How should I fell the remainder of this tree?

[Rockbadchild]

I've cut lots of trees, but far from an expert.
To me that tree is under a lot of tension and wants to splinter. If you tried cutting with a chainsaw I guarantee it would splinter up probably kicking saw upward which is why I suggested a pole saw. Try a pole saw and you'll watch it snap as you cut, but ten feet away you'll be fine. It won't take much sawin

A pole saw is safer since you are further away, I can't argue that but for the rest I don't think so. You can guarantee that ehn ?? well good thing you specified you are not an expert ... personally I wouldn't be worried there isn't any kicking the saw back if you cut it from the opposite way the tree fell, saws only kick back when the wood squeezed the chain ... it will open as it falls not squeeze...

I said the arrow but that's a little high I would cut lower than the arrow.

 

[2manyrocks]

If you are very nervous about cutting it, perhaps you should give yourself time until you feel comfortable that you have found what you feel is a safe way of dealing with it. If you are under pressure to get it down because it's a hazard to children or something like that, then if it were me, I'd try pulling it down using a long chain or two or three as needed to get enough distance and/or I'd try making a few carefully placed cuts with a pole saw if I absolutely had to get it down right away.

No way I'd cut it up close and personal with a chainsaw with all that splintering and pressure. No way at all that I'd get on a ladder to cut it, either.

Pole saw attachments for attachment capable weed trimmers are fairly cheap on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078YY8HS9/ref=twister_B0BH1HZMWW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Harbor Freight also sells a pretty good 110v pole saw for about $70 as well if electric power is nearby. 6.5 Amp 9.5 in. Electric Pole Saw Pole saws are super useful to have. I'd rather be able to walk away from a ruined pole saw than risk a trip to the ER or funeral home.

 

[scootr]

I would use a running cut. Fire up the chainsaw and cut the tree while running by it.

 

[ovrszd]

I would use a running cut. Fire up the chainsaw and cut the tree while running by it.

Well stated.

We're thirty posts in on how to simply cut a tree that has no unusual stress on the base.

 

[MountainBuck]

It is down!

Thank you for all of the replies.

To answer a few questions, the standard "notch / back cut" approach would probably have been fine. This ash tree was in good shape and very surprisingly resilient. From a layman perspective, the tree wood is like long ropes that wanted to split before it popped.

Anyway, to cut it with the notch and back cut meant that I had to put my head close to the horizontal wood side or that wicked tongue side. I could have cut the tongue off but I would have had to stand on something.

So I got out the pole saw and as you can see in the picture, it survived quite a bit of sawing.

I also placed a chain on the trunk and to an adjacent tree to keep it from coming back at me quick.

Remarkable how much I had to cut and how well it held together.

Most important part, no one got hurt and it felt fairly safe.

 

[2manyrocks]

The way pictures have to be scaled down to post here I'm not sure, but the bark looks like a hackberry tree.

 

[airbiscuit]

This

 

[MossRoad]

They charge $20 for that ride at the county fair.

YIKES!

 

[scootr]

I nearly got sick just watching

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I nearly got sick just watching

And I was saying YeeHaw!!