of both of our drives. Some of them are dead. One fell across our drive in a storm a couple months ago, but it wasn't nearly tall enough to reach the lines. However, there are a few that look like they could get there. Since my new hobby is cleaning up the downed trees/limbs and the snags, I'm going to want to cut a few of them down. Maybe it's time that I try using the "stick method" to measure their heights and see if there's any real danger.

Here if you have trees within reach of power lines. After talking to your neighbors about being without power for a day or two. You call the power company tell them you have some trees in the fall zone of the lines that you need to cut and the day that your neighbors agreed could do without power. They come out and drop the lines roll them up and even sometimes help you cut. Then hang the lines at no charge. They say it helps them as much as you. One less spot to worry about a tree falling on the lines. Now you are low on priority list so if there's an outage it could get rescheduled.

 

[Walkin Horse]

No I wasn't charged. But the lineman did scare me with what things cost. I'm sure if made it a habit I would get a bill.

Recently while talking to them about adding a meter to the barn, I addressed some trees that concerned me. They told me as long as they had 20' of clear space around poles and lines, that's all they needed. He said they could send a crew to take down a line during the week so I could cut the trees.

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[jlgurr]

Almost don't count. I want to hear about sparks and twisted cables and pissed nieghbors and bad mood linemen.

Ten years ago and all the above applies. Was a bit scary for a few minutes while the tree and power line burned. The most difficult part was the $1,235 repair bill. Neighbors laugh about it now and never seen the linemen since.

Jeff

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[FTG-05]

FTG-05, I'm glad you got your tree down safely. BUT, what you did seems unsafe to me, although I will readily admit I am no expert. I have felled about 50 + trees and in my stand about half the trees hang up because the the density of the stand.

1. Looking at the Stihl MS290 manual, where they say how to fall a tree, they say the felling cut should be 1-2 inches above the center of the notch--same as what I was taught. Yours looks quite a bit higher and I suspect doing so could result in a barber chair.
2. Cutting a partially cut tree in a second location looks pretty unstable and unpredictable.

I hope an expert will reply and tell me if I'm wrong.

Again, I'm glad you go it down with no injury.

Why do you say that? And are you referring to the first hickory that stuck the bar or the 2nd tree that appears to have barbered chair?

Here are more pics of the 2nd hickory stump that barber chaired:

 

[FTG-05]

Here if you have trees within reach of power lines. After talking to your neighbors about being without power for a day or two. You call the power company tell them you have some trees in the fall zone of the lines that you need to cut and the day that your neighbors agreed could do without power. They come out and drop the lines roll them up and even sometimes help you cut. Then hang the lines at no charge. They say it helps them as much as you. One less spot to worry about a tree falling on the lines. Now you are low on priority list so if there's an outage it could get rescheduled.

"Here if you have trees...." what?

I have a tree at the bottom of my hill that I want to cut down. It's within reach of a power line that powers all the people on my little gravel road (all three of us).

If I call the power company, will they come out and help me take down the tree or will they take the lines down or what? I know this answer is dependent on which state and which company, so I'm asking in general.

Thanks,

 

[farmer2009]

"Here if you have trees...." what? I have a tree at the bottom of my hill that I want to cut down. It's within reach of a power line that powers all the people on my little gravel road (all three of us). If I call the power company, will they come out and help me take down the tree or will they take the lines down or what? I know this answer is dependent on which state and which company, so I'm asking in general. Thanks,

Sorry if my first post wasn't clear.

If just one tree they will probably just move the lines and let you cut it once it's on the ground they hang the lines again.


Here's a link to some of the different things that can happen when cutting trees. It has a picture and small description with them also.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/manual/felling/cuts/dangers.html

The barber chairs I've been around usually split 10-15 feet up the tree. I know they don't have too but that's what I've seen. We always blamed it on a crack inside the tree. But you never know as you can't see it before it opens up.

 

[FTG-05]

Oh ok, got it. I'll call the power company when it warms up a bit.

And reading your link, I found this:

"Barber Chair

The splitting of the butt of the log during the latter part of the fall. The tree often remains attached to the stump, thus creating a danger zone and ruining much of the log.
Caused by a Dutchman notch."


And this:

Does anyone see a "Dutchman notch: in that 2nd hickory stump? I don't. The tree "cracked" before I got the cut done and I vacated the area. It then split, then fell over. I probably should go see come YT videos of barber chaired trees falling.

Thanks,

 

[rekees4300]

Here are more pics of the 2nd hickory stump that barber chaired:

The interior of the tree appears to be rotten so the uncut exterior good wood probably wasn't strong enough to support the tree's weight causing it to splinter.

 

[DrRod]

In central PA, Valley Rural Electric will come out and cut down a tree that threatens the lines. I guess they have found it to be cheap insurance. I had a dead tree I my yard and they actually contacted me first. Then even sent a climber and long cables et al to avoid hitting the house as well as the lines. Something to really appreciate from these guys.

As for a barber chair incident. . .

I had a walnut tree spring up at the back of my highly rustic garage. It was getting close to two feet across and I thought it best to drop it sooner than later. So I started cutting through it and, about halfway through, it split [a long way up the trunk] and fell over. It fell perfectly away from the building but the tail of the split -- which was quite long -- managed to lodge itself right in the gable of the garage roof, and with enough force to make roof groan. Like, it could be a good way to remove an unwanted roof structure but that wasn't my intent. I'll post a picture of it if I can find it because it is quite an entertaining site. Finishing the job was safe and easy but it was just something I had never considered possible.

 

[Eyecatcher]

Couple of years ago, neighbor had an old water oak that was slowly dropping big dead limbs on my side of the fence. I talked to him and explained that it was eventually going to come down across the fence, and since I had about 20 goats in that paddock, thought we should get together and take the tree down. He opted to wait until his fil came down for the winter and the two of them would take it down. He strung a long cable and a snatch block, and with him on the tractor, his fil started to chain saw on the tree. I didn't like the way things were going, so I started moving goats. About the time I got the paddock cleared. I heard fil yelling pull - pull - pull. Everything went quiet as neighbor shut off the tractor and yelled "I can't hear you"! You know it took out about 20 feet of fence.